BradXKH

This is the first arcade basketball game for a Nintendo system since 2010's NBA Jam for the Wii. I understand that many people have nostalgic feelings for NBA Jam, but I'd rather play NBA Playgrounds to NBA Jam on the Wii any day. I've only got a Wii and a Switch, so NBA Playgrounds was surprisingly good after reading reviews to the contrary. That being said, here are the pluses and minuses when compared just to that game from my perspective as a Wii and Switch owner: + (compared to NBA Jam on Wii) > It's more fun! Yes, the single player is longer on the Wii, but you have to play as the same team the whole time and can't mix players from different teams. That makes the Wii version very boring to play alone and you also can't play online. The NBA Playgrounds online feature adds endless play over NBA Jam. Yes, both are fun if you have someone to play with, but if you don't NBA Playgrounds is much better if you play on line. > User control is better. NBA Playgrounds lets you choose between dunking and other close up shots by holding ZR or not. NBA Jam feels like the sports equivalent of a "rail shooter." You can't control when you dunk vs. layup, etc. > Graphics (the graphics, at least in the newest update that added online) are crisper and clearer than the non-HD graphics on the Wii. The players are not as consistent as NBA Jam, but the backgrounds and animations are much better. I observed this both in console mode and in handheld mode. The issues with handheld mode seem to be fixed since the update. > It includes players from 2017 and many different eras of basketball rather than just 2010 and the 90s. > I actual prefer the music/sound/commentary overall to NBA Jam. NBA Jam had constant goal tending and shot clock violations with very annoying. NBA Playgrounds keeps the game moving with a 12 second shot clock (or faster if you get the lotto pick that speeds it up), but it doesn't seem to let you goal tend (somehow your player just misses the ball if you're too close to the hoop) and when the shot clock runs out there isn't an annoying buzzer or annoying commentary. Yes, the commentators are quite as iconic, but I like the fresh approach being tired of "boomchacalaka" after years of hearing it. > I prefer the Nintendo Switch controllers (all variations) to Wii controls (all variations). The Classic Controller Pro for the Wii was best, but it doesn't compare to the Pro Controller for the Switch. - (compared to NBA Jam on the Wii) > There are a lot more game modes in NBA Jam (though not all of them all that fun or an add to the main game -- Example: the one where you play until someone breaks a backboard isn't fun). > Consistency of how the players look and play is better on NBA Jam. > The overall polish of the menus is better on NBA Jam. All in all, I'm glad I sold NBA Jam for Wii and bought this because overall it was an upgrade.