Midway's overcharged arcade basketball, multiplayer with insane dunks. Short, joyful, perfect for memorable short sessions.
Your verdict
Category
Sports4 players3+
Description
Ultra-popular NBA arcade basketball simulation with exaggerated dunks and humorous commentary. Published by Acclaim, released in Japan in 1994. Licensed NBA teams with players, superhuman dunks, absurd commentary and cooperative and versus two-player mode. The best-selling basketball game on Super Nintendo.
NBA Jam review
4/5
Art direction
★★★★★
"Striking"
3/5
Music
★★★★★
"Memorable"
1/5
Story
★★★★★
"Anecdotal"
Gameplay
"Excellent"
Fun
"From the very first seconds"
Two-on-two, gravity-defying flaming dunks and a hyped commentator howling his cult catchphrases: this arcade basketball electrifies from tip-off. Scoring three baskets in a row to catch fire delivers an irresistible rush. With several players, the mood turns to a party. Spectacular, immediate and fiercely fun, an arcade-sport revolution that hasn't lost any of its madness.
Addictiveness
"Obsessive"
Dunking over the defenders' heads, catching fire after three baskets and then humiliating the opponent delivers an explosive arcade pleasure that every match revives. A score to inflate, teams to unlock and duels with friends multiply the rematches. Outrageous and repetitive, this souped-up basketball stays a magnet for short, tense sessions.
The Japanese Super Famicom version of NBA Jam, the Acclaim/Iguana arcade basketball adapted from the Midway cabinet in 1994 on its home market. The source pressing in the SFC cardboard box with spine card remains the most common and affordable printing of the title, Japan lacking the West's basketball fervor. Its collecting interest rests on arcade aura and the cult of the two-on-two gameplay, rather than on a scarcity that does not really exist for this version.
Better with friends
Super-charged two-on-two arcade basketball, whose oversized dunks and ball-on-fire marked a whole generation. The explosive competition is doubled by joyful co-op when you form a well-drilled duo against the opposition. Immediate, readable and riddled with secrets, it triggers shouts, trash talk and an irresistible need to replay one very last game.
Is NBA Jam still worth playing in 2026?
NBA Jam by Midway is probably the most striking arcade basketball on the SNES, namely two on two matches with outrageous dunks, flamboyant commentary and the On Fire mode for near guaranteed shots. The cartridge keeps the essentials of the arcade board, and the local multiplayer remains its main strength. The tech has aged without real damage. Recommended to arcade sports fans and to anyone after an excellent couch game with no setup, ideal for short four player sessions.
