Sega Genesis
Released in 1994 by Sega
Grade: C+
NBA Action 95 is just barely good enough for some short-lived fun. It’s a very basic game that does a nice job placing the player in the middle of its speedy, ahem, action.
Where it falls in the series
It’s Sega’s last basketball game on Genesis. It follows Pat Riley Basketball, David Robinson’s Supreme Court, and NBA Action ’94, and it blows all those games out of the water.
Praises and gripes
The new vertical viewpoint works well, despite the odd visual mix of seeing players from an angle while the court is viewed from the top down. It’s sort of cute, in a cheap way, how tall centers look distinctly lanky while smaller guards resemble little kids.
The control is stiff, but the saving grace is that players move very quickly. With just a bit of effort, you can force your way to the basket, where the majority of points are scored. My go-to trick became finding a cluster of other players to circle around, attempting to pick off my defender as I rushed toward the hoop.
There’s an impressive set of defensive options, but there isn’t much AI affecting offensive players, so the action can get pretty repetitive.
On the bright side, the game logic is very player-centric. Everything that happens is a direct result of what you do. You never get that “the game is playing you” feeling. It’s fairly easy to block shots. You always have to get rebounds yourself. If you happen to time an offensive rebound well, you’ll put it right back in the hoop. It’s easy to lose the ball if you aren’t careful, and it’s worth harassing the opponent to make him turn it over. Fouls occur frequently, but they usually make sense. Free throws are quick and simple, keeping the game moving along fast.
This all sounds good, but there are also stupid little flaws. Sometimes you can’t inbound the ball without turning it over, and teammates often run away from rebound opportunities.
There’s also a cheap quality to the presentation, with a camera sometimes jolting out of position and hilariously simple sound. The crowd goes nuts for any bucket scored by the home team (even a free throw!) and they violently boo for any bucket scored by the visitors, and the arena is practically silent in between. At least Marv Albert keeps up on the mic, making simple calls like “throws a brick,” “rejected,” and “Yes, and it counts!”
All in all, I wouldn’t dare recommend this game unless you’re the type of Genesis collector who stockpiles games and is willing to spend $5 on a game knowing you’ll only play it a couple times.
Published September 28, 2022