Sports Videogames

[MOSQUITO FIGHTER]

I have a strong disdain for sports games. Is there anyone here who plays and is knowledgeable about sports games who can convince me otherwise? Am I missing something here?

The last time I tried out Madden the game seemed like at this point that it does everything for you. I mean everything was on auto pilot. The computer would even select plays for you. I mean what is there left to do in that game now?

[Lord Satori]

Am I missing something here?

Nope.

[NTSC-J]

You're missing some real treasures.

Neo Turf Masters
League Bowling
Hajime no Ippo (GBA)
K-1 Pocket Grand Prix 2
Capcom Sports World

All have great visuals, presentation, and arcadey gameplay.

[Bananamatic]

the kunio kun soccer game on NES

[STG]

I feel the same as you OP, but I am hooked on the Hot Shot's Golf series (Minna no Golf). I do enjoy Mario Tennis every now and then. Other than playing some of the classics finding new sports games that captivate me are extremely rare.

[Ruldra]

Unless you're a huge fan of a specific sport, I recommend to stay away from official sports titles (FIFA, PES, NBA etc). More arcade-y sports games might interest you.

Give these a try:

Baseball Stars 2
California Games
Looney Tunes B-Ball
Windjammers

And seconding Hot Shots Golf.

[KAI]

Smash Court Tennis - Pro Tournament is Namco's answer to Virtua Tennis. It's incredibly good.
MLB Feat. Ken Griffey Jr. is awesome if you have an N64 controller and a friend to play with.

[Ji-L87]

Numan Athletics and Mach Breakers looks pretty rad.

[MR_Soren]

I don't think the genre itself is bad. I've had plenty of fun with sports games growing up.

Sports games are gameplay driven and have a pick-up-and-play appeal; things this forum tends to appreciate. Some have lots of stats and team-building functions which some people really dig as well.

The games have a low perceived value due to the yearly update model that most (all?) current franchises use. Each game is made inferior by it's successor after 12 months, so old sports games accumulate in used game shops. However, that is a good deal for the players. Somebody who's not to fussy and just wants to play a baseball game can have a lot of fun for cheap with a two or three year old title.

Sadly, the newer sports games are too realistic for my tastes. I preferred stuff in the late 80s and early 90s, like how the older Madden games played before they went 3D and started using dynamic camera angles and other nonsense that makes it harder to control and see the action. Making a game look like a television broadcast probably helps with marketing, but the gameplay suffers for it.

Likewise, games such as RBI baseball, Baseball Stars, or Base Wars on the NES are more fun than the hardcore detail driven baseball games that come out now. They've been shifting towards sports simulation, but I've never liked simulators. I'll take Mario Kart or F-Zero over Forza and Gran Turismo any day. The industry has given up on unrealistic or arcade-style games. No more Mutant League Football type stuff.

Regardless, I'd recommend a look at some of the the 8-bit and 16-bit games before writing off the genre. Baseball Stars, Base Wars, Tecmo Bowl, or some of the random Nintendo stuff from any time period. They are fun games, but they're not going to turn you into a sports game fan if you simply hate the sports the video games are based upon.

[DestroyTheCore]

Super Mario Strikers on Gamecube is a really fun game. But it's not realistic as you may have expected.

[broken harbour]

International Track and Field, both the original and the PS1 remake were huge fun back in the day.

As was the Mutant League games.

And NHL 94... I recall playing the hell out of that in junior high.

The modern Sim-ish ones? No thanks.

[Some-Mist]

rocket league man.... it's so addicting



http://giant.gfycat.com/TintedFantasticFawn.webm

[Obiwanshinobi]

Thread.
I also enjoyed THPS4 on PC years ago. Virtua Striker left me indifferent (but so did Pro Evolution Soccer, played religiously by most computer-gaming footy fans, so maybe the settings are just not my thing). Despite being no more interested in basketball, I've been curious about NBA Street V3 (because EVERYBODY who played it seemed extremely positive about it).

[cave hermit]

I have zero interest in modern AAA ultra-"realistic" sports games, but I do like some nice arcade-y sport themed games from time to time.

Neo Turf Masters is pretty fun, and I think it actually came from the original Metal Slug devs.

Mario sports games are nice as well, although I haven't played one in quite awhile.

And yeah, Rocket League is pretty cool too.

[Obiwanshinobi]

Motorsports-wise, Richard Burns Rally, all realism & lincence, on PC was fun even played with a gamepad. Well, I have yet to make much progress into it, but the very driving experience pleased me.
Moro Racer (1 on PC and Advance on GBA) was a very different kind of fun, but the settings warrant mentioning here.

[qmish]

DecAthlete/Winter Heat?

[Strikers1945guy]

Neo Turf Masters
Mario Golf: Toadstool Tours for the GameCube was super fun and addicting

[Xyga]

QWOP

/thread

[BrianC]

Unless you're a huge fan of a specific sport, I recommend to stay away from official sports titles (FIFA, PES, NBA etc). More arcade-y sports games might interest you.

California Games

That game has a lot of versions, some of which are better than others. I found the SMS version to be one of the better versions of that game. I like it better than the NES version. I heard the Genesis version is missing an event compared to SMS and has inferior gameplay. While not the definitive version since it only has four events, the 2600 version plays very nice and has an exclusive side view version of the BMX event.

I also like arcade like sports games quite a bit. Here are some of the ones I like:
Nintendo World Cup/Kunio Dodgeball Club Soccer
Sports Talk Baseball
NBA Jam
Excitebike
Track 'n Field series
Arnold Palmer Tournament Golf
NES Open/Mario Open
Mario Golf series
Hot Shots Golf
RBI Baseball/Family Stadium
Baseball Stars
Super Spike 'V Ball
Blades of Steel
various retro sports games like some of the Activision 2600 games

[Immryr]

yeah super spike v ball on the nes is great. I have also played a lot of smash court tennis on the snes in my time too.

[Obiwanshinobi]

Are the differences between U.S. Championship V'Ball (Famicom) and Super Spike V'Ball (NES) of much substance?

[Shelcoof]

rocket league man.... it's so addicting



http://giant.gfycat.com/TintedFantasticFawn.webm

GREATEST Sports GAME EVER!!!!!

[BrianC]

Are the differences between U.S. Championship V'Ball (Famicom) and Super Spike V'Ball (NES) of much substance?

I'm not sure, but it sounds similar to the differences between the US and JP Double Dragon II where the difficulty modes blocked off part of the game for the US version and all three modes were complete for the JP version. The JP version of V'Ball supports the JP only Hori Track controller. Not sure if that makes a huge difference, but there were times I wished I was using a track ball controller.

[Imhotep]

I feel the same, sport simulations leave me cold, but if a sport is translated into a fast, action-centric gameplay with exaggerated presentation it sometimes fascinates me a lot.

Data East has been good at this:

-Street Hoop & Hoops
-Windjammers
-Heavy Smash
-maybe World Cup Volley '95 and Stadium Hero '96, have yet to play them more
-would love to try Air Walkers (prototype)

regarding boxing games,

-Best Bout Boxing
-Top Ranking Stars/ Prime Time Fighters

come to mind.

-Neo Turf Masters and its predecessor
-Major Title 2

never get old.

I've yet to find a soccer game that piques my interest, though the Super Sidekicks and Virtua Striker series might be contenders.

[Obiwanshinobi]

Never heard of a person who would prefer Virtua Striker to PES.
The distinction between "arcade" and "sim" looks meaningless to me when it comes to "sports games". Wasn't Virtua Tennis (of coin-op heritage) considered the most life-like re-creation of the sport when it was new? Reportedly dethroned as a simulation by Top Spin later on, but it took what, four years?

[Acid King]

Sports games get an unnecessary amount of hate. You need good competitors to get the most enjoyment from them, even the best ones can get tiresome pretty quickly if you don't have someone to play against. NFL Blitz 2001 on the Dreamcast is the fucking tits and one of my all time favorite games. It's fast, the controls are simple, and it's super chaotic when the action gets going. Flat out, it's just a ton of fun when you have someone good to play against. I'm glad to see Street Hoop, Super Mario Strikers, and Heavy Smash get mentioned. NHL Hitz 2002 on the Xbox/PS2 is a shitload of fun too. You can also check out this old thread for arcade sports games.

[broken harbour]

I've always enjoyed tennis games. Mario Tennis on N64 and the first Top Spin on Xbox got a lot of play with friends back in the day. Good party games.

[Some-Mist]

rocket league man.... it's so addicting



http://giant.gfycat.com/TintedFantasticFawn.webm

GREATEST Sports GAME EVER!!!!!

agreed. been almost playing 2v2s and 3v3s non-stop (albeit still level 29) and kinda hilarious that it instantly became an MLG game. surprisingly difficult as hell too - I maybe hit only 1 or 2 aerials a match if I'm lucky and they never go the way I want.

that grand finals match was nuts btw
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZwGFZk9NLaU

[BrianC]

regarding boxing games,

-Best Bout Boxing
-Top Ranking Stars/ Prime Time Fighters

That reminds me. I can't believe I forgot to mention Punch Out. I love that series.

[Shelcoof]

rocket league man.... it's so addicting



http://giant.gfycat.com/TintedFantasticFawn.webm

GREATEST Sports GAME EVER!!!!!

agreed. been almost playing 2v2s and 3v3s non-stop (albeit still level 29) and kinda hilarious that it instantly became an MLG game. surprisingly difficult as hell too - I maybe hit only 1 or 2 aerials a match if I'm lucky and they never go the way I want.

that grand finals match was nuts btw
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZwGFZk9NLaU

WOW didnt even know MLG picked this game up! The players are amazing.

I'm approaching Expert soon myself but can say my skills still have a long way to go compared to some of the Vets I've been seeing online recently.

Its so hard to believe that these guys can score soaring over half the field and landing a shot... its just crazy. I've probably done it a few times but it was more luck than skill lol

Whats more impressive to me is the defense that can block.... epic saves are what blows me away the most. You have to have amazing reflexes and skill to be able to save some of these ridiculous shots.

This game require team work just like any other real life sport out there. I play with team mates with a mic always and we are always shouting and communicating with each other. The experience is amazing