Tecmo Bowl (NES) Review

I played it on the NES Classic, beating it using Indianapolis, defeating Cleveland in the Tecmo Bowl, 31-14.

It's really hard for me to judge it without thinking of its much better sequel. The last time I played this was prior to Tecmo Super Bowl's release. I remember thinking it was decent back then. Coincidentally, I also beat it with Indy back then on a cart borrowed from a friend. Indianapolis probably being one of the worst teams in the game also wouldn't help if this was my first impression, as about the only viable strategy against a few of the teams is to run the same play every time, as it has the only hot read you can successfully pull off when the CPU picks your play; and since their RB is terrible, the passing game is your only real option. My biggest hurdle was Minnesota, as their left inside linebacker could not be blocked and would be on my QB (or my RB if I decided to try to run) in about 1 second every single play. He also would beat the football to the holder on any field goal or PAT attempt, so it was literally impossible to convert one of them (I beat them 12-0 in the “semifinal").

Only having 12 of the then 28 NFL teams was always a negative. The NES Classic Edition not having the NFLPA license, and therefore not having any player names, removes one of the main draws of the game. It also only has 9 players on a side. I always thought only having 4 plays to choose from was quite limiting, since I'd played multiple football games around that time (granted, all on PC) that had many more plays to choose from. Considering there wasn't a single fumble in the 11 games I played, I think I can be confident in saying that fumbles aren't a part of this game. Interceptions are also way too common, as the defender will pick off the pass probably 95% of the time if he's covering the receiver -- I think I had 6 interceptions in one game.

I highly recommend skipping this and playing its sequel, Tecmo Super Bowl.