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Wayback Wednesday: NBA Live 98 SNES Was Strange

Wayback Wednesday: NBA Live 98 SNES Was Strange

This is Wayback Wednesday, your midweek blast from the past! From retrospectives of basketball games and their interesting features, to republished articles and looking at NBA history through the lens of the virtual hardwood, Wednesdays at the NLSC are for going back in time. This week, I’m reflecting on how NBA Live 98 for the SNES was rather strange.

The main reason that I love collecting basketball video games is that I get to check out titles that I didn’t play when they were new. Whether it was due to my preference for NBA Live, only owning Nintendo consoles, or releases that were North American exclusives, there are titles that I didn’t experience until decades later. Getting my hands on a PlayStation 3, utilising the backwards compatibility of my PlayStation 2, and picking up a converter cartridge for my Super Nintendo, have all gone a long way in being able to expand my collection, and try out some old games for the first time.

One of those games is NBA Live 98 for the Super Nintendo. NBA Live 98 SNES was, quite frankly, a notably strange release. The PC version made a major leap, and the PlayStation port was solid in its own right. I’ve discussed NBA Live 98 in-depth in my retrospective for the 25th Anniversary of NBA Live, but I want to revisit the SNES version to highlight just how strange it was. Anyone who bought NBA Live 98 on SNES undoubtedly got the weakest version of the game, yet it has some interesting points. Let’s take a look back…way back…

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Wayback Wednesday: Can You Update NBA Live 95 16-Bit to 1995?

Wayback Wednesday: Can You Update NBA Live 95 16-Bit to 1995?

This is Wayback Wednesday, your midweek blast from the past! In this feature, we dig into the archives, look back at the history of basketball gaming, and indulge in some nostalgia. Check in every Wednesday for retrospectives and other features on older versions of NBA Live, NBA 2K, and old school basketball video games in general. You’ll also find old NLSC editorials re-published with added commentary, and other flashback content. This week, I’m challenging myself to update the 16-bit version of NBA Live 95 to 1995 in Season mode.

There are many aspects of old basketball video games that younger gamers will find strange and antiquated. The idea that one of the top players in the league won’t be included and instead represented by a Roster Player is one that springs immediately to mind. The lack of a steal button is another. Perhaps the most unusual is the inclusion of the previous year’s rosters in a game whose title suggests that it should portray the current NBA season. This of course excludes extenuating circumstances such as a lockout, or the pandemic shutdown and subsequent delay of the 2021 campaign.

When basketball video games were in their relative infancy and before they became as popular and successful as they are today, we experienced all of those issues at one time or another. A prime example of a game including the previous season’s rosters is the 16-bit version of NBA Live 95. While the PC version was updated for the 1995 season and this approach would become the norm – aforementioned circumstances aside – the Super Nintendo and Sega Genesis release carried on the tradition of featuring outdated lineups. The PC version facilitates roster modding, but is it possible to update NBA Live 95 for 1995? Let’s take a look back…way back…

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