Tecmo Bowl

Tecmo

A good representation of football finally came to the NES in 1989. Tecmo Bowl succeeded where earlier efforts had failed, the likes of Taito's 10 Yard Fight being too clumsy to engage pigskin fans for very long. It was also pretty rough and ready, although it generated a lot of simplistic fun that could be appreciated by anyone who enjoyed action games.

Tecmo Bowl was pure fun from an arcade perspective.

Tecmo Bowl added a dose of reality with the NFL Players Association license, which allowed the use of real player names. A total of 21 players were featured on each of the game's 12 teams, including all of the greats of the time, such as Joe Montana, Phil Simms, and Walter Payton. Units composed of just nine men lined up on the field, though, and even this trimmed-down number was enough to cause some serious flickering. Presentation quality was poor for the time--colors were vaguely cartoonlike, and there were no frills, aside from the voice samples of a man shouting "Down!" followed by "Hut!" over and over again every time the quarterback got into place behind the center.

Play emphasized quickness and ease of use over depth. Playcalling was simple enough to be almost nonexistent. You simply picked from one of two running or two passing plays before the snap. These didn't change no matter what side of the ball you were on. Passing plays on offense simply became defensive formations designed to stop the pass. If the defense guessed the correct play, the defenders would immediately smash all the blocking and blow up the play automatically. After the ball was snapped, reality pretty much completely vanished. Players bounced up and down as if they had flubber on the soles of their shoes. The ball arced more like a pop fly than a tight spiral. And points were very, very easy to come by. Whoever possessed the ball last usually won the game.

Four plays is all you need, dammit!

Even with these flaws, Tecmo Bowl was a blast to play. The snappy gameplay and goofy visuals and sound make it a true retro gamer's delight even today. It remains one of the most popular NES games ever released. Tecmo Super Bowl, a sequel released in 1991, developed even more of a fan following. Comparing the two games reveals an almost stunning advancement in game design and technology. Full league play included 17 weeks of regular season play and then playoff rounds, near-complete NFL rosters and player ratings, and player streaks and injuries. Much better graphics were also tossed into the mix. All of this added up to a remarkable achievement that was unprecedented. Many claim that it is the finest football game ever released for any system, and people actually play it in online leagues even today. It's certainly a must-have for any collector of NES titles.

Unparalleled depth made Tecmo Super Bowl a huge hit.

Tecmo took advantage of this sudden popularity, releasing two limited edition sequels in subsequent years and porting the title to the Sega Genesis, Super Nintendo, and Sony PlayStation and even to mobile phones in recent years. But aside from the nostalgic release on mobile platforms, Tecmo has largely abandoned the franchise and devoted most of its attention to games in other genres like the popular Dead or Alive series of fighting games, and a modern version of Ninja Gaiden.