Tecmo Bowl
Encyclopedia
is an arcade game
developed and released in 1987 by Tecmo. While moderately successful in the arcades, the game became and remained widely popular and remembered when it was ported
to the Nintendo Entertainment System
in 1989. The NES version was considered by many to be the first NES American football game to feature real NFL
teams and players. Although LJN
's NFL Football
was the first, it didn't turn out as successful as Tecmo Bowl did. Due to this factor, along with the scarcity of the arcade version, the NES version eclipsed its arcade counterpart in popularity. The NES version was ported to mobile phone
s in 2004 and the North American Wii Virtual Console
on March 12, 2007. The arcade version for the Virtual Console came out in North America on August 3, 2009 and Japan on September 29, 2009.
The NES version allowed two players rather than four from the arcade 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/her original choice. In 2 player and coach modes, the player and another human will play one game but the players only chose the plays in the coach mode (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.
Though more realistic than other American football games of the era, like Irem's 10 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 for some teams to block field goals and extra points. Lawrence Taylor
of New York and Dexter Manley
of Washington could block any field goal or extra point simply by selecting them and running down the line and through the long snapper. Also, San Francisco and Miami each had a pass play that was nearly unstoppable against any defense, with proper timing: the slot receiver curl route from the shotgun. Human defenses could stop this by double teaming the curl receiver with the defensive end.
Despite featuring the names and statistics of real NFL players from the 1988 season, the gameplay limited how closely the video game players mimicked real life players. For the most part the gameplay was a form of keep away. The offensive player with the ball tried to avoid the defenders, the defenders tried to avoid blockers and catch the player with the ball (Players could sometimes break free of blocks or tackles). This made speed the crucial attribute, and other characteristics of NFL players such as strength and technique were largely ignored. Regardless of position or the speed of the real life player, better players with better stats were faster, lesser players were slower. So top defensive linemen, who tend to be larger and slower in real life, were faster than the typical defensive backs, running backs, and receivers. The exceptions were punters and kickers whose primary attribute was kick distance, and quarterbacks whose primary attribute was arm strength/pass speed. The QBs with the best stats throw the hardest, fastest passes even if the real life player doesn't have the strongest arm. That is why Joe Montana
throws harder than John Elway
in Tecmo Bowl, even though the real Elway has a much stronger arm.
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. Tecmo Bowl only used players from twelve of the best and most popular teams.
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
[arcade] / Neal Anderson
[NES] 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 (Marcus Allen
was used in the second running play). 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.
No players featured in the original Tecmo Bowl are still active in the NFL after the retirement of punter Sean Landeta
on March 6, 2008. The last player to leave the NFL who was active at the time of the game's release, yet played for a team not included in the game was kicker Morten Andersen
, who retired not long after on December 8, 2008.
There are two versions of the game. One has Eric Dickerson as the running back for Indianapolis. A later version utilizes Albert Bentley.
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. The original arcade version was featured in Tecmo Classic Arcade
for the Xbox
.
Tecmo Bowl also has two updated versions. On November 18, 2008, a first one was released for the Nintendo DS
, titled Tecmo Bowl: Kickoff
. In 2010, a second one was released for the Xbox 360
and PlayStation 3
called Tecmo Bowl Throwback
.
Arcade game
An arcade game is a coin-operated entertainment machine, usually installed in public businesses such as restaurants, bars, and amusement arcades. Most arcade games are video games, pinball machines, electro-mechanical games, redemption games, and merchandisers...
developed and released in 1987 by Tecmo. While moderately successful in the arcades, the game became and remained widely popular and remembered when it was ported
Porting
In computer science, porting is the process of adapting software so that an executable program can be created for a computing environment that is different from the one for which it was originally designed...
to the Nintendo Entertainment System
Nintendo Entertainment System
The Nintendo Entertainment System is an 8-bit video game console that was released by Nintendo in North America during 1985, in Europe during 1986 and Australia in 1987...
in 1989. The NES version was considered by many to be the first NES American football game to feature real NFL
National Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
teams and players. Although LJN
LJN
LJN was an American toy company and video game publisher. It created toy lines and video games based on movies, television shows, and celebrities. It was headquartered in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, and later in Lyndhurst, New Jersey.-Founding:...
's NFL Football
NFL Football
NFL Football is a 1989 football video game, developed by Enteractive and published by LJN exclusively for the Nintendo Entertainment System.- Gameplay modes :This game was the first to get an official National Football League license...
was the first, it didn't turn out as successful as Tecmo Bowl did. Due to this factor, along with the scarcity of the arcade version, the NES version eclipsed its arcade counterpart in popularity. The NES version was ported to mobile phone
Mobile phone
A mobile phone is a device which can make and receive telephone calls over a radio link whilst moving around a wide geographic area. It does so by connecting to a cellular network provided by a mobile network operator...
s in 2004 and the North American Wii Virtual Console
Virtual console
A virtual console – also known as a virtual terminal – is a conceptual combination of the keyboard and display for a computer user interface. It is a feature of some operating systems such as UnixWare, Linux, and BSD, in which the system console of the computer can be used to switch between...
on March 12, 2007. The arcade version for the Virtual Console came out in North America on August 3, 2009 and Japan on September 29, 2009.
Gameplay
The original arcade version was distinguished by a large two-monitor cabinet, support for up to four players, and the ability to break tackles. Only two fictional teams can be chosen: the Wildcats and the Bulldogs.The NES version allowed two players rather than four from the arcade 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/her original choice. In 2 player and coach modes, the player and another human will play one game but the players only chose the plays in the coach mode (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.
Though more realistic than other American football games of the era, like Irem's 10 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 for some teams to block field goals and extra points. Lawrence Taylor
Lawrence Taylor
Lawrence Julius Taylor , nicknamed "L.T.", is a Hall of Fame former American football player. Taylor played his entire professional career as a linebacker for the New York Giants in the National Football League...
of New York and Dexter Manley
Dexter Manley
Dexter Keith Manley, nicknamed the "Secretary of Defense" is a former American football defensive end in the National Football League for the Washington Redskins, Phoenix Cardinals, and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in an eleven-year career from 1981 to 1991. He also played in the Canadian Football...
of Washington could block any field goal or extra point simply by selecting them and running down the line and through the long snapper. Also, San Francisco and Miami each had a pass play that was nearly unstoppable against any defense, with proper timing: the slot receiver curl route from the shotgun. Human defenses could stop this by double teaming the curl receiver with the defensive end.
Despite featuring the names and statistics of real NFL players from the 1988 season, the gameplay limited how closely the video game players mimicked real life players. For the most part the gameplay was a form of keep away. The offensive player with the ball tried to avoid the defenders, the defenders tried to avoid blockers and catch the player with the ball (Players could sometimes break free of blocks or tackles). This made speed the crucial attribute, and other characteristics of NFL players such as strength and technique were largely ignored. Regardless of position or the speed of the real life player, better players with better stats were faster, lesser players were slower. So top defensive linemen, who tend to be larger and slower in real life, were faster than the typical defensive backs, running backs, and receivers. The exceptions were punters and kickers whose primary attribute was kick distance, and quarterbacks whose primary attribute was arm strength/pass speed. The QBs with the best stats throw the hardest, fastest passes even if the real life player doesn't have the strongest arm. That is why Joe Montana
Joe Montana
Joseph Clifford "Joe" Montana, Jr. , nicknamed Joe Cool, Golden Joe, The Golden Great and Comeback Joe, is a retired American football player. Montana started his NFL career in 1979 with the San Francisco 49ers, where he played quarterback for the next 14 seasons...
throws harder than John Elway
John Elway
John Albert Elway, Jr. is a former American football quarterback and currently is the executive vice president of football operations for the Denver Broncos of the National Football League . He played college football at Stanford and his entire professional career with the Denver Broncos...
in Tecmo Bowl, even though the real Elway has a much stronger arm.
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 FranciscoSan Francisco 49ers
The San Francisco 49ers are a professional American football team based in San Francisco, California, playing in the West Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team was founded in 1946 as a charter member of the All-America Football Conference and...
and Miami
Miami Dolphins
The Miami Dolphins are a Professional football team based in the Miami metropolitan area in Florida. The team is part of the Eastern Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
, who have three passing plays and one running play.
Tecmo was not able to get the NFL's
National Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
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. Tecmo Bowl only used players from twelve of the best and most popular teams.
The teams mimicked in the game are the Indianapolis Colts
Indianapolis Colts
The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. They are currently members of the South Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League ....
, the Miami Dolphins
Miami Dolphins
The Miami Dolphins are a Professional football team based in the Miami metropolitan area in Florida. The team is part of the Eastern Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
, the Cleveland Browns
Cleveland Browns
The Cleveland Browns are a professional football team based in Cleveland, Ohio. They are currently members of the North Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
, the Denver Broncos
Denver Broncos
The Denver Broncos are a professional American football team based in Denver, Colorado. They are currently members of the West Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
, the Seattle Seahawks
Seattle Seahawks
The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle, Washington. They are currently members of the Western Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team joined the NFL in 1976 as an expansion team...
, the Los Angeles Raiders
Oakland Raiders
The Oakland Raiders are a professional American football team based in Oakland, California. They currently play in the Western Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
, the Washington Redskins
Washington Redskins
The Washington Redskins are a professional American football team and members of the East Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team plays at FedExField in Landover, Maryland, while its headquarters and training facility are at Redskin Park in Ashburn,...
, the San Francisco 49ers
San Francisco 49ers
The San Francisco 49ers are a professional American football team based in San Francisco, California, playing in the West Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team was founded in 1946 as a charter member of the All-America Football Conference and...
, the Dallas Cowboys
Dallas Cowboys
The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football franchise which plays in the Eastern Division of the National Football Conference of the National Football League . They are headquartered in Valley Ranch in Irving, Texas, a suburb of Dallas...
, the New York Giants
New York Giants
The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in East Rutherford, New Jersey, representing the New York City metropolitan area. The Giants are currently members of the Eastern Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
, the Chicago Bears
Chicago Bears
The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
, and the Minnesota Vikings
Minnesota Vikings
The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Vikings joined the National Football League as an expansion team in 1960...
.
Each team had a different level of effectiveness based on its personnel and play selection. Chicago (with Walter Payton
Walter Payton
Walter Jerry Payton was an American football running back who played for the Chicago Bears of the National Football League for thirteen seasons. Walter Payton was known around the NFL as "Sweetness". He is remembered as one of the most prolific running backs in the history of American football...
[arcade] / Neal Anderson
Neal Anderson
Charles Neal Anderson is a former American college and professional football player who was a running back in the National Football League for eight seasons in the 1980s and 1990s...
[NES] and Mike Singletary
Mike Singletary
Michael "Mike" Singletary is an American football coach and former professional football player. He is currently the linebacker coach and assistant head coach for the Minnesota Vikings of the NFL....
) and San Francisco (Joe Montana
Joe Montana
Joseph Clifford "Joe" Montana, Jr. , nicknamed Joe Cool, Golden Joe, The Golden Great and Comeback Joe, is a retired American football player. Montana started his NFL career in 1979 with the San Francisco 49ers, where he played quarterback for the next 14 seasons...
and Ronnie Lott
Ronnie Lott
Ronald Mandel "Ronnie" Lott is a former American football player who starred as a cornerback, free safety, and strong safety in college football and the NFL. He is most well known for his crushing hits on opposing players...
) 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
Bo Jackson
Vincent Edward "Bo" Jackson is a former American baseball and football player. He was the first athlete to be named an All-Star in two major American sports, and also won the Heisman Trophy in 1985....
) but only one running play which utilized him (Marcus Allen
Marcus Allen
Marcus LeMarr Allen is a former American football player and, until recently, was affiliated with CBS as a game analyst. As a professional, Allen ran for 12,243 yards and caught 587 passes for 5,412 yards during his career for both the Los Angeles Raiders and the Kansas City Chiefs from 1982 to 1997...
was used in the second running play). New York had a middling offense but the fastest defender in the game, Lawrence Taylor
Lawrence Taylor
Lawrence Julius Taylor , nicknamed "L.T.", is a Hall of Fame former American football player. Taylor played his entire professional career as a linebacker for the New York Giants in the National Football League...
. 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.
No players featured in the original Tecmo Bowl are still active in the NFL after the retirement of punter Sean Landeta
Sean Landeta
Sean Edward Landeta is a former American football punter who played in both the United States Football League and the National Football League...
on March 6, 2008. The last player to leave the NFL who was active at the time of the game's release, yet played for a team not included in the game was kicker Morten Andersen
Morten Andersen
Morten Andersen , nicknamed "The Great Dane", is a former National Football League kicker. He holds the distinction of being the all-time leading scorer in NFL history, as well as being the all-time leading scorer for two different teams; the New Orleans Saints, with whom he spent 13 seasons, and...
, who retired not long after on December 8, 2008.
There are two versions of the game. One has Eric Dickerson as the running back for Indianapolis. A later version utilizes Albert Bentley.
Ports and related releases
- 1989: NES
- 1990: Famicom
- 1991: Game BoyGame BoyThe , is an 8-bit handheld video game device developed and manufactured by Nintendo. It was released in Japan on , in North America in , and in Europe on...
- 2004: mobile phonesMobile gameA mobile game is a video game played on a mobile phone, smartphone, PDA, tablet computer or portable media player. This does not include games played on handheld video game systems such as Nintendo DS or PlayStation Portable....
- 2007: WiiWiiThe Wii is a home video game console released by Nintendo on November 19, 2006. As a seventh-generation console, the Wii primarily competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Sony's PlayStation 3. Nintendo states that its console targets a broader demographic than that of the two others...
Virtual ConsoleVirtual consoleA virtual console – also known as a virtual terminal – is a conceptual combination of the keyboard and display for a computer user interface. It is a feature of some operating systems such as UnixWare, Linux, and BSD, in which the system console of the computer can be used to switch between...
(NES version) - 2009: Wii Virtual Console (Arcade version)
The 2007 Virtual Console release is a modified version of the game without the NFLPA license, since EA
Electronic Arts
Electronic Arts, Inc. is a major American developer, marketer, publisher and distributor of video games. Founded and incorporated on May 28, 1982 by Trip Hawkins, the company was a pioneer of the early home computer games industry and was notable for promoting the designers and programmers...
owns exclusive rights to it; thus, the players are represented only by number and not by name. The original arcade version was featured in Tecmo Classic Arcade
Tecmo Classic Arcade
Tecmo Classic Arcade is a collection of classic Tecmo arcade games for the Microsoft Xbox. This collection was released on September 13, 2005 in the U.S. and October 27, 2005 in Japan. This game was published and developed by Tecmo...
for the Xbox
Xbox
The Xbox is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Microsoft. It was released on November 15, 2001 in North America, February 22, 2002 in Japan, and March 14, 2002 in Australia and Europe and is the predecessor to the Xbox 360. It was Microsoft's first foray into the gaming console...
.
Tecmo Bowl also has two updated versions. On November 18, 2008, a first one was released for the Nintendo DS
Nintendo DS
The is a portable game console produced by Nintendo, first released on November 21, 2004. A distinctive feature of the system is the presence of two separate LCD screens, the lower of which is a touchscreen, encompassed within a clamshell design, similar to the Game Boy Advance SP...
, titled Tecmo Bowl: Kickoff
Tecmo Bowl: Kickoff
Tecmo Bowl: Kickoff is a video game, the Nintendo DS adaptation of Tecmo Super Bowl, developed by Polygon Magic and published by Tecmo. The game was released on November 18, 2008., and a Wii version has been announced, to be released in 2010.-Teams:...
. In 2010, a second one was released for the Xbox 360
Xbox 360
The Xbox 360 is the second video game console produced by Microsoft and the successor to the Xbox. The Xbox 360 competes with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles...
and PlayStation 3
PlayStation 3
The is the third home video game console produced by Sony Computer Entertainment and the successor to the PlayStation 2 as part of the PlayStation series. The PlayStation 3 competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles...
called Tecmo Bowl Throwback
Tecmo Bowl Throwback
Tecmo Bowl Throwback is a video game released by Tecmo for the Xbox 360 via Xbox Live Arcade. The PlayStation 3 version was released via the PlayStation Network store on June 1, 2010...
.
External links
- "TecmoBowl-vs-RBI" An indepth look at strategy and player attributes for Tecmo Bowl and RBI baseball
- "32 Team Tecmo Bowl 2010"
- Tecmo Bowl at MAWS
- "The Greatest Games of All Time", GameSpot