If you remember when NBA Live was THE basketball game to play, then you're old as hell. If you remember when the ideal way to enjoy electronic interactive roundball was by popping Double Dribble into your NES, the nurse is set to bring you your dessert and to switch your television to reruns of JAG. And if you're still calling basketball "roundball" in 2023, you're late for your sports coverage portion on Arthur Godfrey and His Friends. 

Developed and published by Konami, Double Dribble was quite a successful arcade game in its release year of 1986. Combining the game's fast-paced action, responsive controls, and cinematic slam dunks, this one of the innovators for presentation in sports video games, very much in the same vein as Blades of Steel and Tecmo's sports titles. The NES version was developed and ported to the US in 1987. 

There were so many countless evenings me, my brothers, and cousins would almost regularly pull all-nighters passing the controller around in a round robin-esque manner. This was one of the most ambitious simulation basketball video games of the time. Considering that the only other basketball game I remember playing was Roundball: 2 on 2 Challenge and Jordan vs Bird, this competition was easy to stomp. 

As far as differences form its arcade daddy, the games are very identical. The NES version may not have the referee, and the cheerleaders on the sidelines are cardboard standees, but the wood court actually has better detail on the hardwood. The player sprites seem pretty close, naturally there's less animation. Maybe it's just more familiarity with the 8-bit port of the game, I think the NES looks better. Perspective is weird, three-pointers from the bottom baseline don't read properly, so you end up hitting the backboard and it goes out of bounds.

There isn't much to speak about with the controls when it comes to functionality. It's more straightforward than Blades of Steel, but for a simulation basketball on NES, this is as robust as it gets for some late 80's video game basketball. Passing is quick and responsive, and the shooting has enough variables in it to keep things interesting. There are some sweet spots on the court that are certified tear drops, and even the cinematic dunks, which occur when you're jumping close to the rim, can be contested. As mentioned above, there are places on the court, mostly south of the hoop and closer to it, that are nearly improbable to impossible.

Only four teams are in the game (Boston, Los Angeles, New York, and Chicago), but other than jersey color, there's no difference in how they play. It's fascinating, about two years ago, I reviewed the Sega Genesis sequel, The Playoff Edition, which added more teams, more game modes, full rosters, identifiable fictional players, and some gameplay changes to make it a deeper experience. With all those additions, even on a greater system, the original Double Dribble is that much more fun to revisit. Yeah, I can't skip the whacky half-time show, but it's an amusing minute of your time to catch a drink while the robo-cheerleaders go through their routine. 

Competition would soon come in just a year, with Tecmo securing the NBA license to produce their official basketball title, and Electronic Arts would soon jump into the running, but for its time, Double Dribble is a certifiable banger of a basketball game that can still be a little amusing to play with friends. With its stimulating gameplay, solid graphics, and memorable sound effects, it holds its own. Those cinematic dunks will always be legendary.