Collection essentials #292 & #293: NHL ‘94 (Genesis and Sega CD)

Here’s another iconic sports game you may have expected that I put off due to there being a Sega CD version. NHL ‘94 is still considered one of the best hockey games (even best sports games in general) of all time. Like Tecmo Super Bowl, it is known for having a dedicated fanbase that still makes fan-made updates with updated teams and rosters to this day. 


I can’t say a ton about NHL ‘94, I’ve always stunk at any hockey game that’s remotely realistic so that’s kinda prevented me from spending too much time with it. I could pick the best team against the worst team and still struggle to score any goals! But I’ve always been aware of this game and its quality since I was a kid. I’ve played the previous hockey game from the same development team, NHLPA Hockey ‘93, and the jump in quality from that game to this one is staggering. They just nailed what a mid-’90s hockey game was supposed to be, ranging from controls to presentation. 


NHL ‘94 is most popular as a Sega Genesis game, and that’s the version that is played the most and is given fan-made roster update patches. But what’s easy to overlook is that it was also made for Sega CD with some enhancements! It’s mostly what you’d expect, with enhanced audio and some FMV clips of actual NHL players outside of the action to improve the presentation. I hesitate to call it the definitive version, because fighting was removed because apparently the NHL didn’t want their players’ fight-happy reputation growing more than it already had. And of course you get loading times on Sega CD as well.


I also want to take this opportunity to give a shout out to the Hartford Whalers who are in this game since they still existed when it was made. The Whalers were the closest major professional sports team to where I live. I never got to attend one of their games since my family wasn’t into hockey and they moved away when I was still quite young. I wish they were still there!


As someone who likes retro sports video games, this one had to be an essential even though I stink at it. Maybe someday someone will be able to teach me how to actually play this game well. We’ll see!

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