Nekketsu! Street Basket - Ganbare Dunk Heroes

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The best basketball game for any system, EVER.

Story - Controls - Review - Characters - Downloads

Storyline We find Kunio on some type of gameshow, losing. He rings in on the final question and gets the 100 points required to win, much to everyone else's dismay. The prize: a trip to America to play 2 on 2 street basketball! Riki ties himself and a reluctant Godai to the bottom of the plane, and off they go.

Controls
A & B w/o Ball: Attacks, or special flying attacks during jump. A is also used to pick up items.
A+B: Jump. Can be done again in mid-air for extra height.
B w/ Ball: Aim. Release to shoot. If you make contact with the hoop while holding B, you'll slam dunk (be careful, you automatically aim for the hoop on whichever side of the court you're facing, and it's easy to score for the other team).
A w/ Ball: Pass. If your teammate has the ball, he'll sometimes pass if you hold A for more than a fraction of a second.

In-Depth Review
N!SB - Ganbare Dunk Heroes is the most out of control, fast paced sports game I've ever played. It's equal parts basketball and all-out brawl. I didn't intend for that to rhyme.
You have a Story Mode, Vs. Mode, and Password Resume. In the story mode, one or two players play as Nekketsu against the seven American teams. After winning each round, the opposing team's captain presents you with a wrapped gift. The versus mode can be played alone or with up to three other people. You select your teams and basketball court for a single match-up.
There are eight teams with four members each (detailed further in the Characters section). The four members have different statistics and one or two different special attacks/abilities, but they have similar technique overall. The eight stages have different special features making for even more multiplayer replay value.
Each side has three hoops, one at normal height and two at intervals above that. If you can manage to make it into a higher hoop, the ball can go through the others and rack up several points. Human players are at a disadvantage when shooting off-screen, because by the time it's scrolled back down your team's been knocked all over the place by the CPU.
The game turns crazy with the addition of everyone's favorite Nekketsu Super-shots, items on the field such as skateboards, rocks, ladders, and trashcans (the latter can be thrown on your opponents' heads), a great selection of fighting moves, and flimsy hoops that sometimes fall off your backboard, which the CPU never hesitates to steal for their own side.
The action is non-stop for a duration of two periods. The ball is always in play, and anything is possible (especially if you're up against Florida...). No one ever gets KO'ed, but they occasionally get beat up enough to sort of mouth off for a couple seconds and not respond to your controls. Speaking of controls, the biggest plus you'd get from having Japanese skills is that there appears to be some sort of movelist for each character (on the player select screen).
The graphics are some of the best the NES has to offer; cartoony, but appropriate, and well-detailed backgrounds. Music is standard upbeat jazzy Nekketsu stuff, which is good. The biggest problem is the handicap you'll face as a human, not being able to position your characters properly to make a good rebound. That's why we have friends, right? (sighs) I'd really like to play this with another person...

Characters

Nekketsu Skills: A well rounded team with a lot of efficient, no-frills techniques. Court: Rather dull, really. The only terrain feature is the fence/bush line you can walk on in the background.

U.S. Navy Skills: Powerful offense with the ball, good aim, good jumping. Some strange attack moves, though. Court: The top of an aircraft carrier; there's a conveyor belt that's constantly making weapons available.

San Francisco Skills: I think they're supposed to be bodybuilders. They're not much with the ball but they'll knock your ass down. Their super shot isn't worth much, it just turns into a weight and hits the ground. Court: A lot with some parked cars. The trunks of the cars will sometimes pop open and bounce the ball or a player.

Texas Skills: Pretty well-rounded. Their offensive moves are useful, but not as strong as they could be. I've only seen the CPU do their super shot, I think it tears along the ground... not sure what it's good for. Court: Very plain texas ranch. The horse is the only thing you can stand on, but don't get behind it.

New York Skills: One of the only teams who act like they're actually here to play street ball. Their stats are pretty good all around and they've got some annoying attacks. Court: A street with an "underground center" building on each side. Go into one and you'll pop out of the other a few moments later.

Florida Skills: They're slow and they're not very good shots, but the guy with the glasses can teleport instantly to wherever the ball is (an inch from sinking into your hoop, even) and their attacks have good range and power. An evil team to play against. Court: Shuttle launch site, nothing really special, just some high fences to stand on.

Las Vegas Skills: Their stats are pretty unbalanced, but I found them to be an average team. Their attacks are crap, though. Not very likeable. And they're magicians. Court: Casino area. I'm not sure, but the slot machines in the background may correspond to your score somehow (ie: make a shot when three things are lined up and get bonus points)

Hawaii Skills: An extremely powerful team in all areas, to the point of being unbalanced. Court: Beach area. The parasols will bounce you straight for the hoop for an easy slam dunk.

Downloads
Nekketsu! Street Basket - Ganbare Dunk Heroes NES ROM - requires an NES emulator, I suggest Nesticle.
(check Links section to find the emulators you'll need to play these)