NBA JAM T.E SEGA SATURN
NBA JAM TOURNAMENT EDITION SEGA SATURN - T-8102H-50
NBA Jam Tournament Edition is the second game in Midway’s basketball arcade series, featuring two-on-two fast paced matches with NBA players from the 1993-94 season (1994-95 on consoles). In total, the game featured over 120 NBA athletes and over 40 hidden characters. Improvements include additional power-ups, more detailed player attributes, player substitutions after each quarter, and a new soundtrack. The namesake "Tournament Mode" turns off all cheats and powerups, and rewards players with expanded rosters for nearly all teams if the player beats all 27 teams.
In addition to these features, console releases added practice and “juice” modes, optional game toggles like "hotspots" and powerup icons, and an "injury" stat that lowers a character's stats. Later console releases ( Jaguar, Saturn, PlayStation) also featured larger character sprites and scaling effects to match those of the arcade version.
The core gameplay is largely unchanged from the original NBA Jam. Players still have the ability to do all the crazy dunks from the original, and all actions (running, passing, shooting) can be enhanced by holding down the "Turbo" button. Turbo drains while active, and replenishes quickly when not in use. Players also have the series-staple ability to go on fire after making 3 unanswered scores in a row - giving the player temporary unlimited sprint and the ability to goal tend without being penalized. Small, but significant changes in the T.E. include slightly improved A.I., game speed, new dunks, and court changes matching the color of the home team. Up to four players can play at once, with the A.I. filling in any empty slots.
More stats in the T.E.
The most significant changes in the Tournament Edition are expanding each player's stats, and expanding each team's roster to three players (with some exceptions due to trades or retirement, such as Dallas, which only has two players). Players are graded from 0 to 9 in eight categories: Speed, Dunk, 3-Point, Block, Power, Clutch, and Pass. Stats directly affect a player's success for each particular action, and players can be substituted out at halftime to respond to the changing needs of the game. For example, the player would send in a player with high Power and Pass ratings if ahead, to minimize getting shoved or picked and secure your lead. If trailing in the 4th, send in players with a high Clutch rating. These changes bring an added level of strategy somewhat missing from the original.
Every version of the game also contains the Tournament Mode, where all cheats, powerups, and special characters are disabled. Players are challenged to beat all 27 NBA teams, with progress stored to their initials (inputted at the start of the game). If a player beats all challenging teams, they unlock new characters and challenges. In the Arcade version, this unlocked the "???" team for play, consisting of NBA All-Stars and secret characters. These characters would also populate opposing teams, and always come with the "Quick Hands" and "Max Power" powerups (except in Tournament Mode). On consoles, beating Tournament Mode unlocked 2 new players for almost every team's roster, plus a new difficulty level.
All versions of the game also included "Powerup" codes input at the Tonight's Matchup screen. These were secret combinations of button presses and stick moves that granted abilities akin to cheats (such as infinite turbo and power dunks). Playing in Tournament Mode disables these.
An owner dipswitch option in the arcade allowed the winning team out of a game of four players to continue playing for free, adding extra incentive to beat any challengers lined up.
KOMPLETT I BOX
