Top 50 Video Games: Number 12

#12: NHL '94
System: Super Nintendo
Publisher: Electronic Arts
Released: 1994
Players: 1-2


State of the art hockey circa 1994.


In a way, this spot on my list goes to a number of hockey video games over the years. It's always translated to video game form better than other sports. Three hockey games have captured my attention over the years. NHL '94 sits squarely atop that list as the most consistently fun hockey game I've ever played. It's certainly the one I've played more than any other. However, it lies in the middle of the timeline. We must start at the beginning. Blades of Steel was my start in hockey video games. I didn't know what the hell icing or offsides meant, but I knew if I mashed on the buttons hard enough I'd beat the hell out of the other guy when it came time for the gloves to drop. It wasn't teribly realistic, not that I'd have known the difference. I simply learned that hockey games were fun.

A few years later when I got NHL '94 for the Super Nintendo I had no idea how long I would play that game. Alright Guy Tom and I picked it up it's been a regular event for us ever since. To this day whenever he's in town we bust out the SNES and take the Wings to the Stanley Cup. Co-op NHL '94 has been a regular pasttime for us for years. We found a bug in the game that would, if done just right, would allow you to bring your goalie down the ice like any other player. Since the goalie is basically invincible in the game, this allows the player to run him around knocking everyone down including the opposing netminder. We always played cooperatively and after awhile we became like real sports teammates who've played together for a long time. Each of us always knows where the other is on the ice at any given time. I know that when I come sweeping around behind the net, Tom will be there to one-time the puck in when I pass it. Tom knows that if an opposing player is grabbing his balls, I'll come over and put him down. I'd wager that Tom and I are probably one of the best Snes NHL 94 duos in the world. That's right, bitches. The WHOLE world.


Nostalgia aside, NHL 2k3 is the best hockey game I've ever played.


NHL 2k3 was simply a grand hockey game. It has all the features we've come to expect nowadays: real rosters, trades, franchise mode and so on. I will recall one of my alltime favorite gaming memories here. I had decided to play a full 82 game NHL season with the New York Rangers. I played a few nights a week and after about 3 months I'd finished the season and it was playoff time. My team had the best record, several all stars, the league's best goalie, etc so confidence was high. I coasted through the first 2 rounds with little trouble. Mike Richter my goalie had been a little shaky, but we scored enough goals to protect him. Then came the conference finals against perrenial also-rans the Boston Bruins. After 3 games in which my high scoring Rangers were inexplicably shut down by ancient goalie Tom Barasso, we were down 0-3 in the best-of-seven series. Each game had been a low scoring affair, but for some reason I decided to bench Richter in favor of capable but untested 19 year old rookie goalie Dan Blackburn. After all, I had 4 months invested in this game and it was all going down the shitter. I had to do something. Needless to say we stormed back and won the final four games of the series and went on to win the Stanley Cup (if I'd just gotten my ass kicked it wouldn't have been memorable.) Dan Blackburn was the playoff MVP. It was a great series because it was intense - not only because of the time I had invested in it but also because every game was decided by one goal. All were scores like 1-0, 3-2, etc. This is why I love sports and why I love sports games. I miss you, hockey.