NBA Jam

About

NBA Jam is a 2-on-2 basketball arcade game that cranks up the action to absurd levels. Players ditch real-world physics for cartoonish dunks, turbo-powered sprints, and no-holds-barred defense. No fouls, no free throws, just elbow bumps and 24-second dashes to the hoop. The "on fire" mode kicks in after three straight baskets, stacking invincibility and sharp shooting until the opponent breaks the streak. Available on arcade cabinets, SNES, and Genesis, it supports solo, co-op, and head-to-head matches. The game’s over-the-top style and digitized NBA rosters made it a cultural hit. It raked in $1 billion in arcade quarters, claiming the top-earning title in 1994. Hidden features multiply the fun: enter button combos to summon Bill Clinton as a player or trigger "Super Clean Floors" to trip opponents. A secret tank mini-game lurks behind a cabinet switch, rewarding code-savvy players with a 3D jaunt. Its success birthed faster, flashier sports games like NFL Blitz, proving that fun often thrives when rules take a backseat.

Storyline

NBA Jam, which featured 2-on-2 basketball, is one of the first real playable basketball arcade games, and is also one of the first sports games to feature NBA-licensed teams and players, and their real digitized likenesses. A key feature of NBA Jam is the exaggerated nature of the play - players jump many times their own height, making slam dunks that defy both human capabilities and the laws of physics. There are no fouls, free throws, or violations except goaltending and 24-second violations. This means the player is able to freely shove or elbow his opponent out of the way. Additionally, if a player makes three baskets in a row, he becomes "on fire" and has unlimited turbo and increased shooting precision. The "on fire" mode continues until the other team scores, or until the player who is "on fire" scores 4 additional consecutive baskets while "on fire." The game is filled with easter eggs, special features and players activated by initials or button/joystick combinations. For example, pressing A five times and right five times on any Genesis controller would activate "Super Clean Floors". This feature would cause characters to fall if they ran too fast or changed direction too quickly. And players can enter special codes to unlock hidden players, ranging from US President Bill Clinton to Hugo the Charlotte Hornets mascot. On the arcade machine, there is also a hidden 'tank' game that allows the player to run around a 3D wireframe field. In order to access this mode, however, the player must be able to toggle the on/off switch located behind the machine. While the game was powering back on, the player holds Up and all buttons on player 1 and Down and all buttons on player 2.