Friday Game Review - Tecmo Super Bowl

There's so much to love about Tecmo Super Bowl, but mention the game to anyone, and I guarantee the first thing they think of is this:



And really, what more does one need to say?

Not a hell of a lot, but indulge me...

Since Tecmo Bowl came out:

The NFL adopted the 2 point conversion. The play clock was reduced from 45 seconds to 40. Kickoffs were moved back from the 35 yard line to the 30. "K" balls were introduced. Change of possession after missed field goals was moved from the line of scrimmage to the point of the kick. The NFL changed from a three toed, two inch kicking tee to a circular one inch tee. The Instant Replay experiment was abandoned, adopted as an experiment again after a hiatus, and then made permanent. Radios were added to the helmets of quarterbacks, and will be added to one defensive player in 2008. Also, in 2008, coaches will finally be allowed to "defer" the choice of receiving to the second half. Practically every video game released from the time TSB came out to now has allowed you to do this. Every single one of them has had the rule wrong. Dozens of rules have been changed to protect the quarterback and promote passing offense, and the Chicago Bears still believe "power running" is the way to win in the NFL.

The NFL draft contracted from 12 rounds to 8, and then from 8 to 7. The NFL added an extra bye week, the canceled the experiment after only one year. The NFL negotiated a new collective bargaining agreement with the players association, extended the agreement four times, then formed another new agreement. The NFL introduced the Salary Cap, which was originally set at $34.6 million. For the 2008 season the cap is $116.7 million. Paul Tagliabue retired as NFL commissioner and was replaced by Roger Goodell. The NFL, after many false starts, created the World Football league, later renamed it NFL Europe, then NFL Europa, then folded the league.

The NFL created their own television network and has begun broadcasting select games on it, beginning with a third game on Thanksgiving Day. The NFL moved from CBS, NBC, ABC, ESPN and TNT; to NBC, Fox, ABC, ESPN and TNT; then to Fox, CBS, ESPN and ABC; then to Fox, CBS, NBC and ESPN. Monday Night Football went from being the premier game of the week to an afterthought, and Sunday Night Football made the exact opposite transition. Comedian Dennis Miller had a stint as a color commentator.

The NFL expanded from 28 to 32 teams, adding the Panthers and Jaguars. Moved the Oilers to Nashville and renamed them the Titans. Turned the Browns into the expansion Baltimore Ravens, "rebooted" the Browns in Cleavland, and added the Texans in Houston. The NFL realigned from 3 divisions per conference to four, and the Seattle Seahawks moved from the AFC to the NFC. The Rams and Raiders both moved out of Los Angeles. The Vikings have threatened to move to San Antonio and Los Angeles, the Saints have threatened to move anywhere and everywhere, as long as it's of New Orleans. The Phoenix Cardinals rebranded themselves as the Arizona Cardinals.

The Bucs, Broncos and Patriots got completely new uniforms and logos. The Giants, Jets, and Chargers changed their uniforms to make them look more like their old uniforms. The Rams, 49ers, Dolphins, Vikings, Bills, Lions, Seahawks, Bengals, Cardinals, Falcons, and Eagles all made varying degrees of cosmetic changes to their uniforms and/or logos. Practically every team in the league added a 3rd "alternate" jersey.

The record for the longest play in NFL history was set after a missed field goal was returned 107 yards by Chris McAllister. In three consecutive years it was broken by Nathan Vasher who returned a missed field goal 108 yards, tied by Devin Hester on another missed field goal, and then broken for the final time ever by Antonio Cromartie who returned a missed field goal 109 yards.

Astroturf claimed both of Wendell Davis's knees, and a decade or so later was done away with, replaced with synthetic field turf. The Bears completely renovated Solider Field. The Seahawks, Falcons, Browns, Bengals, Lions, Patriots, Titans, Broncos, Cardinals, Bucs, Steelers, Eagles, Rams, Panthers and Redskins moved into new facilities. The Jaguars, and Texans began their franchise life with new, state of the art facilities. The Colts will join that group this season, the Cowboys next season. In either the pre season or the regular season, the Bears were the first opponent of the Browns, Bucs, Panthers and Ravens in their new stadiums, they lost all four games.

Matt Millen won a super bowl as a Washington Redskin, retired, did color commentary for CBS, and got hired as Lions GM. The Lions have posted a record of 31 and 81 under his leadership. They endured an 0-24 road record over his first three seasons, and have won just eight since. The have not won more than seven games in a single season. Millen drafted four wide receivers with first round picks in five years, two of those receivers are out of the NFL. He also selected Kevin Jones and Joey Harrington with first round picks. Matt Millen is the second highest paid General Manager in the NFL and the Fords have shown no indication that his job is in Jeopardy.

Joe Gibbs retired as head coach of the Washington Redskins, started his own NASCAR racing team, took twelve years off from Pro Football, returned to coach the team for four more seasons, then retired again.

Jut Jaw Bill Cowher was named Head Coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers. He coached for fifteen seasons, posting a record of 149-90-1. The Steelers made the playoffs ten times while he was coach. He won three "coach of the year" awards and one Super Bowl. Cowher has since retired from his job coaching the Steelers. He was replaced by Omar Epps.

Brett Favre was drafted by the Atlanta Falcons and traded to the Green Bay Packers where he started the next 253 straight regular season games and threw 8,758 passes for 5,377 completions, 61,655 yards, 442 touchdowns, 288 interceptions and at least three touchdowns in 63 games. He won 3 NFL AP-MVP awards and 160 games. Every single one of those statistics is the all time NFL record for quarterbacks.

When TSB was released Jerry Rice had 79 touchdown receptions and 7,866 yards. He added 119 more touchdowns and 15,029 yards. Both first all time Receiving and from scrimmage. He left the 49ers, resurrected his career as a Raider, petered out with the Seahawks and Broncos, and then signed a one day contract to retire with the 49ers.

When TSB was released, Emmitt Smith had rushed for 987 yards and 11 touchdowns as a Rookie. He added 17,418 yards
and 153 more touchdowns. Both of these are fist all time rushing, and second all time to only Rice from scrimmage.

Mike Tomczak, Jim Harbaugh, Peter Tom Willis, Will Furrer, Steve Walsh, Erik Kramer, Steve Stenstrom, Moses Moreno, Cade McNown, Dave Kreig, Rick Meier, Shane Matthews, Jim Miller, Chris Chandler, Henry Burris, Kordell Stewart, Rex Grossman, Jonathan Quinn, Craig Krenzel, Steve Hutchinson, Kyle Orton, and Brian Griese started at Quarterback for the Chicago Bears.

Junior Seau, John Carney, Jeff Feagles, and Morton Anderson all finished the 2008 season on an NFL roster. They are the only remaining active players from the TSB roster.

TSB vets Smith, Rice, Mike Singletary, Anthony Munoz, Lawrence Taylor, Eric Dickerson, Howie Long, Ronnie Lott, Dan Hampton, Joe Montana, Jim Kelly, Marcus Allen, James Lofton, John Elway, Barry Sanders, Dan Marino, Steve Young, Troy Aikmin, Warren Moon, Reggie White, Michael Irvin, Bruce Matthews, Gary Zimmerman, Andre Tippett, Darrell Green, Jackie Slater, Mike Webster, Ozzie Newsom, Mike Munchak, Thurman Thomas, and Art Monk have been inducted into the NFL Hall of Fame.

John Madden was an analyst on at least 275 NFL broadcasts for CBS, Fox, ABC, and NBC. John Madden Football was first released on a home video game system. The seires was renamed Madden NFL. Seventeen full, annual sequels have been released across the Super Nintendo, Genesis, 3DO, Game Gear, Game Boy, Sega Saturn, Sony Playstation, Windows PC, Nintendo 64, Game Boy Color, Game Boy Advance, Sony Playstation 2, Microsoft Xbox, Nintendo Gamecube, Nintendo DS, Sony PSP, Xbox 360, Nintendo Wii, Sony Playstation 3, and your Cell Phone.

None of them were better than Tecmo Super Bowl.

Tecmo Super Bowl is still my favorite football game of all time. It's hard to even type this, let alone actuaually believe it, but when the game was released in 1990, it was one of the most realistic football video games. The game had full starting rosters with real players thanks to the NFLPA license, allowed you to sub in offensive backups, had injuries, trick plays, customizable playbooks (something that plays heavily into the strategy of the game, even today.)

Of course, it also allowed you to break nearly unlimited tackles with the right running back in the right condition, let you throw the ball 120 yards in the air for a touchdown, and allowed seven blitzers to reach the quarterback untouched. Tipped passes could not be caught. You couldn't switch control of players after the snap on defense. There was a button to tackle, and a button to "graple" but no button to tip passes. There were no spin moves, no jukes, no stiff arms, no stutter step. No way to lower your shoulder, no way to lateral. Players didn't have momentum and guess what, it's still more fun than any football "sim."

Tecmo Super Bowl is still played in dorm rooms, frat houses, bachelor pads, and mom's basements. Tournaments are still played online on PCs with emulators. Mods have been released that have updated the rosters almost every year since the early 2000s.

If you were born between 1975 and 1985 or thereabouts, you know why this game is relevant, you also know it's GREAT. People who don't play video games play Tecmo Super Bowl. Tecmo Bo Jackson is on the record as saying he is asked more about Tecmo Super Bowl than any of his career accomplishments. I don't know if I'll be playing Halo 3 or Grand Theft Auto IV ten years from now, I KNOW I won't be playing Madden 08, but I know I'll still play Tecmo Super Bowl, it's pure, distilled fun.