Basketball Classics from Acclaim and Namo Gamo brings us a spiritual successor to the 8-bit basketball games of ages past. Learn more in our Basketball Classics review!

 

Basketball Classics from Acclaim and Namo Gamo brings us a spiritual successor to the 8-bit basketball games of ages past. The game features decades of rosters with 170+ games, as well as 1,000+ players, with each one featuring individualized attributes to consider. You’ll be taking on 5-on-5 pro basketball matches either in the game’s Quick Play Mode, Story Mode, or Season Mode. Quick Play allows you to jump right away into a single match to get the hang of things. As the name suggests, Season Mode will have you taking on a season as you try to make it to the top.

In Story Mode, the intro cutscene will set the mood for the rest of your journey. As you admire a special basketball at a museum, a giant head appears before you, with wise words of wisdom that go like this:

He who taketh of the ball
Search forth the small and tall
Finding that only the chosen
Shall leave the guards frozen

You, of course, decide that stealing the ball and fulfilling the prophecy is the only thing you can do. With winks to many classic basketball games from the Nintendo Entertainment System era – that would be the NES – and a direct nod to the beloved Mega Man series, you’ll be presented with five different challenges to take on, with teams that pay homage to the greatest players from the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s.

 

You’ll have to go up against the PG from East LA in 1990 (Magic Johnson), the SF from Boston in 1985 (Larry Bird), the PF from Philadelphia in 1990 (Charles Barkley), the SG from Chicago in 1988 (Michael Jordan), and the C from East LA in 1977 (Kareem Abdul-Jabbar). You can select the quarter length between 1, 2, or 3 minutes, as well as whether you’ll be playing in a modern court or a classic, modern, or street court. If going up against the CPU, you’ll also be able to pick the difficulty between Rookie, Pro, All-Star, and Legend.

You’ll be taking control of each player in your team by using the left analog stick or the D-Pad as you run down the court. Jump by pressing the X button and release the button once you’re high enough to shoot the ball toward the basket. You can pass the ball while pressing the Circle button. Pick who you want to pass the ball to by switching between team members with the Triangle button. If you don’t have the ball, you can try to steal it by pressing the Circle button. Press the X button to jump to try to block a shot.

Say you try to go for a spectacular dunk. You’ll have to pay attention to what your opponent is doing during the special dunking cutscene that plays, so that you can use some of your remaining moves to try to outsmart him. Your player’s dunk stat will also be tested by your opponent’s block stat, so be ready to change what type of dunk you’re going to perform, or else you’ll be blocked and sent to the floor!

This basketball game features an interesting play-calling system that you can make the most of by moving your players on the specific lanes for calling each of the different plays. Say you’re on the offense. Your options will be to call a pick n roll, off-ball pick, or isolation play. The off-ball play will allow the nearest teammate to set a pick, slowing down the defenders to leave you with an open shot at the basket. You will even still have the option of passing to the screen setter in case you feel like that’s the best current option.

Trophy-wise, this release features a full trophy list with a Platinum trophy waiting for you. The list is a long one, and it’s split into 64 Bronze trophies and a single Gold trophy. Yes, really! What will you need to do to add that shiny Platinum trophy to your collection? Some of the objectives to complete include completing one match, scoring 20 points in a Rookie game, getting 5 assists in a single game using a single player, grabbing 5 rebounds in a pro game, making 5 three-point shots in a Pro game, unlocking the hidden bonus teams, winning a game with a buzzer beater, completing a full season in the Pro difficulty setting, completing 50 matches, and winning a championship on the Legend difficulty setting.

Basketball Classics brings us a spiritual successor to the 8-bit basketball games of ages past. The game features decades of rosters with 170+ games, as well as 1,000+ players, with each one featuring individualized attributes to consider. You’ll be taking on 5-on-5 pro basketball matches either in the game’s Quick Play Mode, Story Mode, or Season Mode. With winks to many classic basketball games from the NES era, as well as a play on the intro sequence for Mega Man 2, you know you’re in for a quirky but fun basketball experience. Basketball Classics is out on PlayStation 4 with a $9.99 price tag.

Disclaimer
This Basketball Classics review is based on a PlayStation 4 copy provided by Acclaim.