Arch Rivals
Arch Rivals is a basketball video game released by Midway for arcades in 1989. Billed by Midway as "A Basket Brawl", the game features two-on-two full court basketball games in which players are encouraged to punch opposing players and steal the ball from them. Arch Rivals was the second basketball video game released by Midway, sixteen years after TV Basketball (1974). Home versions of the game were released for the Nintendo Entertainment System, Genesis/Mega Drive, and Game Gear.
| Arch Rivals | |
|---|---|
NES cover art | |
| Developer(s) | Midway Rare (NES) Arc Developments (Game Gear, Genesis) |
| Publisher(s) | Midway Acclaim Entertainment |
| Designer(s) | Jeff Nauman and Brian Colin |
| Programmer(s) | Jeff Nauman |
| Artist(s) | Brian Colin |
| Composer(s) | Dan Forden David Wise (NES) Mark Cooksey (Game Gear, Genesis) |
| Platform(s) | Arcade, NES, Mega Drive/Genesis, Game Gear |
| Release | 1989: Arcade 1990: NES 1992: Mega Drive, Game Gear May 19, 1992: Genesis |
| Genre(s) | Sports (basketball) |
| Mode(s) | Single-player, multiplayer |
Arch Rivals allows players to select from a variety of fictional teams (although arcade operators can change the team names to reflect real ones) and players. One playable character, "Tyrone" was also featured in the animated The Power Team segments of the television series Video Power. In turn, the game has been considered a forerunner to Midway's popular arcade basketball game, NBA Jam.
Emulated versions of the game are included in the compilations Midway Arcade Treasures 2, Midway Arcade Treasures Deluxe Edition, and Midway Arcade Origins.