Tecmo Bowl, Fantastic in Arcade, Great on the NES

I looked at the Tecmo Bowl series a while ago and wrote about how it changed from an arcade game to more of a simulation, similar to Madden and other NFL games. I wanted to take some time to look closer at the first game on the NES and write about some of my memories of the game.

This is an unlicensed professional football game. Tecmo was able to get player names into the game through a deal with the National Football League Players Association (NFLPA). At the very least, it lets you play as your favorite players, even if the teams don’t have the same logos or mascots.

There are twelve teams in this game, and they have the starting lineups for the 1988 NFL season. This is something that happens all the time with sports games, and I like that you can see who the players are at the beginning of the game.

I have one more thing that I want to talk about here. A Tecmo Bowl card game was released this summer. The marketing team from Buffalo Games reached out to me, and I plan to release a review of the game once I get my hands on it.

TLDR: A Classic NES sports game.

Narrative

There’s no story in this game. You can play a season, but there isn’t a career mode or franchise mode. There isn’t anything else to explain here.

Gameplay

I love the gameplay in Tecmo Bowl. It is an easy game to learn, with a few quirks that make it particularly enjoyable to play with friends. While it can feel a little cheap, and there isn’t too much in this game, it has wonderful gameplay.

There are twelve teams in this game.

• Indianapolis
• Miami
• Dever
• Seattle
• Cleveland
• Los Angeles
• San Fransico
• Dallas
• Chicago
• Minnesota
• Washington
• New York

You only have four plays to choose from. Most of the teams have two running plays and two passing plays. Miami has three pass plays,

Like many of the Tecmo Bowl games, your defense is awful. Except when you pick the same play. Then the offensive line collapses, and the defenders speed up.

Each quarter is 90 seconds long, and it takes a while to run the clock down. There are no penalties or injuries in this game. This is fine since you’re not playing a full season or a franchise mode.

There are only three game modes:

• Single Player – You play every team to capture the World Championship
• Two Player – This is a head-to-head match-up
• Coach – In this mode, you select the plays but don’t control the players

The game’s difficulty waxes and wanes over the course of the game. This is something that I enjoy about the game. It makes the game more fun and challenging than other football games.

There are quite a few quirks in this game. I think most people are familiar with them, such as running backwards to force defenders to chase the quarterback and running in a serpentine pattern to avoid tacklers. It is a goofy game, and the gameplay reflects that.

There isn’t too much else to this game. It is a fun arcade experience, and that is what most players were expecting in 1989. This formula would be improved on with Tecmo Super Bowl.

Visuals

I love the way this game looks. It is a very memorable looking game, and I like that the developers tried to make you feel like you’re playing as one of the NFL teams.

There are little slide shows when you score and at halftime. I like these, and they mostly look good. While the touchdown celebrations don’t change, there are a few halftime shows.

Like most NES games that have a lot of sprites on the screen at once, there is quite a bit of sprite flickering. This is something you have to deal with when playing an older game. It doesn’t have an impact on the game, but it is very noticeable.

Most teams have the same color scheme as their NFL counterparts. The players all look the same, aside from skin color. This does create some funny moments, especially when you score and the player’s skin color changes in the slide show.

The graphics are what you should expect from a game like this. There are a few problems with it, but most of these are common issues with video games on the NES. In 1989, many video games had issues with slowdown and flickering sprites, and those things appear in this game. I like it, and it reminds me of the games I played as a kid.

Card Game from Buffalo Games

This was brought to my attention a short time ago, and I was pretty excited. Once I get my hands on it, I’ll give the game a review and talk about it a bit more. I mostly know the company behind this game for their puzzles, which make for great gifts.

From the images I’ve seen of the game, it looks like a card and dice game. The artwork reflects what you would see in the NES game. It’s really cool that they drew inspiration from the original version of the game, rather than the arcade version.

If you want to check out the game, here is a link to where you can buy it (Link).

8/10. This is one of the best sports games released on the NES. It is a classic game, and while I like Tecmo Super Bowl more, this one is also excellent. I have a lot of fond memories of playing it with my friends.

Pros

• Easy to play
• Great party game
• Nostalgia

Cons

• Few game modes
• Passing can be rough

Conclusion

There are a few other football games that were released on the NES around this time. 10 yard fight is one of them, and it took a different approach to football. That game felt like it was drawing inspiration from the early 1900s or the 1890s.

There is a lot that can be said about this version of the game. It is a big upgrade over the arcade game, and I love going back to play it. While I prefer the sequel over the first game, it remains a solid game to play.

There is something fun about revisiting a game like this. I enjoy many of these arcade sports games on the NES, and this is one of the better games on the NES. I’ll have to look back at a few of the other games, like Ice Hockey.

If you liked this post, please check out my other posts on sports games, such as Tecmo Bowl Retrospective and Joe Montana Football.