Super Nintendo
Released in 1993 by Tecmo
Grade: B
This game gets a ton of nostalgia-induced love, often called the greatest football game ever. I disagree, but it’s certainly good for a short spurt of shallow fun.
Where it falls in the series
After two releases on NES, this is the first of three on SNES. Not to be confused with Tecmo Super Bowl on NES, this version came out two years later, with better graphics and new gameplay elements, like the option to edit the playbook during a game. I prefer the two follow-ups, Tecmo Super Bowl II and Tecmo Super Bowl III: Final Edition, which is blasphemy among most of the other online dorks out there.
Praises and gripes
The easy-peasy control gives you only eight plays, QBs choose a receiver with one button and pass with the other, and runners make sharp 45- and 90-degree turns, a limitation that makes for unnatural but charming action on the field. It’s easy to jump right in, with no penalties and a quick pace from play to play.
Offense is fun. It’s usually easy to spot the open man and get the ball to him, sometimes wide open way down the field. You can eventually master a playbook, which comes in handy if you play through a season, where the CPU opponent gets tougher as you play along.
Defense is not as fun. You choose from the other team’s plays, and guessing correctly results in an immediate sack. Otherwise, your players are braindead, not reacting to the situation, and you can’t change players after the snap. One fun element is that tacklers usually tussle with runners in place, and you tap a button to break free or bring the guy down.
The graphics are simple and everyone seems to love them. Music blares during plays, which is honestly pretty annoying, then stops abruptly through the playcall process. And there are Tecmo’s famous cutscenes for things like near-interceptions, blocked punts, and touchdown celebrations.
I can see why people love this game, but the best football game ever? Come on, that’s craziness. It oozes retro charm, with its side view, snappy control, and simple physics, but I wouldn’t play more than a game or two in a single sitting.