Acclaim is one hot company lately, and their executives must be thanking their lucky stars on a daily bases these days. After landing the exclusive license to convert Midway arcade games to the home market, they pulled of a MAJOR event with last falls release of Mortal Kombat (MK) on "Mortal Monday". Now, not even 6 months later they released NBA JAM and have yet another "Mega Hit" on their hands. (MK is said to have sold 4 Million+ copies worldwide). NBA JAM is actually one of the most successful arcade games made, bringing in the highest earnings per machine so far in arcade game history. So once again Acclaim had their work cut out for them as expectations were bound to be VERY high.
Did they succeed, YES. While there are bound to be things left out or "toned down" when converting a dedicated arcade machine to a 16 meg home cartridge, they have done a very respectable job of duplicating the look and feel that made the arcade game such a smash. If you liked the arcade game, you will like this version. Probably the most surprising aspect of the conversion is the quality of the graphics on the Genesis version. While most Genesis conversions of arcade games appear to be "washed out" due to the hardware's color limitations, NBA JAM appears sharp and colorful. The players do not scale as they did in the arcade version, and the crown in the background is not animated, but these may be things you don't even care about, after all, the play is the thing. How does it play, quite well actually. There is no slow down with game play (except when a player shatters the backboard, and this may have been on purpose). The animation is smooth and quite detailed, and the players push, rebound and shoot in the same way they did in the arcade version.
The sound, while excellent, is not up to the quality or quantity of the arcade game. Many of the voice samples are there, most notably the "Boom Shaka laka" and "Is it the Shoes?". These samples are taken directly from the arcade game, and while not perfect they are well done and get the point across. Obviously on a 16 meg cartridge all the team and player name speech could not be included, but unless you were REALLY fond of this feature in the arcade game you won't really miss it here. The Genesis version also contains a battery to back up your Win-Loss record on your journey to become the grand champion. There are a total of 27 teams to beat to accomplish this, and while it is not a "easy" task most players will be able to do it in a few days or weeks of solid play. Probably one of the most talked about features of the game is the "codes" and hidden characters. Seems by including the Reptile hidden character in MK the designers managed to keep interest in the game at a high rate for longer than normal. Realizing this, the designers of NBA JAM have included many hidden players from the arcade version and some unique for the home game. Cheat codes to give you unlimited turbo and always be "on fire" are also available, but the hidden tank game did not make it into the home version) more than likely due to memory space). Basically, if you liked the arcade game you will be quite happy with this home version. The only trouble you may have in bringing this arcade game home is finding a copy in your local store. The Genesis version seems to be outselling the ability of the manufacturer to make it! (Always a good sign). OH MY!!
As a added bonus, here are a few codes that will work with the GENESIS version. Enter the three initials on the record keeping screen, but on the third initial, instead of pressing the button and entering the code, PRESS THE KEYS INDICATED!
To Play as:
Bill Clinton: ARK - Start & A Al Gore: NET - Start & B Airdog: AIR - Hold start Chow-Chow: CAR - Start & C
To always be "ON FIRE" Press any button 7 times and hold the B, C, and UP buttons until the tipoff. (Do this on the "tonight match-up" screen.
This review Copyright (C) 1994 by R.C. Lafferty for Gamebytes Magazine. All rights reserved.