Tecmo Bowl

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Tecmo Bowl

Developer(s)	Tecmo
Publisher(s)	Tecmo
Platform(s)	Arcade, NES, Game Boy, Mobile Phone, Virtual Console
Release date	^NA 1987 (Arcade) ^NA February, 1989 (NES) ^JP November 13, 1990 (Famicom)
Genre(s)	Football
Mode(s)	Single player, multiplayer

Tecmo Bowl is an arcade video game released in 1987 by Tecmo, Inc. A popular NES port was later released in 1989, becoming the first of several successful Tecmo American football titles for various home consoles. Recently, the NES version was ported to mobile phones in 2004 and the North American Wii Virtual Console on March 12, 2007.

1 Gameplay
2 Teams
3 Active Players
4 Versions
5 Tecmo Bowl: Kickoff
6 External links
7 See also
8 References
9 Further reading

[edit] Gameplay

Tecmo Bowl Gameplay (NES version)

The original arcade version was distinguished by a large two-monitor cabinet, support for up to four players, and the ability to break tackles.

The NES version allowed two players. In this version, the player could choose between 3 modes: 1 player, 2 players, and coach. In 1 player mode, the player picked a football team and played against the computer. After every game that the player wins, the computer picked another team to play as, and the player stays with his original choice. Each successive game against the computer became slightly more difficult. In 2 player mode, the player and another human will play one game. In coach mode, the player and another played one game, but the players only chose the plays (which cannot be done in the arcade version).

In both versions, the playbook consisted of only four offensive plays. When on defense, a player selected which play thought to be the one that the offense would select; if chosen correctly, it would result in a collapse of the offensive line and well-covered receivers.

Despite being more realistic than other games of the era, like Ten Yard Fight, Tecmo Bowl had quirks. For instance, almost any pass thrown to a covered receiver resulted in an interception, and it was unrealistically easy to block field goals and extra points. A player using the New York Giants, for example, could easily block most kicks using Lawrence Taylor simply by selecting him and running through the blockers. Also, many teams had one pass play that, with the proper timing, was nearly unstoppable against any defense.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Teams

Tecmo Bowl contains twelve teams, each equipped with four plays. Most teams have two running plays and two passing plays. The exceptions are San Francisco and Miami, who have three passing plays and one running play.

Tecmo was not able to get the NFL's consent to use real team names. As a result, the teams in the game are identified solely by their home city or state. However, each roster mimics that of the NFL team based out of the same city or state.

The teams mimicked in the game are the Indianapolis Colts, the Miami Dolphins, the Cleveland Browns, the Denver Broncos, the Seattle Seahawks, the Los Angeles Raiders, the Washington Redskins, the San Francisco 49ers, the Dallas Cowboys, the New York Giants, the Chicago Bears, and the Minnesota Vikings.

Each team had a different level of effectiveness based on its personnel and play selection. Chicago (with Walter Payton and Mike Singletary) and San Francisco (Joe Montana and Ronnie Lott) were two of the top teams because they had top talent on both offense and defense. Los Angeles had the fastest offensive player in the game (Bo Jackson) but only one running play which utilized him. New York had a middling offense but the fastest defender in the game, Lawrence Taylor. Minnesota is among the worst teams in the game with the unfortunate combination of average talent and a terrible playbook which includes an extremely ineffective wide receiver reverse run.

[edit] Active Players

No players featured in the original Tecmo Bowl are still active in the NFL after the retirement of K Sean Landeta on March 6, 2008. Morten Andersen of the Atlanta Falcons (entered league with New Orleans Saints in 1982) played in the Tecmo Bowl era, but is not depicted in the game.

[edit] Versions

1987 - arcade
1989 - NES
1990 - Famicom
1991 - Game Boy
2004 - mobile phones
2007 - Wii Virtual Console

The 2007 Virtual Console release is a modified version of the game without the NFLPA license, since EA owns exclusive rights to it, thus the players are represented only by number and not by name. ^[1]

This game is featured in Tecmo Classic Arcade for the Xbox.

[edit] Tecmo Bowl: Kickoff

Main article: Tecmo Bowl: Kickoff

On May 1, 2008, a new updated version of the game was announced for the Nintendo DS, titled Tecmo Bowl: Kickoff, due for release in the Fall 2008.^[2]