NBA Live 95 introduced what would become standard elements in the series, including the isometric on-court perspective, the “T-meter” for shooting free throws, and the turbo button used to give players a temporary burst of speed. The game’s engine is a modified version of EA Sports’ FIFA International Soccer engine, using the same perspective. The game was re-released with NBA Live 06 as part of the EA Retro Series.
Game Players gave the Super NES version its “best sports game award” in their Super NES division on the January 1995 issue of their magazine. This was the first official NBA simulation video game to introduce customized fictional teams. It is also notable for being the first NBA video game to not feature Charles Barkley, as he began refraining from signing licensing agreements due to the lack of pay to retired players from the NBAPA.
The SNES version of the game featured the 1993-94 NBA rosters, while the Genesis version of the game featured the up-to-date 1994-95 rosters (minus most of the year’s rookie class). Both versions featured limited roster management functions, however in the Genesis version, only players in the starting lineup could be traded. Additionally, there was no Create-a-Player function or a Free Agent pool to draw from.