In 1990, Opera Soft surprised us again with “Golden Basket”, another of its games from the Opera Sport series, this time with real emotion on the court.

If we review the still short history of video games we can see that there have been few basketball simulators made, despite being one of the sports that has grown the most in popularity lately. “World Series Basketball”, if we remember correctly, was one of the first games to appear, although the most famous one that presented us with an original treatment in the eight bits, was the “Fernando Martín Basket Master”. All of this is relevant because this release of Opera had enormous similarities with the first and some notable differences with the second.

“Golden Basket” is a complete simulator, with many levels of difficulty, including the usual NBA, and also the typical options such as redefining the keyboard, the possibility of playing against the computer or against a friend, choosing the duration of each time and even a demo mode so you can see what the program is like above, without having to compete.

The computer acts as a referee and strictly respects the rules of the International Basketball Federation, therefore, and if you do not know them, find out well before starting to play because you can do doubles, personal fouls, etc. As in almost all this type of program, you will only be able to handle one player of the five on the field and with him you will be able to center other teammates, rebound, shoot for the basket and everything you can imagine you would do in a real game. The way of handling is very simple and it is quite easy to get the hang of it.

Practically, all this, you will say, also had the programs that long ago, and the truth is that you are right. Option plus option minus other basketball games already had characteristics very similar to this one. Opera has tried to outperform the classic games and, truth be told, they haven't completely succeeded. Of course, this “Golden Basket” is as good as its predecessors were and it has nothing to envy them, which is logical considering that Opera had a team of excellent professionals who showed their worth in previous releases, but it has the flaw of not offering anything new that is especially attractive to increase addiction, which is the most important thing after all.

In short, a program whose biggest flaw is not adding anything new and whose biggest virtue is how well it is done. If you like this exciting sport and you haven't reached the classics on time, don't hesitate. “Golden Basket” has been made for you.

In the Amstrad CPC version, it is somewhat more colorful and a somewhat sharper scroll is the only difference from the PCW version. With the same virtues and the same defects. Only for those basketball fans who have images of their favorites in their room and dream of imitating Michael Jordan. “Golden Basket” surprises us above all for its perfect technical realization. Fans of the genre will enjoy this simulator, even if its innovations are few.

In the following images you can check the original packaging.

• Original cover

Here you have the front and back of the original box.

• Retouched cover

Its measurements are: Width: 13.50 cm x Height: 14.00 cm.

The manual is printed on double-sided glossy paper. Its measurements are: Width 54.00 cm x Height 13.40 cm.

Original disc supplied with Golden Basket.

Custom labels to print them. Over the years due to their use, the labels are spoiled and lose their color and quality. Now we try to adapt the closest thing to the best of our ability, the labels so that they can be printed and replaced or for those who work with a copy of the program and preserve the original disk. Measure in 3 “high: 7.00 cm - width: 7.10 cm. The first image corresponds to the original label of the game, the second is the same label modified to replace the broken one and the third and fourth image is for the 3.5 “discs.

Viewfinder

Here you have the viewer to access the hidden passwords in the Golden Basket manual. Its measures 4.00 cm x 12.10 cm. It is a red transparent plastic rectangle.

Codes

These are the hidden access codes of the manual decrypted to be able to play.

Photo

This photo belongs to the original of the game by Juan Giménez.

Advertising

Some advertisements of the game in magazines of great circulation of the time.

Game

The disc images, have been obtained from the original version of Golden Basket, have been recorded and verified.

• Golden_Basket (Compressed .DSK file in ZIP format)

Manual

Below you can download the Golden Basket game manual or view it online. The manual sheet measures: Width 13.50 cm x Height 13.40 cm.

• Golden Basket Manual (PDF File)

• Play Golden Basket online
• Play Golden Basket online