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Being a big fan of NBA Jam in the
arcades, I was very excited when I found out that Arch Rivals had been
ported over to the NES. Arch
Rivals was the original prototype for NBA Jam and all of those other games
that have ripped off NBA Jam. Arch
Rivals features 2-on-2 action with no rules and lots
of punching. Basically were talking
about the late 80s Detroit Pistons who almost certainly had this game in their
locker room. In order to steal the
ball, you punch your opponent who then falls to the floor while you drive to the hoop and try to avoid
getting punched by the other player on the team. It is a great concept and is a lot of
fun but, as usual when it comes to NES sports titles, this conversion of
the game is severely lacking. But
first, lets look at the positives.
Positives:
 Arch Rivals actually has good graphics for
an NES basketball game. The
players are nice and large and run around the court easily. The basic controls are simple, B to pass
and A to shoot on offense. B to
punch, A to jump (never bother with this) on defense. The game offers up eight different
players to choose from, each with a different skill. The gameplay itself is pretty smooth
and you can even shatter the glass of the backboard if you execute the
perfect dunk! The no-rules aspect
is fun in this game, usually Im annoyed that you cant go out
of bounds in NES games but in this one it makes sense. Also, it is funny that you can run over
the ref and fall to the ground.
Why is there even a ref on the court, if there are no rules?
Finally, there is garbage on the court that you have to avoid or
you will fall, thats a nice touch often lacking on arcade
conversions.
Glaring
Negatives:
Unfortunately Arch Rivals has a lot
of problems. First off, you are
offered four teams to  choose from but each team features exactly
the same players, so whats the point? The eight players that you can choose
from all have a skill that they excel at but no one has ever noticed a
real difference between any
of the players again whats the point? Once you fire up the game and make your
first basket you will notice the games fatal flaw: it stops after
every basket to show you the score and a reaction shot from the
crowd. There is no way to skip
through this animation, which
means that there is no way to really crank up the pace of the game. What was Acclaim thinking??? This game is also incredibly easy. Since the game stops after each basket
you will always be prepared to punch your opponent as soon as the ball is
inbounded. If you take advantage
of this flaw then there is no way that you could possibly lose. Also, you cant control
your teammate, but you do have to tell him whether to pass or shoot otherwise
he will just dribble around until he is punched. This game
features no difficulty levels, which it desperately needs since the
default level is insanely easy.
Finally, once the game is over there is no password or match
against another team. The game
just returns to the title screen again and expects that youll want to
run it back a second time.
Graphics
and Sound: Good
The players are large and each
have different features such as headbands or glasses. It is also cool to watch the glass
shatter on the  backboard.
Also, the ball rolls around the rim in different ways, adding a
little drama to each shot. The
sound effects are fun but repetitive; the sound of you punching your
opponent never fails to be satisfying.
Gameplay
and Controls: Good except for one flaw
Once again the gameplay is fine except
that the game stops after each basket.
This totally ruins the normal flow of basketball and particularly
hurt this game since its so easy to steal the ball from your
opponent on inbounds passes. The controls
are fun; you can actually fake shots
and do a crazy cool punch, steal and roll towards the hoop maneuver.
Features:
None
This game could have been
cool. If you could play a
tournament or a season with a password or battery then this game would be
substantially better. If the eight
players you could choose from were noticeably different then this game
would be better. If the four teams
that you could pick from were different in any way other than color then
this game would be better.
Fun?:
Not really
Its a real pity because Arch Rivals seems like it should be
fun. Unfortunately, at least in
one-player mode, the game isnt fun because it is way too easy and has
no tournament or season options.
Challenge:
No
If you can master punching your
opponent, then this game will be a piece of cake. I have never even come close to losing
to the computer besides the first time I played. Once again the NES fails to offer up
any sort of challenge with their basketball games.
Replay:
Some
Arch Rivals has a bit of replay
value because it features 8 different players that you can control. The game itself, though, will most
likely not be fun enough for you to want to check out the other players.
2
Player: Yes
You can play against your buddy
but you cant play on the same team against the computer.
Online
Manual?: Yes
http://www.nintendoage.com/index.cfm?FuseAction=NES.Manual&Game_ID=84
Bottom
Line: Yet Another mediocre 2-on-2 hoops game
I would only recommend this game
to huge fans of NBA Jam or the Detroit Pistons since Arch Rivals is the
prototype of that game and that team.
It is way too easy and has virtually no features that give it any
replay value.
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