Wayback Wednesday: NBA in the Zone 2 Retrospective
This is Wayback Wednesday, your midweek blast from the past! From retrospectives of basketball games and their interesting features, to republished articles and looking at NBA history through the lens of the virtual hardwood, Wednesdays at the NLSC are for going back in time. This week, I’m taking a look back at NBA in the Zone 2 by Konami.
I’ll freely admit to being a bit snobbish about my basketball games when I was much younger. Sim was sim, arcade was arcade, and never the two shall meet. Sure, it was fun to have an arcade setting in NBA Live, but Acclaim’s attempt to combine the two genres of hoops games in their continuation of the NBA Jam series was a bust. I’ll take a deep dive into those games at some point, but there have been some great sim-arcade hybrid releases. As I said when I covered the first NBA in the Zone, Konami arguably perfected the genre as Midway did pure arcade basketball with NBA Jam.
That of course began with Run and Gun, an arcade-only release that didn’t feature any real teams or players. Upon acquiring the NBA license, Konami ported the game to Super Nintendo as NBA Give ‘N Go, which they followed up with Run and Gun II in arcades and NBA in the Zone on PlayStation. The latter spawned a series of annual games, which brings us to NBA in the Zone 2. Released in November 1996, it went head-to-head with 1997 season titles such as NBA Live 97, NBA Full Court Press, and NBA ShootOut ’97. Can it hang with them? Let’s take a look back…way back…
Although I still classify NBA in the Zone 2 as a sim-arcade hybrid, it does lean more towards being sim than its predecessor. Whereas NBA in the Zone featured five-man rosters with no fatigue, fouling out, or substitutions, its sequel opted for more realism. There are now 12-man rosters, with fatigue and fouls necessitating subs. Aside from players who were absent – and those who were sort of absent, but we’ll get to that – this also meant that each team was fielding a more accurate lineup, rather than only including the five players that would likely be the most appealing to use for an entire game. Right away, that gives NBA in the Zone 2 a more realistic style of gameplay.
Like NBA Live 97, and unlike NBA Full Court Press, the default rosters account for 1996 offseason transactions. Unfortunately, they don’t include any of the Class of 1996 rookies, so unless you create them, you won’t be playing with the likes of Allen Iverson, Kobe Bryant, Antoine Walker, Marcus Camby, Shareef Abdur-Rahim, Ray Allen, Stephon Marbury, and so on. The rosters are accurate as of September 19th 1996, so I’m not sure why the rookies aren’t included when most of them had signed by that point. Perhaps Konami had a different agreement with the NBA, or maybe they’d only licensed players from the 1996 season, facilitating minimal roster updates.
In fact, there’s some compelling evidence that points to something like that being the case. There are a number of Roster Players scattered throughout the league, all of whom have stats that match a player that was on the team in 1996. One example is B. Forward on the Celtics, who is clearly Junior Burrough; a second round pick in 1995 that played 61 games for Boston in 1996, and then never played another minute in the NBA. These Roster Players are clearly standing in for 1996 season players who had to be removed, again suggesting that Konami licensed players from that campaign with permission to implement offseason transactions, but couldn’t add any of the rookies.
Of course, not having permission to include certain players didn’t deter Konami from trying to put them in the game anyway! NBA in the Zone 2 infamously includes three roster players named M. Guard, C. Forward, and S. Center on the Bulls, Rockets, and Lakers respectively; three guesses as to who they’re supposed to be! Konami were already pressing their luck there, but they took things a step further by giving them proper faces that actually resembled Michael Jordan, Charles Barkley, and Shaquille O’Neal. The NBA wasn’t thrilled about it, and future releases made sure that Roster Players were all suitably generic. It’s a lot of fun to see them in the game, though!
The modes in NBA in the Zone 2 also reflected its attempt to incorporate more sim elements. Exhibition play remained of course, but rather than just having a simple Playoff mode with randomised brackets, there was full season play culminating with the postseason. It’s an extremely simplified take on a season mode, though. There’s no option to trade players, simulate games, or view detailed statistics. The schedule also notably begins in 1995, lending further credence to the game not being a true 1997 season title. As in the original NBA in the Zone, the Playoffs & Finals mode still uses randomised brackets, so while the game does lean more sim, it’s still not very deep.
There are some other features and functions to cover, but let’s get to the gameplay. On the court, NBA in the Zone 2 retains a sim-arcade hybrid style. The quarter length is set to two minutes by default, foul calls are set to “loose”, and the stamina slider is at 50%, offering a more casual approach to 5-on-5 gameplay. Dunks aren’t over-the-top NBA Jam-style slams, and a few players actually can’t throw it down at all, but most of the league can sky for a big stuff off the dribble, or an emphatic putback. It’s toned down slightly from the first NBA in the Zone, but dunks are still more exaggerated than in NBA Live 97, at least as far as almost everyone being able to soar to the rim.
Generally speaking, games remain a wild shootout with everyone knocking down shots at a high clip, though it is possible to play defense. Once again, all steals are big lunges for the ball that can easily put you out of position, but you can effectively pick pockets as well as send back shots with satisfying swats. The best defense is still great offense, though the lack of the Illegal Defense rule means that you can just camp in the paint! It can be difficult to run a truly great fast break as players often don’t keep running to the rim, and also stop to catch passes besides, but the pace is still quick and fun. It helps that the post-basket cuts from the first NBA in the Zone were removed.
As in NBA in the Zone, there’s a button to perform spins and crossovers, which can be effective in eluding defenders. You’ll still find yourself getting stuck to a defender while trying to drive though, either being forced into a two-man back-to-the-basket animation, or simply glued to the opponent as you try to get past them. There’s also an odd tendency for backcourt violations to be whistled when trying to perform moves near the halfcourt line, even if you haven’t crossed it yet. Still, not every game at the time allowed you to perform dribbling moves on command. Indeed, it wasn’t until the following year in NBA Live 98 that EA Sports’ series finally adopted deeper controls.
The original NBA in the Zone was able to make do without a sprint control, with the players simply speeding up when they had a good angle on a drive, and getting boosts from dribbling moves. Adding a sprint control in NBA in the Zone 2 was a definite improvement, though. It allows for some semblance of explosiveness (when you’re not getting stuck to a defender), as well as the ability to catch up to an opponent following a turnover. Adding fatigue obviously brings in a strategic aspect, since players will tire quicker with constant use of sprint. It’s more forgiving than a lot of pure sim games on the default setting, but it’s effective in making you sub players.
One of the biggest improvements in NBA in the Zone 2 is the passing. In the first NBA in the Zone, you had to manually select the recipient of a pass, making it way too easy to just keep passing the ball back and forth between the same two players. As such, crisp ball movement and quickly hitting an open teammate with a pass were practically impossible (and often left you feeling really selfish when playing co-op). NBA in the Zone 2 did away with that mechanic in favour of directional passing, and while it doesn’t work as well as in games like NBA Live 97, it’s far less frustrating than trying to rapidly switch between recipients in order to make a quick, short pass.
With that being said, defenders are able to beat passes, as they begin moving towards the recipient who’s frozen in anticipation of the catch. Even if you’re able to draw a double team, by the time you swing the ball to an open teammate, both defenders will now be crowding him. You’ll even see the ball slow down on passes to ensure that it reaches the recipient, and that the defense rotates to them accordingly. Still, I’ll take that over some of the worst passing mechanics that I’ve ever encountered! At least selecting a recipient is as simple as pointing the D-Pad in their direction, and hitting the pass button. You don’t appreciate the fundamentals until a game messes them up!
NBA in the Zone 2 also cleaned up the oddity of being able to change quarter length mid-game, an oversight in the original that allowed you to buy extra time or run out the clock quicker. The commentary is basic and repetitive – there was only so much disc space to go around at the time, after all – but it does add to the atmosphere. There are also four cameras: Live, a zoomed out broadcast-style angle; Normal, a baseline-oriented angle akin to 2K Cam; Side, a high, fixed angle parallel to the sideline; and Quarter, an isometric-style angle similar to the classic NBA Live camera. Personally, I prefer Live or Quarter, but all four angles provide a good view during gameplay.
Substitutions are available between quarters, or you can call timeout when you have the ball. Each team has seven timeouts, reflecting the rules at the time. There are no strategy options though, and calling timeout is the only way to view stats outside of quarter breaks. The timeout menu is separate from the pause screen, where you can change the camera angle or quit the current game. It’s a clunky approach, but a few games from that era similarly split the timeout and pause screens, contrary to NBA Live’s combined in-game menu. More games should’ve taken cues from NBA Live in that regard – there are many reasons it became the brand leader – but it’s manageable.
On the whole, I’d describe it as a simplified but not completely unrealistic take on 5-on-5 basketball; a solid, enjoyable sim-arcade hybrid. There’s not much strategy to worry about except putting the ball in the basket and trying to make stops, while subbing out your players when they get tired. To that point, the CPU doesn’t seem to sub much, and there’s definitely some tough comeback logic, but it does keep games interesting. It feels good to pull off a move or hit the open man for a big dunk, and jumpshots are pleasingly viable. Overall, it’s a fun introduction to basketball for new and casual fans, but hardcore hoop heads and gamers can still appreciate it as well.
Visually, NBA in the Zone 2 greatly resembles its predecessor. As for the quality of the graphics…look, it’s a PlayStation game. Like many early 3D titles, the players look awkward, angular, and unrealistic by modern standards. At the time though, they were impressive! We weren’t too far removed from the sparsely-detailed faces of the 16-bit era, so having real face textures – primitive as they may be now – rightfully impressed gamers back in 1996. It’s why I’m not a big fan of the whole “I can’t believe I used to think this looked good” rhetoric. I do get it, but it downplays what was genuinely a massive step forward in its day. It also looks quite good scaled up in DuckStation!
The frontend design screams 90s, from its colour scheme to the scrapbook and graffiti aesthetic for the backgrounds. It’s not quite as impressive as NBA Live 97’s iconic design, but it’s in that same vein. Prior to tipping off a game, we’re able to view and change the starting five, as well as watch the players get introduced. There’s even an option to play the national anthem, featuring a fully-voiced performance of The Star-Spangled Banner. There are several stats overlays resembling a TV broadcast, as many sim and sim-arcade hybrid games at that point were beginning to implement. It’s not the best presentation, but it’s an enjoyable mix of NBA style and 90s cheese.
I also have to touch on the music of NBA in the Zone 2. There’s a funky, up-tempo, quintessential 90s sports game hip-hop beat when you proceed to the Tonight’s Match-Up screen. It feels like it should be the main theme of the game, but instead, most of the menus are accompanied by a more chill, almost lounge music-style beat that’s enjoyable, but does feel out of place; especially the very similar remix that plays when viewing the starting lineup introductions! A third track, which also feels like it belongs in a different game, plays when navigating the options menu and customising the rosters. I don’t dislike the music, but it was undoubtedly an interesting choice!
On the other hand, navigation in the frontend could be much better. Selecting teams in the roster customisation screens is cumbersome. It feels like there are more steps than necessary, possibly because it takes a moment to load a team’s roster into memory after selecting it. Thus, the simple act of viewing a team’s roster takes longer than it does in any other game that I can recall, and if you accidentally select the wrong team, you’ll end up wasting time, especially since you can’t back out. That’s a problem with the navigation in general. There’s a point of no return when setting up a game, after which you have no choice but to start it and then quit right back out to the main menu.
Roster customisation in NBA in the Zone 2 isn’t deep, but it’s sufficient. You can edit lineups, trade players between teams, create players, and even edit jersey numbers; a function that wasn’t too common at the time. Another uncommon feature found in NBA in the Zone 2 is the ability to clone a player. This is a great way of replacing the Roster Players, since the clone will use their face texture rather than one of the created player face templates. The catch here is that names for cloned and created players can only be a maximum of twelve characters long. This limitation means that even though you’re re-using a real face texture, a cloned player will still stand out. Still, it’s handy.
Creating an original player from scratch also reveals further Easter eggs. There are a variety of models to choose from, based on real NBA players. To that point, some are clearly modelled on NBA Legends such as Magic Johnson and Larry Bird, as well as the absent Michael Jordan, Charles Barkley, and Shaquille O’Neal. This wasn’t quite as daring as giving Roster Players real faces, but again, it demonstrates how Konami were willing to push the boundaries of what they could get away with as far as adding unlicensed content. It’s reminiscent of the created player presets that can be unlocked just by entering the appropriate names in NBA Live 96 for the SNES and Genesis.
Stuff like this is a joy to find in old hoops titles, and it underscores how it was still the Wild West when it came to video game development. Of course, the NBA did start cracking down harder on companies that tried to work around likeness rights and so forth, and while that’s unfortunate, it’s also understandable given the legal issues it presents. We only have to look at the lawsuit that resulted from EA Sports including stand-ins that were a bit too obvious on the classic teams in NCAA March Madness 08 and NCAA Basketball 09. Considering they’d already gotten into trouble for what they did in NBA Live 96 16-bit, EA Sports were unbelievably brash in doing that!
Getting back to NBA in the Zone 2, while there is an obvious and easy way to replace the Roster Players for MJ, Chuck, and Shaq, it can actually be more fun to play with them as-is! It’s such an absurd situation, and the lack of detailed stat tracking and roster management in season play make it easier to ignore the placeholder names. Just place them in the starting five and give them the correct jersey numbers before you start a new Regular Season game, and you’re all set! Also, ensure that you’re happy with the game settings that you’ve chosen before starting a new season, as you can’t change them. Again, the modes and menus have some questionable design choices.
With its overall lack of depth and clunky design in its core modes, features, and a few functions, I’d say that NBA in the Zone 2 is an inferior game to NBA Live 97 overall. Obviously it’s taking its own approach to virtual basketball as a sim-arcade hybrid, but it does fall short as far as its sim elements. Even as a streamlined or casual take on the genre, it’s afflicted by cumbersome frontend navigation and extremely shallow modes. With the game leaning in a more sim direction, it should’ve been a bit deeper. It also suffers from a lack of truly updated rosters for the 1997 season, though Easter eggs in Create-a-Player and the Roster Players with real faces do add some novelty.
Gameplay is where NBA in the Zone 2 really shines, however. While it’s ostensibly aimed at more casual basketball fans and gamers who’d prefer a tad more realism than the full-blown arcade games provide, there’s still fun to be had if you’re a sim head. It has good pick-up-and-play gameplay: not too serious, but at the same time, not too wacky. It’s that in-between style that the sim-arcade hybrid caters to, and with the addition of a few more sim elements, it offers more depth than the original NBA in the Zone. It also does have NBA Live 97 beat as far as providing a dribble moves button. If you enjoy the sim-arcade hybrid style, it can be a fun retro title today.
As I said, I’ve grown to appreciate the sim-arcade hybrid genre in recent years. They weren’t the games I was looking for back in the day, but I’ll readily play them now. There’s appeal in gameplay that you don’t have to take too seriously, but isn’t as over-the-top as NBA Jam, while also being more NBA-oriented than NBA Street. Even if it wasn’t sustainable having so many games on the market, I really miss the variety and creativity we used to have, and NBA in the Zone 2 exemplifies that. It has its flaws, but from fun gameplay to streamlined modes to some entertaining oddities, Konami were making intriguing moves as they looked to turn NBA in the Zone into a series.
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