NHL 11 News Post

Out of Bounds: NHL 95/96 and the Trappings of Old

12:38 PM - September 13, 2010 by RaychelSnr

You would be hard pressed to find someone who knows anything about hockey who would also be willing to argue that we're not in a golden age of EA NHL games. By nearly universal accounts, we are enjoying a series that is technically innovative and superior to the efforts of old. NHL 11, which released last Tuesday, brings to the table a finely tuned physics engine and enough new features to keep the avid puck fan salivating.

To understand and fully appreciate how we got here though, one has to look back on the legacy of the NHL franchise.

My experience with video game hockey goes all the way back to the original Nintendo-era game Hockey. Any gamer worth his/her salt -- and over the age of 25 -- is no doubt fully aware of this game. It was clunky, a little strange, but all in all, surprisingly compelling. But, in the end, its version of virtual hockey was lacking as a whole.

Read More - Out of Bounds: NHL 95/96 and the Trappings of Old

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# 1 allstar3970 @ 09/13/10 01:19 PM

Queue the same people complaining about minutia like jersey patches and sock length coming in and talking about how the mid-90's NHL games were the best. Always a fun contradiction

# 2 johnprestonevans @ 09/13/10 01:37 PM

I was hooked on this game too. 94-96 was the "Golden Age" of EA NHL. Things like instant replays and game highlights took trash talking friend to a new level. The game played great (for sprites) and had all the bells and whistles you'd want in a hockey game of the era.

I also LOVED the "Out of Town" updates. Highlights and "live" scores from other games in my league was a nice bit of immersion that for whatever reason is still lacking in today's NHL games.

# 3 swil @ 09/13/10 02:27 PM

"It's not so much me, it's Roenick. He's good."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ChtBbasZrjM

# 4 superjew887 @ 09/13/10 02:42 PM

I still remember first playing those games. Locked away in a cousins basement as he pounded me with the Los Angeles Kings in NHL 95. The first game I ever owned was NHL 96. With my hometown hero, Steve Yzerman on the cover. The 8-bit music of NHL 95 still rings in my head like a sweet lullaby. What I loved the most though, about NHL 95, was the personal feeling and attachment you got from viewing the player photos and the pregame analysis. A young Steve Yzerman never looked so good.

# 5 infinityBCRT @ 09/13/10 03:00 PM

I hated NHL 95-98 on Genesis/SNES. They had a great look from NHL 92-94, and they didn't really need to change it, but they did and it was for the worse. 95 looked way too cartoony, and while 96-98 looked better, it still looked kinda dull and colour combinations of team's jerseys seemed to be less accurate than from 92-94. Also, there were so many bugs introduced when they scrapped the 94 Genesis engine in favour of the new one in 95. I remember scoring offside one-timers for example.

NHL 95 on the PC on the other hand was amazing. NHL 95 on PC basically stood up to any of the newer games that EA was coming out with for me until NHL99 when the next wave of expansion teams came into the NHL.

# 6 GaryT531 @ 09/13/10 03:28 PM

Remember the scene from the movie "Swingers" where they're playing NHL on Genesis and Vince Vaughn says "I'm gonna make Gretzky's head bleed for super fan # 99 here!" lol classic

# 7 matt8204 @ 09/13/10 04:37 PM

Crazy as it sounds, if they just updated NHL '94 every year with current players and teams and released it for PS3, I'd probably buy it. The game was that good. The primitive graphics and sounds wouldn't bother me for a minute.

# 8 swil @ 09/13/10 05:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GaryT531


	Remember the scene from the movie "Swingers" where they're playing NHL on Genesis and Vince Vaughn says "I'm gonna make Gretzky's head bleed for super fan # 99 here!" lol classic

did you click my link dude?

# 9 swil @ 09/13/10 05:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by matt8204


	Crazy as it sounds, if they just updated NHL '94 every year with current players and teams and released it for PS3, I'd probably buy it. The game was that good. The primitive graphics and sounds wouldn't bother me for a minute.

Actuallly... they do. Via mods.

www.nhl94.com

# 10 russwg1970 @ 09/13/10 06:33 PM

I think NHL 94 was the first hockey game I ever got. I remember that - it not having fighting was a let down.

# 11 King10Sooted @ 09/13/10 09:15 PM

I remember playing NHL 94 -NHL 96 forever. I remember making a virtual Mighty Ducks team with all the kids from the movies and keeping stats and stuff on a piece of paper. I was probably like 12 at the time. Was one of the best games I have ever played.

# 12 Ktulu @ 09/13/10 09:25 PM

It's funny to look at how far the game has come and yet there are things which were actually done better 15 years ago.

The one thing that stands out to me is the old edit lines screen from the PC version around 95'ish. Every single player and every single line (1-4, pk & pp, & goalies) was visible on ONE screen! Nowadays you have to flip through 6 different "pages" to edit the lines, even the process of scratching/dressing players is more complicated.

# 13 FBeaule04 @ 09/14/10 12:11 PM

I played almost every year of NHL except NHL 03.

I started with NHL 92, on the Genesis. I had **** battles with a friend who was a Wings fan while I use the Hawks for the rivalry purpose. It was a ton of fun at the time, with the goal post crazy sound and the siren at the end of period.

NHLPA 93 wasn't bad, the only version we're we had blood but it's true, NHL 94 was a pretty good game.

I wouldn't go back to those years since the game as progress a lot, but back at the time, it was fun.

I think it was NHL 96 that had the season, scoring leaders, etc. This one was also a blast but the bug that made your season get away when you hit the 77 or so games ruined it for me.

NHL 98 with online leagues was a ton of fun too! :-)

# 14 Eski33 @ 09/18/10 01:04 PM

I agree. I am 39 years old and I have seen the evolution of sports games over the years. The NHL series has been my favorite. NHL 94 is my all-time favorite because of the teams, the ability to make trades and it was the first in the series to have a season mode.

I made an 80's Oilers team with Jari Kurri, Wayne Gretzky, Mark Messier, Andy Moog, Grant Fuhr, Paul Coffey, just to name a few that were on other teams at the time.

I also miss the Nordiques, Whalers (which I used a ton) and the Jets, which were all around during the NHL series birth.

Going back to the Genesis days, I played NBA Live 95 on my computer a couple months ago. Talk about fun. That game is still awesome....

# 15 JaFFiTh @ 09/18/10 01:31 PM

I think nhl 95 was the game I had (the season right after the strike season) then first one I owned too. Just checked out the 94 site and omg.. the graphics are definitely a BIG difference! But I remember I was addicted to the game, gilmour, andreychuk.. and all that player as a Leaf.. can't get any better than that! I have also owned pretty much every game since 97 or 98 except for that one year off due to the strike.

I also enjoyed playing Blades of Steel for the Nintendo. My buddy had that so whenever I went over we'd play that. One day a couple years ago or so we played it for the heck of it.. omg so damn different. I wouldn't go back to the games 'cause I'm HUGE on graphics so ****ty graphics = garbage to me lol but it was fun while it lasted

# 16 Eski33 @ 09/18/10 08:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by FBeaule04


	I played almost every year of NHL except NHL 03. I started with NHL 92, on the Genesis. I had **** battles with a friend who was a Wings fan while I use the Hawks for the rivalry purpose. It was a ton of fun at the time, with the goal post crazy sound and the siren at the end of period. NHLPA 93 wasn't bad, the only version we're we had blood but it's true, NHL 94 was a pretty good game. I wouldn't go back to those years since the game as progress a lot, but back at the time, it was fun. I think it was NHL 96 that had the season, scoring leaders, etc. This one was also a blast but the bug that made your season get away when you hit the 77 or so games ruined it for me. NHL 98 with online leagues was a ton of fun too! :-)

I almost forgot NHL 98. NHL 98 was awesome. I remember the first time I played an exhibition and the Bruins sported their yellow alternates. The graphics at that time were outstanding and the music when you scored a goal was sweet. I believe it may have been the first licensed music to be incorporated in a game...Can't remember the song though...

# 17 BurghFan @ 09/19/10 01:57 AM

Heh, I remember NHL 95 for Genesis mainly because the copy I had had all kinds of bizarre and funny glitches. Sometimes I would have 2 goalies in my net, sometimes I would have every goalie in the NHL on my bench, and sometimes a mysterious extra player with a screwed up number would skate in from the crowd to join my team on the ice. Unfortunately some guys who were supposed to be remodelling our bathroom stole that game (and Sonic the Hedgehog 3).

They did a lousy job on the bathroom too. Anyways, I also remember being really good at one timers and it being really easy to score.

# 18 Tikker @ 09/19/10 03:55 PM

nhl 95 for me was the pinnacle of the series

that being said, I really enjoyed nhl10 last year, and really looking forward to 11

# 19 Nunyerbiz @ 09/22/10 03:42 PM

It was insanely easy to score in NHL94, single player was useless. BUT... defense was insanely easy as well, which made it an incredibly sound two player game. Perhaps the best NHL ever made for head-to-head. The key was the hook. Those deke moves and "skate parallel to the goal line" cheese goals simply went away with a well positioned defender and the hook button. Mario? Wayne? Stevie Y? bring em all on... any average scrub blue liner could render all cheese useless with a well-timed hook.

I thought 95 was an ambitious step forward, but it never really clicked with me or the other 10-20 guys in our college dorm that organized tourneys. NHL96 on the other hand, that was the gold standard of 16-bit sports gaming.

# 20 Dirty Turtles @ 09/26/10 02:38 AM

NHL 94-NHL 98 were my childhood, especially NHL 94 and 96. I was a Nordiques fan, and subsequently an Avalanche fan, but I had to use the Chicago Blackhawks because I loved their fight song. It's still stuck in my head from time to time when I'm playing the newer games.

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