Super Basketball (version I, encrypted)

Arcade Video game published 40 years ago:

Super Basketball (c) 1984 Konami Industry Company, Limited.

A basketball game.

- TECHNICAL -

This game appears to have only been available as a conversion kit. The game runs on a single large motherboard with one daughterboard attached. This board is compatible with the Konami Standard and will plug into any machine wired for that standard.

Game ID : GX405

Main CPU : Motorola M6809 (@ 1.4 Mhz)
Sound CPU : Zilog Z80 (@ 3.5795 Mhz)
Sound Chips : DAC, SN76496 (@ 1.789772 Mhz), Sanyo VLM5030 (@ 3.58 Mhz)

Players : 2
Control : 8-way joystick
Buttons : 3 (DRIBBLE, PASS, SHOOT)

- TRIVIA -

Super Basketball was released in September 1984. This is the first basketball game presented by Konami.

- UPDATES -

It appears that there was both an encrypted and an unencrypted version of the game, there is no game+play difference between them, but they do use slightly different hardware.

- TIPS AND TRICKS -

* Angle And Timing Rules...
Free Throws : 41-44 and 46-49% = 1 pt and 3 seconds, 45% = 2 pts and 5 seconds.
Jump Shots : Varies by location, 45% sinks from anywhere ('nice shot'), 5 seconds.
Dunk Shots : Same as above, grants one extra second.
Lose 5 seconds for each turnover, unless game clock is already at :09 or below.

* Speed and time are essential. The big points are scored on the after-game bonuses, and you need to score tons of points to beat the World Champs. Here's how :
1) The primary sweet spot on the floor is the baseline (right edge) on the right (bottom) side of the basket, anywhere inside 3 point range. You can win most games shooting only from here. Dribble there every chance you get and shoot while running out of bounds -- the computer can't block the shot and any reasonably angled shot will go in.
2) The secondary sweet spot is the bottom left corner of the free throw line. Periodically one of your players will post up in this spot -- a quick pass to him results in an easy shot if it's taken immediately. The computer can sometimes stop the play, but it's such a fast striking shot that it can pay off big when time is running low.
3) Basic strategy is score fast, score often, you need the time. Pass north-south, not east-west and you can get around the defenders to the baseline. Take most of your shots from there as outlined above, and you should score fast enough to beat most teams.

* Hint 1:
On bonus shot screens, just shoot like crazy. You can have multiple balls on+screen at once, so don't bother aiming.

* Hint 2:
After about the 4th team, you're better off just avoiding passing altogether as they pick off the balls too often.

* Hint 3:
Move diagonally as much as possible rather than straight forward, and when under the hoop, you don't need to make a full jump to get it in easy - that just makes it easier to be blocked.

* Hint 4:
If you're moving without the ball (say after a shot, to go rebound) it seems that you can run faster if you 'dribble' even though you don't have a ball to do that with.

* 5,000 Point Bonus:
When you're shooting free throws, hold down the shoot button until the angle indicator is between 85 and 90 degrees. The ball will go straight up, bounce off the shooter's head, and bounce off the screen, awarding you a 5,000 point bonus.

- PORTS -

* CONSOLES:
[JP] Nintendo DS (mar.15, 2007) "Konami Arcade Collection [Model NTR-A5KJ-JPN]"
[US] Nintendo DS (mar.27, 2007) "Konami Classic Series - Arcade Hits [Model NTR-ACXE-USA]": as 'Basketball'.
[EU] Nintendo DS (oct.26, 2007) "Konami Arcade Classics [Model NTR-ACXP-EUR]"