Ranking all 25 Basketball Games on the Sega Genesis!
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- čas přidán 16. 10. 2021
- With the NBA Season tipping off in a few days, I figured now was the PERFECT time to do a ranking of all the basketball games on the Sega Genesis! There's some absolute quality selections here, and some god awful duds as well! Let's take a look!
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For people scoring at home and for the benefits of those with flash photography: I am now aware that NBA Live 95 and 96 are set to Arcade by default and not simulation. That's my bad. I still don't understand why a Simulation style basketball game would be set to non-simulation rules, though.
i dont remember setting mines on the SNES, but i do remember on the GEN it wasn't by default, which is crazy
Dick Vital my favorite cuz they tried 3d and Jimmy my favorite pool cuz 3d
Goddamnit, I came on here just to explain this very thing to you about the NBA Live series only to realize you beat me to the punch. Well played.
Coach K basketball and NBA Live 95-98 were all basically the same game, the best basketball games on the console. I think 97 might be the best version honestly though! NBA Jam TE of course was MILES better if you had the 32 bit version, I still have a full box copy of TE for Saturn and it's just so arcade perfect, really not any worry with load times, the Genesis version seems like absolute shit by comparison. But it's really not, it's still good it just has worse graphics sound and visuals. Seeing the secret characters on Saturn is still a treat lol.
Does playing it on simulation mode put all the NBA live games in S tier?
Wow! A retro gaming channel that acknowledges sport games exist.
Love em. Some of my favorite memories are playing sports games. :) Thanks for watching!
With NBA Live, you have to change the rules from arcade to simulation.
Lol thank u bro I think he mite be a young boul smh 😭😭🤦🏾♂️🤦🏾♂️
Counterpoint, it's way more fun in arcade mode 🤣🤣
Yeah, man. This baffled me in the video. NBA Live 96 on Genesis was a LEGENDARY hoops sim.
The stats were unprecedented at the time. Tons of hidden characters. Great gameplay.
@@JustinLeeper Not to mention Jordan and Barkley as hidden characters.
I was yelling at my phone for this guy to turn the rules on !!!!!
I know this is over a year old but I think you missed one. Well one for sure, and that is Pat Riley's Basketball .
NBA Live is a Master Piece! Change options "Arcade" to "Sim" and you have all the rules.
And NBA Live have "books of plays" tactics man! Amazing!
Yup, I 100% dropped the ball on that when I played these! I have zero clue whn EA would default their settings to 'Arcade' when they were selling a Sim game, but I should have checked!
Live 96 and Coach K are GOATED
Coach special K corn flakes lol
Live 96 overall GOAT position..
I...actually really liked NBA Action '94. It was a random rental because my local video store was doing a 3 games for $4 weekend and I had a fiver as a 14 year old and that felt like $1000 back in 1993. Played it and immediately loved it. But spent most of that weekend playing some game called NHL '94 with my best friend.
Oh man, there was nothing better than the experience of the cheap rental weekend! Being able to get a stack of games with zero responsibilities was the best. :) I'll have to give NBA Action another look - I might be unfairly critical of it. Thanks for watching, and respect to Manu - one of the true GOATs, and we were so lucky to see him play in the NBA.
I Loved NBA Action 94 a ton-I bought it -and then traded it and then bought it again years later -Hated 95 though!!!
@@SquarePegs NBA action 95 the one with Ewing WAS slow. But that was it's strength for me. I would put my PG at C and go for 70 points every game.
This was one of the first games that allowed you to adjust and make your own team.
I made a team of ALL Spreewells.
Unstoppable
I was confused to your comments about NBA live 95, 96 not following the rules.
You probably played on simulation
I loved those faces they were so realistic you could even call plays
To this day live 97, 98, were the best simulation games as far as game play. Better than 2k.
The Nintendo version went to arcade. Genesis version stayed grounded.
Only game I think that lets you take a charge lol.
Fun times
I had the bulls vs lakers game when I was a kid. Loved that game
David Robinson was very much in his game. In order for you to play against him you had to do either the MVP mode or play in the playoff tournament and have your team win... your team would then play against his team. But yeah he is 100 percent in that game.
Dude, thank you so much for telling me how to find him! I'd completely forgotten about that aspect of it.
Thoroughly enjoyed this and I can’t fault any of your gradings!
Why doesn't anyone mention that in Barkley's Shut up and Jam 2 there are special moves, where you turn into a freaking Dragon? That alone makes it worth while. I remember playing this as a kid and absolutely loving the destructible baskets and the dragon specials.
I had both , dragon specials?
I didn't mention it, because I legit didn't know until reading this comment.
You pretty much nailed the rankings on these games. Enjoyed the video. However, you missed a Sega Genesis basketball game, Pat Riley Basketball. I owned that one as a kid and was shocked you didn’t mention it here on this list.
Worst part? I had the gameplay and the VO recorded and completely forgot about it in the edit. Nostalgia might be talking here, but I loved that game. Would have been a B or a B-.
Love this - Genesis had really epic Basketball games! Cheers
Super late to the conversation. So glad someone is reviewing the retro sports games! I remember when Lakers vs. Celtics came out and was blown away that the players looked somewhat realistic and they were different heights! Putting Robert Parrish in paint and swatting basketballs was ground breaking and something I had never seen before. It’s also cool to see how these games evolved into what we had now. Each of these games tried to bring something unique to the table that the modern games have plucked from. Great video! Do more of these with sports titles!
I tend to do a few a year - so be on the lookout. :) I think I'll be doing a hockey one for October for puck drop this year (and because it's my favorite sport!)
100% agreed on Lakers vs. Celtics - and being blown away by the effectiveness of The Chief is one of those keystone memories I have as a kid. Growing up as a Celtics fan in Massachusetts, the Parrish/Bird/McHale trio in Lakers vs. Celtics made me feel like I was on the Parquet floors with them at the Garden.
Cool reviews video, subscribed 😁
Jordan vs Bird was the basketball game that I played the most on Genesis. I loved that game. Especially, the slam dunk and three point contests. I didn’t play much of the one-on-one competition. I would give that game an A, it’s not perfect, so I wouldn’t give it an A+, but an A would suffice.
I played it a bunch as well back in the day, it just didn't hold up comparing it to other games on this list.
I loved it as well. I just played it the other day and was still fun as heck
NBA Action lets you make players and rosters, love it!
Loved this video! Not a fan of Coach K (at all), but I played a ton of that game growing up! Thanks!
Just dug out my old copy of NBA Jam tournament edition....looking forward to watching this
NBA Jam TE is SO GOOD. Thanks for checking the video out!
NBA Live 95 is my favorite. My cousins and I played the crap out of it as kids (and we changed the rules from "arcade" to "simulation" in the options thanks to the reviewer from GamePro mentioning it in his review).
P.S. Too bad Mutant League Basketball got canceled...that would've been an awesome alternative to NBA Jam T.E. (an awesome game in its own right).
Thank yoi so much for this you took me back to a Great tim even tho i dint play sport games on the 16 bit era consoles coming to the States in 1994 i only played hockey and soccer in Russia and I couldn't even tell what was going on on the old consoles but i miis the 90s
Thank You for good review ;)
Jam TE is my jam. It’s literally the only sports game I’ve ever actually enjoyed and that game was played more on my genesis than any other game I’ve ever had for the console. BOOM SHAKALAKA!
HE'S HEATING UP!
He's on fire!
Try baseball stars 2 originally on the neo geo. Great fun- arcadey baseball. And awesome pixel art.
And around the same time there was a basketball game on the same fast paced arcade style called nba give n go. Was original w its presentation/perspective, had exciting alley ops. Just make sure to play the arcade ver- not the snes port.
NBA jam > TE you cant break the backboard on TE
I love Jam but man you must have missed out on Mutant League Football / Hockey. Those are absolutely top tier sports games.
“Go get the damn ball” 😂😂😂 Shut up and jam was my ish back in the day.
All I remember about Pat Riley Basketball is the crooked video rental store charged us for a missing manual when I know for a fact it never had one.
How much did they charge?
@@AleisterMeowley Like $10. Which in 1994 was like $100 today.
@@mrwednesdaynight absolute crooks
I love the videos! You’re a little close to the camera, my only critique! 😂 keep em coming bro, I like!!!
Thank you, Hank! The camera positioning is a work in progress - I appreciate the feedback!
Nice Video Man👍🏾
Turn the rules on in NBA live. You can play simulation and with fouls. Same with coach K.
Completely forgot that the old games used to default to arcade rather than sim - thanks!
David Robinson: he appears when you win the Tournament. He challenges you with an all-star team. And regarding the court flips, you have to change that in settings to keep it seamless.
Excellent info to have, thank you!
Great content man you had me laughing on some of your description of the video games lol.
#New Subscriber
Keep going hopefully you reach 100k
Thanks so much! Appreciate you being here. :)
Just came across the video, thanks for the nostalgia. Was gonna give it an upvote, but can't hit that thumbs up to break that number!
Thanks for watching!
When I re-bought a Genesis a couple years ago (after giving my original away in the early 2000s), NBA Jam TE was one of the first cartridges I tracked down. So many hours playing that in the summer and head to head with friends. ❤️ The only thing it's missing is breaking the backboard.
Also: would you retroactively move any of the earlier NBA Live games up to S Tier knowing about the simulation mode? Great reviews!
96 would absolutely move to to an S tier. :) 95 would be close, but I think 96 is just a step better. Thank you so much for watching!!
Gooood Memories thank you for the stream
I really liked the David Robinson game growing up. Air Allnite was my go to!
When selecting teams, it was always him and Downtown Tate.
@@andydoane You guys both know the vibes!
Oh snap! I remember him!
Pat Riley Basketball was a flagship game for the Genesis. Jammit was a classic "so bad it's good" game. Also, it seems there are 26 games here. Loved the reviews though!
I had footage and VO recorded for Pat Riley and completely spaced it on the final product. Would have been a B or B-.
Jammit I just overlooked, possibly subconsciously. 🤣
I loved Super Tecmo NBA Basketball. When I started collecting video games as an adult that was one of the first genesis games I grabbed
Cool.
I used to play most of those games on The Sega Genesis however I enjoyed the SNES version of NBA Live 96 plus it had hidden NBA players to unlock. The first basket ball game I got on the Genesis was Pat Riley Basketball, it was sort of like Double Dribble.
One of my older friends convinced me to "temporarily" trade my Tecmo Bowl for his NBA Challenge on Gameboy however I didnt ever get my game back.
As a kid I had college slam and NBA live 95 both great basketball games very fun and simple
Both excellent games! College Slam really surprised me!
Awesome video. What about the 2K series tho?? Or ncaa on 360??
I wish the big time sports leagues were still open to letting many developers take a shot at making games based off their sports/leagues. Competition always helps the consumer and forces progress. Instead, these days all we ever get is iterations that usually just amount to roster updates.
Man, you are preaching to the choir here. I worked at EA for the better part of a decade in the Madden/NCAA/NASCAR/PGA studio, and everything, even back then, was completely homogenized. There's no innovation or risk anymore.
@@SquarePegs Yup… it was so much better back in the day. So many options!
@@SquarePegs The best and worst thing that ever happened to sports video games was EA being pushed by Sega and Microsoft. They just snuffed out competition...it was a weak sauce move, but even more stupid on the NFL's part. You're mad an all time game was sold at a number to peel gamers away? Fine...but don't just kill the license for everyone else! Unreal. Madden has been on a steady, precipitous decline ever since. Starting with that awful, generic version of Madden '06 on the 360 and PS3.
In David Robinson game, you can change the screen switching thing in the settings.
And then, it becomes way more tolerable. It's actually a very underrated basketball game on the Megadrive.
More arcade than the NBA live games, so it's a great choice for people who want something simple and fun.
I'll check that out! Thank you for letting me know!
This video just popped in my feed.
Wow
I still have many of these at home from my childhood.
LAL vs BOS
Bulls vs LAL
Bull vs POR
Pat Riley Basketball
Team USA Basketball
Thanks for watching! :)
Pat Riley basketball should’ve made it in here because it was a great game
You're 100% correct. I completely overlooked it.
@@SquarePegs great content. Now subbed and liking
@@HuGarden2K I appreciate that! Thanks so much for being here!
My friend had Pat Riley basketball and the basketball in the game was bigger than the players heads.
I got used to the mechanics and it plays well. I just wish the quarters were not so long lol.
Pat Riley Basketball was epic.
And it was the FIRST basketball game on the Genesis.
I got it for Christmas 1990.
Still have the game and plastic case 😂
I played Arch Rivals in the arcade. all the time outs were for insuring more quarters. I must have burned through 5 bucks in quarters on that game because my friend wanted to keep playing and I wanted to play other games with my 5 bucks lol
All the NBA Lives were fast & fun, me and my cousin played a lot of these games growing up. We were always shocked and hyped playing the 1st Barkley Shut up and Jam when Charles would say "Gimme the damn ball" lol. Coach K was underrated. I swear there was a dude on UMass or UNLV that could hit threes from anywhere on the Court! Had to ban that team in head to head matchups. Great list and I agree with your rankings!
The nba live 95 vs 96 vs 98 debate is infinite
I like 98 at least it yells 3 when you make 3 pointer
18:58 "I didn't experience any weird arcade stuff here."
As dude is just flagrantly pushed down and the ball taken from him with no whistle 😂
Hey, it was the 90s. We tossed people to the courts without fear of a whistle all the time. 🤣
My Favorites are Tecmo-NBA Jam TE-NBA Action 94-and Coach K-and NBA Live 98
Coach K deserves the highest accolades. Putting the best college teams in the game with the actual rosters (numbers and ratings not names) at the time was amazing. Aside from TSB it’s my favorite sports game of all time
Love this
Great video.
Thank you, Matt!
I can't think about Shut Up and Jam without thinking about Shut Up and Jam Gaiden, that fan-made RPG
How is this the first time I've heard of that game?!?
Sweet video 📹
It's a shame that we can't reupload a video to replace it with an updated version (like what can be done with music on Bandcamp). Pat Riley Basketball and Jammit got left behind, and I'd be interested to see where they fall on this list.
There will be a "Games I missed and Revisiting the Failure Games" in September, actually! :)
I was a Nintendo guy meaning that I owned the NES, but I did rent a Genesis once with Coach K's College Basketball. At that time, what I loved about that game was players breaking backboards if they dunked it just right.
Excellent job on a genre that needs more videos out there. I hate when gaming channels dismiss sports games so thank you!
You're most welcome! Thanks for stopping by - sports games will always have a home here!
TECMO Bball was a shock for me too
I loved NBA Live 95 & 98...played them so much...
Good stuff
Thanks so much for watching!
Did you do Pat Riley Basketball and I missed it? I used to love that game but it broke in the early 90s and I haven’t played it since!
Coach K…..
The tournament alone
Makes A+
Stil play it today
Can't argue with that. Tournament is legit good.
A video based on all of the Sega Genesis Soccer games would be great !
I will put it on the schedule for next month!
@@SquarePegs I'm a Part Soccer Fan and I Love The Basketball Game Rankings BTW!
I think with NBA Live, another factor you missed out on by playing more exhibition, was its Season mode. Which is why the series was beloved in my house. My brother and I could pick our teams, and play through the season hopefully clashing in the finals. That was the beauty of it for us.
No liberties that's MVP Chuck
The nba live games had rules you just didn't turn them on lol but brung back my child hood memories stayed up all night playing these good job👍🏾👍🏾😅😅😅
Yup, my dumbass autopiloted.🤣🤣 Thanks for checking the video out!
Live '98 was my jam (pun intended). Last game I got for SEGA before I moved to Playstation- then asked and got it for that system too.
NBA live 96 was the most balanced. I played the shit out of 95 and 96. What a time.
Great games, to be sure. Wish I hadn't fucked up on the reviews here, but c'est la vie.
And don’t sleep on Tecmo Basketball! 🏀 💯
cool stuff
Thanks so much for watching!
i had no idea "college slam" was a thing... totally getting that one.
I was in the same boat before this video! It's legit fun, too.
@@SquarePegsI Hear College Slam is Fantastic and I Do With U About NCAA Final Four Being So Awful!
I remember when I got..Shut Up & Jam as a Gift, I wanted NBA Jam Soo bad at the time was so mad..Never heard of it and it was Hard at First..But after I played it more and got the hang of it I started to Like The Game..Didn’t know they had a Part 2
Biggarton Was Here. Peace.
Thanks for watching, Biggarton!
Coach K was tough !! College slam was dope too
The thing that made Lakers vs Celtics fun for me growing up was how easy it was to cheese stealing the ball. Once you figured that out you could absolutely dominate the computer, and beating it 194 - 97 always gave me the warm and fuzzies.
It's not Genesis but I'll never forget going to my old stepdad's family to stay for a weekend from time to time and me and my favorite cousin would smoke and play Showtime NBA on NBC trying to beat it. Don't remember how far we made it but so much fun.
I played a lot of NBA Live 96 and you're right. It's a fun fast paced game but it's arcade style. Unlike the Bulls vs Blazers games, substitutions were unnessary because you're top guys wouldn't get tired. That's where Bulls vs Blazers is better. NBA Action 94 I disagree with you but that's more nostalgic than anything else. Thanks!
Thank you for watching!
NBA Live 95 was seriously fun. Penny Hardaway was the man in that game.
Penny was the man in everything.. Amazing player - we were spoiled in Orlando for a few years there.
Live 95 & Live 96 are classics! Definitely changed the game!
With the vs games and Team USA I would put either a guard at center. Their speed would guarantee a uncontested dunk or lay up on every possession. Good times man good times. 😂
That is BRILLIANT! Awesome exploit!!
Wait what no Pat Reilly! That was an excellent experience at the time
Awesome video....NBA LIVE BABY
You missed one, Jammit! Most likely would've ended up in the D or F tier on your list but I remeber having fun with it as a kid.
Pretty good list! As a Dutchman, the whole college thing is very foreign to me though.
La cantidad de hs que he pasado en nba live 98 destrabando los jugadores leyenda al poner su nombre en el creador de jugadores. Y depues los drafteaba en los equipos que habia disponibles: stealers, blockers, etc
NBA JAM‼️
Charles Barkley's Shut Up and Jam 🏀
NBA Hang Time 🔥
Then 8track beats they'd add for music lol. Bunch of boops and beeps. Reminds me of road rash
Jammit, Nba Live & Nba Jam were my favorites. We always played Nba live with the rules off
College slam was fun with bunch different power ups
Anything that uses that classic Jam formula is in my wheelhouse. Love Slam.
9:40 you have know when to shoot and dunk I love the game I usually beat CPU by 9 with last second 3 😂 (diagonal shots)
Oh, my man - more power to you. I will be fine never playing Dick Vitale ever again. 😂😂😂
Coach K was 1 of the Best college Basketball games eva.!!! It should have gotten an "A" at least! Allen Iverson, Marcus Camby, only if you knew them😅😅And All the Teams Vs Teams you had with the star players they had special moves. You gave it the right grade.
I freely admit I need to revisit the Live games and Coach K - and I plan on doing so! I've actually really been enjoying Live 95, so I can't see why Coach K and 96 wouldn't go up in grades. :)
In order to unlock Barkley in Shut and Jam 2 you have to get a triple double in the final game of the playthrough vs Barkley and Bongo in Phoenix
This is excellent information - thank you!
NBA JAM TE is my favorite sports video game ever!
Great video, but Pat Riley Basketball was a game that you forgot lol. First game I got for my Sega Genesis.
Ironically - one of the first I got for mine as well. Had footage recorded and everything - just spaced on The Coach for the final product. Would have been a B - probably some nostalgia goggles clouding things. :)
And thanks so much for watching!
@@SquarePegs Thanks for doing the video. So many memories from my teenage years.
I just bought NBA Live 96 for 5 €. Great game, really. On "simulation" option, you have the impression to play a NBA 2k in 2D 😊 (almost ;) ... without the advertising, parches, loadings... Just FUN
Ncaa final four reminds me a lot of magic johnson fast break but w upgraded 16 bit graphics
College slam was 🔥
Arcade 1up made me appreciate nba showtime , I never boot up the other two after playing that ond
Do you mean hangtime? A1ups have jam, TE, and hangtime (wish they had showtime even if it was a XL exclusive)
Yeah hang time lol , senior moment 😂
98 live being a thing is mind blowing. that came out the year before dreamcast...
Dude, legit. So bizarre to think of that timeframe.
Thank you for the stream my childhood memories you should do college basketball in college football I know this is old thank you
Thanks so much for watching, Keith! I'll be doing a football video sometime in the next few months, so the College games for the Genesis will be included there.
I only played Jam and may have read about Live and Lakers vs Bulls. I would never guess there were actually 25 basketball games for the Genesis ahahaha.
27, actually! I missed Pat Riley Basketball and Jammit! 😂
Coach K is one of the greatest ever. I'm still playing it.
That's the one which is just NBA Live but with college teams, right?