Jordan vs Bird

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Jordan vs Bird
System(s): Sega Mega Drive
Publisher: Electronic Arts (US, Europe), Electronic Arts Victor (Japan)
Developer: Electronic Arts
Distributor: Ecofilmes (PT), Tec Toy (BR), Samsung (KR)
Genre: Sports (Basketball)
Number of players: 1-4
Release Date RRP Code JP 1993-09-24 ¥8,9008,900 EM20022 US 1992-04 $44.9544.95 705101 US (EA Sports) 199x 705101A EU 1992-05 E051SMXI PT 199x UK 1992-05 £39.9939.99 E051SMXI SE (Rental) 199x AU 199x BR 199x KR 199x GM93035JT
Non-Sega versions Commodore 64 Game Boy IBM PC Nintendo Entertainment System

Jordan vs Bird, called Jordan vs Bird: One on One (ジョーダン VS バード ＯＮＥ ｏｎ ＯＮＥ) in Japan, is a 1992 one-on-one basketball game developed by Michael Abbot for Electronic Arts. Originally released for the Commodore 64 in 1988 (as a sequel to the 1983 game Dr. J and Larry Bird Go One on One), it was ported to the the Sega Mega Drive in 1992.

Gameplay

The game is a one-on-one basketball game. Matches are played on a half-court between Chicago Bulls shooting guard Michael Jordan and Boston Celtics forward Larry Bird. The objective of the game is to score more hoops than the opposing player.

	One on One
	There are two one-on-one modes, which can be played by one or two players simultaneously: One on One—Timed: A match consisting of two periods of 2, 5, 8, or 12 minutes. One on One—Scored: A match with no time limit where players compete to reach 11, 15, or 21 points. All baskets are worth one point, regardless of where they are shot from. Gameplay can be set to Arcade or Simulation. In Arcade mode, players never tire; in Simulation mode, they each have a fatigue bar on the scoreboard that starts out green but wears out to yellow and red as they play, which affects the accuracy of their shots. Players recover energy between periods or by calling a time-out. Players can pause the game with  START  and call a time-out with or play an instant replay with . The difficulty of the computer-controlled opponent can be adjusted (Recreational, Varsity, College, or Professional). Possession is "Loser's Outs" by default (opposing player gets possession of the ball after scoring) but can be changed to "Winner's Outs" (scoring player retains possession after a basket). Player one has possession at the start of the game. The player is moved around the court with the D-Pad and run by holding . While on defense, the player can jump to block a shot with . The player can try to grab the ball from the opposing player by tapping . On offense, the player can do a jump shot with or a hook shot with . The player throws the ball when the button is released; tapping instead of holding it does a fake out. The hook shot is less accurate but harder to block. The player dunks with when moving toward the basket. When playing on Simulation mode, dunking can only be done while the fatigue bar is in the green. The player can rotate away from the defender by tapping to make the ball harder to steal.
	Three-Point Contest
	Played as Larry Bird. The player tries to make as many three-point shots as possible within 60 seconds. There are five racks, each holding five balls. A successful shot is worth one point, but the last ball in each rack is the "money ball" and worth two points, for a total of 30 possible points per round if every shot is made. Bird's position on the three-point line rotates with every rack. The player removes a ball from the rack with , starts shooting with , and releases the ball with . The D-Pad is not used. This mode can be played by one to four players taking turns. At the end of each round, the player with the lowest score is eliminated until only one player remains.
	Slam Dunk Contest
	Played as Michael Jordan. Before each round, the player chooses three different dunks to perform. The player attempts each dunk, after which the player is rated on the performance by a panel of five judges, who reward a score between 1 and 10 points, for a total of 150 possible points per round if every dunk is executed perfectly. The player starts running toward the basket with , starts the dunk by holding , and finishes the dunk by releasing . The D-Pad is not used. A gauge at the bottom of the screen indicates the optimal position where the button should be released for a successful dunk (with the green zone being ideal). This mode can be played by one to four players taking turns. At the end of each round, the player with the lowest score is eliminated until only one player remains.

Production credits

• Game Design and Programming by: Michael Abbot
• Game Design and Graphics by: Jay Zimmerman
• Music and Sound by: Michael Bartlow

Source:

In-game credits

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Original Staff

• Design and Programming: Michael Abbot, Jay Zimmermann
• Programming: Michael Abbot
• Art: Jay Zimmermann
• Executive Producer: Don Traeger
• Producer: Jim Rushing
• Associate Producer: Jon Horsley, Happy Keller
• Assistant Producer: Gerald McLane
• Sound & Music: Michael Bartlow

Development Staff

• Programming: Hiroshi Ueda
• Graphic: Norie Miura
• Producer: Ray Nakazato
• Assistant Producer: Masa Yoshizawa

Japanese Staff

• Producer: Masato Mizushima
• Quality Assurance & Testing: Yasuhiro Suzuki, Noriaki Ogata
• Special Thanks: Ryutaro Hayase
• Manual/Package Design: Takashi Uto, Sei-ichi Mitani, Toshimasa Ire (ABE)

Source:

JP manual

Magazine articles

Main article: Jordan vs Bird/Magazine articles.

Promotional material

Print advert in GamePro (US) #34: "May 1992" (1992-xx-xx)

Print advert in Game Champ (KR) #1993-11: "xxxx" (199x-xx-xx)
also published in:

• Game Champ (KR) #1993-12: "xxxx" (199x-xx-xx)

Physical scans

Sega Retro Average
Publication Score Source

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Based on 0 review

Sega Retro Average

Publication Version Score 1700 igr dlya Sega (RU) 50 Beep! MegaDrive (JP) NTSC-J 58 Consoles + (FR) 62 Electronic Gaming Monthly (US) NTSC-U 68 Mean Machines: The Essential Sega Guide (UK) 31 Game Informer (US) NTSC-U 72 Game Zone (UK) PAL 70 Hippon Super (JP) NTSC-J 50 Hobby Consolas (ES) 89 Joypad (FR) PAL 81 Joystick (FR) NTSC-U 84 Sega Mega Drive Advanced Gaming (UK) PAL 40 Mega Force (FR) 85 Mega Play (US) NTSC-U 73 MegaTech (UK) PAL 51 Mean Machines (UK) 40 Mean Machines Sega (UK) 40 Player One (FR) 89 Play Time (DE) 78 Power Play (DE) 70 Sega Power (UK) PAL 33 Sega Pro (UK) NTSC-U 78 Sega Pro (UK) PAL 78 Sega Force (UK) PAL 57 Sega Saturn Magazine (JP) NTSC-J 59 Supergame (BR) NTSC-U 89 Supergame (BR) 89 Supersonic (FR) 72 Tricks 16 bit (RU) 65 User (GR) PAL 84 VideoGames & Computer Entertainment (US) NTSC-U 80 Video Games (DE) 70

	67
Based on 32 reviews

Jordan vs Bird

Mega Drive, JP
Cover
Cart Manual

Mega Drive, US (EASN)
Cover
Cart

Mega Drive, US (EA Sports)
Cover
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Mega Drive, EU (4 Language Manual)
Cover
Cart Manual

Mega Drive, EU (5 Language Manual)
Cover
Cart Manual

Mega Drive, PT
Cover
Cart

Mega Drive, AU

Mega Drive, BR
Cover

Mega Drive, KR
Cover

Technical information

Main article: Jordan vs Bird/Technical information.