RETRO REBOOT | Double Dribble (Nintendo Entertainment System)

• Developer: Konami

• Published by: Konami

• Release Date: 1986

I've always wondered by the game titled after a violation that HINDERS play rather than progress it. Had to get that out of the way immediately. If a Nintendo was within the household, Double Dribble is one of those NES games I'm certain was in every kid's system. I've never had any experience with the arcade game, so I have little basis for comparison of the port to its predecessor. But as far as 8-bit sports go, Konami was quite on the ball, hehe...I'll see myself out.

There weren't a lot of simulation basketball games I remember playing. The ones I have experience with, I recall them not being all that interesting. Mindscape's Round Ball: 2 on 2 Challenge was generic and forgettable. The entertainment value of Magic Johnson's Fast Break can be best compared to sawing your own foot off with a butterknife. I've already gone over Jordan vs Bird: One on One, the sports game equivalent of rummaging your hand blindly through a medical bag of used needles.

What separates Double Dribble from the aforementioned is it's genuinely entertaining. It's got solid controls, pretty good presentation, and as a game to go toe-to-toe with human opponents, there's a decent amount of replay value to be had with it. This was such a simpler time, when it didn't require the official license of a giant basketball league to justify its value. Personally, I'm a much bigger fan of Blades of Steel, as I enjoy hockey infinitely more than the brief time I spent indulging in basketball in the late 90's, but I'd be lying if I said I didn't play this an awful lot.

That is to say, it does come with a few issues. Specifically in single player; the CPU can be a cheating asswipe. Expect phantom steal with practically no collision detection, and errant stolen passes, leading to shooting percentages so good, EA Sports games would be in awe of the home cooking on display. That being said, the controls are quite fluid, even though there isn't a whole lot to say about a piece of software so straightforward; it's basketball. Not being facetious, but it's quite explanitory.

Once you catch onto the "hot spots", it gets super easy to spam three pointers, but mostly every kid just wanted to run to the paint for those cinematic dunks, which blew our minds. I liked that depending which way you jumped, the dunks could be different. There's also some nuance and variables. Not every dunk was a guarantee, if you jumped too close too close to the rim, or if the defender is obstructing you just enough. Pretty ahead of its time.

The graphics look pretty close to the arcade. Some of the sprite work is different, and there's more frames of animation in the arcade version. I actually prefer the way Double Dribble looks on the NES. There may be more detailed crowds for the arcade game, and the sports ticker and HUD has considerably more information displayed. But I like the finer details on the parkay court. I suppose it's more funny than a knock, I always thought the players on the NES game look like they're all wearing giant color coordinated onesies.

Basketball arena sound effects are quite amusing to me. There's the standard stadium anthems, including ballpark organ hits like "CHARGE!". It's some of those small things that would be a staple in the presentation aspect of sports video games that would evolve as the technology improved.

Double Dribble is an NES game that brings back memories of the late 80's summers spent at my grandma's house. While my older brother mostly played against my cousin, there would be long hours into the night of the two just going back and forth against each other in high scoring versus matches. There may be a handful of teams, with no differing attributes against them (you really were just picking a color), but that doesn't stop any sense of enjoyment you'll experience. It's a game that can still be fun to play today, it's just savvy enough. Unless the latest NBA 2K is more your fancy...

For my money, Konami and Tecmo developed some of the cooler sports games during the era. Between Double Dribble and Super Bowl, those two games dominates the sportsball time in our house, when it came to video games. DD has a low skill ceiling, yet can be incredibly entertaining in its arcadey madness. I still can't sink two free throws in a row, though...