Fans all over the world rejoiced when on March 12th, Nintendo along with Tecmo released the football classic Tecmo Bowl. I for one have been clamoring for it's release since the announcement of the Virtual Console. Needless to say I downloaded it immediately this past Monday and took it for a spin.
First of all, Tecmo Bowl never had the NFL license as it never included real teams, but the Players Association did lend it's license as to include the real players' names. So for instance "New York" had Lawrence Taylor and "Los Angeles" has Marcus Allen and Bo Jackson. That was good enough for most people, but unfortunately with the exclusive NFL license going to Electronic Arts, Tecmo had to remove even the players' names from this re-release. You know how Madden uses hall of famers in their "classic" teams, such that they just use their jersey numbers? Well it's the same thing, Bo Jackson is now simply #34 on the "Los Angeles" team. Oh well, that's a bummer but it's not a deal breaker. I mean, most fans of Tecmo Bowl know the players inside and out so it's not like they won't know who their team is.
Tecmo Bowl still plays as it did almost two decades ago. As it is with all Virtual Console releases, don't expect any changes to gameplay. On offense, you are able to choose from 4 different plays that include a running and passing play. Depending on what team you choose, there may be 2 running plays and 2 passing plays or 3 passing plays and 1 running play etc. Once you hike the ball you simply select what receiver you want to throw it to and launch the ball, or of course you take control of the running back and plow away. The infamous "up, down, up, down..." technique still works like a charm especially against the pesky CPU. Defensively, you don't actually choose from a set of defensive plays, the trick here is to pick one of the four plays that the offense is going to use and if you happen to choose the same play as your opponent, your team will blitz.
Not all of the NFL teams are included here as the only ones you'll find are: 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. Of course only the city name will be visible so don't confuse New York with being the Jets. Also as this is the first and simplest iteration of Tecmo Bowl, there aren't any fumbles so the only way to turn the ball over is to intercept it. Also the game does not keep record of your stats, nor can you play any kind of franchise mode. The only modes of play are 1 on 1 against a friend or to play the entire "season" in which you basically eliminate each team you beat until you reach the final game against the last remaining team.
This may not be the deepest football game in history but it's arguably the most fun and accessible of all-time. At only 500 Wii points, you can't afford to pass this one up!
Graphics
5.5
Simple NES graphics, but the Virtual Console gives it a clean look
Gameplay
8.0
Easy to pick up and play
Sound
6.0
Not a lot going on but very catchy tunes
Lasting Appeal
9.0
Not a deep game, but against friends Tecmo Bowl can keep you up all night
Fun Factor
10.0
Short games that are a blast to play over and over
