Jordan vs. Bird: One on One
System: NES
Release Date: August 1989
Developer: Rare
Publisher: Milton Bradley Company
Genre: Sports
Two of the greatest basketball players of all time go one on one in Jordan vs. Bird: One on One. There are three modes of play present for you to control the rock in. The main game is a half court one on one shoot out, like we saw in Hoops. You can choose to be Jordan or Bird, whether to play a full game with timed periods or first to 11 or 15, and whether the make it take it rule is in effect.
The action on the court is barren and controls are quite wonky. On offense, you go up for a shot with the A Button and release to shoot. If your timing is good, you have a better chance at scoring. Moving the d-pad moves you laterally, but if you hold the B Button while moving, you run in that direction. On defense, you can try to steal with the B Button and go for a block with the A Button. Stealing rarely worked, but I wasn’t super successful with blocks, either. Rebounding was infuriating and I couldn’t get a good handle on it. I couldn’t dunk with Larry, but I ran 11 straight points with Jordan dunks. I also found I could trap my opponent against the sideline and force him to take a hard shot when the shot clock dropped to 3. At the end of each quarter or game, you get a stat sheet showing how well you did.
Another game mode is the Slam Dunk Contest. You choose your dunk from a list, then you have to run to the correct spot on court, press the A Button and release at the proper point to slam it down. I was not able to get my timing well to score high. The last mode is the 3 Point Contest. You have 60 seconds to drain as many shots as possible. To shoot you have to press the A Button and then the B Button when you want to release. If you see the shot is off target, you can move to the next ball immediately, but be careful, you can invalidate a good shot, too. The last ball at each spot is worth 2 points, so make every fifth shot count!
Graphics: 1.0
Larry and Michael don’t look so good. Neither do the courts.
Sound: 1.0
Rare’s audio hasn’t progressed since they started developing NES games.
Gameplay: 1.0
There’s so little to do to control your character and what is there works poorly.
Difficulty: 1.0
There are exploits to run down the shot clock and being Jordan is cheese mode.
Fun Factor: 1.0
I wasn’t enjoying myself very much.
Overall Grade: 1.0
Jordan vs. Bird: One on One earns a D. It’s a worse basketball game than Hoops. I look forward to the day a proper basketball game comes my way.