Tecmo Super Bowl Is The G.O.A.T. of Sports Video Games
Tecmo Super Bowl is the best video game on the Nintendo Entertainment System. I know that’s one hell of a statement to start off this entry but as a personal preference, Tecmo Super Bowl really is the best game on the NES hands down in my book. You can throw in your Super Mario Bros 3’s, MegaMan 2’s and Legend of Zelda’s, to me Tecmo Super Bowl is the peak of the NES. Tecmo Super Bowl is not just a great game on the Nintendo Entertainment System, it’s also look back as one of the greatest sports video games of all time. There’s a term that goes around of someone being called the G.O.A.T., as it stands for “Greatest Of All Time” and Tecmo Super Bowl I think when it comes to sports video games, is just that. A Hall of Fame level video game.
But what is it about this older game that sport fans love so much about? Even with some playing this instead of the latest Madden or what not? (Like me). There is so much in this game with its simplicity yet addicting fun. There’s some reviews I get really excited to talk about but this is indeed one of them.
Many gamers modern first time seeing Tecmo Super Bowl is likely the the infamous video of someone playing this game playing as Raiders running back Bo Jackson, and fooling the computer AI to run out the entire quarter before scoring a touchdown. To be honest I can see some people seeing this and go “oh you can play Bo Jackson and win”, but trust me if you are doing that, you are missing out on an amazing football game not just for its time, but a game I think still fun by today’s standards. Yes Bo is a bit busted in the game, but he’s not an instant win if you play someone that’s got some experience.
So what is it about Tecmo Super Bowl that makes it so amazing? I feel like to understand that, we have to go back to when the game was first released. Before Tecmo Super Bowl, there was another game like it known as just Tecmo Bowl. If you played this game on a re-release on say a virtual console or digitally, you likely played the original Tecmo Bowl. Tecmo Bowl is… ok. The only really complaint I have is there’s no incompletion passes, meaning every pass will result in a catch or an interception. The game is good but nothing to rave about. Tecmo SUPER Bowl on the other hand is a completely different animal.
Another thing to keep in mind was licensing. There were football games on the Nintendo Entertainment System well before Tecmo Super Bowl. However, the games it would be one of three things….
A. Have only the NFL license but not the NFL Players Association license. Meaning real teams but not real players.
B. Have only the Players Association license but not the official NFL license. Meaning real players but not real teams.
C. Nether of the two.
For example, let’s use my home town Kansas City Chiefs and their Quarterback Patrick Mahomes for example. If you had A (listed above) you would have QB #15 for the Kansas City Chiefs. If you had B it would be Patrick Mahomes for Kansas City. Nether of course would result in QB15 for Kansas City.
Tecmo Super Bowl would make history as the first football game to have both the NFL and Players Association licenses. Meaning real teams and real players! So you would get that total package of Patrick Mahomes for the Kansas City Chiefs. It’s crazy to think now that this was an issue, but Tecmo Super Bowl was the first to have both sides of the coin, really adding to the legitimacy to the game. However there are a few players that did not want to be part of the game. For example Randle Cunningham for the Eagles, resulting in “QB Eagles”. This would become a running joke/thing in the game as many played as “QB Eagles” because well he is actually really good in the game.
Each team brings something different to the table, for instance as I stated before. Bo Jackson for the Raiders can be a bit overpowered if you don’t keep an eye on him, but Oakland’s passing is not the best so you can likely pick more run defensive plays than normal knowing whoever is playing the Raiders is going to focus on Bo Jackson’s run game. Other examples are like I just mentioned, Randle Cunningham (QB Eagles) can not only burn you with his arm but with his legs too. He was kind of the modern day mobile QB before they were cool. You got to make sure QB Eagles doesn't sneak past you in a QB run for a big game. Another is the Kansas City Chiefs with their run game in Christian Okoye. He might not be as fast as a say Bo Jackson, but he is a challenge to take down and tackle. If you play someone who can maneuver well with Okoye, then you’re in for a tough battle. Each team has something different to them, or if you are really up for a challenge, you can pick a bad team to see if you can overcome the adversity of trying to beat better teams.
So that’s cool, we got real team and real players, but how does the game play? I’d assume readers know the basics of football so I won’t get super into that. When you start a play, you have 8 plays to pick from, 4 that are passing and 4 that are running. Passing can result in more yards but you run the risk of an interception by the other team. Rushing is more safer and is better for those short games, but if you need a big play, you’re going to have to throw that rock. Each player (You and a friend or you and the CPU) pick a play. The defense can pick the player they want to play as the play starts. If player one picks a pass play and player two choses a run defense, the outcome will result in a big pass play by the offense. Same in vice versa. A big run play is the result if the other player goes for a pass defense. If the defense picks the same play to counter the offense, then the O-line will fall apart, mostly resulting in a defensive sack or loss of yards.
Might be a ton to take in but kind of look at it as a modified Rock/Paper/Scissors. Defense wants to try to guess the offensive play and the offensive is trying to catch the defense slipping. This is the core of Tecmo Super Bowl and part of why I love this game so much. It’s very simple to understand that just about anyone could be good at it with their first pick up of the controller but takes time to master it. That to me is the mark of a fun and addicting game. Something that someone can pick up for the first time and take on someone who’s a pro and still enjoy it.
Another thing that adds top the game is little quick cutscenes if you make a long pass or other kinds of big plays. These little animations may seem small but they add so much to the game, making every play feel like there could be a moment that could change the tide of the game at anytime, adding to the excitement and fun of Tecmo Super Bow.
Something that makes Tecmo Super Bowl stand out above other football games in this era is the game’s speed. It’s fast pace as other games were very slow, likely becaus of having so many moving pieces/players are once is taxing on the orginal Nintendo Enertainment System’s hardware. Tecmo Super Bowl gets around this by having players flicker on and off on screen. It’s very weird when you first see it but you soon get use to it and don’t even notice it after awhile. I’d rather have this graphic issue if it means keeping the speed and fast pace excitment of the game.
Don’t have a 2nd player to play Tecmo Super Bowl with you? Not a problem. Tecmo Super Bowl has tons to do in single player. The main feature is the game’s season mode. You pick a team and have to play each game as said team. Think you can be good enough to make the playoffs or even win the Sup… or big game… I can say Super Bowl here, right? I always looked at the game’s season mode as the main campaign of the game. Another added touch is players can also get hurt that might put them on the side line for a few weeks, adding another element of adapting to try to take on the game’s AI. In season mode, it feels like every time I play it there’s something different. One game I could crush the AI 45–3 then take on a lesser team and lose 44–20. It really gives it a “any given Sunday” feel as some games just don’t go in your favor and others do, much like the NFL in real life. All of this without feeling like the game is being cheap and unfair. Each game you play is different in someway or another, and that’s part of what makes this game so great.
You can even change where players are if you want to adjust the rosters and even make your own custom playbooks with a selection of pre-set plays. Pulling all of this off on an NES game is nothing short of remarkable.
As I said Tecmo Super Bowl is my all time favorite NES game, but the only issue is ruleset is not exactly right. Any punt that goes past the end zone is an automatic touchback and can’t be returned, could be annoying in some situations. Calling a time out involves hitting both A and B buttons. Kind of strange at first but could be a pain to get to when the game is on the line and every critical second is ticking away. Both are very little things you can get around and adapt to the more you play.
In the end, Tecmo Super Bowl is a football video game that everyone should play. It’s easy to pick up and fun for anyone at any game level and is very easy to see why many see it one of the greatest sports games of all time. It’s simple to understand but can become really fun and competitive rather be with a friend or the game’s AI. There’s quite the cult following for the game even today. There’s even a yearly massive Tecmo Super Bowl tournament known as “Tundra Bowl” where fanatics of the game come together to see who’s the Tecmo Bowl champion. There are also rom hacks that add the current day players into the game. I won’t say where to get them but you can find them with a little research.
Tecmo Super Bowl would have 2 sequels on the Super Nintendo and Genesis, and they are not bad games but feel much more slower and lacks the fast pace excitement of the original NES game. There was even a remake called Tecmo Bowl Kick Off that was released on the Wii’s Virtual Console. A pretty decent update but it lacks the real players and teams of the NFL because licensing. However one cool thing with Tecmo Bowl Kick Off is you can change between the modern look or the classic NES look with a push of a button, so that’s cool.
The sad thing in all of this in the modern day is because of NFL licensing it’s very unlikely the NES Tecmo Super Bowl will ever get official re-release. Either have a cart on the NES and a system, or emulation. I recommended playing the real deal as it’s not too crazy in price and is common if you look. If you are a retro gamer and see this game, no doubt get it. You don’t even have to be a sports fan at all to enjoy this simple and fun game. It’s fast pace gameplay, real players and teams, an awesome soundtrack, there’s really not much else I can say about what I personally believe is not only the sports game’s G.OA.T., but the best game on the Nintendo Entertainment System, at least I think so.
