Space Jam: A New Legacy - The Game

Space Jam: A New Legacy - The Game is a beat 'em up game released for mh:awesomegames:Microsoft Windows, mh:awesomegames:Xbox One, and mh:awesomegames:Xbox Series X/S. Despite being based on the 2021 film mh:awfulmovies:Space Jam: A New Legacy, the story is different from the film.

Plot
LeBron James is trapped in a digital world called the Warner Bros. Server Verse by Al-G Rhythm. While planning on the Goon Squad to square off against LeBron and the Tunes in a high-tech basketball game, Al-G locks himself away in a hidden area of cyberspace.

Bad Qualities

 * 1) Mediocre grasp of the original source material: In the film, it's about LeBron attempting to team up with the Looney Tunes characters in order to beat Al-G due to his plans and LeBron getting his son back in a game of basketball. In this game, however, the plot isn't the same as the film. LeBron needs to find the pieces of the Legacy Code to open up Al-G's lair and it never happened in the film (though the ending suggested that the film took place during the film).
 * 2) *Robots that belong to Al-G appear in the game when they're not present in the film. Well except for maybe Pete who has the appearance of one.
 * 3) *The Brow and White Mamba are the only members of The Goon Squad to appear suggesting that the rest of the Goon Squad are absent in the film (though Chronos did appear in the film later as an "unlockable character" for the Goon Squad).
 * 4) *If the game took place during the film, then it would cause some conflict with the source material, like how did LeBron still had enough time to get the Legacy Code when he was given a certain amount of time to prepare for the game by recruiting other Looney Tunes characters?
 * 5) *Also LeBron and the Tunes wear basketball uniforms that they received later on in the film due to Al-G turning LeBron back to live-action and the tunes to CGI. The game took place before the basketball game so how on earth did LeBron and Co manage to get their updated uniforms that early?
 * 6) *The game also appears to have LeBron, Bugs, and Lola to recruit the tunes in the generic worlds when most of the tunes were placed in other WB properties. Also, why is Lola this early when she was recruited later in the film?
 * 7) *LeBron and the Tunes first met the Goon Squad during the basketball game yet the Tune Squad right away gets to see The Brow and White Mamba that early.
 * 8) *The game's worlds also appear to have some levels that fit well with the Looney Tunes series yet if some of the levels appear to take place in the Tunes world. LeBron's sprite appears to be based on his live-action form when he was animated during scenes where he is living in the Tunes World.
 * 9) Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment has little to no involvement with this game. The same goes for Sega.
 * 10) The game is extremely short. It can be completed in 36 minutes. Especially if you're good at it.
 * 11) There really isn't that much content such as more characters and more stages. There are additional modes, but that really is just about it. It's like the game feels more like a demo.
 * 12) There are only a few boss battles in the game which only consisted of The Brow, White Mamba, and a giant robot controlled by Al-G. Even other retro-themed games like Streets of Rage and The Simpsons Arcade had more bosses than that. Why not also mention mh:awesomegames:Mega Man 11 despite being a modern take of a retro game and it had more bosses?
 * 13) The ending is terrible. It all ended with a cliffhanger that involves Al-G challenging the Tune Squad for the basketball game, which took place halfway through the movie. The only way to resolve this ending was to watch the actual movie itself to find out.
 * 14) The collision detection is wonky. From missing the basketball when you think you caught it to even still getting hit by the bosses despite being in the clear area.
 * 15) Enemy variety is very low here. All it is consists of the same type of robots from frog robots to flame thrower robots (there are a few more including red robots that kinda resemble the Daleks from Doctor Who). Even mh:awesomegames:Super Mario Bros. had a lot more enemies than this.
 * 16) For a beat 'em up game, there really aren't that many attack combos you can do. It's just basically kicking, punching, throwing the basketball, run, and slide.
 * 17) In the prologue of the game, it mentioned that the electronic devices store the whole human knowledge, but for some reason, it mentioned "cat memes" as if it was attempting to try to sound hip.
 * 18) For a beat 'em up, the gameplay is mostly repetitive. A lot of stages are just the same thing as you have to beat up the same enemy variety until they don't spawn anymore.
 * 19) In some instances, when you play as LeBron he says "YEAHHHH" in such a weird way.
 * 20) There are instances where you have to avoid a cluster of obstacles like falling rocks or bombs being place. It can get annoying very fast, especially when it is done to no end. That segment also becomes used up as well.
 * 21) It repeatedly uses the soundbites of the film when it becomes annoying quickly since the game uses the same lines. In some cases, it almost always never matches well with the action.
 * 22) *Speaking of the voice clips, there are some that don't sound very audible enough.
 * 23) The game overall feels pretty rushed because it seems like they just want to release it just in time for the film that is based on. Compared it to other movie-based games like mh:awesomegames:The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie game or Ratchet & Clank (2016) game and they were given enough time and they got enough time to work it out despite being released on time for the film.

Good Qualities

 * 1) The graphics are nice and colorful as they resemble old school 16-bit era games including those shown on the arcades or Sega Genesis.
 * 2) Intresting soundtrack as it fits well with the tone of a retro game.
 * 3) Fluid and retro-like character animation. From Porky Pig appearing as a Go icon to Al-G speaking on a screen.
 * 4) Fair gameplay. Even for promotional material standards and short-length game standards. It gets better when playing with friends.
 * 5) It's free to play so that is something.
 * 6) The rest of the Tune Squad do help you out and give you useful assists such as Granny giving you enough food to give you health or Roadrunner increasing speed.
 * 7) The idea of using a basketball as a weapon sounds interesting.
 * 8) You can unlock a harder mode and a boss rush mode.
 * 9) At least the events of this game don't spoil any significant part of the movie.

Reception
On Metacritic, the game received "mixed or average reviews" by both critics and gamers.

Trivia

 * Back then, the game was announced as a contest where it features fan ideas on how the game could work. The winner of the contest can get their name in the game, memorabilia signed by LeBron James, a personalized Xbox Series S gaming pack, Nike Space Jam: A New Legacy VIP Pack, and a private screening of the film.

Video
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