|
|
Post by windfisch on Jul 12, 2022 18:37:38 GMT -5
There's plenty fish in the sea I've been told But only one windfisch for sure  For better or worse.  |
|
|
|
Post by excelsior on Jul 18, 2022 1:08:58 GMT -5
|
|
|
|
Post by excelsior on Jul 18, 2022 1:21:43 GMT -5
I'm pretty sure we never owned NBA Jam back in the day but it got a lot of rentals or borrowings, enough to have played it a lot. The game features simplistic gameplay, often allowing for fast dunks that combined with some memorable one-liners of spoken commentary which did a great job of bringing the arcade into the home. As you heat up and power up to being on fire the dunks get especially silly. The game is just all about light fun. Of course it's another game where I found the single player isn't really worth it, especially as the tournament modes long passwords never worked for me. With a friend though I always had a good time with NBA Jam, which is especially noteworthy since I'd never seen a basketball game, didn't know the rules and had no idea who any of the players were.
Ranking B
Oh, and to answer my own question, another sports game I played back in the day for SNES was Sensible Soccer.
|
|
|
|
Post by 🧀Son of Suzy Creamcheese🧀 on Jul 18, 2022 5:48:43 GMT -5
I'm Dutch, so I don't think I'm legally allowed to care enough about basketball to have played a basketball videogame*. This is another one of those classics I think people who grew up after the 16-bit generation don't come back to too much. I don't usually do this but I have a bonus question this week. Sime we gaming enthusiasts usually like to turn our noses up at sports games I'd like to know what's another sports game you played on SNES that I could include in a future game of the week? Please choose something you'll have played enough to be comfortable ranking. Ehm.............eh............Kirby's Dream Course, I guess? Is that sports? *I actually do enjoy watching basketball, but it's never on TV here...instead we get all the boring shit like soccer, or cycling, or ice skating. |
|
|
|
Post by dsparil on Jul 18, 2022 7:04:55 GMT -5
I like other versions of NBA Jam, but I'd give the SNES game a C. It's too hard to understand what's going on even with only two players per team. It feels like it's on autopilot most of the time which isn't a feeling I get with other basketball games.
I did play a lot of SNES sports games, but I cannot remember any of them anymore. I think it was mostly the standard EA Sports games. What I remember the most was this one soccer game where all the teams had really weird names like Nasty Things and Chinese Food.
|
|
|
|
Post by spanky on Jul 18, 2022 7:21:22 GMT -5
I've never been a huge sports games guy but in a way I've always admired the people who buy the yearly updates of EA sports sims and play full seasons.
As far as SNES sports games I've really only played a handful. I did spend a lot of time with NBA Live 95 and I've played pretty much every pro wrestling game on the system so any of those would work. Oh and Super Punch Out if that counts.
NBA Jam though! I played the hell out of this. The popularity of this game dovetailed nicely with my interest in the NBA in the 1990s. I was extremely glad to play a home version as I hated how the arcade version charged you money each quarter...even if you were winning!
Not sure what I have to say about it really. It's fun, it's very addicting and one of the best multiplayer games on the system. Computer assistance bullshit aside, it's a fun single player experience as well. Maneuvering around defenders with graceful application of the Turbo button and performing a crazy over the top dunk is extremely satisfying. It's also loaded with secrets and codes. Shattering the backboard while playing as hidden character Bill Clinton was peak hilarity when I was a kid. It's just a cool game too that really tapped into the youth zeitgeist. Even when I was a kid, talking about Mega Man X or Super Mario All Stars seemed like geeky game shit to my peers...but NBA Jam? I could get everyone to talk about that.
I would give this game a B. It's very fun but it is missing something. Tournament Edition, with it's extra features is an A though.
|
|
|
|
Post by ommadawnyawn2 on Jul 18, 2022 8:04:36 GMT -5
I didn't enjoy this game that much but I've only played it properly in single player (it felt like you were just trading goals with the opponent without much depth to it), maybe trying it briefly in 2-player 10 years ago or more. So I'll sit this one out.
|
|
|
|
Post by excelsior on Jul 18, 2022 10:07:47 GMT -5
Stuff like Kirby's Dream Course and Super Punch Out of course counts as a sports game, though I knew I could cover those. I definitely won't be putting many others here since people have largely not played them. spanky - I'm a little wary of posting wrestling games as a selection since they seem to be very niche. I might try one of the WWF ones one time and see how it goes. There's little chance of pushing Fire Pro to it's deserved top spot unfortunately. ommadawnyawn2 - That's exactly how single player NBA Jam goes. Even the newer game on Wii/360 was the same way. With multiplayer though a lot of urgency is added and it becomes quite scrappy trying to gain control of the ball. What I remember the most was this one soccer game where all the teams had really weird names like Nasty Things and Chinese Food. That would be Sensible Soccer  |
|
|
|
Post by dsparil on Jul 18, 2022 10:29:57 GMT -5
I'm surprised I remembered those two team names all these years later! That seemed like the most likely game when I was looking at screenshots to refresh my memory, but I think the US version being called Championship Soccer '94 threw me off. Had a lot of fun with that one.
|
|
|
|
Post by vnisanian2001 on Jul 18, 2022 11:33:54 GMT -5
I think this is a case where the Arcade original is better. As far as ports go, the Genesis version is better than SNES. The SNES one is lacking music during gameplay.
|
|
|
|
Post by Snake on Jul 18, 2022 14:09:30 GMT -5
I think this is a case where the Arcade original is better. As far as ports go, the Genesis version is better than SNES. The SNES one is lacking music during gameplay. Definitely prefer the arcade version the most! I think for NBA Jam, a lot of the fun was being familiar with 1990's basketball players. Seattle Supersonics no more... but at least they're immortalized in this game. Sean Kemp, Scottie Pippen, Shaquille O'Neal - you really got a lot of the greats. It was a bit weird that they pared down a 5-player game into 2 players in a kind of, street basketball pick-up game. But I think the decision suits it towards being a face-paced arcade game. The crazy helicopter dunks, backboard breaking slams, and "he's on fire" are pretty damn iconic moments for me. Overall, this game has a soft spot in my life, playing with friends between matches of Street Fighter 2, Mortal Kombat, and all the Neo Geo fare. Ranking B+ |
|
|
|
Post by windfisch on Jul 19, 2022 12:41:31 GMT -5
Back in the day I actually cared a little about Basketball: I played now and then (which is not to say that I was any good, mind you) and while not a huge fan, the NBA hype also caught on with me, to some extent. Nowadays, however, I don't care about pro-sports whatsoever. As stated earlier in my Mortal Kombat post, this game's Game Boy port is the other title in my GB collection that I'm not too fond of. It almost would've been a decent version, if it weren't for the fact that the developers didn't find a good solution to translate the three button gameplay (shoot, pass and turbo) to the 2 button system. Even though you can choose which button is tied to which function, one of those will be have to be bound to Start. Imagine the hand cramps, playing GB in "claw" mode! If only they had come up with an option to use a d-pad double-tap for turbo or some sort of auto-turbo... Anyway, the SNES game doesn't have those issues, luckily. And back then I did play enough of it at friends to appreciate it for what it is: a fun multiplayer game. As such I certainly wouldn't mind a couple of matches these days - if I ever got the chance. Played solo it doesn't hold much appeal for me, but played with friends I would assume it's still worth a B.
edit: As for other sports games? I'm somewhat familiar with Sensible Soccer (much more fun to control than Kick Off), but on Atari ST and one of the revisions on PC DOS. And Speedball 2 on Amiga was great. I can't think of any SNES sports titles I'd feel comfortable enough to rank atm. Super Tennis (World Circuit) was kinda fun and Super (Formation) Soccer had a cool pseudo 3D gimmick. But I barely played either, I'm afraid.
|
|
|
|
Post by retr0gamer on Jul 20, 2022 7:53:08 GMT -5
In terms of sport games, Ice Hockey translates really well. The NHL hockey games are very good. Madden as well was good in the 16 bit era. Fifa is shit, sensible soccer was way better. Also golf, the PGA games are really good.
The problem with all these games is they are much better on the Megadrive owing to the much faster processor and sprite handling. They are much smoother. The one that bucks the trend is International Superstar Soccer Deluxe which is a huge amount of fun even for someone like me that turns their nose up at sports and football games. It got a late Megadrive release but the SNES is its home.
|
|
|
|
Post by excelsior on Jul 25, 2022 0:43:34 GMT -5
Week #11 - Super R-Type
 
A Galactic Battle Begins! Super R-Type combines stages from the arcade R-Type II with new levels and released soon after the SNES launch worldwide.
Features:
7 Stages
You'll need lightning reflexes, intuitive moves and a big dose of cosmic luck to hold your own!
7 Bosses
Are they invincible? "R" you ready? The mutants "R" ready for you!
A Familiar Arsenal
Now the evil Empire is poised to launch a new attack on Earth. Only the revolutionary R-9 stands between these monsters and doom.
|
|
|
|
Post by excelsior on Jul 25, 2022 0:56:54 GMT -5
Super R-Type is a weird one, being kind of a bastardised version of R-Type II. Sometimes it feels like I'm playing R-Type, other times it feels like I'm doing guest spots in some other game. The new stages just don't match the presentation or tone of the series and feel pretty generic. The first stage is a little long and also makes the mistake of not allowing you to power your weapons until the very end ensuring it doesn't make use of anything unique to R-Type. And of course this version famously removes checkpoints making the game really frustrating. Thankfully playing on an emulator resolves this issue, but that obviously doesn't count for original hardware. Fortunately there's some really great tunes in the soundtrack so that's one saving grace.
A random point that bothers me - why when the game features so much slowdown did they allow for movement speed to be so ridiculously fast? It becomes incredibly hard to control the ship. I'd have liked a speed down power up. There's rare moments when the game runs at full speed where it becomes incredibly jarring.
Ranking - D
|
|
