Welcome to another edition of The Friday Five! Every Friday I cover a topic related to basketball gaming, either as a list of five items, or a Top 5 countdown. The topics for these lists and countdowns include everything from fun facts and recollections to commentary and critique. This week’s Five is a list of five reasons one might choose to revisit bad basketball video games.

Naturally, most of us are about as keen to play bad video games as we are to watch a movie or TV show that we dislike! If we’re disappointed by the latest release, we’ll cast it aside quickly, and feel little incentive to give it another look. Even if you’re a keen retro basketball gamer who can enjoy more primitive titles, you’re still going to seek out quality. Games that were great in their day and still hold up are the ones we want to revisit, while bad games get left in the past. Sure, we might bring them up in conversation, but we’re usually not inclined to actually play them all that often.

The key word there is “usually”, because there are some reasons to revisit bad games of all genres. We can certainly draw comparisons to other entertainment media here. Works that are lacking in artistic merit and overall quality can still be enjoyable, and undoubtedly inspire curiosity. Lacklustre video games may be tougher to similarly enjoy in a “so bad it’s good” way, but they can definitely still pique our interest with unique features, unusual design choices, and gameplay that has its moments. The classics are the obvious choice if you want to have a good time on the sticks, but here are five reasons why you might want to dust off bad basketball video games as well.

1. Content Creation

Obviously there’s an audience for content that revisits, reviews, and riffs on all forms of entertainment. This includes the all-time classics and most infamous duds alike. In particular, examining and poking fun at bad movies, TV shows, video games, and so on has become a staple of online content. It only stands to reason. Sure, it’s a joy to reminisce about the things we love, but it’s also cathartic to see the things we hated or were very disappointed by get roasted. This content can also be informative as well as humorous. Knowledgeable creators who do their research can provide analysis and interesting stories about how bad video games and other media came to be created.

Although nostalgia is certainly a key ingredient in my Wayback Wednesday features, I believe it’s important to cover both good and bad basketball games from years gone by. It would severely limit the number of topics if I only stuck to the best of the best, and again, bad games can be very interesting to revisit and review. I also believe that in order to credibly celebrate the great games we’re nostalgic for, we must be able to critique the bad ones, and demonstrate that we don’t consider every old title to be a masterpiece. As I said, there’s definitely an audience for retrospective content, and if it aligns with your interests and passions, it’s satisfying and rewarding to produce.

2. Amusement

When Dee and I connect to play over Parsec, we’re usually opting for a game that we enjoy, irrespective of vintage. That is the point of gaming after all: to play something we like and have a good time! However, sometimes we’ll choose to revisit games that are bad or perhaps mediocre at best. Sure, content creation is on our minds, as we’ll end up discussing those games on the NLSC Podcast and sharing gameplay footage. At the same time, it’s for our own amusement as well. It can be really fun to revisit bad games with a friend and laugh at all of the clunky moments. You’re not relying on it for a great experience, so some of a game’s worst flaws now become entertaining.

Granted, not all bad games are amusingly enjoyable; or at least, not for very long. Movies and TV shows are consumed passively, so even when they’re bad, they can be enjoyed ironically. Bad games are bad because of broken mechanics and gameplay loops that aren’t fun, so their interactive nature makes ironic enjoyment less likely. It’s not impossible though, especially when sharing the experience with someone. There’s twisted fun in trying to manufacture highlight plays with games that are rough on the sticks, and the failed attempts can be extremely funny. Yes, good games are naturally far more fun to play, but it can be amusing to revisit the bad ones from time to time.

3. Comparison

I once considered NBA Live 14 to be the worst game in its series, not counting NBA Elite 11 which was never officially released. It’s undoubtedly a candidate, but these days, I’m more inclined to say that NBA Live 07 holds that dubious distinction. Don’t get me wrong; it’s a close call, and you could argue in favour of either title being the absolute rock bottom for NBA Live. The reason that I changed my mind is because after revisiting both games, I felt that NBA Live 07 was just that little bit worse on the sticks. NBA Live 14 is still woeful and an utterly disappointing return after a four-year hiatus, but from a mechanical standpoint, it’s slightly better than NBA Live 07.

Now, you might say that it doesn’t matter. Irrespective of which one is worse, they’re both terrible games that were bad for the NBA Live brand. I always want to share an informed opinion though, and you can’t always rely on your memory. You need to sift through the garbage in order to sort it, if you will! Revisiting bad games for the sake of comparison will help put things into perspective. If a new game is disappointing, you might find that an old game isn’t as bad as it once seemed. Conversely, you might decide that a new game is still an improvement and better than you thought! In short, it pays to refresh your memory by revisiting games before making any comparisons.

4. Nostalgia

We all have video games that we know aren’t good, but we played them a lot as kids and nevertheless have nostalgia for them. This is of course where I mention Bart vs. the Space Mutants: a terrible 8-bit platformer than I not only bring up on the NLSC Podcast, but have now even covered for Wayback Wednesday! Naturally, there are mediocre and bad basketball games that fall into this category as well. Some of them were at least playable despite being heavily flawed, or we just didn’t know any better when we were young and getting into basketball and basketball gaming. Whatever the case, it’s not unusual to be nostalgic for hoops titles that aren’t very highly regarded.

Needless to say, the nostalgic bubble can burst upon revisiting these bad games, and that can be kind of sad. Then again, nostalgia has a way of smoothing over the rough edges and making games fun to revisit, if only for a short while. It’s possible to see and acknowledge the flaws in those games, while also enjoying them for what they are. Even if you find an old favourite is no longer playable, it needn’t tarnish your fond memories of it. If it kept you entertained all those years ago, then that’s all that really matters. In any case, nostalgia can absolutely compel you to revisit a game that isn’t exactly an all-time classic. How you feel about it afterwards may certainly vary!

5. A Second Chance

One of the best reasons to revisit bad games is that they’re not always actually bad games! Sometimes even the best games can make a bad first impression. Maybe you were tired or not in the right mood when you played a game. Maybe there was a major issue that was fixed by a patch, but you were too disappointed to fire it up again and give it a second chance. Or maybe you had strict preferences that didn’t allow you to acclimate to a different approach to virtual basketball. These have definitely all been factors in me disliking games and writing them off as bad – at least to my tastes – only to change my mind after revisiting those releases with fresh eyes and an open mind.

Of course, that isn’t always the case. Some games are truly bad – or bad for you, at any rate – and no amount of open-minded chances will yield quality and enjoyment that simply isn’t there. To that point, you might find that a game you already held in low regard is somehow even worse than you remembered! Still, it’s worth giving games a second chance, as it’s a delight when they do manage to impress. Whether it’s a retro title or the latest release that felt like a complete bust at launch, one more try when you’re in the right frame of mind can be all it takes for it to finally click. If it doesn’t, then no harm done! Just put it back on the shelf, and move on to something else.

Do you periodically revisit bad games for one reason or another? Has your opinion of a certain game ever drastically changed after you revisited it? Have your say in the comments, and as always, feel free to take the discussion to the NLSC Forum! That’s all for this week, so thanks for checking in, have a great weekend, and please join me again next Friday for another Five.

The post The Friday Five: 5 Reasons to Revisit Bad Games appeared first on NLSC.