NBA Live 95 is a 1994 basketball game developed by Hitmen Productions and published by EA Sports. The game serves as a follow-up to EA’s NBA Showdown and NBA Playoffs series, with its release coming on SNES, Sega Genesis and DOS.
Reviews for the game at the time were extremely positive, with praise given to the huge improvements made over NBA Showdown. Sales were similarly impressive, helping to kick off EA’s dominance in the sports game space.
NBA Live 95 Premise
©Screenshot from NBA Live 95.
NBA Live 95 takes a lesson from EA Sports’ other titles such as FIFA International Soccer, adopting an isometric camera view which became standard for the series. Despite being a basketball simulator, it added a few arcade-esque features which made the game much more fun to play. For example, it was the first game to introduce the “T-meter” for free throws, as well as the turbo button for a speed boost. This may not have been the most realistic feature, but it helped make NBA Live 95 a better video game, first and foremost.
The game features several game modes, including Exhibition, Season and Playoffs. This allows you to take your favorite NBA team to the very top. Even better, NBA Live 95 includes the ability to create your own fictional team, so there are even more options available to you. The matches themselves are extremely customizable too, allowing for the changing of several options which can change the gameplay. For example, you can turn off the traveling rule, so you can run with the basketball to your heart’s content.
NBA Live 95 doesn’t have to be played alone, either. If you have the peripherals to support it, the game allows for up to four players on the court at a time, making for some chaotic basketball gameplay.
NBA Live 95 Main Characters
©Screenshot from NBA Live 95.
Like most sports games, NBA Live 95 doesn’t focus on one particular character. Instead, the game puts its emphasis entirely on team play, although the game does feature a near-exact roster of the NBA as it appeared in 1994. The only player missing was NBA All-Star Charles Barkley, who was excluded due to various licensing issues.
Because of this, the game itself doesn’t really have a main character. Instead, we’ll show you the full roster of teams available to play as in the game:
- All-Stars East
- All-Stars West
- Atlanta Hawks
- Boston Celtics
- Charlotte Hornets
- Chicago Bulls
- Cleveland Cavaliers
- Dallas Mavericks
- Denver Nuggets
- Detroit Pistons
- Golden State Warriors
- Houston Rockets
- Indiana Pacers
- Los Angeles Clippers
- Los Angeles Lakers
- Miami Heat
- Milwaukee Bucks
- Minnesota Timberwolves
- New Jersey Nets
- New York Knicks
- Orlando Magic
- Philadelphia 76ers
- Phoenix Suns
- Portland Trailblazers
- Sacramento Kings
- San Antonio Spurs
- Seattle Supersonics
- Utah Jazz
- Washington Bullets
NBA Live 95 Titles in the Series
©Screenshot from NBA Live 95.
The series of NBA titles from EA has a long history dating back to the 1980s. For years, it was the best way for players to dive right into basketball action for themselves, with a string of annual games officially licensed by the NBA.
However, the rise of a competitor has seen the NBA Live games become largely redundant. The NBA 2K series quickly became the premier basketball title after it debuted, which turned NBA Live into a struggling competitor. Ultimately, EA never managed to keep up with the alternative, and NBA Live is a dead series, for now.
Despite its recent lack of titles, we’ve seen the NBA Live series take a few hiatuses in its time already. While its current one is the longest yet, we wouldn’t fully rule out a return in the future. Even still, it’ll need to be a massive upgrade if it is to usurp the NBA 2K games in the long run.
- Lakers versus Celtics and the NBA Playoffs (1989)
- Bulls vs Lakers and the NBA Playoffs (1991)
- Team USA Basketball (1992)
- Bulls vs Blazers and the NBA Playoffs (1992)
- NBA Showdown (1993)
- NBA Live 95 (1994)
- NBA Live 96 (1995)
- NBA Live 97 (1996)
- NBA Live 98 (1997)
- NBA Live 99 (1998)
- NBA Live 2000 (1999)
- NBA Live 2001 (2000)
- NBA Live 2002 (2001)
- NBA Live 2003 (2002)
- NBA Live 2004 (2003)
- NBA Live 2005 (2004)
- NBA Live 06 (2005)
- NBA Live 07 (2006)
- NBA Live 08 (2007)
- NBA Live 09 (2008)
- NBA Live 10 (2009)
- NBA Elite 11 (2010)
- NBA Live 14 (2013)
- NBA Live 15 (2014)
- NBA Live 16 (2015)
- NBA Live Mobile (2016)
- NBA Live 18 (2017)
- NBA Live 19 (2018)
NBA Live 95 Cheat Codes
©Screenshot from NBA Live 95.
In the base game of NBA Live 95, there are just two cheat codes that you can use, and they don’t change the game in any way. Rather, they give you access to two new modes – one for fun, and one for practice. Here’s how you can access them.
| Cheat Code | Cheat Effect |
|---|---|
| Hold A and press Start while in a game. | Stops the game and enables a Practice minigame, allowing you to practice shooting with a shot percentage. |
| In the Player Select screen in Exhibition Mode, press up until you get the Select New option. Then, press start and enter the code REFLOG. | This enables a Golf minigame, allowing you to play one round of the game. |
Alternatively, if the previous cheats aren’t quite your style, you can use one of the third-party cheats available for the game. These are best entered in an emulated version of the game in the Cheats section of your emulator. However, these are closer to what you might expect from cheat codes.
| Cheat Code | Cheat Effect |
|---|---|
| 1F927E:4E75 | Master Code (enter before the others) |
| 016854:6066 0168BC:0838 0168BE:8804 0168C0:C4B3 | Never miss a shot. For this to work, you must ensure that you hold B after you release the shot. |
| FFEE52:00?? | Modifies the score for team one in the game. Replace “??” with the desired number of points for the team. |
| FFEDD2:00?? | Modifies the score for team two in the game. Replace “??” with the desired number of points for the team. |
Sadly, it’s still not a large collection, but it should be enough to change the game in a few interesting ways.
NBA Live 95 Cheat Code FAQ
©Screenshot from NBA Live 95.
Does NBA Live 95 Have Achievements?
Unfortunately not. The game was released prior to the existence of any achievement system.
Do NBA Live 95 Cheat Codes Work on Emulated Versions of the Game?
Yes. Most people nowadays play NBA Live 95 on an emulator, and there’s no reason that the cheats won’t work as normal. This remains true with the third-party cheats, too. They can be entered in the Cheats section of your chosen Sega Genesis / SNES emulator, without needing to purchase an Action Replay or Game Genie cartridge of any kind.
What is the Cheat to Never Miss in NBA Live 95?
In case you missed it above, there is a third-party cheat to never miss in NBA Live 95. To use this, you should enter the code:
016854:6066
0168BC:0838
0168BE:8804
0168C0:C4B3
After this, you should be able to never miss in-game. However, make sure you’re holding B after you release your shots, or else this cheat won’t work!
How Do I Play Golf in NBA Live 95?
In the Player Select screen in Exhibition Mode, press up until you get the Select New option. Then, press start and enter the code REFLOG. This will allow you to then play a round of golf in the hidden minigame. Why was this included? Who knows. But it’s there, and easily accessed.
How Do I Practice in NBA Live 95?
While in the middle of a match, hold A and press the Start button. This will freeze all of the players on the court, allowing you the chance to practice your shooting without disruption. It even adds a shot percentage tracker, allowing you to see when you’re improving.
The image featured at the top of this post is ©Screenshot from NBA Live 95..