NHL '94

"State Of The Art For The Time It Was Made"

This game really amazes me. There are so many games that Super put out that are far worse than this and this was put out in 1993! This could be considered a average or maybe little below average game if it was put out for Nintendo 64. I'm going to break it down into groups of Game play, Graphics, and Playoff model:

Graphics,
These graphics are awesome! These are probably the best graphics of any Super Nintendo sports game. If not it ranks pretty high up there. The shots and checks are so realistic. The checks just look so real and the shots are identical to any games that are out now.
The goalie's saves are very nice as well. Another good thing that is very rare for Super Nintendo is the rosters on each team are correct. That is very rare for this time where usually they make up names for players. Their faces on the ice are all the same but no game for probably another five years would put actually faces on the players.
The stadiums are also all the same which still today games haven't perfected.
And the last thing about the graphics is the crowd shots. The crowd shots are awesome for the time frame it is in.

Game play,
Probably the reason the game was so famous is the checks after the play. When the referee blows the whistle you can still check and have it no resort into a penalty. The players on he opposing team can't fight back but, if you have two players it is so much fun to just go around and check each other.
A little similar to Blitz when it was famous for the same reason. Know, onto line changes. Line changes are great. You can choose to either play with no lines and just have the players play the whole game or, you can have players get tired so you have to change lines. You can make up three lines to switch in and out.
One of the only complaints I have about the game is the pace of the game. The pace of the game can be very slow at times as far as not moving very fast.

Playoff Mode,
The playoff mode is great on this game. You can choose a best of seven series or a one game elimination. Another cool thing is if you win the Stanley Cup you actually see your guy carrying around Lord Stanley's Cup. Also, if you lose in the Finals you can check the team that has the Cup. One disappointing thing about this game is it doesn't have a season mode.
I know back then the couldn't have the full season but I've seen games where they have a only twenty game season. I wish they could've done it that way.

Overall,
Overall I strongly suggest buying this game. It is one of the better games you can get for Super Nintendo.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 07/09/03, Updated 07/09/03