Old School Cool: NBA Hangtime
During a much simpler time when major sports organizations were unburdened with thoughts of preserving the integrity of their brand’s image, wacky sports games roamed the Earth. The king of this subgenre was NBA Jam. With its roster of incredible NBA players and absolute disregard for physics, NBA Jam became the definitive basketball gaming experience of its era. To this day, it remains one of the most beloved sports games ever made. As impressive as NBA Jam’s legacy is, it’s strange to think that NBA Hangtime is rarely considered to be a part of it. Perhaps that’s because of the game’s name. See, NBA Hangtime was going to be the third NBA Jam title but a last minute licensing change forced developer Midway to alter the name. Yet, Hangtime was no mere continuation. It was a true innovator. Along with alley oops and double dunks, Hangtime introduced a character creation mode to this particular subgenre. In the spirit of this style of game, Hangtime allowed you to create everything from the next NBA star to outright abominations. Who among us didn’t immediately create an eight-foot tall wizard who was deadly from downtown? The ability to create a variety of ridiculous characters would soon become a staple feature of many sports games, but Hangtime didn’t necessarily receive the attention it deserved at the time of its release. Some blamed the name change. Others said that people simply got their fill of arcade basketball by the time that the game was released.
