In honor of the NBA Finals, which begin this week in Oklahoma City, I present ‘Barkley, Shut Up and Jam: Gaiden, Chapter 1 of the Hoopz Barkley Saga’.

Yes, the NBA Finals begin this week between the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Miami Heat. I have no doubt that the Finals coverage will be some of the best HD content available. Really, though, almost any excuse to show you this would do. The trailer for ‘Barkley, Shut and Jam: Gaiden’ was an instant classic that persists today to introduce new players to the post-cyberpocalyptic ruins of Neo New York. It has been five years since Tales of Games unleashed this masterwork, this fusion of science fiction, basketball and Japanese role playing games.

‘Barkley, Shut Up and Jam: Gaiden’ is available for PC free and can be downloaded here. Just look under the Downloads section.

Now, I will admit that the game itself is not as action-packed as the trailer. It drags in places, like the boss fight against the giant ghost head of Bill Cosby. And whenever you save, you have to endure a long diatribe about how J-RPGs are superior to western RPGs. Unlike many RPGs, however, this game is never afraid to introduce some new puzzles and different combat mini-games to keep the gameplay fresh and the story moving. If you’re familiar with pro basketball, then seeing Vince Carter turned into a cyborg, teaming up with Lebron James’ grandson Balthios, or just seeing Michael Jordan parade around abusing power in a stupid hat are all extra touches to be enjoyed.

I think non-basketball fans can also get into the charm of a dystopia where basketball has been banned on account of chaos dunks. The art style is completely in line with J-RPGs of the Super Nintendo era, as is the way you explore the world. The soundtrack is excellent, and the story and character details are revealed gradually enough to be cohesive and outlandish. If there was some way to generate a quick port of this game from RPG Maker to an iPhone version, I think it would tear up the free download chart. After all, “If you can’t slam with the best, then jam with the rest.”