EA Sports | RVGFanatic

B.O.B. (SNES)

***Pub: EA Sports | Dev: Gray Matter | June 1993 | 8 MEGS***

I vividly remember seeing the box of B.O.B. at local game rental stores as a kid and always wanting to rent it. Alas, as readers of Memories of Renting may recall, my older brother called the shots back in those days. As such, B.O.B. became one of countless SNES curiosities that would elude me until much later in life. I recall being shocked seeing the name of Electronic Arts slapped on the box. EA Sports was known for their sports titles. Only years later did I realize EA Sports was the publisher. The developer was actually Gray Matter, who developed shitty SNES games like James Bond Jr., Wayne’s World and Incredible Crash Dummies. In fact, B.O.B. is based off the game engine of Wayne’s World. So right away things aren’t looking good for B.O.B. but somehow, Gray Matter managed to get this one right. I suppose even a broken clock is correct twice a day, eh?

The back of the box was so damn cool — Click on this if on desktop or zoom in if on mobile

I remember flipping the box over and gawking at the back cover in awe. Most SNES boxes had fairly decent back covers but B.O.B. raised the bar considerably, not wasting an inch of real estate. The back was splattered with color and action, and it even featured a badass logo of our newly minted hero on the sides of the box. Oh how badly I wanted to rent it then and there but the last thing I wanted was a pissed off older brother who could beat the snot out of me

The Sega Genesis box was damn cool in its own right

The cartridge had that cool yellow EA tab gimmick, too

You just don't see back covers like this any more — You just don’t see back covers like this any more

Looks familiar, EA... — Looks familiar, EA…

On a side note, EA Sports did develop their own action platformer a year later when they released Michael Jordan: Chaos in the Windy City. Now that I think about it, it does have a few similarities to B.O.B. Makes you wonder if publishing B.O.B. inspired EA to eventually develop their own action game. Chaos in the Windy City isn’t shabby, but B.O.B. is the better of the two.

A LOADED ARSENAL

Pick from six guns and six gadgets to help even up the odds. There’s a bit of added depth thanks to these tools, and you can either pause the game to switch or switch on the fly with the shoulder buttons. Gotta love the SNES controller!

(MOSTLY) GUNS

If Doom were made into a cartoony side scrolling action platformer, it would look a lot like B.O.B. Use the fist to conserve your ammo. It really packs a, er, punch!

Your standard single shot is the weakest gun you have and since it doesn’t have unlimited ammo, you’ll probably end up using this one the least. Your punch is actually stronger than this!

The triple shot gives you great coverage with medium power. I use this the most.

Rockets seek out the nearest target and is handy for when you’re trying to duck and dodge while simultaneously shooting like a mad man.

The flame thrower eats up a lot of ammunition fast and has limited range, but it’ll burn up the bad guys in a hurry.

Think of the bolt shot like the single shot, only 20 times stronger.

The wave shot is essentially the BFG of this game. Ammo is limited, it cuts a huge swath and does a stupid amount of damage. Save it for the bosses…

GADGETS

Be like Mary Poppins and glide gently to safety.

The flash sends the screen into a frenzy and affords you roughly eight seconds to safely sneak through any scenario. The enemies will be too blinded to attack!

The almighty shield grants eight seconds of invulnerability.

For a much needed boost, bust out the trampoline. It can also be done in mid-air.

Floating bomb destroys (or damages) every enemy on screen.

Use the helicopter hat to reach new heights and places. Avoid touching ceilings or else!

THE STORY GOES…

Rather than saving the world, our hero just wants to meet his hot date on a Saturday night. Of course, before he can leave, his old man gives him a lecture.

Fathers know best, right?

Teenagers can’t always see it though, because they’re young and, well, 17.

WHEW! A couple close calls there but all is good…

OOPS… I spoke too soon! THE END IS NEAR indeed.

There’s a bit of a comedic touch to this game. The map screen kind of takes me back to the days of ToeJam & Earl!

Interestingly enough, the game came out first in North America. It was released a good six months later in Japan (December 22, 1993) and was rebranded as Space Funky B.O.B. Pretty strange if you ask me!

Ammunition is limited in this game so conserve your ammo whenever possible. Thankfully, the punch is actually fairly potent and useful. The acquisition of the triple shot does make life a lot easier, though.

Weapon and gadget icons are sparingly placed throughout the levels. Always search them out and don’t run straight for the exit. Doing so will only hurt you later when it counts. And yes, because B.O.B. came out in 1993 during the mascot rage, our hero has his own antics and ‘tude.

“Gnarly” lingo is sprouted off at the start of each stage. That was 1993 for ya. I love seeing his fingers ripple up and down as he slides from point A to point B. The sound effect adds to the fun of it.

Careful! He can’t fall great distances without sustaining some damage.

Reminiscent of Alien the movie as well as Alien³ the game. Fry those little suckers! Spotting the exit within reach is always nice, but if you have time be sure to check out the surrounding nooks and crannies…

Goodies (and danger) lurk just around the corner!

Totally (1993) indeed. Love the visual effect of leaving a level.

Ammunition is fairly scarce so grab every single one you can. And use the punch whenever you can. You’ll need to conserve your ammo if you want to make it far.

Wrenches fully recover your health. It’s great seeing one especially when you’re just about to die! Watch out for the various stage hazards as well.

Creatures and critters abound. Love the nasty mess they leave behind when you kill them. A nice squishy sound effect makes it twice as fun.

Grabbing on to a pipe or vine and then sliding through following a fall is inexplicably satisfying, and something you’ll do a lot of. There is a nice flow to B.O.B. and this aspect contributes to said flow.

Certain stages will deviate from the norm and put you in a B.O.B.sled sort of affair. It’s a nice break from the usual. Avoid hazards and make it safely to the end. It can get quite dramatic as you can see above — super low health and out of time! The cool thing about running out of time is you don’t automatically lose. Once the clock hits 0, your health will drain. So it gives you a little grace period and sometimes you’ll need it to win!

Facehugger, much? The Alien homages are cool to see.

Jumping to catch the tip of a ladder is super satisfying, but jumping from tiny ledge to tiny ledge can be a bit of a frustrating experience. B.O.B. doesn’t have the best control in the world. It’s manageable, but rather loose.

Rockets come in handy against the first boss, the gigantic Borg Snake. Your rockets will take out his rockets, and since you can fire more at once than it can, you’ll be able to inflict damage in the process.

Occasionally it will stretch its neck out in an attempt to knock you back but other than that, it’s easy pickings.

Sometimes you’ll run across a health chamber. Enter it to fully recover your health. It’s reminiscent of the health chambers from Corridor 7, although B.O.B. came out first. Occasionally you’ll need to use your helicopter hat to reach the exit.

Destroy the pods first and then the vile creature will drop to fight you, pissed off that you killed its detestable babies.

Mutant maggots launch an airborne attack. Tired of dicking around, you bust out the great equalizer — the BFG! It’s time to exit this god-forsaken planet of Goth and go meet your girl!

Finally, you’re on your way to meet your hot date…

DAMN!! Way too close for comfort but you’re OK…

Naturally, it had to be a small piece, no? First goes the top…

Followed by everything else. And you thought your Tinder date was a disaster!

Arriving on the planet of Anciena, there are booby traps galore that will kill you instantly. Anciena is much tougher than Goth was.

Crouching and punching is the way to go sometimes. The enemies get harder and harder as you go deeper in the game.

Gliding down slowly and safely via the umbrella is a satisfying technique that you don’t see nearly enough of in other similar games. But one thing that is universal… the thrill of reaching level’s end with hardly any health remaining!

Creepy indeed! It almost feels satanic… in a cartoony way, of course.

Eroding platforms make their mark here. Fire birds try to subdue you, but send their asses back to the fiery pits of hell.

Nothing tops seeing a wrench when you’re on the verge of dying. They’re perfectly placed too, which speaks to the diligent efforts of Gray Matter (a shocker, I know). Little details, such as being able to see the rocket when equipping the rocket gun, make for a nice visual touch.

Sometimes, the exit can be seen early on but it’s just a tease — it’s nowhere near as accessible as it appears to be. B.O.B. quickly becomes a tough test of brutality. Just how hard? Sometimes you’ll finish a stage with no time left and barely any health!

Beware of Mr. Potato Head’s evil twin. One punch from him sends you flying back a great distance. Here’s another stage where you must use the helicopter hat to reach the exit. Thankfully, the items you need are often placed nearby. But you’ll still need to be stingy with your inventory as you never know when you might really need something and resources are scarce.

Helicopter hat and the umbrella add such great versatility and depth to B.O.B., making it a cut above your typical SNES action title.

B.O.B.sled stages are simple and fun to navigate, adding value to the game. They’re also infrequent enough to never wear out their (novel) welcome.

Something bad definitely happened!

Beware its acidic tongue.

Konami would be proud of this boss design. I love how the bosses flash orange-red when taking damage. Takes me back to the NES days of gaming!

They’ll even flash blue, too. Give ol’ Lava Lord the BFG treatment.

Memorable boss fights is key to a quality action game, and B.O.B. definitely check marks that box. Love the way Lava Lord dies, exploding one body part at a time!

Spoiler: Red Skull takes a break from guarding the Soul Stone to make a cameo in B.O.B. I guess you could say overly positive fan reaction to his scene in Infinity War has left him feeling a little… big headed. Moving on, watch out for the cloaked wizards who can electrocute your ass.

Anciena is guarded by a big bad beetle bot. It’s pancake city and auto death if his fist connects.

Thankfully, one shot of the BFG will take out its arms. This boss killed me 30 times before I thought of switching to the BFG. D’oh!

Killing bosses in B.O.B. feels super satisfying.

Alright, it’s time to meet your hot date! You zoom by a gas station and think to yourself, “Nah, I’m good!”

Riding along, singing your stupid song, you come to a most disturbing sign.

GAWD DAMNIT! Not this shit again!

Crashing on the strange and dangerous planet of Ultraworld, only the toughest weekend warriors will make it out alive.

Definitely WEIRD that no one over at Gray Matter did a spell check! Ultraworld is ultra tough. You’re walking along when all of a sudden something barfs on you and a chunk of your health goes missing!

Glancing back, you see it’s some kind of nasty parasite. A lot of B.O.B. is level memorization and repetition. It’s the only way to advance. Go a bit further, die, learn from your mistakes and repeat. A certain enemy on this stage will release bullets even after being killed. This world is TOUGH.

Annoyingly not something you can kill, this obstacle will send you flying back a great distance if you get too close. Mercifully, smashing against a wall is only a sight gag; it doesn’t sap your precious health. However, any threat that you touch while flying backward is fair game!

Damn… even the ladders aren’t safe anymore! Make sure you look before you leap. Lots of weird and tough enemies here that will tax you to your limit.

Poisonous jellyfish zoom by turning our hero into Skish KaB.O.B. Expect to see that death animation over and over again… Ultraworld will punish even the most skilled players.

RUTHLESSLY BRUTAL

Hardcore players need only apply. B.O.B. will chew you up and spit you out. Whether enemies kill you or you get crushed or you simply miss the exit by a split second, B.O.B. is one of the hardest action games on the SNES. Goth starts out easy enough. Anciena kicks it up a notch but is still quite manageable. But then Ultraworld comes and kicks your teeth down your throat. Don’t say I didn’t warn ya…

GENESIS VS. SUPER NINTENDO

Having played both versions extensively, I can say without a shadow of a doubt that the SNES version is far superior. Better graphics, control and sound. It’s not even close. Plus being able to switch guns and gadgets on the fly via the shoulder buttons makes SNES B.O.B. so much more enjoyable.

Mark Lewis, the UK boss of Electronic Arts, had this to say about B.O.B. in an interview conducted by Super Play Magazine (issue #8, June 1993). It’s interesting that they dropped the “Search For Ultraforce” subtitle. B.O.B. made a little history when it became the first EA-published game to appear on the SNES before the Sega Genesis. Sadly for Mark and others, B.O.B. was a bit of a critical flop and things never quite panned out for our bug-like bot.

Sadly, it just wasnt meant to be — Sadly, it just wasn’t meant to be

MISCELLANEOUS

I love the fact that B.O.B. is such a bizarre game

The CyberDemon would be proud — The Cyberdemon would be proud

I’ll never forget the barrage of ninja skeletons. After you kill all of them, their heads will lift off the ground and attack you!

The last boss, appearing on stage 47, has three or four forms. I kind of freaked out the first time I saw him. It was a combination of finally making it all the way to the end and the wickedly memorable design. He was like an abominable cross between a mutant spider, elephant and octopus. The stuff nightmares are made of. Thankfully, you get helpful items appearing on either side of the screen to aid you in the final battle.

I remember my palms were all sweaty as I neared victory — I remember my palms were sweaty as I neared victory

Sheer euphoria the moment he came bursting apart

I remember sitting in the dead still of a hot August night as I vanquished the nightmarish final boss. Months of perseverance, repetition, level memorization and proper resource conservation all led to this glorious moment. B.O.B. is a satisfying conquest to those who can persist with the game’s brutal (yet fair) difficulty.

13 years after being curious about B.O.B. as a kid, I finally got to play it on June 10, 2006. It was a quiet Saturday night and the desire to at long last quell this childhood curiosity overtook me. As a kid staring at the tantalizing box at my local game rental store, I thought B.O.B. looked like it could be a good under-the-radar sort of game. It’s always nice when your gut turns out to be right so many years later. Childhood curiosities don’t always have a happy ending so it’s awesome when one does. On a side note, it blows my mind that it’s almost been longer since I beat B.O.B. in the summer of 2006 than it has been when I first wondered about the game in the summer of 1993. Frightening! It’s like the realization you have at 35 that you’ve been out of high school longer than how old you were your senior year! My, how time flies…

WHAT THE CRITICS SAID

Sadly, B.O.B. was mostly a flop with gaming magazines of the time. EGM gave it scores of 7, 7, 5 and 5. GameFan gave it ratings of 80, 70, 67 and 64%. Super Play buried it, rating it 54%.

But GamePro was a fan. I mean, take that for whatever it’s worth…

GamePro, however, wasn’t the only supporter. B.O.B. has a decent to solid fanbase as it turns out. Check out what some gamers have had to say over the years.

I always loved the game. I’m surprised that it never got a sequel -IronDraggon

It’s a decent game. I like the crouching and ways of shooting because games like Mega Man lacked that back then. I wouldn’t say there’s anything too special about it but it has its fun -cyberfluxor

I like just about everything about B.O.B. except for its hardcore difficulty once you reach the middle stages of the game. B.O.B. is resplendent with early nineties pop culture. You get a lot of funkadelic synthesized music that actually fits the foreign backdrops perfectly. I could rock out to the boss theme for a good ten minutes or so. B.O.B.‘s music and sound effects fit it like a glove -Snow Dragon

The graphics in this game were pretty darn good. The bug-like main character was chock full of detail. All the enemies were just as good as B.O.B. himself. The environments had a ton of detail drawn into them. B.O.B. was never a game that was really heard of a lot, but that doesn’t mean that it’s not good -BrakZero

The graphics of the game are pretty good. There’s good use of shadow, and B.O.B. looks excellent, as do most of his enemies. The animation also flows smoothly. The sound is good too, but not excellent. This game is worth a play. Although it’s mostly just an average shoot ‘em up side scrolling game, the humorous plot and difficulty will keep you coming back for more -Hiryuu

I really liked it. Really unexpectedly good game -PWHerman

Great game. I still play it now and again. If I recall right it flopped pretty hard critically since it was dismissed as just another SNES platformer. Dismissed as pedestrian and derivative when it is in fact a pretty fun refinement of this type of game -Neo Rasa

Well said, guys! I absolutely agree with Snow Dragon — I too could rock out to the boss theme for a good 10 minutes or so!

CLOSING THOUGHTS

The term “hidden gem” gets thrown around a lot, and many of yesteryear’s hidden gems no longer qualify as such because of people’s affinity to constantly mention them. Games like Demon’s Crest, Goof Troop and Run Saber have received more than their fair share of praise over the years, and deservedly so. However, B.O.B. even after all these years still does not receive the level of credit that I feel it should. Granted, it’s less appealing than those aforementioned titles due to a number of reasons. The control, while manageable, could have been tightened up. And the difficulty halfway through becomes downright borderline insane. But patient and persistent gamers seeking a stiff yet fair challenge are in for a treat. The exit for certain stages requires some thought. Some even require usage of the trampoline or helicopter hat. Speaking of which, the various gadgets give the game a more versatile scope as compared to others of its ilk. The many guns add to the fun as well, even though ammo is limited. Don’t expect a blazing run and gun affair. It’s more of a thinking man’s action game with deliberate pacing. Also, his ability to do simple things such as shooting up and crouching made B.O.B. rise above your average SNES action game.

Kudos to Gray Matter for skipping the played out hop ‘n bop routine. It’s a blast eviscerating bugs with the flame thrower or taking down massive bosses with the BFG. Aside from some minor control flaws (floaty jumps and control not being very crisp from a standstill point), B.O.B. is a well made game in many facets. Some stages have multiple routes, and while they’re very basic, the different routes are there at least. B.O.B. reminds me of some of the old classic 8-bit action games. There’s an old school back-to-the-basics feel, and this isn’t meant to be interpreted as a bad thing at all. Success largely comes down to repetition, memorization and proper management of limited resources. It’s very much trial and error like a lot of vintage NES games were. There’s an oddly addictive quality to see what the next level in B.O.B. will bring, despite a lot of them being somewhat similar. The B.O.B-sled levels do help break up the action, though, and those are well implemented both in terms of design and level placement.

Where's my long overdue sequel eh? Hello, Switch?! — Where’s my long overdue sequel eh? Hello, Switch?!

One random guy on the internet over a dozen years ago once eloquently stated, “Dude, this game is like… a retarded Metroid.” A backhanded compliment if there ever was one but HEY, you’ll take any Metroid-related compliments you can get! I really like B.O.B. a lot. Everything from its cheesy early ’90s atmosphere to the abundant amount of humor hits a sweet spot for me. With over 45 levels of ball-busting intensity and thankfully a password system, B.O.B. will provide hours of challenging gameplay and could easily occupy you for a few hardcore weekends. It isn’t the best SNES action game around but it truly is one of the more overlooked ones, even still to this day 25 years later. I once said B.O.B. is probably what Doom would be if Doom was ever made into a cartoony side scrolling blaster, in Ultra Nightmare mode mind you. So if that sounds appealing to you, do yourself a favor and check out B.O.B. the next chance you get. Besides, he needs your help to make it to his hot date. Forget saving the princess or the world, he just wants to get some. What a respectable lad

Graphics: 8
Sound: 8
Gameplay: 8
Longevity: 6

Overall: 8.0
Silver Award

Eat your heart out, Ripley :P — Eat your heart out, Ripley

NBA Live Series (SNES)

The best basketball simulation games on the SNES!

Ah, the NBA Live series. Anyone who grew up with a Super Nintendo and loved basketball back in the mid ’90s most likely would remember this franchise well. The first one, NBA Live ’95, came out on Halloween of 1994. NBA Live ’96 came out exactly one year later (Halloween 1995). NBA Live ’97 was released in December 1996 and the final entry, NBA Live ’98, made its way to the SNES in March of 1998. What made these games so special? GAMEPLAY. Never before did SNES owners enjoy such fast paced basketball in the traditional 5 on 5 sense. NBA Jam might be the king of arcade style basketball, but when it came to simulation, NBA Live ruled the roost.

BEFORE NBA LIVE…

Before NBA Live the pickings were pretty slim. I mean, these games weren’t bad for their time, but even as kids we knew there was something missing about them. Namely, SPEED. NCAA Basketball (October 1992) was certainly groundbreaking for its time, but it’s not everyone’s cup of tea. Then came Bulls vs. Blazers and the NBA Playoffs (what a terrible title) in December 1992. Again, for its time it was something we played but man was it slow. Tecmo Super NBA Basketball (March 1993) was a step up and easily the best of the lot prior to NBA Live ’95. But even then it failed to replicate the excitement of the NBA. NBA Showdown (October 1993) was infamously known as NBA Slowdown. Finally, a year later EA Sports got it right when they unleashed NBA Live ’95.

2017 NBA CHAMPIONS

Congrats to the Warriors for winning the 2017 Finals

The Golden State Warriors defeated the Cleveland Cavaliers this past Monday evening at the Oracle in Oakland, California, to secure their second championship in three years. Kevin Durant dominated the Cavs and Steph Curry was an afterthought despite averaging nearly a triple double. That’s how good KD was. It was great to witness and definitely put me in a basketball state of mind.

The scene in Oakland just yesterday. Wow

Yesterday the Warriors and their fans celebrated their Finals victory with a parade. Over one million people attended, according to estimates. Crazy.

Draymond Green trolling Cleveland like only he can

The Cavs were a little petty with their celebration last year coming back from a 3-1 deficit. For their Halloween party they made “R.I.P.” cookies for Steph Curry and Klay Thompson. They also had a band named “3-1 Lead.” At the parade LeBron James wore an “Ultimate Warrior” t-shirt. Naturally, Draymond Green had to respond. He wore a “Quickie” shirt at the parade yesterday. This represents the Q (Quicken Loans Arena, where the Cavs call home) and the fact that it was a quick series with the Dubs winning 4 games to 1. Classic Draymond. Never change, my man. Never change.

Steph Curry, his dad Dell and his lovely wife, Ayesha

Barring injury, I look forward to Cavs-Warriors Part IV next June. Jason, Freddy and Michael Myers would be proud [Don’t forget Capcom -Ed.]

“IT’S IN THE GAME!”

Electronic Arts, better known as EA, created a monster with this first edition. How about that skyline there — what is this, Streets of Rage?!

The gorgeous city backdrop from Streets of Rage — The gorgeous city backdrop from *Streets of Rage*

Shaquille O’Neal that is. Your eyes do not deceive you. Shaq didn’t appear in the SNES versions of NBA Jam, but he’s here in all his 7 foot 1 inch glory.

Simulation-based, yes. But there’s a healthy amount of arcade style thrown in there as well. You can adjust various options to make it as arcade-like as you wish. It strikes a nice balance.

Player ratings are ranked out of 99. It was always fun to see how each player was scored in all the categories they had.

Veterans of the NBA Live games know the “secrets” of the numbers. For example, when it came to 3 point shots, 75 was the magic number. If you were rated 75 or better, you could hit a good percentage of your 3 point shots. 74 and under drops dramatically. So guys like Derrick McKey of the Indiana Pacers were screwed, but Mark Jackson and Haywoode Workman could nail a decent amount of their 3’s, despite being separated by just one point. The Milwaukee Bucks in NBA Live ’96 had a whopping six guys rated 77 or higher in 3’s, making them extremely dangerous beyond the arc.

Dribbling is even rated. 75 is once again the magic number. If you were a 75 or higher in dribbling then you can do the crossover dribble. Guys like Jeff Grayer got the short end of the stick with a 74. But Donyell Marshall, barely cracking 75, could perform the crossover dribble. The (then) Washington Bullets had six guys rated 75 or better.

Cavaliers vs. Warriors was a different look back in the mid ’90s…

Switch substitution to manual in the strategy option screen. Trust me. If you left “fatigue” on then be sure to monitor your guys’ stamina bars throughout the game. Like I said, you can customize it to be as arcade-like as you want.

Statistic guy? If you’re like me then you’ll appreciate the amount of facts these games threw at you. You can see everything from total games played to points per game and more. Remember, this was back when the internet wasn’t really a thing, so having these features made it feel like your very own basketball encyclopedia!

Curious about a guy’s field goal percentage? Check. Curious about his exact number of shots made and attempted? Check. This game had it all.

THE MAN, THE MYTH, THE LEGEND

My brother was once a big basketball card collector in the early to mid 1990’s. One day he ripped open a fresh pack and out popped this curious little card. I remember us laughing at David Wood’s expression like it was the funniest thing we had ever seen. But I also became a David Wood fan that day. He was an end of the bench player who bounced from team to team. There was something incredibly endearing about his playing style, however. He was fierce, and although he lacked talent compared to his NBA contemporaries, David Wood could never be accused of not trying. Wood was the motherf*cking man!

The reason why I’m highlighting David Wood here is because he really was my favorite player in the NBA back in the mid ’90s. Some people were Jordan fans. Others, Patrick Ewing or Reggie Miller. But me? I was team David Wood all the way. Even back then I was rooting for the underdogs and a supporter of the obscure! I mean, look at those staggering statistics there. How did this guy never make a single NBA All-Star team?! Highway robbery.

Here’s a five minute highlight reel of David Wood. Some of the footage is grainy due to the age, but it’ll give you a sense of why so many NBA fans in the ’90s adopted him as a pet favorite. Dude was scrappy and 110% heart.

GAME 7 OF THE NBA LIVE ’96 FINALS

Cleveland gets on the board first with a nice little push shot.

David Wood attempts to answer back. A little strong there, my friend…

Chris Mills stuffs it home to end the first quarter.

Warriors are off to a hot start shooting 75% from the field. They’ve doubled up Cleveland. Let’s head to the second quarter.

David Wood nudges Bobby Phills (R.I.P.) out of bounds. Crafty bastard.

SENSATIONAL move by Mark Price!

MJ did it best — Michael Jordan did it best, though

Never gets old seeing MJ's switch of hands layup — Never gets old seeing MJ’s switch of hands layup

Battle of the Chris!

Mullin filled up the stat sheet at the half. But he had zero blocks. That’s now been taken care of. He even knocks down the 3 pointer in transition. Cold blooded Chris Mullin. Steph Curry would be proud.

David Wood was known to knock down the occasional 3. For a 6’9″ Power Forward at the time, it was rather uncommon (unlike in today’s NBA). Wood could stroke it from downtown!

Sloppy pass leads to a fast break monster jam.

Bobby Phills channels his inner JR Smith to end the quarter and keep the Cavs within striking distance. Even though NBA Live is more of a simulation based basketball game, you can make a lot of crazy running shots like such. It really blends the two (simulation and arcade) masterfully.

Trivia question is presented at halftime. The answer is revealed end of the third quarter. Some of the questions are tough enough to stump even the most knowledgeable of NBA fans.

David Wood times his leap perfectly to block Mark Price’s shot. Wood dribbles down the court and launches a 3 pointer. Hey Mullin, whatever you can do Wood can do better. OOF. Or maybe not. Wood’s 3 point rating, by the way, 74. One point shy of the magical mark. ROBBERY!

Fortunately, Mullin grabs the offensive rebound. Yo Wood, this is how it’s done. OOF. Or maybe not.

Critical basket by Mark Price puts the Cavs up by 3. 50-47. 30 seconds left. Game 7. Who’s going to save the day for the Dubs?

Latrell Sprewell makes eye contact with a streaking David Wood. Wood wants it. Sprewell passes the ball to Wood who then rises for the potential game tying 3 point shot…

WHAT?!? DAMN THAT 74 RATING! SHOULD BE 75!!

Luckily, Latrell Sprewell manages to steal the ball and launch a game tying 3 point shot with less than a second to go! We’re all tied up 50 a piece — it’s Overtime!

Nothing beats a Game 7 Overtime.

Absolutely ruthless, that Mark Price. 53-50 Cavs.

Mullin answers! Tied at 53 a piece.

Victor Alexander tries to scoop the ball off to a wide open cutting David Wood, but sadly Big Vic is too slow, resulting in a critical turnover.

Remember that play earlier where Wood nudges the Cavs player out of bounds? Deja vu! Wood was always one scrappy son of a gun.

REDEMPTION! This time Big Vic reacted faster and made the connection with David Wood for the clutch game tying reverse jam!

Nothing beats a Game 7 DOUBLE Overtime.

ZOINKS! Mark Price blows the layup! Fatigue has set in. Those legs aren’t as light as they were in the first quarter. Hey, just ask Kyrie Irving…

Massive dunks both ways to tie it up 61 all.

Hardaway with the vision and excellent deep pass to a wide open streaking Chris Mullin for the clutch go ahead 3 pointer in transition! This is another aspect that the NBA Live games nailed down. Other SNES basketball games struggle with the passing game. They often result in annoying turnovers and it was practically impossible to make a long pass like you just saw here. These little details go a long way and really separate NBA Live from the pack.

Kyrie Irving is much better but man Mark Price had some game. Big 3 point shot here to put the Cavs up by two with less than 30 seconds to go!

David Wood for the tie!? … Nope.

Hardaway, the smallest guy on the court, with the big offensive rebound and game tying layup! Tim Hardaway was sick back in the day.

Hardaway with the heads up defense!

David Wood gets a shot, literally, at redemption. Nothing but net!

Warriors win 68-66 in Double Overtime! Mark Price might have won the Player of the Game award, but the Warriors win the war.

Player stats can also be viewed.

Bloody hell, Wood had a bad shooting game but hey, he made them when they counted the most!

FREE THROW GIMMICK

Every NBA game back in the ’90s had their own free throw system. Nobody did it better than EA Sports with their NBA Live franchise. A crossbar appears on the screen and your job is to center both basketballs in the middle as best as you can. The speed of the ball traveling is dependent on your player’s free throw rating. The higher his rating, the slower the ball travels. The lower his rating, the faster.

Failure to align the balls closely in the middle results in bricks. The best part of this gimmick? The away team’s basketballs in the cross section become clear circles with white outlines. And the home player can madly tap buttons to cause the fans in the free throw background to wave their arms around. It’s such a small detail but one that my brother and I loved back in the day. It truly brings forth the meaning of “home court advantage.” Brilliant.

Ratings were based off their actual performance from the free throw line that season of 1994-1995. I have to say, though, that Chris Mullin was robbed. He shot 87.8% on the season but EA gave him a free throw rating of 87. Round that sucker up to 88, would ya?! Talk about stingy

Nothing like a pure swish. Love the way the net either sways to the side or straight up. By the way, NBA Live ’96 has the best sound effects in the series. For some reason, the other entries are a bit muted.

WHICH ONE IS THE BEST?

'96 introduced create a player — *’96* introduced create a player

For my money, NBA Live ’96 is the best of the lot. NBA Live ’95 started the groundwork, but NBA Live ’96 refined the foundation. This included crossover dribbles, a create a player mode, trading players and so forth.

NBA LIVE THROUGH THE YEARS

Going from top left to bottom right: NBA Live ’95, ’96, ’97 and ’98. Notice that the Boston Garden looks the most different in NBA Live ’95. I actually like the look and aesthetic of NBA Live ’95 the best. But ’96 captured the magic of the series in general. ’97 and ’98 are great too, but feel more like afterthoughts milking the cow. It’s interesting to note that Hitmen Productions developed ’95 and ’96, not EA Sports (they were the publisher instead). NuFx developed ’97 and Tiertex Design Studios developed ’98. ’97 added a half-court 2 on 2 and 3 on 3 mode, for what that’s worth.

CREATIVITY AROUND THE HOOP

Sometimes you get caught up around the hoop

This doesn't look like it'll end well... — This doesn’t look like it’ll end well…

WHAT THE CRITICS SAID

NBA Live was a slam dunk — *NBA Live* was a slam dunk

The NBA Live series on the SNES is often regarded as the finest simulation basketball titles of the 16-bit era. And rightfully so. Talko from GameFan fame gave NBA Live ’95 a whopping 98% score. He called it unquestionably the best sports game he had ever played. Super Play rated it 84%. Some folks go back and back on whether they like the NBA Jam or NBA Live series better, but it’s a bit like comparing burgers and pizzas. Both are excellent; it just depends on your mood.

CLOSING THOUGHTS

These games hold up well — Basketball done damn right

I have such fond memories of the NBA Live games. They played great back then, and still to this day they hold up remarkably fine. The new isometric perspective brings the action full throttle like never before seen. You can finally throw baseball passes and execute fast breaks properly, just like you see in the pros. Best of all, NBA Live added a turbo button (not unlike NBA Jam) which allows a speed burst to add some spice to the gameplay. Previous SNES basketball titles had no turbo option, making them a bit clunky to play and penetration in the paint proved to be difficult. Not the case here. It really brought a new sense of life to the way we viewed basketball games. There’s never a moment of slowdown and although NBA Live is more simulation-based, there is a great mix of arcade action as well. It’s a near perfect marriage of the two.

Rock on, NBA Live. Rock on — Rock on, *NBA Live*. Rock on

You can’t go wrong with any entry from this series. But if I had to recommend just one, I’d definitely go with NBA Live ’96. I still occasionally replay it these days from time to time. As far as sports games go on the Super Nintendo, this is one of the very best. It’s simply a ton of fun and has aged remarkably well. Yes, it’s a little too easy to hit shots, and you probably shouldn’t be able to make so many 3 pointers fading away, but it’s all part of the charm. Maybe it won’t convert non basketball enthusiasts, but basketball aficionados are sure to be in NBA heaven here.

NBA Live overall score: 9.5

Michael Jordan: Chaos in the Windy City (SNES)

***Pub: EA | Dev: EA | November 1994 | 16 MEGS***

The Super Nintendo enjoyed many years of commercial and critical success, but of all the years I’ve always considered 1994 to be its most memorable. It just seemed to have the best games that year in terms of quality and quantity. 32-bit systems were starting to seep into the pages of gaming magazines in ’94 but it was still largely all about 16-bit. ’94 saw the release of such iconic titles as Super Metroid, Super Punch-Out!!, Donkey Kong Country, Final Fantasy III and so much more. EGM and GameFan didn’t miss a beat, either, as I felt ’94 was also the best year for those respective magazines. 1994 was just a great time to be a kid. But aside from your AAA classics, there were a bevy of games that flew under the radar that year. Michael Jordan: Chaos in the Windy City was one of them. Sure, the concept was bizarre. Control one of the greatest basketball players ever in an action platformer? Doesn’t exactly ring my bell. And made by EA Sports of all people? They weren’t known for their action games. But when I saw it in the pages of GameFan, a big part of me was instantly intrigued. It took me two decades to finally play it…

AIR JORDAN

GOAT? Arguably yes — GOAT? Arguably he is the greatest of all time

Michael Jordan was a freak athlete. Born February 17, 1963 (happy belated, Mike), Jordan went on to become one of the most iconic figures in all of sporting history by the year 1993. However, with the tragic murder of his father during that summer, Jordan announced his retirement from the game of basketball on October 6, 1993. Citing the death of his father and a loss of interest in playing basketball, Jordan went on to pursue his dream of playing professional baseball.

MJ's athleticism was stunning — Michael Jordan’s athleticism was stunning!

He toiled in the Minors for a year and a half before declaring his infamous two words on March 18, 1995: “I’M BACK.” Jordan went on to 3-peat once again, leaving the game with six championship rings and an amazing 6-0 record in the NBA Finals. Today he is still considered in many circles as the greatest NBA player to ever play the game.

There was nobody like Mike. ***NOBODY***

CHAOS IN THE WINDY CITY

Michael Jordan: Chaos in the Windy City came out while Jordan was attempting his hand at playing baseball in the Major Leagues. The game acknowledges this and uses it (somewhat) as part of its storyline.

Jordan unearthing an underground prison where his friends are held captive deep within the bowels of a museum? You can’t make this stuff up… and this is how our adventure begins!

Rescue your friends in the holding cells (five levels there) and make your way through the rest of Chicago. This includes riding the local trains, the laboratory, the factory and more. Unfortunately, the lab and factory have five levels each themselves and the backgrounds can get a bit repetitive and dull. Although the game has a decent number of levels, they’re not spread out very well since the theme is repeated for five levels.

WEAPONS OF CHAOS

Mike begins the game with a regular standard orange basketball. It shoots in a straight line and has unlimited ammo. It shoots out pretty fast too and you can fire multiple balls at once. For a standard default weapon it’s more than serviceable.

I see what you did here, EA. Clever. One of the balls is, appropriately, a baseball. I like this one as you can fire it through walls and solid objects. Sweet!

Bounces around when it hits a horizontal surface, or splits into two balls when it hits a vertical surface. I like using this in tight spaces — it turns you into a killing machine.

Does double damage to enemies. Spike it to create a trail of flame along the floor.

Tracks down enemies who are within range. Spike it to split it into multiple missiles. I like how spiking certain balls can change its use.

Channeling his inner Sub-Zero, Mike’s Blue Ice ball freezes most enemies into a solid chunk of ice. It’ll shatter if you hit it with another ice ball. Enemies will thaw out and escape if you don’t destroy them while they’re frozen. You can stand on frozen enemies and use them as platforms. Spike an ice ball to coat part of the floor with a layer of ice and make it slippery.

Spiking certain balls can lead to different effects. It added a nice layer [I C WAT U DID DERE -Ed.] to the game and also added some strategy in addition to picking which ball to use.

Doesn’t go far if you throw it, rolling along the floor to hit enemies. It explodes when spiked, doing one point of damage to all enemies on-screen.

It makes everything shake when you spike it, doing massive damage to all enemies within range.

THE HOLDING CELLS

Be on the look out for your friends, and watch out for mutant spiders. Keys are key (sorry) to success.

Backboards are scattered throughout. Dunking on them has a different effect. Some drop items (like keys) when you dunk. Others may even damage all enemies on-screen. It’s a neat little way of bringing basketball into the gimmick.

Saving your friends opens up a bit of dialogue. It’s nothing to shout about, but it adds a bit of variety as it breaks up the action a bit. Hell, you may even get a key for your troubles at the end. But the way Mike’s friends evaporate is slightly bizarre.

Sometimes there’s a weak wall that Mike can bust through. Ah, Wheaties. The Breakfast of Champions.

Dunking in an action platformer — who woulda dunk it… [har har -Ed.]

Spiking the ball isn’t just a secondary option, sometimes it’s necessary to advance. Spike balls to break away weak floorboards.

Where's Jeff Daniels?! — Where’s Jeff Daniels?!

Talk about a black eye... — Talk about a black eye…

Nice no look pass there, Mike — Nice behind the back pass, Mike

You can't keep down a champ — You can’t keep a champion down

Purple swirling doors lead you to bonus bits that range from slam dunking to killing enemies to bouncing off giant springs. Find these doors to unlock extra goodies and points.

Bastards zip fast so be ready for the fast pitch. BOOM [SHAKA LAKA -Ed.]

Classic signal to end a stage — Classic MJ signal to end a stage

Ride that pulley — Grab the shoes for invincibility

Whoever thinks that Jordan never passes never played this game.

Enemies on a tier below you can be damaged by the spiking technique.

Defense is played in the form of nullifying. Wish more games did this.

Use the White Knuckleball to retrieve items lodged away. Sweet!

You know what’s cool about that animation above? You know how in most games if you let it ride out nothing happens but the status quo? Well, not so here. If you leave Mike in that vulnerable position for more than a few seconds, he actually falls over. I was quite taken aback the first time I saw it as I don’t recall many platformers from the ’90s that did this as well. The animation is ugly but I can appreciate the concept.

Don't mess up your kicks — Don’t mess up your kicks

Some backboards have the number 23 on them. If they do, slam it home and you’ll be rewarded with everything freezing for 15 seconds. A shot clock just like the NBA appears on the screen, counting you down. Pretty cool integration.

Speaking of timers, there are none in this game. I hate it when there’s a timer that presses you to zip through a level. A generous timer is all good in my book but even better is when there’s no timer at all. Make sure you take the time to explore all the nooks and crannies, as you don’t want to miss out on bonus doors.

Golden hearts add another ball to your health meter. Super valuable!

Jordan hates swimming — Jordan ain’t no Michael Phelps…

D’OH! MJ might be the GOAT when it comes to basketball. But when it comes to swimming he doesn’t stand a chance! He automatically bites the dust the moment his head is submerged in water. Boo! Come on…

Press the L button to break into a sprint. Jumping while running allows Michael to do a super jump, which allows him to reach items in faraway places. Not bad, right? Until you factor in EA Sports wasted the L button on running when they could have made running double tap. Then that frees up the L button to cycle back on the special balls. Cycling one way only with the R button can get a bit annoying when you have all eight balls in possession.

No crazy puzzles here, folks — No complex puzzles here, folks

Oh crap it's David Stern! — Oh crap it’s David Stern!

One of the all-time greats — One of most legendary basketball shots of all time

Get ready for a Ballz flashback — Get ready for a *Ballz* flashback

MJ seems to be REAL concerned — MJ seems to be real concerned…

This ball boomerangs back — Boomerang action for more hits

Sorry, you can't freeze it — Sorry, you can’t freeze Mr. Ballz

This ledge you need to duck — You need to duck on this ledge

Back to back like the wild west — Back to back like in the wild west

Remember the epic shot Jordan hit over Craig Ehlo in the Playoffs on May 7, 1989? Props to EA Sports for recreating that celebration here.

THE F*CKING SHOT. Nuff said — **THE F*CKING SHOT**. Nuff said

Looking like Teddy Long! — Teddy Long, *HOLLA!*

THE L TRAIN

Stay on the inside... — Stay on the inside…

THE FACTORY

You're 6'6"... for now at least — You’re 6’6″… for now at least

A giant whistle. I've seen it all — A giant whistle. I’ve seen it all

Charles Barkley on steroids? He has good defense. So not Chuck, then.

Maybe his D isn't so good... — Maybe his D isn’t so good after all

PSST, WHAT’S THE PASSWORD?

As many action platformers did from the 16-bit era, there’s a password system in place. However, you’re only awarded a password after defeating the entire section. For example, the Laboratory has five levels. You have to beat all five to get the password rather than just one level. As far as user friendliness is concerned, passwords are 11 characters. Not the best but definitely not the worst. Although the passwords do take into account your lives. Beat a section with 0 lives? That password is essentially useless. Pretty unforgiving…

WHAT THE CRITICS SAID

7th worst game of all time -- really? — 7th worst game of all time — really now?

Michael Jordan: Chaos in the Windy City is one of those games that you expect to be crap, but isn’t. It has a pretty decent reputation with most retro gamers. GameFan gave it respectable scores of 82, 79 and 74%. Browse online and you’ll see most people find it to be pretty decent despite the odd use of the license. However, Nintendo Power back in 1997 had a different opinion. They posted a list of their top 100 games but they also posted a list of their top 10 worst games. Chaos in the Windy City made that list at #7. That always bugged me. Especially when they wrote in the description: “Not that this game was even that bad, but it wins the award for Totally Blowing the Best License in the Universe. What’s next, Michael Saves Nike Town?”

[I'M DEAD! Not... -Ed.] — *[**I’M DEAD!** No, not really… -Ed.]*

It bugged me that they put a decent game on the worst list. A list plagued by such filth as Bebe’s Kids. Chaos in the Windy City deserved better. I love Nintendo Power otherwise, but that one blurb always rubbed me the wrong way. Put it on your Top 10 Wastes of a Good License list but don’t put it on the Top 10 Worst list. Anyway, I told myself I’ll write that whenever the day comes that I review Chaos in the Windy City so yeah.

CLOSING THOUGHTS

This game proves MJ has balls — Jerry Lee Lewis would be proud

Like I said earlier, 1994 was a good year to be a Super Nintendo owner. We got so many good games. But it wasn’t a good year to be a Michael Jordan fan. We did get Chaos in the Windy City as a bittersweet reminder that Jordan had retired from the game of basketball. His minor league baseball career was pretty bad in 1994, but thankfully his video game turned out to be fairly decent. I like the versatility of the different powered balls. I also like the locked doors and keys formula that EA incorporated here. It helped to give it a slightly different feel from most other action platformers. The visuals are grimy and pretty much the complete opposite of most 1994 SNES games in terms of style and tone. The animation could have used some extra work, though.

Decent game? Most shocking... — A decent game? Most shocking…

For all the nice things Chaos in the Windy City does, however, there are a few missteps here that prevent it from being a hidden gem. For starters, the music is pretty forgettable. And what I do recall is only average. The control is a bit loose and the scrolling suffers from slight bouts of herky jerky action. Enough for you to notice it in a negative light. But perhaps the most annoying thing of all is that whenever you pick up a powered ball it automatically becomes your default weapon. This wouldn’t be such a big deal if either the ammunition was plentiful or if you could scroll the other way. The problem is… bingo. The ammunition is low (single digit only) and you can’t cycle the other way. R cycles one way, but L is used to run. Being that there are a total of eight balls, imagine trying to cycle back to your regular ball in the heat of the moment. Not only is it infuriating but it can also prove to be costly. Zombies Ate My Neighbors also suffered from a lack of two way cycling. It’s not a huge deal when you only have a few different weapons but that’s not the case for either ZAMN or Chaos in the Windy City. And speaking of low ammo, why do I have, say, five Knuckeballs but I pick up another Knuckleball icon and still only have five? It makes zero sense. The game would have been better served if you could bump the ammo count into double digits. I understand they probably didn’t want Michael to be overpowered but c’mon, throw us a bone here. The low ammo saps some of the joy away.

This is fun. Wish we got more! — **WE WANT MORE BALLS!** *[… -Ed.]*

It just feels like a bit of a wasted opportunity. The different powered balls are pretty fun to use but you never feel like you really get to. At least in the way that you really want to. I give EA props for the spiking system and how it changes the effects of different balls, but I wish they shored up a few of the shortcomings that I listed above. Had they done so, this game could easily have been a high 8 and considered a hidden gem. Instead, it falls shy of its potential and is one of those weird games that’s both decent and slightly disappointing all at once. To EA’s credit you can tell they put in some effort here. It’s a pretty well thought out game that’s better than it probably had any right to be, but it’s far from being a slam dunk. Still, it’s a decent action platformer worth checking out if you’ve already conquered the giants that the SNES has to offer.

Graphics: 7
Sound: 5
Gameplay: 6.5
Longevity: 5

Overall: 6.5

No, Michael. Not 6. 6.5 — No, Michael. Not 6. ***6.5*** — oh, I see. Carry on, my man…

Spoiler alert... he came back — Spoiler alert… he came back

Loved this song and commercial back in the day!

But Mike, please don’t tap kids on the butt.

The stuff you got away with in 1991…