Midway's NBA vision
Midway's approach to sports games was not like any developer, especially in the 1990s. While many sports games could seem very "by the book" and predictable, Midway designed their games with an arcade and fantastical approach that made both sports fans and regular gamers excited to hop on the home console or the arcade cabinet to duke it out with their favorite sports teams. NBA Jam is the Godfather of this particular approach to sports games, as Midways following titles, NBA Jam Tournament Edition, WWF Wrestlemania: The Arcade Game, NBA Hangtime, and the NFL Blitz series seem to follow suit.
Graphics
NBA Jam has a very specific and iconic look, making it very easy to point out and identify compared to other sports titles, such as a game like "Bulls Vs Blazers" for example. NBA Jam's graphic style is a mix of realism and cartoony with a stylized approach. It really does have an overwhelming charm to it to be remembered for years and years. Special effects like being "on fire," (where the ball is actually on fire) or shattering the backboard after slam dunking the ball through the hoop after front flipping in the air from what appears to be 20 feet, visually get the point across and make this game stand out amongst other sports games. The angle at which the court is displayed is very easy to navigate, whereas other sports games are more "top-down" making some of these games seem more "tabletop" and less exciting. Markers above player's heads make finding your player easy to identify while running, stealing, and shooting all over the court in this high-speed exaggerated game, making this fluid and fast gameplay style easy to adapt to. The colors are bright and pop with excitement. Visually, NBA Jam's fantastical approach is met graphically, but never seems to step out of bounds in terms of pure fantasy (until you're propelled into the air doing a 360 slam dunk). NBA Jam seems to push the hardware it is running on as it performs smoothly and flawlessly no matter how much action is on the screen. It's also important to note that on the team selection screen, there are photo-realistic (or at least photo-realistic for the SNES and SEGA Genesis) portraits of a slew of NBA players across all teams (except Michael Jordan).
Gameplay
The first word that comes to mind when thinking of NBA Jam's gameplay is "FUN". NBA Jam is a 2-on-2 experience simplifying the sport. Many rules also do not apply in NBA Jam which simplifies the sport even more. You can push players and elbow players, knocking them to the ground with no penalty. The only real NBA rule that seem to stand was goaltending. Other than that, this is a no-holds-barred NBA arcade experience leaving you completely hellbent on stealing and shooting as the score racks up quickly! Scoring three goals in a row puts your team "on fire" mode making scoring/dunking easier (especially three-point shots) all while the ball is visually on fire!
As much fun as this game is for its fast-paced excitement and extreme dunks, there aren't many modes at all. The only modes you can choose are "head to head" or "team game". "Head to head" just means you and another real human player would verse each other, while "team game" (you guessed it) puts you and a friend on the same team. This makes replay value low, although I would like to point out one of my main points following this statement. Although NBA Jam has a lack of game modes and a low replay value, I would like to specify it has a low replay value in terms of initial acute sessions. After having a blast playing this game and finally winning (which can actually be easier said than done) makes you feel very content as playing for extended periods of time seems a bit unnecessary. However, returning for another session of NBA the following day for a quick game or two is not out of the question. This is a phenomenal quick pick-up-and-put-down type of game that can always feel appropriate even before playing a different long extensive game as your follow-up. This makes NBA Jam have very strong long-term staying power. It truly feels like a fun fast-paced arcade game made and designed specifically that way.
The controls are simple. One button for passing (when you have the ball) and stealing/shoving, (when you do not have the ball) and one button to shoot/dunk (when you do have the ball) and jump (when you do not have the ball). This makes the game essentially a two-button game, besides the turbo button, which is the "R" button on Super Nintendo (this allows you to run and perform slightly faster), making the game very easy to learn, pick up, and play for quick bursts of exciting basketball action.
Overall experience
NBA Jam is a very fast-paced, fantastical, quirky, and stylized sports game with charm sweating from every pore. Its iconic graphics and "on fire" ability make NBA Jam stand out by shaking things up. Quick sessions are fun and easy to squeeze in during your busy day-to-day lives, making NBA Jam a game that can bring a very authentic arcade experience in your own home. My main complaint about NBA Jam is the lack of game modes. There is no season mode or anything of that nature. You just have "head to head" or "team play" making quick short matches (as fun as they are) your only option. Having other modes in NBA Jam would have left players with the option of having longer sessions with this game before feeling like they've done everything from a match or two. The other absolutely absurd fact is that Michael Jordan is not a playable character, which is still mind-boggling to me, as the Bulls' reign was in effect during this time period. Midway did attempt to secure the rights but unfortunately was not able to solidify Jordan in the game. Still, even so, as stated earlier this game is a must-have and can be picked up any day, making NBA Jam an iconic and revolutionary sports game that will go down in gaming history forever.
Score: 8