WHAT MAKES TECMO SUPER BOWL SO SPECIAL? // Tecmo Super Bowl Documentary: Legendary Sports Video Game

In this All Sports History video, we'll take a look back at Tecmo Super Bowl, first released in 1991 for the NES. Tecmo Super Bowl will always be remembered as a legendary football video game, having gained acclaim for being one of the first to feature real NFL teams and players. Known for its fast-paced gameplay and simple yet engaging mechanics, Tecmo Super Bowl continues to be celebrated as a classic in the world of sports gaming.

This Tecmo Super Bowl Documentary includes:

The company behind Tecmo Super Bowl, “Tecmo” was originally founded in 1967 under a different name, “Tehkan”. But in 1969, Tehkan began to sell amusement equipment for games, and by the early 1980’s, the company went all in on primarily creating video games. In 1986, Tehkan merged with its sister company “Tecmo'' to become one video game corporation. Some notable games that Tecmo and Tehkan created were Ninja Gaiden, Tehkan World Cup, and Gridiron Fight (a predecessor to Tecmo Bowl). In 1987 the company released Tecmo Bowl arcades (a version exclusively for arcades), and later released it for the Nintendo Entertainment System in 1989. Tecmo Bowl NES was quite successful, although not without some controversy. Indianapolis Colts running back Erik Dickerson actually sued Tecmo for using his name and likeness in the game.

In the original game, Tecmo Bowl only featured 12 teams and generic team names. This was due to Tecmo being unable to secure an official license from the NFL, as they had an exclusive video game license with the LJN published title “NFL” at that time. But, that would all change with the follow up game, “Tecmo Super Bowl '' which was released in December of 1991. Tecmo Super Bowl NES was able to get an official license from both the NFL and the NFLPA for the first time. With the correct licenses in place, Tecmo Super Bowl featured all 28 NFL teams, and rosters for the 1990-91 season even though the game was released during the ‘91-’92 season. Sorry Brett, because the rosters were from the 1990 season, none of the rookies such as your jean short wearing self, who were drafted in the 1991 NFL draft were featured in the game.

The game also expanded the first Tecmo Bowls’ playbook, going from only four plays to eight plays. The restrictive playbook also contributed to an interesting quirk in the Tecmo Bowl gameplay due to the technical limitations at the time. While playing against the game’s computer, a player could call up essentially the same successful play over and over again without the game’s computer catching on or being able to stop it. Especially if playing with a player like Bo Jackson, who was programmed to be virtually unstoppable in the game. Bo Jackson's speed in scoring tecmo bowl touchdowns are a standout feature in the game. When asked about Bo Jackson highlights, the games’ creators Shin-ichiro Tomie and Akihiko Shimoji had this to say, “In the end, we struggled with how to calibrate his max speed. We wanted to show how "unstoppable" he was in the game. As an opponent, his speed is a terror. But in a way, that also adds a different element to the game—how to stop the unstoppable." Other changes were adding in-game tecmo super bowl injuries, and substituting in backup players in their place for the first time.

Nearly a year after the game’s initial release, Tecmo Super Bowl was the top seller on Babbage’s (now known as GameStop) NES charts for the fall of 1992. The game was popular enough that in 1993 Tecmo decided to port the game over to Nintendo’s new gaming system the Super Nintendo. Along with updated rosters for the 1993 season, Tecmo Super Bowl SNES added in updated features like randomized weather when playing in season, and the ability to select the weather in preseason mode (where it could be sunny, rainy, or snowing). The game also featured updated graphics and sounds, particularly with the on field logos for each team’s endzones, and much more as well. The success of Tecmo Super Bowl spawned two more sequels, Tecmo Super Bowl II: Special Edition (released in late 1994 in Japan), and Tecmo Super Bowl Final Edition (released in 1995). Both games had further improved features, and included updated rosters for the 1994 and 1995 seasons. There have been a few attempts to revive the series over the years, with Tecmo Bowl Kickoff in 2008 for the Nintendo DS, and Tecmo Bowl Throwback released in 2010 for the XBOX 360 and PlayStation 3. However due to EA Sports obtaining the exclusive licensing rights from the NFL for their Madden NFL series, the newer Tecmo Bowl games lacked the ability to play as real teams or players.

So what did you guys think about this Tecmo Super Bowl review and the lasting legacy of of the game? Do you believe that it’s one of the greatest sports games ever? Where would you rank it? Let me know in the comments below!

WHAT MAKES TECMO SUPER BOWL SO SPECIAL? // Tecmo Super Bowl Documentary: Legendary Sports Video Game