Game & Strategy Discussion

http://nhl94strategy.com/ I will be fleshing out this site over the next few weeks/months/years and wanted to share with you all here. I'll tackle the sections on the site in piecemeal as I get to them, but if anyone requests one part sooner than others, I will be more motivated to finish that section! And if you want to contribute to any section, go for it! A lot of this stuff is just organizing some of the knowledge already housed on these forums and crediting the appropriate folks! They key for me is to support examples with video and pictures. That makes it 100x more powerful, but also requires more time to create that content! This is Genesis-based for now,…

I have been looking for new and challenging ways to play NHL94 offline and solo. Like most of you, playing the computer controlled teams are no longer a challenge. Although the best competition is playing in one of the many online leagues, I have not been able to commit to an online league or find people to play against in non-league games. I took it upon myself to make new challenges. First was winning the Stanley Cup playoffs without a goalie. This proved to limit my exposure to several teams, since there are only a few teams that I might be able to use to accomplish this feat. Probably could do it with VAN, QUE, CAL, and maybe LAK or WSH, which leaves the res…

I occasionally play NHL '94. Most of the time on my phone using an emulator, but I also own a Mega Drive. Recently my daugther has shown some interest in trying it out on console. She's 12 and not much of a sports gamer and she's not really into ice hockey, although she plays a lot of other games on her phone. As scoring is harder in '94 compared to the earlier versions, would it be a good idea to have her start with EA Hockey or NHLPA '93 to get a feel of the series without being put off by it being too hard?

PLAYER VARIABLE Game Knowledge (pre-game) Player attributes/players How to score in various ways Understanding angles, distance and probability of success Different ways to defend Different ways to check Breakouts & Zone Entries Execution / Mechanics / Mental Focus (in-game) Execution of game tactics Reducing mistakes Overall Reaction time Manual goalie control Anticipating opponent's play Adapting Choosing the most effective option at a given situation considering players, game status and opponent Creating more high percentage plays than low Pas…

I've played NHL 94 often since the 90's, and I've rarely been able to score between the goalie's legs, no matter which team I choose. It's even harder to go 5 hole from close range, which you'd think would be easier than with long distance shots.

Believe me, I am a huge believer in the SNES's tech. After a slow start, the amazing work on games like Street Fighter II (with no custom mode 7 chips or tricks) showed that it was undeniably more powerful. That said, playing both versions one right after the other in RetroArch, I have to give it to the Genesis version. There's something to be said for being the prime sku for EA Sports titles at that time. While (at least in the RetroArch emulator) the genesis version appears slightly blurry in comparison to the SNES version, the fluidity of play, those frames that are not missing make a huge difference for a game filled with rapid decision-making and chains of 'mi…

Just wanted to post a quick vid of this move, which to my knowledge, was figured out by @HABS. It can get you up the ice much faster than checking or just speed bursting by itself. Basically, you cancel the speed burst a few frames into the animation with the poke check, then you speed burst again, and cancel that burst again with the poke check. Rinse repeat, all the way up the ice. Easiest way to pull this off, for me, is to have your thumb on (B) & (C) at the same time. This way it's easy to press one part of your thumb on (B) to poke check and cancel the animation, then, the other part of your thumb can burst again with (C). Made the vide…

Just want to talk real quick about the self pass, and to a lesser extent, the flip pass. The former is somewhat misunderstood, the latter is something from the occult, black magic book of NHL'94. I wanted to make a video to narrate and demonstrate exactly what I'm referring to, but I don't have a decent mic so I'll just post a few videos and try to explain. Flip pass origins The Fins, namely @swos and @Mahavishnu, were the first to use the flip pass or "keg toss," that I'm aware of. A keg toss being Nordic strongman-parlance for an event when a keg is hurled backwards over a bar. The puck is flipped with the (A) button behind the net in an attempt to get an…

I’m getting to where I’m not having fun at all. I don’t understand how to edit a roster in a way where the players actually do what I want them to do. Defense....from a defenseman!?! What’s that mean. It doesn’t matter if both of my defenders are 99 overall, they will not play tight defense. They skate all over the place. They’re always across center ice when they shouldn’t be. They usually just skate right passed the cpu as he’s moving the puck. No one can check on 94, body checks I mean. They don’t exist. Just a bunch of guys running into each other. I’ve made them heavy and fast, light and fast, slow and fat, skinny and slow etc etc and no one can check. That’s …

I haven't played any nhl game against a human player since the 90's, and no that i have been able to do that online i've noticed that i suck Especially on the defence. I can manage to make a goal every once in a while, but it's not good if the opponent does that on almost every attack. So, any good tips? The best way isn't propably to just try to run over anything that moves.

Just played a Christmas' series vs Atomic. It was 1 1 in the second, game 7, and the whistle went indicating I took a penalty. But then a second one popped up a the same time. Then a 3rd. All of a sudden I had three simultaneous 2:00 PIMS. Was furious. Hate when this nonsense happens in a game 7. I have played many hundreds of hours, this *must* have happened to me before. But I can't remember it? Two simultaneous is not that rare, but 3? Anyone ever take 4? (Or, gulp!, more?)

Everyone is familiar with those crease cuts. Your opponent cuts across your crease, and your idiot goalie stacks his pads, leaving a yawning cage for an easy lay up. Sometimes you actually take control of your goalie in time, and yet (in what I consider a glitch) he flops right down all the same, even though you did not activate him stacking the pads. (If I took control, I want to have full control, dammit!) What is the best way to prevent these crease cuts, and swoops with similar effect? (That result in stacked pads, yawning cage.) Is it more about preventing them with your D-men? Or early, proactive goalie control? (Sometimes I do the early manual, but feel I am…

I have played hundreds of hours, and recall many strange things and glitches. Some glitches are more "fixable" than others. One thing I am wondering: When a penalty shot is called (immediate whistle) and the puck somehow finds its way into the goal after the whistle -- which is an obvious glitch -- what do people do, in league games? If I "scored" a goal like this, I would pull my goalie, and let my opponent have a goal to even things out. What do you think?

Hi, I came across this site via NHL.com when they had an article about the 25 years anniversary of the game. This was one of my absolutely favorite games for the Mega Drive (Genesis) when I grew up in Sweden. I´ve got the game 94 or 95 (I can’t remember) and probably played over 1000 games during the nineties, but even a lot last couples of years along with the other NHL 93-97 + Elitserien 95-96 I noticed the bug #31 “12 Goalies” and that it’s quite unusually. I have know exactly how to do this and it works every time. Also, you will play the reminder of the period without nets! I have known about this bug for 20+ years. I can tell you how to do if this isn’t comm…

Not sure if this is the right place to ask, so... Pretty much the only part of this game that I don't understand is the faceoffs. How do they work? How much chance is involved, and how? What is the best strategy?

I understand the weight bug (light guys are monster checkers) and I understand that CB checking can overcome it, but I am trying to REALLY understand how traditional checking works. Seeking a formula of sorts. So, without using CB, and for open ice C-checks: if a 3 weighter C-Checks a 3-weighter, what is chance of a knock down? If a 3 weighter C-checks a 4 weighter, how does % chance change? do we know (or approximately know) how the % chance of success changes as weight margin increases? (Even if we don't "know", I would love to see some guesses.) I am not new, and I have done research. The rule of thumb seems to be "2 or greater weight ma…

There are definitely more than a few set plays in NHL94 (at least on the SEGA), and I think it would be great for the new players to understand how to work on them, and how to potentially defend them. The ones that stand out to me are: offensive zone face-off, one-timer (C wins face-off to winger or defender, quick one-timer pass and score) neutral zone face-off, break away (C wins face-off and quick passes ahead for a breakaway, deke score) Any tips from the A/B players out there? Any other set plays you've witnessed? Any advice on how to defend against them? Instructional videos @TomKabs93?

The truth is I love them. And I am proficient at neither. They have not "ruined the game". They are are the game in its highest form. Among my friends in real life, back in the day, I was one of the better players. (And probably put more time into playing, which is usually related.) Then I started online play, and got my ass kicked. Seriously. I have played online for a year, and am now a mid-level B player. Maybe. I have done zero pass shots in a game, and rarely CB check. Though at least CB is on my radar now! The A level guys, most of whom do pass shots and CB, are the best players in the world. I am glad that pass shooting and CBing exist, and that they are…

As almost everybody knows/believes, in 94 (and in all EA sports nhl games) there exists some form of external influence that can and does have an effect on the outcome of games. Whether its momentum, ice tilt, randomness, nobody really knows for sure. Almost everyone agrees that something along those lines exists and has a big factor on wins and losses, with only the very rare wacklord believing in a truly fair and balanced game at all times. Getting to the point, I was having a discussion with plabax about whether or not you truly have a chance at winning EVERY single game if you played well enough. I believe that while in most games your play has a big influ…

I've seen it referenced quite a few times around here. Some people even saying that some teams are better because they have better CB checkers.. what is it?

Another issue, on which I haven't really seen threads on this forum is actual tips on passing the puck. Sometimes when I pass the puck, it goes to completely wrong direction, wrong player. A lot of times the receiver just can't get hold of the puck at all and one timers seem to fail at times, and at times I can shoot a laser quick one timer. it's frustrating to lose your promising offensive scoring attempt just because the pass goes completely wrong when trying a one-timer for example. Can you gurus provide some kind of a quick list of things to keep in mind when trying to make that perfect pass?

Hi! I'm new to this awesome forum of this timeless and great game. Finally posting because I couldn't find a topic on this. B checking aka poke checking seems to be effective, especially if you're not familiar with the weight of your and the opponent's players. However, you change the controlled player with the same button, so there's a problem. I've had so many goals scored against me because I've tried to poke check with the last line of defense and I've managed only to change the player I control to someone ten feet away from the puck and the opponent has a free ride to deke and score a goal. I like the poke check when it works, so here's the question: Is ther…

The weight bug as we all know it, is a bug that seems to have reversed the checking in NHL '94 - Light players are hard to check while being the best checkers and vice versa for heavy players, but, if you have actually ever watched a "demo" game of NHL '94 or just watched the AI body check, you can see that it works differently. This is how it works : When the BODY CHECKER is controlled by a user, the weight bug is applied. When the BODY CHECKER is controlled by a computer, the weight bug is never applied. Here are some examples (weight in brackets) : Standard NHL '94 Scenarios (User Controlled) Mike Modano (7) is on offense, Pavel Bure (5) is on defense. A body chec…