Arch Rivals (NES) Playthrough - NintendoComplete
210A playthrough of Acclaim's 1990 basketball game for the NES, Arch Rivals: A BasketBrawl!
Played as Natural High against the CPU-controlled Chicago team.
Arch Rivals is a Rare-produced NES adaptation of Midway's 1989 arcade game of the same name. It's a 2-on-2 basketball game that ditches any notions of propriety, as its subtitle, "A BasketBrawl," would imply.
The game plays fast and loose with the rules, and violence is encouraged. If your opponent goes for a fast break, you might try tackling him like a football player. If he's hogging the ball, why not punch him in the face and steal it? And if you'd really like to make a show of dominance, smash the backboard with a flashy dunk! Boomshakalaka!
If this all sounds familiar, it's probably because Arch Rivals served as the basis for Midway's next basketball game, the 1993 monster hit NBA Jam. They're similar enough that I'm a bit surprised that the game wasn't later tweaked and reskinned to be sold as an NES "port" of NBA Jam.
The NES conversion is fast and fun, and the simplicity of the arcade game translates well to the system's limitations. The controls are intuitively mapped, and though the AI is a bit braindead in single-player mode, the game is a blast with a friend.
As was the case with most arcade-to-NES conversions, the quality of the graphics have taken a huge hit, but they're still good. The players are big and goofy, the crowd sports some fun detail, and the game's general style is unmistakably a product of 80s fashion sensibilities. Goggles and sweatbands abound!
Speaking of fashion, the game bombards you with British Knights ads at every possible opportunity. As a kid, I loved this. I had a pair of British Knights hi-tops at the time and I was so proud of them! Seeing that logo these days brings back a lot of memories.
(What I wouldn't give for another pair of those now! Remember the white leather with red trim, the embroidered logos, and the squared toe? My favorite shoe ever!)
Arch Rivals is a solid conversion, overall. It lacks the depth to give it any real long-term appeal, but it was the perfect choice for a Friday night rental if you had a friend staying over.
(BTW, anyone else think that the ref looks like Danny DeVito? Or that the shifty-eyed guy at courtside in the yellow suit looks like he's playing pocket pool?)
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No cheats were used during the recording of this video.
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