Tecmo Super Bowl

"Dear Tecmo: I Want A New Tecmo Bowl, On The Double!"

More often than not, nostalgia can be a blinder for reality. This is especially true in video game circles. Seemingly all the time, veteran gamers recollect the past, memories of their favorite old games dancing in their heads, waxing nostalgic about them. Unfortunately, this can cloud a truth - not every old-school game stands the test of time, leaving these same veteran gamers with strange tastes in their mouths when playing their old favorites.

This game, Tecmo Super Bowl, is not one of these games. Rarely do games stand the test of time like this one - despite wildy outdated rosters and gameplay mechanics, TSB is simply an all-time classic, no matter what system it's on. Simple and addictive, Tecmo Super Bowl is a classic that faded away, and in today's era of overly simulative football games, a series we desperately need reborn. In the meantime, let's relive one of the greatest football video games ever programmed.

The amazing thing about Tecmo Super Bowl is how innovative it is. Sure, the gameplay is recycled from the original NES version, but the features defined football games before Madden even could put NFL in its tagline. TSB not only offered real NFL teams and real NFL players before it became standard procedure, but the also went after stat-heads with full stat tracking and even multiple season schedules ('91, '92, and '93 schedules to be exact for the Genesis & SNES editions), bringing the first ever ''franchise'' mode to football games. This stuff was unheard of at the time, and Tecmo was the first to bring it to gamers. It wasn't basic stat tracking either - we're talking some fair depth, tracking all sorts of leaders, both team-based and individual.

The gameplay itself is simplistic and arcadey, yet complex and strategic. The offensive teams each have 4 running and 4 passing plays, mapped to a direction and button on the Genesis controller (up and A, right and B, etc). The idea on defense is to pick the exact same play, meaning a nearly automatic stop for a big loss, via sack or other means of slaughtering the offense. While this is archaic by today's standards, the ease of play is refreshing when playing it some 10 years after it originally was released for Genesis. It's still got loads of strategy though, as the passing game is tough unless you find an open man, and the running game is full of cutting, slicing, dicing, and other terms for avoiding the rushing defense. No matter if you're playing single or multiplayer (and you could feasibly have 28 players in this game, if each pick an NFL team and play full seasons), the gameplay retains this strategy and challenge that many football games don't have today.

Granted, there is a very high level of cheese in TSB when against computer opponents - late in the season and in the playoffs, computer AI gets awfully fierce and tends to call the exact play you do constantly when playing offense, leading to a long game and a severe headache when you get sacked for the millionth time. However, while it's cheap it's not impossible either - evading and just plain playing smart football can guide you to victory, like any other pigskin game. Just expect to get beat here and there thanks to some underhanded tactics by computer AI. All it does is make the killer cutscenes when you win your division/conference/Super Bowl more rewarding when you pull out the important wins.

Of course, this game graphically is very outdated, especially on Genesis. The SNES version was much sharper, but the Genesis version isn't too far off. The side-angled action is filled up with 2D sprite characters that all look the same and all move the same, with some players faster than others (the joy of 16-bit, folks). Pileups look strange and it's hard to tell what's going on in them, but given the technology at hand it's not really a surprise. Where the graphics DO really shine is the in-game cutscenes, which highlight a fancy play, be it a great pass with defenders rushing at you, a blocked kick, or a short push to the first down marker. These are really the star here, and more than makes up for the outdated sprite-based engine.

There isn't a whole lot to the audio either. The same generic hut-hut-hut voices are a nice, but that's really about it aside from the sounds of the players pounding themselves and the in-game music blaring during the play. There is a decent bit of variety in the music, but that's about all you'll get there. It just fits in well with the old-school, nostalgic feel that Tecmo Super Bowl brings.

End of Line

By today's means, Tecmo Super Bowl on Genesis is outdated, ugly, and lacking a huge playbook and all that jazz. However, those who lived the series back when it was in its prime can definitely rest easy, as the series is still an absolute blast even today. Sure, the later versions (TSB II, III, and the PlayStation version that's pretty rare) took a downhill turn, but the original TSB is an all-time classic, whether you're playing it on NES, SNES, or the Sega Genesis. If you want to see what football was like before Madden came in and took over, Tecmo Super Bowl should definitely be your very first stop.

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 09/09/03