Basketball has never been overly popular in England. Yes, we played it at school, or if one of our friends happened to persuade their parents to buy a hoop for their garden we might spend a an hour or so practicing lay-ups and three pointers, but overall, basketball was considered very much a North American sport. In the mid-90s, Channel 4 began showing NBA games regularly on Sundays. Had Pat Riley Basketball been released during this time, it may have proved a more popular game.

Pat Riley Basketball (also known as Super Real Basketball)is a sports game developed and published by Sega in 1990. It was released on the Sega Mega Drive and can be played in one or two-player modes. It version was also released for the Sega Master System. I chose to review the Sega Mega Drive version.

Gameplay

You must choose from eight teams across the US and lead them to glory in a tournament that one can only assume is the coveted NBA Playoffs.

There’s not really that much to say about this game. It did not have the license for the real team or player names, most likely because the budget went on securing Pat Riley’s association with it. The players do have stats and you are able to change their positions as well as decide if you want your team to mark man-to-man or zone defense.

During the game, you can dribble, pass, tackle, block, and slam for two points and even attempt three pointers from outside the three point line. Basketball is a high scoring game and there is little respite. Just keep dunking until the final whistle.

When dunking, shooting from the three point line, and/or free throw line, a bar appears with blue and red areas in it. A white dot moves across the bar and you must stop the white dot inside the red zone to ensure you score the basket. The same rule applies when defending a dunk.

How Does It Handle?

The gameplay does let this game down. The pass function isn’t as responsive as it should be, and its frustrating the way the computer is able to steal the ball from you, but you can only intercept their passes to steal the ball back. Another annoyance is that once you have scored a basket, your team seems to hang around the opponent’s end, leaving your basket unattended and allowing the computer to make a B-line for it.

The mechanism with which you dunk or attempt three throws based on a bar of red and blue works well.

Graphics

The scrolling is smooth and the graphics are pretty good, especially during the action cut scenes when players shoot and dunk (almost identical to Takin’ It To The Hoop (1989) on the TurboGrafx-16), and are far superior to other basketball games released for consoles in 1990 such as Ultimate Basketball (NES) and Harlem Globetrotters (NES). Whilst dunking, a bar appears with blue and red areas in it. A white dot moves across the bar and you must stop the white dot inside the red zone to ensure you score the basket. The same rule applies when defending a dunk. For some reason when in open play, the ball is ridiculously large. It looks more like a medicine ball.

Music & SFX

Interestingly, there is music throughout the game which is actually quite good. It has a sort of Saturday night sport action kind of feel to it…if that makes sense.

The SFX when jumping are a bit naff and the minimal SFX throughout the game really don’t add much to the it.

Replay Value

On a positive note, the fact that this can be played in two-player mode, and that there are three difficulty settings adds to the replay value of the game.

Did I Complete The Game?

I have completed this game several times without using any cheats. You really shouldn’t need them for this game anyway, as its not that difficult to win comfortably. Sadly, there is not much of an ending to make you feel that the effort was justified.

What The Critics Said:

Mean Machines: (Reviewed as Super Real Basketball) “Super Real Basketball gives solid entertainment to two players, but on your own, it’s a little wearing! Overall 79%”.[1]

Sega Power: (Reviewed as Super Real Basketball) “Boasting detailed close-ups of the slam-dunk action, realistic court views and decent sound this is an okay sport sim. However, the lack of depth and difficulty means that its potential is only realised in two-player mode. Overall 3/5“.[2]

Sega Power: (Reviewed as Super Real Basketball) “Detailed close-ups of the action, realistic court views and fairly decent sound FX. An okayish sports sim, with great two-palyer mode. Overall 2/5”[3]

MegaTech: “The computer isn’t difficult to beat once you’ve got used to the comprehensive control method there’s a very good two-player mode. With excellent graphics – the animation on the players is particularly good – and plenty of different gameplay options. Overall 81%”.[4]

My Verdict: “Some nice graphics, let down by the gameplay, but worth a bit of your time if you like basketball and the game is cheap to pick up.”

Rating:

What are your memories of Pat Riley Basketball? I would love to hear your thoughts, and don’t for get to follow and subscribe so that you don’t miss my latest reviews! You can also find me on Instagram: @nicklovestogame.

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[1] ‘Review: Mega Drive – Super Real Basketball’. Mean Machines. (April 1991). Issue 7:56-57.

[2] Jarrett, S., ‘The Hard Line – Super Hang-On’. Sega Power. (April 1991). Issue 23:54.

[3] ‘The Hard Line – Review: Mega Drive – Super Real Basketball’. Sega Power. (September 1993). Issue 46:99.

[4] ‘Game Index – Super Real Basketball’. MegaTech. (May 1992). Issue 5:78.