Last Generation Gamer: NBA Jam

Last Generation Gamer is Seed Sings way of reflecting on the greatest video games that were released before the current gen systems.  These are not necessarily reviews.  Let's look at these thoughts as a walk down memory lane.  If you have any ideas for Last Generation Gamer contact us seedsing.rdk@gmail.com

Today I'm going to talk about what I consider to be the greatest sports video game of all time. Now, first off, I do not play a whole lot of video games. When it comes to non sports games, I played stuff like Crash Bandicoot, Sonic the Hedgehog, Mario Brothers and fighting games(i.e., Streetfighter, Tyson's Punchout and Tekken).But, I used to play mainly sports games when I played video games. Tecmo Bowl was the very first football video game I played and fell in love with. Then, Madden came out and that was the greatest thing ever. I'm not a hockey or soccer fan, but I played a ton of Blades of Steel and Fifa on any system I could. I'm not a golfer, but I love me some Wii golf. I played a lot of baseball games on various systems. I loved all the EA baseball games that were released for the Xbox and PlayStation. I was a huge fan of early baseball games like RBI Baseball and the Ken Griffey Jr baseball game for the Nintendo.

Then, I found basketball video games and college football. First of all, this was the hardest part when I was debating the best sports game of all time in my head the other day. I loved, and was pretty damn good at, NCAA Football for the PlayStation and the Xbox. That was my jam. I figured that game out pretty early on and I was dominant. Just ask our editor RD about my acumen at NCAA Football (Ed note: Ty has a cheat code). He has thrown more than one controller at me during games. NCAA Football was the best, until they discontinued the making of the game. That broke my heart. I've heard rumors that they may bring it back, and I hope they do, but I deeply miss that game. That was the one game I would buy on the day it came out. NCAA Football was so much more important to me than games like Halo or World of Warcraft, or whatever other shooter or strategy games that came out that my friends played.

NCAA Football was great, but not the best. I have, for the most part  liked every basketball video game I have played. I love basketball, so it's a natural fit for me. I played a ton of Bird vs. Magic whenever I could get on the Nintendo at home. I adored the game Double Dribble. As I got older I got really into the Streetball series of games they made. RD and I had crazy, epic battles, that where even, at those Streetball games. Those games were a ton of fun. I play, very occasionally, maybe once or twice a year, the NBA2K games. Those are fun, but they are a bit harder than some of the other games I mentioned. But, the game that I keep going back to and continue to play, wherever I can find it, be it my Xbox or my iPhone, is NBA Jam.

NBA Jam is the greatest sports video game that has ever existed. NBA Jam was a genius moment by the creators of that game. I love that it is a 2 on 2 battle with the best players on each team, except for the Bulls. Michael Jordan wouldn't appear on the game because he had his own game, but that is negligent, because NBA Jam still ruled. I remember when it first came out, I was always, and only, the Supersonics. I found out that I could play a video game with my favorite team, with my two favorite players, and I was immediately hooked. The fact that I could be Gary Payton and Shawn Kemp was heaven to me. I would run up and down the court with Payton, freeing space for Kemp, throw Kemp an alley oop, and he would do the most fantastical slam dunk that I could ever dream up. Kemp would grab the ball, put it between his legs, go around his back, put it through his legs and jam it home. And I would do that 50 times a game.

I was pretty damn good with Kemp, Payton and the Sonics, especially when Kemp would catch fire. Everyone that has played the game knows what catching fire means. You make three shots in a row, without the other team making a basket, you are on fire. Being on fire meant that you could make a jumper from almost anywhere on the floor, or if you chose to dunk, you could do things like multiple flips and jump so much higher than anyone trying to defend you. When I would catch fire, I jacked up so many threes from near half court, and they were all cash. When I chose to dunk, it was the best. Catching fire on NBA Jam is the best power up or boost that any video game has ever created.

I played NBA Jam a lot in the 90's on Super Nintendo. When I wasn't the Sonics, I would pick other teams with one small, fast guard and one big leaper that was just as good at blocking shots as they were at dunking. The Magic were great for this with Penny Hardaway and Shaq. You could run with the Knicks with Ewing and John Starks. The Houston Rockets, with Kenny Smith and Hakeem Olajuwon was nearly unstoppable. The 90's era NBA was great for NBA Jam. The teams worked perfectly.

When I went to high school and college, I lost touch with the game. The NBA went through a lull in the early 2000's, and the game wouldn't have been as fun. This also coincided with the 3 or 4 years I stopped watching the NBA because it just wasn't that good. But, as recent as 5 or 6 years ago, I rediscovered NBA Jam while searching for old school games on my iPhone, and I instantly fell back in love. I was also getting heavily back into the NBA at this time as well, so it was kismet. I downloaded the game and I've been playing it ever since. It's really cool with the updated teams and rosters. Now, the best teams are the Warriors, Thunder, Cavs, the Heat and the Spurs. You can run with Curry and Thompson, shoot the lights out from three, especially when you catch fire. The Cavs have LeBron, and he is the greatest player on Earth. Put him with Kyrie Irving and you get that great dual threat of an awesome dunker and blocker with the quick footed, decent enough shooting guard. The Heat have Dwayne Wade and Bosh, pre injury. That gives you two very good shooters, one great defender and Wade gets to the basket with ease on the game. The Spurs have any number of players you could imagine. You can run with Duncan and Parker or LMA and Kawhi or Ginobli and Duncan, basically, the Spurs are really great in the newer NBA Jam. My team is the Thunder. As I said above, I was a Sonics fan, so when they moved to OKC, I followed them. Now, I can play NBA Jam and run with Durant and Westbrook. Durant has a great jump, good for blocking shots and dunking. He can also shoot from outside. Kevin Durant may be the best all around player not named LeBron on the game. Then, you get the fastest player in the NBA, Russell Westbrook, who is also a very good defender in the game. I love running with the Thunder and I have won many virtual titles with them.

What it all comes down to, NBA Jam was the perfect creation for all NBA fans out there. The game isn't that hard to figure out and you don't have to worry about a 5 man team. You get to choose just your two favorite players from your team. It's a perfect sports world. The graphics and the gameplay, as far as sports games goes, is second to none. NBA Jam is at the top of the mountain as far as sports video games, or for that matter, just video games goes. NBA Jam is the best and I'm so glad that they keep making it and keep updating it. I love this game and I will always love this game. Thank you for all the fun you have provided me NBA Jam.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. When he could not be the Sonics, Ty would settle for playing as Bill Clinton. Make sure you follow Ty on twitter @tykulik.