Sports video games usually try to capture the excitement of real competition, but sometimes, things take a strange turn. Over the years, developers have slapped famous athletes’ names on games that have little to do with their actual sport—or reality in general.
Here are some of the weirdest licensed sports games ever released.
Shaq Fu
Shaquille O’Neal was one of the most dominant players in NBA history, but that didn’t stop him from starring in a bizarre fighting game. Instead of dunking on defenders, Shaq travels to another dimension to battle mummies and monsters. It was a strange mix of martial arts and bad controls that left players confused and frustrated.
Mike Tyson’s Punch-Out!!
This game is legendary, but it’s also one of the weirdest sports games ever made. Instead of a realistic boxing experience, players face off against a series of over-the-top cartoonish fighters with wild moves. Mike Tyson himself is the final boss, and beating him was nearly impossible for most players.
Michael Jordan: Chaos in the Windy City
Imagine if instead of playing basketball, Michael Jordan was out fighting crime with a supply of magic basketballs. That’s the idea behind this odd platformer, where Jordan rescues kidnapped teammates by battling robots and monsters. It was more of a superhero game than a sports game, and it’s still one of the strangest athlete tie-ins ever.
Tony Hawk’s Downhill Jam
The Tony Hawk series was all about pulling off crazy tricks in skate parks, but this spinoff threw that out the window. Instead, it turned into a downhill racing game where players bombed steep slopes while dodging traffic. It felt more like a cartoony extreme sports version of Need for Speed than a proper skateboarding game.
Jerry Rice & Nitus’ Dog Football
Hall of Fame receiver Jerry Rice put his name on a game that replaced human players with dogs. Instead of a traditional football experience, you controlled different breeds, passing, tackling, and scoring touchdowns in ridiculous stadiums. It played like an arcade football game with a weird canine twist.
Rap Jam: Volume One
In the ‘90s, someone thought it would be a great idea to put famous rappers into a street basketball game. Instead of NBA players, you could hoop with LL Cool J, Public Enemy, and Queen Latifah. It played like a low-budget version of NBA Jam, and the planned “Volume Two” never happened for obvious reasons.
Bill Laimbeer’s Combat Basketball
Detroit Pistons star Bill Laimbeer was known for his tough style of play, but this game took it to another level. It was a futuristic basketball game where players wore armor and attacked each other. There were no refs, no rules, and no actual fun since the game was almost impossible to control.
Mutant League Football
Take a regular football game, throw in skeletons, aliens, and landmines, and you get Mutant League Football. Players could literally kill each other on the field, and some teams were made up of monsters instead of humans. It was brutal, ridiculous, and somehow still one of the best arcade-style football games ever made.
Big Bumpin’ (Burger King Game)
Burger King released a series of video games in the 2000s, and Big Bumpin’ was their take on sports. It was a bumper car arena battle with fast food branding everywhere. The King himself was a playable character, and while the game was actually kind of fun, it was still strange that a fast food company made a sports-style game.
Read More: Ranking the Top NBA Video Games Of All Time
Kobe Bryant in NBA Courtside
This game itself wasn’t that weird—it was a solid NBA sim—but the title is what makes it stand out. Unlike other sports games that just used an athlete’s name (like Jordan vs. Bird or Tiger Woods PGA Tour), this one sounded like Kobe Bryant himself was personally inviting you to play. The awkward phrasing made it sound less like an NBA game and more like a weird celebrity party.
