NBA Jam

"There is nothing quite like watching Bill Clinton get smashed in the face..."

NBA Jam was originally an Arcade game that was a pretty big success. Boasting all 27 NBA teams with 2 actual players from each team, and up to 4 player action, NBA Jam was one of the mega hits in the arcades in the early 90's. Midway and Acclaim saw how popular it was and quickly ported it to every system known to man that was still relevant. There are versions of NBA Jam on systems many people have never heard of. NBA Jam was not only a huge phenomenon at the arcade but in homes, including on the SNES.

Game Play
What we have here is your basic two on two basketball with some awesome twists. It features 2 star players from every NBA team in the early 1990's (1993-1994 season I believe). Guys like James Worthy and Vlady Divac for the Lakers, Clyde "The Glide" Drexler for Portland, Christian Laettner for the T-wolves, and Scottie Pippin for the Bulls. Yup. Scottie Pippen and Horace Grant on the Bulls. Where's Michael Jordan? Well, this game was released during the time that Jordan decided to try baseball. That's alright though, because there are enough NBA stars to keep you excited.

Each guy has four stats and is usually the compliment of his team mate so nearly all the teams are balanced. The view is from the side of the court and shows half the court at a time and always follows the ball. There are arrows to signify where a player is who is off screen, but these arrows do not show how far away he is. He could be right up against the basket or almost to the half court line and you cannot tell. The game works like most basketball games do. It follows most of the rules, such as switching possessions at each quarter, has a three point line, times each quarter, stuff like that. However, one thing it does not do is call fouls. That's right. You can play as dirty as you want and not get called for it. On the in bounds pass you can drill the guy with a huge body check that would land you in the penalty box if it were hockey and there is no whistle. While he is going up for a monster dunk, grab his feet and send him crashing to the floor. It doesn't hurt the guy, so no harm, no foul. It is the only way to play.

The game will keep track of many stats for you. Through a terrible password system, it will keep an entire season for you, so long as you enter the same initials each time. At the end of every game, you get a password that lets you continue your season. It is comprised of letters and numbers and is twenty characters long though. It is annoying to enter and is easily messed up. Is that a 5 or an S? H or M? I find it best to write down any possible letters you think it may be, and if you get it wrong, reset and try again. After you get 3 or 4 passwords, you will start to recognize which letters and numbers are which. The cool thing is that the passwords are interchangeable between the SNES and Game Gear versions of the game. The game will also keep track of your in game stats. Points scored, dunks, steals, blocks, assists. Things like that. This is pretty awesome after you have played for a while and look for a new challenge. Try and see if you can hit more than 45 three pointers in one regulation game. This also works for bragging rights when playing with friends.

Up to four people can play in one game and as few as one person. When playing single player, the CPU will control your team mate for the most part, but if you want him to pass or shoot, you can make him do so at any time. There is also a mode where you will control whoever has the ball so you don't have to worry about your team mate. Either mode actually works really well so it is just a matter of personal preference. Another thing about single player is that if you are clobbering a team, the computer will adjust to your skill level and try to make it interesting. A poor defensive team will suddenly steal the ball and start draining 3 point shots. This is bad if you aren't expecting it and were ahead by chance but when you become really good at the game, it keeps you honest and makes it a challenge. As you play through a season, each team gets harder and harder making it realistic because, lets face it, not even Kobe Bryant could put up 80 points by him self against every team.

Well, I can't talk about the game play of NBA Jam without mentioning once crucial part. The dunks! This is a huge part of what makes the game so great. The game grants you the ability to do unrealistic slam dunks with ease. You can jump two body lengths above the rim and slam it down, smashing the backboard and hurting everyone around you. You can do a triple somersault from the free throw line and slam it down hard. You can also be in the middle of a dunk and have someone push you right into the rim, face first. Ouch.

Score 10

Controls
The controls work really well in the game. All buttons are responsive. Tapping buttons give you different results than holding buttons which opens up more moves like throwing elbows and had fakes. Dunks are a little bit difficult to do, especially at first. It will be frustrating at first but you will get the idea of things real fast. If you don't like the way the controls are set up, there is an option to change them to several different combinations. It is a pretty good transition from an arcade stick to a controller.

Score 9

Sound
The sounds of NBA Jam, while not as great as the Genesis version, are pretty sweet. The menu music is rockin' but does become annoying after it sits for 10 minutes or so. Fortunately, you won't be in the menus for anywhere close to that time. The sound effects are part of the NBA Jam charm. In game there is no music, which is good because there isn't at a real NBA game either. There is an announcer who will give different phrases, such as "From Down Town" or "Ugly Shot" as well as sounds for passing, dribbling, the ball hitting the rim, and various other noises associated with basketball. One impressive noise is when shoes squeak on the floor. I am surprised they thought to put that one in there. One thing I dislike about this version is that Boomshakalaka is not said too often. You can easily go an entire game without hearing it. It is the one sound that almost every kid associated with NBA Jam and it barely is said. At least it IS there though. There'd be a problem if it wasn't.

Score 9

Graphics
While the graphics aren't that of the arcade version, they are still pretty sweet for the SNES. Brightly colored and well defined are the players and the court. No slowdown or flickering is experienced. The players actually look like their real life counterparts. There isn't just a palate swap between teams here. Each and every player looks like he should. Short guys are short, tall guys are tall, bald guys are bald. Horace Grant even has his goggles. This is how you know time and effort was put into the game. At half time there are even a couple of Full Motion Video clips of the Bulls dunking. That's right. Full Motion Video. It may not look great but the SNES could do it. However, what you see is th extent of what the SNES was capable of. It is still nice to see some real action in the game. There are even better detailed player pictures when selecting a team. All the logos look like they should, even the secret characters look like they are supposed to.

Score 10

Secrets
What? Secret characters? That's right. Perhaps the best aspect of the game are the myriad of hidden characters and different power ups. People like Bill Clinton, Al Gore (remember, this is just after they were elected for the first time), Warren Moon and George "P-funk" Clinton are in the game. As if that wasn't enough, several of the programmers also appear. Clever way of getting their faces out there. One unfortunate thing is that these secret characters do not have their own stats but rather take over stats for the person they replace on the team. It is one down fall, but I can live with it.

There are also many modes such as juice mode of fire mode that you can play with by pressing a certain button combination. These modes make the game more interesting and give it a lot longer life span. After beating all 27 teams, you will automatically be given juice mode every time you input your password. Speaking of passwords, while they may be long and complicated, the can be altered, just slightly, and give you some amazing statistics. You can add 200 wins to your win loss total just by messing with it slightly.

Score 9

NBA Jam is one of those games that you need to own to have a respectable SNES collection. While some may just think it is another sports game, it isn't. NBA Jam goes beyond what many sports games do and actually makes it fun for those who dislike basketball or the NBA. This is definitely one of those games that is twice as much fun with a friend, but is still enjoyable all by your self. If you don't own NBA Jam in some form, you need to.

Pros :
1. Awesome twist to an NBA game
2. Makes a great game to play with friends
3. One of those games that will keep you coming back for more, even 15 years later.

Cons:
1. The password system really could use some work.

Final Score 9

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 03/07/04, Updated 05/29/07