NBA Jam: Tournament Edition (GB) Review

When I reviewed NBA Jam for the Game Boy, I pretty much touched on the game in a sort of bullet point format. I really didn’t go too in depth with things, and just stuck with the bare ratings. It’s been over two years since then, and while my opinion on that game hasn’t exactly changed, to be honest, I still felt that some things could’ve been addressed. In this review of its updated re-release, NBA Jam: Tournament Edition, I’ll try to go into a little bit more detail.

First up is the game’s graphical quality. In terms of Game Boy games (and its counterpart, for that matter), it’s got fairly decent graphics. Detail-wise, there’s enough there to tell you that this is indeed a NBA Jam game. While the players are indistinguishable from each other due to system limitations, there are enough visual cues (player tags and such) that you know who you’re playing as, who has the ball, et cetera. From a presentation standpoint, this game does its best to emulate its arcade and console brethren with all the expected bells and whistles.

I won’t go into too much detail about the gameplay here, because there’s a good chance that you probably already know what you’re getting into with this one. However there are a few small differences that separate this game from its predecessor, the first being the expansion of substitutions. Unlike the first game, you can sub in a player (or two, if you so choose) at the end of every quarter, making room for possible strategies pertaining to each player’s attributes. Speaking of attributes, this brings me to the second major change: the addition of clutch and fatigue ratings. The clutch rating has to do with how well a given player would do in the closing minute or so of any period. The higher it is, the better they’ll do. The fatigue rating has to do with how quickly their turbo ability would run out, as well as how long they could play before their skills start to suffer.

There’s not much to talk about in terms of music: you’ll be hearing the same five songs over and over again. The first two when you boot up the game and select your team, and the latter three when you go through the game and during breaks in the action. In all honesty though, these tracks are pretty good emulations of their much more powerful counterparts by Game Boy standards.

The replay value of an NBA Jam game typically comes from entering in your own name and recording your records every time you play. The same holds true here, so in that regard, it’s decent. However, if you have the higher-powered versions (such as the console version), you might consider playing those first and foremost. They’re prettier to look at, after all.

In terms of depth, there isn’t much here either. All you get is the basic quick play mode that includes the two-player functionality that its predecessor lacked. Unless you competing for records or against a friend, there’s not all that much to offer here. What you see is what you get.

For what it is, NBA Jam: Tournament Edition for the Game Boy is exactly what it was meant to be: a way to take the fun of NBA Jam on the road. It’s certainly not a bad game, but it simply pales in comparison to its console and arcade counterparts.