NHL 96 is the Super Nintendo instalment of the EA Sports hockey line, released in 1995. By the middle of the decade the NHL series was a pillar of sports output on 16-bit consoles and, alongside the company's football and basketball franchises, defined what a licensed sports game was supposed to be.

The foundation is hockey viewed from the side, or more precisely at a slight overhead angle, with licensed teams and season rosters. You control five skaters and a goaltender, change lines, pass, carry the puck in and play physically. That physical element always mattered here, since checking and fighting were part of what separated hockey games from every other sport on the shelf.

Differences between annual editions in this period came down to updated rosters, small control refinements and added modes such as full season play, playoffs and squad management. EA established this yearly release model and still runs on it.

The record lists support for multiple players, which is the important detail. The series was consistently better against a person than against the computer, and two people at one television was its real strength. That is how most people remember it.

The Super Nintendo suited sports games well, with a broad palette, smooth motion, and a controller with four face buttons and two shoulders, which was enough for hockey. The 96 edition ages the way the whole line does. The play still functions, but the rosters belong to a season that has been history for a long time now.