The History of NHL '94 | Classic Gaming Quarterly

CGQ Interview with Amory Wong: http://bit.ly/1o4GWkA

Episode 36 - The history of NHL '94. Rightfully, one of the most beloved sports games of the classic era, NHL 94 was released on the Sega Genesis in September 1993, on the Super Nintendo in October of 1993, and the Sega CD in January of 1994. It was the last game in the NHL Hockey series before EA decided to change the direction of the series, and there was a bit of a mis-step in 1995 before the series was back to form for NHL 96. By this time, the Genesis had lost some of its luster compared to the Super Nintendo, and with the release of the Sega Saturn and Sony Playstation in 1995, many hardcore gamers had begun moving on to the next generation of consoles. As an interesting aside, the game engine from NHL 94 was used to create Mutant League Hockey.

Show Notes:

At around the 11 minute mark, I said "Most NHL '94 aficionados prefer this game over the Genesis version" when discussing the Super Nintendo release of the game. I meant to say "some" instead of "most", the implication being that most people prefer the Genesis game, but a handful of folks favor the SNES release. I had to re-record this section of the narration, and somehow accidentally replaced the word without realizing it until the episode had been uploaded. This is disappointing since I watch the video several times to make adjustments and weed out errors, but this one slipped through. I am now prepared to have every Tom, Dick, and Harry "correct" me by telling me that it's actually the Genesis version that everyone loves.

Yes, I know that "NHL Hockey" for the DOS PC is considered by some to be the PC version of NHL '94 due to it carrying that name in some territories. It is a completely different game, so I felt that it was outside the purview of this episode.

The equalization of the voice track is inconsistent because I had to re-record some segments. This probably bothers me more than it will bother you.

This episode marks the first time that I have use my Elgato to record anything other than a "retro" console.

In theory, this episode was going to be a quick and easy one. NHL '94 has a much more rich history than I originally thought. And I actually left stuff out that I thought was too obscure for most people to care about.

Yes, I am a Detroit Red Wings fan even though I live in Northern California. It stems from the fact that I was a huge Home Improvement fan in the early 90's, and Tim Allen, a Wings fan, regularly mentioned them on the show. For that reason alone I would always play as the Wings when playing a video game, and that evolved into me becoming a fan of the team. Probably the dumbest reason to support a sports team that I have ever heard, but it's the truth.

This is the second episode in a row for which I am legitimately concerned about getting a copyright strike, this time due to the Swingers footage. But come on, how could I leave it out?

All the usual crapola that no one reads:

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All video game footage featured on Classic Gaming Quarterly is recorded from actual game hardware, unless otherwise noted. As of episode 35, it is recorded in RGB using an XRGB Mini Framemeister and an Elgato Game Capture HD. Prior to that, it was recorded in s-video using am RGB to s-video encoder and a DVD recorder. All videos are edited on a MacBook Pro using Final Cut Pro X.

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Theme music courtesy of Kevin MacLeod: (www.smartsound.com/royalty-free-music/i­ncompetech)