NBA Jam
Created: 2012-06-29 18:39 -07:00 | Views: 27- View Entry
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NBA Jam is an arcade basketball video game made by Midway that came out in the 1990's. Adam and Josh spent many hours playing an emulated version years later.
Adam and Josh quickly noticed that the announcer/play caller's voice samples sounded strikingly similar to the NFL announcer John Madden. As they continued to play, they noticed that the comments didn't always accurately depict the way the game was unfolding. An observation of "Ugly shot..." was often followed by an "IT'S GOOD!" when the shot was made. Instances like this confirmed the Madden hypothesis, as an NFL expert would be ill-equipped to call an NBA game. Adam and Josh grew increasingly impatient with the announcing, resulting in a consistent response of "Shut up, Madden."
The imperfect emulation of the game resulted in the already poor audio samples degrading further. As is typical, Adam and Josh pounced on this, imitating the distortion with exaggeration. The phrase "Boomshakalaka!" was garbled into "Boomshwakalalaka!".
The announcement of one player's name in particular seemed odd. Whenever Joe Dumars was announced, the voice sample sounded different than any other from the game (especially Madden) and Adam and Josh took note of this. The sample was a bit nasal and "Dumars" was said swiftly, and Adam and Josh enjoyed repeating it when Dumars was announced. Any time Dumars is referenced outside of the game, Adam and Josh immediately respond with a nasally "Dumars".
Adam and Josh would often pick the Bulls due to their popularity at the time. The more they played, the more frustrated they got at the frequency of the computer's come-from-behind victories. They felt that the game was cheating. Due to this, when the game announced the match up between the teams, they would substitute the opposing team's name with "CHEATERS!" resulting in the phrase "BULLS...VERSUS...CHEATERS!" Amusingly, this phrase applied even if the opponent was also the Bulls.
Among the multiple near super-human moves in the game was the ability to easily pass cross-court. Adam and Josh, however, would often rear up for a shot, the character's body fully extended with arms out, only to rapid-fire a pass across the court in the opposite direction to their teammate. They took great joy in the abruptness and pin-point accuracy of the pass.
One of the highlights of the game was the ability to make spectacular dunks, with many players having their own variations. As Adam and Josh almost exclusively played as the Bulls, they most often dunked as Scottie Pippen. During one dunk, Adam and Josh noticed that Pippen was curled into a tight ball, cradling the basketball in his arms, as he flew to the basket, resulting in a thunderous slam. Josh noted that Pippen's curled up body resembled a person in the fetal position, and he dubbed the dunk "The Fetal Dunk".
It's important to note that the Fetal Dunk is not an easy trick to pull off. One must be going the appropriate speed and be at the appropriate position on the court before initiating the maneuver to correctly pull off the feat. These parameters are somewhat of a gray area as Adam and Josh don't fully know for sure exactly what they are. Due to the difficulty and infrequency of appearance, a successful Fetal Dunk is met with great fanfare and celebration.
Madden Announcer
Adam and Josh quickly noticed that the announcer/play caller's voice samples sounded strikingly similar to the NFL announcer John Madden. As they continued to play, they noticed that the comments didn't always accurately depict the way the game was unfolding. An observation of "Ugly shot..." was often followed by an "IT'S GOOD!" when the shot was made. Instances like this confirmed the Madden hypothesis, as an NFL expert would be ill-equipped to call an NBA game. Adam and Josh grew increasingly impatient with the announcing, resulting in a consistent response of "Shut up, Madden."
The imperfect emulation of the game resulted in the already poor audio samples degrading further. As is typical, Adam and Josh pounced on this, imitating the distortion with exaggeration. The phrase "Boomshakalaka!" was garbled into "Boomshwakalalaka!".
The announcement of one player's name in particular seemed odd. Whenever Joe Dumars was announced, the voice sample sounded different than any other from the game (especially Madden) and Adam and Josh took note of this. The sample was a bit nasal and "Dumars" was said swiftly, and Adam and Josh enjoyed repeating it when Dumars was announced. Any time Dumars is referenced outside of the game, Adam and Josh immediately respond with a nasally "Dumars".
"BULLS...VERSUS...CHEATERS!"
Adam and Josh would often pick the Bulls due to their popularity at the time. The more they played, the more frustrated they got at the frequency of the computer's come-from-behind victories. They felt that the game was cheating. Due to this, when the game announced the match up between the teams, they would substitute the opposing team's name with "CHEATERS!" resulting in the phrase "BULLS...VERSUS...CHEATERS!" Amusingly, this phrase applied even if the opponent was also the Bulls.
Immaculate Last Second Lateral Passing
Among the multiple near super-human moves in the game was the ability to easily pass cross-court. Adam and Josh, however, would often rear up for a shot, the character's body fully extended with arms out, only to rapid-fire a pass across the court in the opposite direction to their teammate. They took great joy in the abruptness and pin-point accuracy of the pass.
The Fetal Dunk
One of the highlights of the game was the ability to make spectacular dunks, with many players having their own variations. As Adam and Josh almost exclusively played as the Bulls, they most often dunked as Scottie Pippen. During one dunk, Adam and Josh noticed that Pippen was curled into a tight ball, cradling the basketball in his arms, as he flew to the basket, resulting in a thunderous slam. Josh noted that Pippen's curled up body resembled a person in the fetal position, and he dubbed the dunk "The Fetal Dunk".
It's important to note that the Fetal Dunk is not an easy trick to pull off. One must be going the appropriate speed and be at the appropriate position on the court before initiating the maneuver to correctly pull off the feat. These parameters are somewhat of a gray area as Adam and Josh don't fully know for sure exactly what they are. Due to the difficulty and infrequency of appearance, a successful Fetal Dunk is met with great fanfare and celebration.