Facebook – Top 100 FAVORITE Video Games: 88

88: NBA JAM (Arcade and then, well practically EVERYWHERE ELSE)Developer: Midway
Year: 1993

Growing up – and even as an adult – sports video games have been the least popular (as well as least frequent) addition to my video game collections. They can be fun, really, in competitive sessions, not really as a single player experience. I’ve only ever purchased one game in over the past three generation that could fall into the “Sports” genre (NBA 2K9) and while fun, it’s just the same thing over and over again and the fun level dwindles very fast. In the case of the original NBA Jam, the opposite is true.

A fantastic two-on-two basketball game, Jam appeals to me, still, as a game that is incredibly fast-paced and fun, with slick graphics and plenty of little gameplay tweaks not commonly featured in NBA games (even to this day). These include ridiculous slam dunks (sometimes flipping around two-three-four times), breaking the backboard with reckless abandon, and the notion of gaining “On Fire” status – a mode in which missing shots becomes even more difficult to do and, unless you’re playing against someone who knows all the tricks, you’re likely to win the game.

There is a campaign mode featured, yes, where you simply play against every team in the NBA. You select a two-player lineup of your choice in this mode, as well, and – of course – in multiplayer you can easily have four people playing for a party game before the genre of party games had ever been dreamed up. This will lead to name calling, gloating, and roof raising.

The greatest aspect of this game, though, is the fact that, regardless of what system you had in your home, you could get a copy of this game. Even Game Gear users (you won’t be seeing any Game Gear exclusives on this list, I’m sorry to say) had a chance to play it. It meant that everyone could have a chance to experience the game that blasted out of the arcades so many years ago.

All in all, the only sports game to be featured on this list earned its spot with little effort. As a video game player that requires storylines, having a game that is simply about fun and not about a plot, this is an accomplishment. Growing up in a house with four game playing kids helped, too, as there were many opportunities for us to bust out the Sega Genesis control splittler and go to town on games like this. A classic that is missed, NBA Jam will return in the near future on the 360’s Arcade, the Virtual Console on Wii, etc. Will it be any good? I couldn’t tell you, but I’m willing to find out.

Classic Moment:
I for one love the ever-loving-shit out of the things the announcers shout in this game. “BOOOOOOMSHAKALAKA!” and “IS IT THE SHOES?!” are personal favorites of mine, but easily the best of the bunch is “CAN’T BUY A BUCKET” – This, of course, may be because of its use as a nostalgic call-back to the youth of my friends andj I during our years in college, but, alas, what can I say? Comical things are comical.

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Added September 29, 2016
Another game I could just sit down and play nonstop until I died of starvation. Gonna have to get this when I get back to Iowa to play with Jaco or Justin or anyone, ever.