Tecmo Super Bowl
Reviewed by Mike Sipics
In my opinion, this was the first football game for any system (and I have most of
them) that was actually worth playing. It's still my favorite football sim, although
I haven't gotten any in the past year because I was VERY disappointed with most of
them that I tried. At any rate, on to the review.
Graphics 9 out of 10
When considered in the framework of its time, this game had terrific graphics. The
cinema screens that come up for touchdowns, etc., are awesome. On the negative side,
they could have used a little more of these scenes (for instance, if there's a sack you
will see the SAME sack scene every time). There are practically no slow downs caused
by the graphics either, which seemed to be a rarity in Nintendo games. The one big
negative of the graphics, however, is that the players tend to flicker sometimes.
Your eyes get used to it after a while, but it may drive some people crazy...
Music and Sound 8 out of 10
The music of this game rocks. Catchy little ditties play whenever the ball is in play,
and there are short jingles for sacks, touchdowns, field goals, etc. There is even
different music for the play-offs and the pro bowl.
What holds this category back, however, is the sound. The sound effects basically
consist of grunts and collision noises. All in all they aren't very realistic, but I've
always found them useful for comic relief. On the other hand, you have to remember
that this game came out close to a decade ago.
Game Challenge 6 out of 10
If you're a hard-core video gamer who is looking for a terrific AI opponent, look
elsewhere. The computer is extremely easy to beat for an experienced gameplayer,
particularly early in the season. It's even possible (though difficult) to score 100
points in one game. There's a technique you can master to dodge tacklers with all
but the slowest of players, so once you're behind the computer defense you won't
ever get caught. To it's credit, the game gets harder as the season progresses, and
you can challenge yourself by being a really bad team, but still, the only real
challenge is seeing if you can go undefeated and seeing how badly you can paste
the computer and what sort of monstrous statistics (which the game keeps track of)
you can run up. If that doesn't sound like fun to you, you'd better find a friend.
Game Play-Fun 10 out of 10
This is where this game really shines. The controls are very easy to use, yet there
is a definite skill involved in the passing and the running. While there are only 8
plays available to you during a particular game, any teams playbook can be filled
with your choice of about 60 different plays. While it's possible to do well with the
really good teams without much skill, to truly master the game and be able to contend
with any team, it will take a certain amount of practice.
One of the great features of the game is that you can control any number of teams.
Thus, if you happen to have 27 friends, you can each control a team and go through
an entire season. On the more realistic side, if you can manage to form a league
where you have enough human players so that not all the human teams will make
the playoffs, then you can have fun with this one for years to come. On the other hand,
if you're looking for a game you can play for months by yourself, you'll probably get
pretty tired of this one after a while
Replayability 9 out of 10
As mentioned above, this game is absolutely terrific if you have some friends to
play against (who won't mind if you're a little better than them). I used to play this
game all the time with 3 friends of mind, and the only reason we stopped is that we
went to different colleges. If you don't have anyone who's willing to play Nintendo
football with you, however, then you'll probably only play this game for a month or so.
Overall 9.5 out of 10
Overall, this is just one of those rare games that you can play with your friends long
after it has supposedly become obsolete. This game isn't the best in one player mode,
but then again I have found very, very few sports games over the years which are. If
you're one of the few people who owns a Nintendo and doesn't own this game, you
should definitely check it out.