A Midway arcade basketball in the NBA Jam line, ultra-snappy in multiplayer. Technically dated yet still fun locally, perfect for short sessions.
Your verdict
Category
Sports4 players3+
Description
NBA teams compete in this Midway NBA Hang Time Mega Drive basketball game. Published by Midway, released in the United States in 1997. Arcade basketball simulation with spectacular dunks, licensed NBA teams and fast Midway-style gameplay.
NBA Hang Time review
4/5
Art direction
★★★★★
"Striking"
3/5
Music
★★★★★
"Memorable"
1/5
Story
★★★★★
"Anecdotal"
Midway refines its recipe: finer digitised sprites, less caricatural silhouettes, dunk animations enriched with new figures. The player editor lets you build your own face and kit, displayed with the same treatment as the stars. Trail and blaze effects underline successful chains.
Gameplay
"Excellent"
Fun
"From the very first seconds"
Impossible dunks, players with legs ablaze and breakneck two-on-two games: arcade basketball pushes excess to the point of delirium. The pleasure bursts in the speed, in the create-a-player that invites you to mold your own star, and in spectacular baskets chained without respite. You return to challenge a friend, for the madness of the slams, and because this frantic tempo never wanes.
NBA Hang Time is the USA/EU edition of the Midway game, the spiritual sequel to NBA Jam with an updated roster. Its collector value comes from the game's position in the Midway arcade-basketball line and from the fact that the cartridge remains one of the last official Midway basketball productions on Megadrive before the move to 32-bit.
Better with friends
Super-charged two-on-two arcade basketball, where dunks defy gravity and the ball catches fire after a few baskets in a row. The competition is explosive and readable: alley-oops, aerial blocks and trash talk chain in an infectious energy. With a teammate you share the euphoria, against rivals you scrap for the win, and the urge to replay comes back instantly.
Is NBA Hang Time still worth playing in 2026?
A spiritual sequel to NBA Jam by Midway, NBA Hang Time keeps the explosive arcade formula of two on two basketball with impossible dunks and chain fire system. The precise controls, versus mode for up to four players and offbeat humour make it an absolute arcade basketball reference. For anyone fond of delirious arcade sports or wanting a festive alternative to classic NBA simulations, a warm recommendation still valid today on Mega Drive without hesitation for genre fans truly here.
