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Double Dribble, known in Japan as Exciting Basket (エキサイティング バスケット?), was the second basketball arcade game developed and released in 1986 by Konami, following Super Basketball. Much of the game’s popularity came from its animation sequences showing basketball players performing slam dunks, as well as The Star-Spangled Banner theme during attract mode, which was the first arcade game to feature the national anthem. These were uncommon in video games at the time of Double Dribble’s release. While successful in the arcades, the game became and remained popular and remembered when it was ported to the Nintendo Entertainment System in 1987.
Double Dribble was followed by a sequel titled Double Dribble: The Playoff Edition, which was released in 1994 for the Sega Genesis/Mega Drive. A remake titled Double Dribble Fast Break was released as an online exclusive, which is based mostly on the NES version; however, the animation sequences were ripped from the arcade version.
Gameplay
Several positions on the court were ‘hot spots,’ high-percentage areas where shots-taken were likely to score points. For example: it is easier to hit a 3-pointer on the bottom right-hand side of the screen. A player could start a 3-point jump shot from the top right or left corner of the court inbounds, and continue the jump out of bounds and even slightly behind the hoop and it would go in nearly every time. Another nearly guaranteed shot is taken with the player standing 3-quarters length of the court away from their goal could go for a running 3-point shot, provided that the shot button was pressed within the other team’s free throw shooting circle. The arcade version was a timed play where, after every minute of play, the game was owed a credit if the score was tied or the computer is ahead. However, if the live player was ahead, a “free” minute was earned. Many average players could earn the first free minute, but this became increasingly more difficult to do as making 3-point shots became virtually impossible over the course of gameplay.
Excerpt from Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Double_Dribble_(video_game)
