I played NHL 94 so much when I was a kid. I either played as the Canucks because Pavel Bure was so fast that you could score anytime you wanted, or as the Penguins because Mario Lemieux was fairly overpowerd.
That era of sports games was the best. NFL 95 on the Genesis was amazing because you could run the same sweep play with a fast running back and score every time, and you could commit pass interference on the defense as long as you intercepted the ball. Apparently I like simplicity in my sports games
They were some of the last good sports games in the golden era of fun sports games. The era ends in 1997 with the final two fun sports games ever made, NFL Blitz and FIFA’98.
Dropping by just to say if anyone does feel up to resurrecting this little retro game club, go right ahead! Feel free to continue here or start a new topic, and go about it all however you’d like. I’d be happy to join in too once I have the time (probably not anytime soon, but who knows).
Will also throw out that not playing NHL 94 on the Sega Genesis is a crime against Video Game Law, and Gamer Cred Cards will be revoked on sight if you play it on the Super Nintendo!!! ; ]
More seriously though, those EA NHL games on the Genesis were surely what I played most as a kid, after the Sonic games. I even got into actual hockey for a bit because of them, lol. Hockey translates really well to video games, but I miss the days of more arcade-style gameplay. There were some good ones in 3D via the NHL Hitz series but sadly that didn’t seem to last long.
Fun fact: NHL 94 has a rather devoted fan community to this day, releasing rom hacks every year to update the rosters and teams to stay current. EA has even kept the spirit of the classic game alive in some of their modern releases, including an “NHL 94” mode in some of their official releases.
Are there any holiday themed games that we can play in December? For example, I like replaying Spider-Man Miles Morales at this time of year because it’s all snowy in the game and there are lights all over Manhattan. Can anyone think of some retro games that might be somewhat festive?
What do people think about making the third game Home Alone for Sega Genesis, both because @Prin suggested it and because it is on that list of Christmas games?
Changed your mind on NHL 94? It’s certainly winter-appropriate, at least.
Will note that for those who want to play Christmas Nights via Steam, I’m pretty sure that you have to unlock it by winning the base Nights into Dreams game first. This isn’t a huge ask as it’s a really short game to begin with (it’s very much an arcade-style “see if you can beat your high score” sort of game – not that hard to complete, but challenging to perfect your runs for higher ranks). But at that point you might as well just discuss Nights in general, right? A game well-worth talking about, no doubt about that.
@Reset_Tears, I think we’ll be discussing the games in general, not just the holiday themed elements. I just thought it would be fun if they had a thematic element like that as well given the time of year.
I’m thinking to defer NHL’94 to January, the dead of winter. That feels appropriate to me, lol.
January sounds fine. I managed to convince my boss to bring in their Genesis into the office to play a small tourney of '94, but don’t know when that will happen.
Honestly, if you don’t play the game in the exact month but still play it and want to contribute to a conversation about it, I don’t think there’s any reason why you can’t or shouldn’t.
Oh of course. I just think it would matter more in this situation to actually be able to play it with someone. I would think about it with my eldest daughter, but she doesn’t have the first clue about the Genesis, let alone hockey. haha
I had one final thought: the original Animal Crossing for GameCube has holiday themed elements and, given it was released in 2021, also counts as a retro game. In light of this, I think I’ll put the games to a poll. For those who wish to participate, you can pick three options from the list below. The three that receive the most votes will be our December Retro Game Club picks.
Please pick three games below:
December Retro Game Club Game Selection
Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong’s Double Trouble! (SNES, Nintendo Online; using the MERRY code to activate holiday themed elements)
Christmas NiGHTS into Dreams (PC, Xbox; as part of NiGHTS into Dreams)
