Sega Genesis
Released in 1996 by EA Sports
Grade: B
This is a quality installment of 16-bit Madden, with EA’s trademark simple control and frantic action, and the first to support the 6-button controller (although it plays fine without it).
Where it falls in the series
It’s the seventh of eight Maddens in 16 bits. It comes after Madden 96, which curiously ramped up the speed to an out-of-control degree. My favorite in the series is Madden 95, despite some limitations and ugly graphics. This version is solid, but just missing the fluidity of Madden 95.
Praises and gripes
EA football had many of the right ingredients already cooking by the time it got to this game. The playcall screen is easy to use, the control is responsive, the AI creates plenty of football-like activity, and the graphics work fine.
This generation of Madden is known for “pixel soup” instead of offensive linemen blocking in a natural way, and that’s cleaned up significantly in this version. The QB can actually drop back and throw normally, but the caveat is that many passes are tipped at the line of scrimmage.
Running the ball is still a crapshoot. Most runs result in short losses, but you can luck out occasionally by finding an opening or breaking tackles with the spin move to pick up big yards.
Passing feels intuitive, but the ball is often headed behind your receiver, and you need to steer him to the ball. Some plays turn catching into another crapshoot, where a receiver and defender wait under the ball and there’s no telling who will end up with it. This is a key reason why I prefer the smoother passing in Madden 95.
Receivers cut their routes short too often as well. And this game has one of the most aggravating traits, where a receiver will stop in a wide-open patch of grass, so you fire a pass at him, and it flies by him, as if you threw it too fast. I know not to fire a bullet at a guy five yards away, but ten, fifteen yards? These are supposed to be NFL players; they should catch those.
The sound is lame, as is the Madden tradition. It just doesn’t feel like you’re in a stadium. The water faucet crowd will give you hell if you’re a yard shy of a first down, but where are they when you score a 50-yard touchdown? Buying popcorn?
In comparison to Madden 95, this game has better graphics, deeper playbooks, more realistic blocking, and two difficulty levels versus just one. It’s more focused on realism. So what’s the deal? Well, how realistic can football really be on this old console? If it can’t be realistic, it may as well be fun. Madden 95 looks ugly and it’s very kind to the offense, but it’s just more fun to play.