NBA Hangtime a Great Game on the N64

NBA Hangtime is Midway’s follow-up to NBA Jam Tournament Edition. It was marketed as the real sequel to the NBA Jam games and was released after the relationship between Midway and Acclaim broke down. This game was released on just about everything, including the SNES and Genesis.

This game was released in 1996, around the time that Acclaim managed to get the rights to the NBA Jam name. Midway, the creators of the arcade version of NBA Jam, kept making games in the same style. That is a quick and dirty explanation of how we ended up with two branches of the NBA Jam series.

This game retains the two-on-two style of the original. I don’t know too much about this game, aside from what I learned from the NBA Jam book from a few years ago. Much of what I liked from the Genesis version of the game is back, and I had a lot of fun with this.

If I were into the N64 and was paying attention to gaming news, this is something I would’ve picked up. This isn’t a deep game, but it didn’t need to be. It is much better than the NBA Jam games from Acclaim.

TLDR: Great graphics and fun gameplay are hamstrung by a lack of game modes.

Narrative

There isn’t a story mode or career mode in this game. While you can create your own player, it isn’t like there is a story behind it. It is all up to the player to come up with a reason for this new character being there, or for this whole two-on-two game going on. Unless you don’t want to and just play with your friends.

Gameplay

I really enjoy the gameplay in NBA Hangtime. This is a fast game that reminded me of playing the SNES and Genesis games. While I don’t like the controls on the N64 as much, I still had fun with it. I also like that the rubber band AI is back.

I didn’t like how the controls were set up at first. This is one of the many games that I have as a loose cartridge, so I didn’t have the manual right away. I also made the mistake of just jumping right in and not knowing the controls. Once I got them down, everything was fine.

NBA Hangtime uses a relaxed set of rules. Fouls and other infractions have been largely removed from the game. It feels like a pick-up game on the playground. The game is fast, and it is a lot of fun to play.

The create-a-player mode is a great idea. While it isn’t as deep as other games, it is fun. This is as close to adding a story or career mode to a game as you were going to get back in 1996.

A lack of game modes does hold this back. I know it is an arcade game, and they did a good job with the port. At the end of the day, having more to this would’ve added more replay value to the game. It gets a little repetitive.

Overall, I really like this game quite a bit. If there were more game modes, then this would’ve been a spectacular game. This is a fun port of an arcade game.

Visuals

I love how NBA Hangtime looks! It looks like a perfect arcade port. The character sprites are big and detailed, the court looks great, and I love the fire effects. This is how I wanted the other NBA Jam games to look.

Character sprites are very big and have enough detail for you to tell them apart. It is a step up from what was in NBA Jam Extreme, and looks better than the 3D graphics from 1996. I like that there are little variations, and each looks a little different. The create-a-player mode is also great.

The court and the crowd look great. It really looks like the arcade game, and how the earlier NBA Jam games looked. Because the game moves quickly, you don’t dwell on the crowd much. You can still see each person, which is fun.

I love the fire effects in this game. They’re light years ahead of what is in the other NBA Jam games, especially those in the Acclaim games. When the player is heating up and when they’re on fire, it looks really cool. I’m sure that the graphics look better in the arcade, but what is on the N64 is awesome.

Overall, this is a great looking game. While the graphics weren’t looked on favorably at the time it was released, they held up much better. The sprites look great, the fire effects are excellent, and it is very good when compared to what Acclaim was doing.

Reviews at the Time

The reviews at the time weren’t all that great. They were between 5 and 9/10, but there were more around 5 and 7/10. A lot of these reviews are from MobyGames, because there aren’t too many archived reviews for NBA Hangtime.

GamePro gave the game a 9/10. They said that while the game didn’t offer anything new, it “does have enough flash” to keep players happy. The reviewer also said it will leave you “jonesin’” for more. I’m not sure if jonesin’ is spelled right, and I don’t think it really matters.

EGM gave the game a 7.8/10. The reviewer said that a better name for this would be “NBA Jam 64.” They added that there was “basically nothing new.”

N64 Magazine gave the game a 52/100. The reviewer hated the game and called the graphics “unacceptably archaic.” They wrapped up their review by calling the game “boring, lazy, and impossible to like.” After reading this review, I wonder why this person agreed to review a game that they hated from the get-go.

Looking over these reviews was odd at times. It seems like most of them knew what they were getting into, and at least enjoyed the game. While I don’t always agree with the scores, I do think they were right when they said that there weren’t many differences in terms of gameplay between this game and the NBA Jam Tournament Edition.

8/10. NBA Hangtime is a worthy continuation of the NBA Jam series. It is fast and fun to play. A lack of gameplay does hold it back, but what is here is very good. The create-a-player mode is a great addition.

Pros

• Great graphics
• Fun gameplay
• Easy to learn
• Bigger rosters than previous games

Cons

• You have to use the N64 controller
• Lack of game modes

Conclusion

This is the NBA Jam game I expected when I played the Acclaim games. NBA Hangtime has everything that I want from an arcade basketball game. It was a lot of fun to sit down and play.

While this game wouldn’t have made me run out and buy an N64, especially since there is a PS1 port, it would’ve been a fun weekend rental. In 1996, I only had one friend who owned an N64, and he didn’t like sports games. Drew was really trying to get me to care about the N64, because he was a Nintendo fanboy. He was the only person I knew whom I could describe in that way.

Some of the reviews were perplexing. I’m always amazed when I read one where is sounds like the author hates the genre that this game is in. Why would you agree to review a sports game if you don’t like sports or the sport it’s based on? It is very funny that the emphasis on 3D graphics gets more weight in some of these publications, to the point that it overshadows the gameplay.

I wasn’t expecting to see that this game was on the Genesis and SNES. I might have to try and find copies of it at some point. Most of these sports games can be picked up cheaply. We’ll see. I had a lot of fun with this game and looking up some information on it.

If you liked this post, check out the other posts on the NBA Jam games. Such as NBA Jam 99 or NBA Jam Extreme.