Play NBA Showdown (Beta) Online

Game Overview

NBA Showdown (Beta) is one of those weird little SNES sports games that slipped through the cracks—it never got a proper release, but somehow this unfinished version made it out into the wild. And honestly? It's kind of awesome in a rough-around-the-edges way.

The first thing you'll notice is how fast it plays—players zip across the court with that exaggerated arcade feel, pulling off ridiculous dunks that would make Michael Jordan blush. The controls take a minute to click (I kept accidentally passing when I meant to shoot), but once they do, you get this satisfying flow of steals, fast breaks, and last-second buzzer beaters.

It's definitely got that early-90s jank—some animations are stiff, the AI occasionally glitches out, and the roster feels like someone's weird alternate universe where half the players are left-handed. But that's part of the charm. You can practically smell the pizza grease and hear the CRT TV hum while playing it. If you dig obscure sports games or just want to see what NBA Jam might've looked like in its awkward teenage years, this beta's worth dusting off your SNES for.