NBA JAM

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I came across something interesting, so interesting in fact it made me want to write about it.

I didn’t know (or rather didn’t realise) that there are no less than 6 versions of the original NBA JAM that were released in 1993; now a comparison between the different versions would be interesting, but what made me want to write something was just how different the opening title music was in most of them.

So, seeing how it’s NHL playoff time i figured it’d be perfect to talk about 90’s fictional basketball.

We’ll start in order of release, pick a winner and a loser.

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THE CONTESTANTS

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First up, is the proper Arcade release of the game.

The midi drums add a tension up front, it sets up a high stakes sports game, but surprisingly sounds a bit broody. The melody is buried under those drums, and honestly (to spoil it a bit) it does it a disservice as it turns out to be quite a bright and energetic one in other arrangements.

I couldn’t say why they chose to go this particular route, it seems a bit at odds with the wacky gameplay, but overall the hard clear drums do most of the heavy lifting here.

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Next up it’s the genesis’ rendition, and it doesn’t try anything other than a straight adaptation.

Now probably due to the programming the melody is higher in the mix, and the drums have that iconic Sega Genesis dirtiness to them, resulting in the bridge at about 1:10 being more memorable (i had to check if the arcade version had it).

In a notable break to the arcade original, it drops the opening synth crescendo at the beginning, and brings the low synth hits higher up.

Overall it maintains the tension of the arcade version, but with the dark synths being higher up in the mix, it takes on a bit of a gloomier tone (Particularly in its middle section before its bridge). Which i again find at odds with the goofy gameplay of the game.

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Holy shit, this is what i’m talking about with that melody.

Bringing it up to the forefront and putting the rhythm in the back makes the song hit and swing harder, with that comes a higher energy and an agreement in tone with the games high paced and silly gameplay. The opening organ is brighter and just a perfect introduction into the chords that make up the songs primary melody.

It’s honestly hard to recognize it as being the same song, given the differences in energy.

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Next up is the Gameboy’s entry (i’m aware there was a Game Gear release for this, but i can’t seem to find the music from that version).

And wow, if the main purpose of menu music is to get you excited to hit start then this version does it for all the wrong reasons. Being a 12 second loop of the crescendo, and so tinny sounding that it made me almost instantly turn it off.

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And at last we come to the Sega CD’s version.

This gets points for being the most majestic of any of the releases, by about a football field, powered as it is by the best that 90’s CD quality synths could offer.

And yes, that opening 18 seconds is beautiful (especially with some good headphones). Going for a misty start for its opening crescendo, only to burst into the horns of the opening melody; seemingly wanting to evoke the box art of a basketball smashing through the posters of your 10 year old self’s bed room walls, and leaving little doubt that you’re playing NBA JAM.

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THE BEST

I’m going with the SNES version here: yes the Sega CD version has the higher quality instruments, yes it’s an example of Sega doing what Nintendon’t, yes your rich friend who had that Sega Multi-Mega could show off how much shittier your Sega Genesis sounded in comparison, and yes it’s the more obscure release and thus knowing and appreciating it makes you better than the normy hoards that ruin everything.

But, the SNES version has more grit and less pomp. Which is truer to the original Arcade release, and truer to how nasty 90’s Basketball was, the Sega CD’s horns evoke a Olympic highlight or torch lighting reel than a sweaty physical game of B-Ball. The organ powered melody is also more in keeping with the aforementioned goofy tone of the game, it’s easy to see Scottie Pippen’s smiling face at the character select screen, hear the annoucer exclaim “No Good!”, “He’s on Fire”, and “For Three!” while i listen to the SNES version.

In the end both are bright and brilliant examples of 90’s gaming goodness, so there’s no real losers here.

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THE LOSER

It’d be too easy to pick the Gameboy one, but that’s being unfair in my eyes, it’s like expecting a KIA Rio to be a decent car when compared to literally anything else.

No, and it pains me to say this, the Genesis version gets the turkey award here.

Just listen to it in comparison to any of the others (aside from handhelds), and it’s just completely lifeless, gloomy, and forgettable. That farting low synth that gives so many other Genesis tunes their distinct flavour is a distraction, and while the melody is brought forward it sounds perfunctory and robotic, emphasizing nothing about itself for any effect.