Super Nintendo
Released in 1992 by Tecmo
Grade: D-
The only reason to play this game is to help yourself appreciate how far basketball games have come.
Where it falls in the series
This is the sequel to the not-so-super NES version. It’s one of the last games to include Michael Jordan during his playing career, and when the Sega Genesis version came out a year later, he wasn’t in it.
Gripes
If that retro side-scroll look seems charming, believe me, the charm wears off quick. Not even Tecmo’s classic cut scenes can save this game. It’s bland and boring, lacking any basketball-like dynamics.
Players run in slow motion and behave like simple machines. There’s no driving to the hoop, just passing around for a jumpshot, which inevitability looks ridiculous. You can get a fast break off a long rebound, but sometimes the camera doesn’t even keep up as you pass ahead to your teammates. Defense feels like a futile endeavor, and fouls occur randomly and often, leading to silly-looking free throws where the player takes a jump shot! That lack of attention to detail sums up this poor attempt at video basketball.