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Tecmo Bowl
Nintendo (NES)
Primitive, Innovative, and Fun
3.5/5 stars
Tecmo Bowl is an arcade style football game that was one of the first games to have an NFL license. While it's primitive by today's standards, it was the first console football game that was a heck of a lot of fun.
In the early days of the NES, companies had a difficult time creating a football game that worked. What comes to mind for me is NES Playaction Football. While that game did a pretty good job of simulating football, it felt slow and just wasn't much fun. Tecmo hit the right formula for this game. The field was played left to right, much like if you were watching an NFL game on TV. It's true that the aspect ratio of the field was way off and there were less than 11 players on each side, but it didn't matter, the speed was right and it felt like you playing football.
Controls are simple enough. Changing receivers when you pass is as simple as pressing the A button. In order to dive to tackle you press the B button. You can break a tackle by mashing the A button. It wasn't complicated, which helped when having a friend over who hadn't played it much.
There are only 4 unchangeable plays for each team. And, if your opponent picks the play you did, there's a blitz. But, with that said, the 4 plays are enough to play a game and it does put a little strategy into who you are on defense and what team to use.
One unusual aspect of Tecmo Bowl is that there's actually two versions of the game. The first version, which as a black and gold Nintendo symbol on the cartridge, has Eric Dickerson playing RB for the Colts. After a lawsuit, he was removed and Albert Bentley (a much slower RB), plays for the Colts in the second version.
Playing through "the season" requires to pick a team and to beat the rest in the game. By the end it can actually get quite difficult because defenses get ridiculously fast. The games uses a password system so you can start where you left off.
There are no statistics kept, no reserves, no injuries, and no fumbles. So, yes, it is primitive and the next version of the game, Tecmo Super Bowl, blows this one out of the water. However, this game set the example for future games until 3D was utilized better and was a lot of fun.
3.5/5
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