Tecmo Bowl (1987)The original Tecmo Bowl. This was a four-player, two screen arcade game. There were no NFL or NFLPA licenses, in fact there were only two teams, the Bulldogs (red) and the Wildcats (blue). Instead of using the buttons, you used the joystick to shake of tacklers. You also had to insert more money at the end of each quarter to keep playing. It was four player, which means that one guy could play receiver or runningback, which adds an interesting dimension. After much waiting, the rom is finally available for MAME emulation.
Tecmo Bowl (1988)Tecmo comes home. Sure it was a little rough around the edges - you only had nine guys on the field at once, you only had four plays to choose from, and basically every pass was either a completion or a pick - but in 1988 it was the best football anyone had to offer. It has the 12 'cities' which made the playoffs that year, and a lot of real players. The season was password supported, and you basically just played every team once. There were no fumbles, and LT could block every field goal and extra point, but it was still a lot of fun. This game is the true origin of it all, without this there would be no Tecmo Super Bowl as we know it today.
Tecmo Bowl (1991)
This is essentially Tecmo Bowl ported to the Game Boy. It, of course, is
black and white. Everything is nearly identical to the NES version. The
game, however, was released three years later. Oddly enough it still has
the same players as the NES Tecmo Bowl, which is to say it uses the 1988
rosters. I have no idea why they did this, except perhaps they didn't have
to pay for the NFLPA rights twice this way...who knows.
Tecmo Super Bowl (1991)
The game that changed everything. This one had it all, a full 16 game
season with playoffs, real teams, real players, player
conditions, subsitutions, injuries, and it even kept stats for the whole
season. On top of all of this it was really fun. The gameplay was balanced
enough offensively and defensively to keep it interesting no matter what
teams were playing. And the little nuances and quirks of the game
which, although often unrealistic, just made the game even more
enjoyable to play (like scrambling to get that bouncing fumble). It's
that game that you can just keep going back to, and it never gets old.
Tecmo Super Bowl (1993)This game is essentially a re-release of Tecmo Super Bowl for the Super Nintendo and Genesis. The games are practically identical but there are a few noticable differences. The updated version had better graphics, and allowed you to change your playbook during the game. The team's names were put in the end zones, and you could choose the weather for the game and the length of the games themselves. Another nice feature was you could iterate forward and backward through your receivers, which you couldn't do in the NES version. There were also some worthless additions like the automatic dive play, and the three year season. In terms of gameplay, though, the games were more or less the same, which is a good thing.
Tecmo Super Bowl II: Special Edition
(1994)Okay, this is where there series, in my opinion, begins to take a turn for the worse. This game was a limited release, and is pretty hard to find, but I wouldn't waste your time on it anyway. Again, this game is the same premise as Tecmo, but overhauled completely. The graphics were revamped so that the field is seen in perspective now. Your playbook consists of 16 plays instead of just eight, and the defense can choose their formation. There are aubidles, you can turn fumbles and injuries on and off among other new options. Plus there is a three year mode which actually uses different rosters for all three years. The gameplay, however, I found to be pretty weak. In spite of the improvements made, I think the game actually got significantly worse in this edition.
Tecmo Super Bowl III: Final Edition
(1995)The bad news is that this game is basically the same as Tecmo Super Bowl II. As I said I didn't like that one, so I haven't actually played either of these much. One difference is that you can change your stadium to either dome or baseball field now. Another is that there is no longer music while you play, just the murmur of the crowd. There is a Free Agent/Player Manufacturer option and an NFL Records page to keep track of your best outings. The game also selects MVPs at the end of the season as well. If you have your choice, I'd recommend Tecmo Super Bowl I, but if not these versions are still alright.
Tecmo Super Bowl (1997)
Well, honestly I haven't actually played this game, but everything I've seen says that it's pretty much worthless. I have been told that there is an option which allows you to edit every player in the game, letting you keep the teams updated with their real-world counterparts. Apparently there is also in-game commentary, as well. I was thinking about buying it for the Playstation, so I started looking around for information on it, and all I heard were negative things. People aren't even sure what the buttons do in it. I can only assume that the problems that plague this edition are the same ones that made the prior two games worse than they could be. The programmers probably focused more on realism in a game thats greatness was derived from its complete lack-there-of. I can only hope they go back to the original winning formula of Tecmo Super Bowl for future editions, like:
Tecmo Bowl Wireless (2003)
After a 6 year haitus, Tecmo is back in the football gaming world. Although the game does little, if anything, to improve upon the last Tecmo Bowl (1991 Gameboy edition) the release is significant in many ways. First, it reflects the broad appeal that Tecmo Bowl had and still has. Second, it shows us that Tecmo recognizes the great popularity of this series. And third, it gives us all the opportunity to not only play Tecmo anywhere and anytime, but also to show Tecmo Inc. that there is still an incredible demand for this game. So if you have a wireless unit that is compatible I highly recommend picking up this title. You won't find much new, but you might help contribute to the rebirth of this great football franchise. Sometimes simplicity is the best formula.