Lost Classics: NBA Jam (Arcade, SNES, Genesis, Game Boy, Game Gear, Sega CD, 32X, Playstation, Saturn)

Before this game came out, I never considered myself much of a sports player, and save for various college sports games, I still don’t. Now sure, I got a few chuckles out of Mutant League Football and Ice Hockey, and I played Baseball Stars to death, but other than that, sports games were too complicated for me. That’s why me, and millions of others, enjoyed this game. While it wasn’t as complex as Madden or NBA Live, the fact that it was so easy to pick up and play made it a lot more fun to play.

Instead of the usual five vs five, you play two vs two match ups with two stars from your favorite NBA teams. When you hit the paint, the game became even more different, as your ballers pulled off dunks from hundreds of feet in the air, traveled around the court at the speed of light (thanks to turbo), and even combusted into flames when they made three consecutive shots. Best of all, there were no referees, so players could throw their fists around as many times as they wanted to! Another major part of this game’s appeal was the massive amounts of hidden easter eggs in the game. With codes being input at the beginning of the match, you could hit the court as Bill or Hillary Clinton, Al Gore, Will Smith, and even George Clinton! Why would you want to play as Shaq when you can slam dunks as the [former] president and his first lady? (It should be noted that these codes would inspire the codes seen in Mortal Kombat 3.)

A sequel, NBA Jam Tournament Edition, was released the following year that added in even more goodness. Unfortunately later entries in the series, such as the 3-D NBA Jam Extreme, and the spin-off NCAA game College Slam would lose steam. Thankfully, NBA Jam would serve as the inspiration for other ‘extreme’ takes on sports games, weather they were created by Midway or other companies. Not the least of which are NFL Blitz, MLB Slug Fest, Wayne Gretzky’s 3D Hockey, and the NBA Ballers series. This is probably a good thing too, as due to the roster updates that would have to be made, there is little chance of seeing this game again, be it on Xbox Live, Wii Virtual Console, or otherwise. Until then, should you come across this cabinet in an actual arcade, pop some quarters in and play one of the greatest sports games ever. It may not be very deep, but you’ll be hard pressed to find another sports experience like it.