Line #28 VideoGame/NBAJam


1	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/nba-jam_8851.jpg]]
2	[[caption-width-right:350:''BOOM Shaka-laka!'']]
3
4	-> ''Welcome to... '''NBA Jam!!'''''
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6	''NBA Jam'' is a two-on-two basketball game that was released in the arcades (by Creator/MidwayGames) and [[MediaNotes/The16bitEraOfConsoleVideoGames 16-bit consoles]] (by Creator/{{Acclaim}}). The game is notorious for its insane dunks and equally insane catchup. The game became a phenomenon when it was released in 1993, [[CashCowFranchise earning over a billion dollars in quarters over its lifespan]]. An UpdatedRerelease titled ''NBA Jam: Tournament Edition'' quickly followed, with new players, stat tracking, and hidden players. In 2010, [[Creator/ElectronicArts EA]] would release ''NBA Jam'' on the 7th-generation consoles with two iterations: the first one (simply called ''NBA Jam'') was released in 2010, with the ''On Fire'' edition released the following year.
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8	After ''TE'', Acclaim won the rights to use the ''NBA Jam'' name and used it to make basketball games until its demise. Midway, meanwhile, made several games that took the ''Jam'' formula and expanded on it. These games were ''NBA Hangtime'' and its UpdatedRerelease ''NBA Maximum Hangtime''; ''NBA Showtime: NBA on NBC'', which took the series into 3D and used a presentation based on Creator/{{NBC}}'s basketball airings, and ''VideoGame/NBABallers'', an answer to EA's ''[[VideoGame/EASportsStreet NBA Street]]'' series.
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10	While not technically part of the series, the game ''Pinball/NBAFastbreak'' could be considered the pinball cousin to the Midway installments, particularly in Tim Kitzrow announcing (as Midway was part of the same company as Creator/WilliamsElectronics, Kitzrow was a frequent voice in their 90s pinball tables).
11	----
12	!!Is it the tropes?
13	* AnnouncerChatter: Provided by Tim Kitzrow doing his best Marv Albert impression, providing memorable quips that have only sweetened with age:
14	** '''FROM DOWNTOWN!'''
15	** '''HE'S ON FIRE!'''
16	** '''BOOMSHAKALAKA!'''
17	** IS IT THE SHOES?
18	** [[Creator/SpikeLee It's GOTTA be the shoes!]]
19	* AuthorAppeal: A rare case where the designer actually admitted this and bragged about it. Series creator Mark Turmell, a Detroit Pistons fan, [[https://www.espn.com/espnmag/story?id=3668922 specifically programmed the game]] to make the Chicago Bulls miss last second shots in close games against the Pistons. Ironically, the development team was based in Chicago.
20	* BossBattle: Surprisingly implemented as a gameplay mechanic in the 2010 version of ''NBA Jam''. The bosses themselves are equally divided between the Eastern and Western Conferences, and between preexisting players and legends, who just so happen to be powered up just for the fight. The battles themselves are usually played as games of 21 (where the first player to hit 21 wins), yet there are some exceptions to the rule:
21	** Western: Kobe Bryant (stat boost in a close game), Magic Johnson (can teleport and pass the ball to himself), Yao Ming (grows bigger with every dunk, power-ups are scattered to shrink him), Chris Paul (domination rules with four slots instead of 6; if he gets all slots, he wins), Karl Malone (superpowered shoves, rubber powerups are placed to counter this)
22	** Eastern: [=LeBron=] James (goes on fire if losing), Dwyane Wade (game is played straight with no interruptions), Creator/ShaquilleONeal (smash rules, if the backboard is destroyed, he wins; the backboard can be repaired by shooting), Larry Bird (can shoot three consecutive 3-pointers if on fire), Julius Erving (domination rules, can dominate all points if on fire)
23	** The classic tour mode pits players against teams of two legends from the same city, with the final game being played against Magic Johnson and Larry Bird - the only cross-city team in the game, and fittingly enough, cannot be used by human players.
24	* BigHeadMode: {{Trope Maker\|s}}.
25	* BonusSpace: "Hot Spots" in ''Tournament Edition''. These are randomly placed circles which, if a successful shot is made while standing on them, increase a basket's value to anywhere from four to nine points each.
26	* CharacterCustomization: Starting from ''Hangtime'', Midway's line of games began including create-a-player features tied to specific name and PIN combinations. While it was extremely basic by today's standards, and the fact that you're locked into using the character once created can be annoying, it was still a huge selling point upon introduction, especially next to Acclaim's ''Jam Extreme,'' which didn't allow it.
27	* TheComputerIsACheatingBastard: When playing a one-on-one match against Magic Johnson in the 2010 version of the game, Magic will ''literally'' use some magic teleporting skills to make some very improbable plays, even by ''[=NBA=] Jam'' standards.
28	* EasterEgg: Aside from all of the games' [[ClassicCheatCode legendary cheat codes]], inputting a certain combination[[note]] Up and all buttons on Player 1 and Down and all buttons on Player 2[[/note]] while booting up the original arcade game allows you to play a hidden 3D tank minigame. In revision 3.01 of ''Jam'', your team would get a massive stat boost if you lasted for a minute in the minigame.
29	* {{Expy}}: Traditionally, when Michael Jordan was not on the game roster, his stats would be given to Scottie Pippen. However, in ''Jam '99'', there's a player on the team simply named "Roster Guard", who strongly resembles Jordan and is given very high stats. To avoid legal issues, he was given a generic "99" jersey instead of the iconic "23".
30	* GenreShift: Acclaim's ''Jam'' games from '''99'' to ''Jam 2002'' shifted from its traditional arcade gameplay to simulation-style gameplay, akin to ''VideoGame/NBA2K'' and ''NBA Live''.
31	* GettingCrapPastTheRadar:
32	** Tim Kitzrow slipped in quite a few cleverly risqué lines and puns in EA's ''Jam'' that never would've flew in 1993. And the game ''still'' got an E rating! Here's a few gems:
33	--->"Uncool, dude! You shot blocked me!"\
34	"Get that weak shit...take mushroom outta here!"\
35	"An unfortunate case of projectile dysfunction..."\
36	"Two guys, one dunk!"\
37	"I am the rainmaker. I'll ride you hard and you're gonna get wet."\
38	"Like my wife always says, NOT TONIGHT!"
39	** Subverted with ''[[MeaningfulName NBA Jam XXX]]'', an in-house prototype of the SNES port featuring profane calls from Kitzrow that was never meant to see the light of day to avoid pissing off the NBA. When the prototype surfaced in 2012, [[https://kotaku.com/5932227/is-this-r-rated-version-of-nba-jam-legit Kitzrow called it a hoax]], but Jon Hey, the game's composer and sound engineer, [[http://www.nintendoplayer.com/interview/nba-jam-xxx-posed/ refuted that claim]], and Kitzrow himself would later admit to recording the lines years later. Check out all of the prototype's X-rated glory [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RgzqLiIZmR8 here]].
40	** ''Showtime'' has the {{bowdlerise}}d "Get that shot outta here!"
41	* GuestFighter:
42	** Raiden, Scorpion, Sub-Zero, and Reptile from ''Franchise/MortalKombat'' were DummiedOut from ''NBA Jam: Tournament Edition'', although they can be played through hacks.
43	** Music/GeorgeClinton, (under the name "P. Funk"), Music/DJJazzyJeffAndTheFreshPrince, and former U.S. President UsefulNotes/BillClinton can be unlocked in ''Tournament Edition''. Bill Clinton reappears in the 2009 revival and its 2010 update, this time bringing along UsefulNotes/BarackObama and UsefulNotes/JoeBiden as teammates, and John [=McCain=], UsefulNotes/GeorgeWBush and Sarah Palin as rivals.
44	** In the ''On Fire'' edition of ''NBA Jam 2010'', Elise, Mac, and Kaori are members of Team VideoGame/{{SSX}}. Another bonus team (Team EA) consists of ''VideoGame/MirrorsEdge'' and ''Franchise/DeadSpace'' protagonists Faith and Issac Clarke. The game also features the now-defunct Seattle [=SuperSonics=] as a playable team (with Gary Payton and Shawn Kemp playing), as well as a team of ''[[VideoGame/EASportsStreet NBA Street]]'' characters, some international teams and a couple of other random oddball players.
45	** Music/JCole and 9th Wonder are unlockable bonus characters in the 2010 version of ''Jam''. in the 2010 ''On Fire'' edition, they're replaced by the Music/BeastieBoys.
46	** Midway's dev team also frequently put themselves into their games as hidden characters that could be unlocked with specific cheat codes.
47	* InCaseYouForgotWhoWroteIt: As a sign of authenticity, and to distance themselves from Acclaim's ''Extreme'', [[http://s.emuparadise.org/MAME/flyers/nbahangt.png the covers and flyers]] for ''Hangtime'' featured the ''Jam T.E.'' logo with the words "Created By the Original ''Midway'' NBA Jam Design Team".
48	* InvisibleWall: The ball will ''always'' stay in bounds, regardless if it's been shot or knocked loose.
49	* KonamiCode: Used to unlock the Beastie Boys in ''NBA Jam: On Fire Edition'', with the final two buttons differing on what system you use.[[note]]Circle and X for [=PlayStation=] 3; B and A for the Xbox 360.[[/note]] A variant of the code is used to unlock J Cole and Ninth Wonder in the original version.
50	* LargeHamAnnouncer: Tim Kitzrow's claim to fame.
51	* MadLibsDialogue: The arcade games' play-by-play commentary frequently says "(player's name) with the (action)" and "(team) up/down by (current difference in score)".
52	* ManualLeaderAIParty: You controlled the player who had the ball and the rest were AI driven (successfully passing would shift control to the player who caught it). If the opposing team had the ball you could switch between players freely. The game had a multiplayer mode which allowed up to four human players to control the team in the arcade version (leaving only one AI), however.
53	* MediumBlending: The Wii revival uses digitized player heads on 3D models. [[http://kotaku.com/5449844/a-first-look-at-nba-jam-for-the-wii Like this.]]
54	* MirrorMatch: Possible with any team and any set of players, yet played straight with Vince Carter in the ''On Fire Edition'' of the 2010 game, who is present in the Phoenix Suns as a regular player and as an unlockable one for the Toronto Raptors (Carter's old team, of which he is well-known for playing with).
55	* MundaneMadeAwesome: Jabs are permitted, players can jump several times higher and further than what is humanly possible, and getting three shots in a row causes you to catch on fire and enter a SuperMode. Suffice to say, this is ''not'' a realistic basketball sim.
56	* NewJackSwing: Every game's OST by Midway (except for ''Showtime'', which used the NBC incidental tracks) and Acclaim until ''Jam '99'' was influenced by this, funk, hip hop, and dance music.
57	* NoFairCheating: The 2009-10 editions edition of ''Jam'' automatically disable the "One Shot Fire" cheat during the Arena Tour and Online Tour modes.
58	* PinballSpinoff: ''Jam'' was adapted into a pinball table called ''Pinball/NBAFastbreak'' by Midway in 1997, with Tim Kitzrow once again providing play-by-play.
59	* PopStarComposer:
60	** Rapper M-Doc of Indasoul wrote and produced the theme song "Whatcha Gonna Do?" and "Get Up, Get Up (First Quarter Music)" for ''Hangtime''.
61	** Canadian production team Vanguards (best known for producing hits for Rascalz, Kardinal Offishall, and many others) produced the entire soundtrack for EA's 2009 revival.
62	* RealityHasNoSoundtrack: For some reason, the Super NES port of ''NBA Jam'' and ''Tournament Edition'' don't have in-game music like the original arcade, Genesis/[=32x=] and Sega CD ports do. It does have menu music, though.
63	* ReReleaseSoundtrack: The Jaguar port of ''Tournament Edition'' has completely different music than the arcade version.
64	* RubberBandAI
65	* ShoutOut: The announcer line "It's gotta be the shoes!" is a reference to Creator/SpikeLee's character Mars Blackmon from his film ''Film/ShesGottaHaveIt'', who first used it as a CatchPhrase in several late '80s-early '90s Air Jordan sneaker commercials with UsefulNotes/MichaelJordan.
66	** The team select theme for ''Hangtime'' interpolates some of the backing vocals from Music/MichaelJackson's "Jam," which might explain why the King of Pop was such a big fan of the game.
67	* SprintMeter: Use of the turbo button is time-limited and slowly regenerates. It stays full while a player is "on fire".
68	* SuperMode: "He's on fire!" Make three shots in a row with a player and they get powered up, making it easier for them to make even more, and giving them powered-up dunking abilities. ''Hangtime'' and the 2011 ''On Fire'' edition adds Team Fire, by performing three consecutive alley-oops. The team is given 20 seconds of fire status, but can be extinguished by an opposing alley-oop.
69	* VideoGameCrueltyPotential: You're able to knock opponents down. On top of that, this can be used as a strategy - if a player is a little too strong for you, just gang up on them so they will be swapped out during halftime. Because knocking opponents down not only stops them, it can also weaken them.
70	* WakeUpCallBoss:
71	** If the RubberBandAI doesn't get you, the Dallas Mavericks and Minnesota Timberwolves in the original 1993 game will. To make matters worse, they are usually the first two teams you will go up against.
72	** In ''Hangtime'', after defeating a certain amount of teams, opposing teams will start the game "fired up" at the beginning of the match, allowing them to activate Team Fire if they score the first point.
73	* YouDontLookLikeYou: For some reason, every single version of ''Hangtime'', from the original arcade release to the final ''Maximum Hangtime'' update, gives the Vancouver Grizzlies' color scheme to the Toronto Raptors and vice versa.

Context VideoGame / NBAJam