Tecmo Bowl Throwback

[Matt Young]

In case you haven't heard, Tecmo Bowl is back! For 800 points, you can download the game on the Xbox 360 on Tuesday. It's based on the 1993 rosters, and has old school graphics as well as updated 3D graphics, which you can switch between on the fly. And, of course, there is online play... but no in-game leagues.

The season mode allows you to play through the 1991, 1992, and 1993 campaigns- called seasons 1, 2, and 3 in the game. The team and player names are, of course, fake, but you can at least edit player names.

I'm really excited for this one. Anyone else?

Achievements: http://www.xbox360achievements.org/game/tecmo-bowl-throwback/achievements/

 

[bps21]

I'll be getting it. Let's cheat the achievement system and throw an 18 point loss to each other.

 

[BruiserBrody]

Odd as my buddy just finished a weekend long Tecmo Bowl Tourney on NES @ a local bar. I thought this was a nation wide thing for a second.

 

[Matt Young]

I'll beat you by 18 legitimately!

Actually, probably not. I've never played a Tecmo Bowl game, and if we both picked our favorite teams, you'd probably win easily since the Packers sucked then and the Bills were very good. But if I could manage to hold a lead and you had to kick a field goal with the game on the line...

Let's just say it rhymes with "flied kite".

 

[Vitamin X]

The Packers acquired this guy named Brett Favre in 92, and had Sterling Sharpe at receiver. Obviously not as good as Jim Kelly/Thurman Thomas/Andre Reed at the time, but I wouldn't say they outright sucked.

Although if you're playing the 91 Packers, you'll get to feel the Magic of Don Majkowski, as well as Mike Tomczak. Packers loved themselves some Polish QBs at the time.

 

[Matt Young]

Apparently, no one knows which season the rosters are based on. Half say 1991; half say 1993. But that means it's either a terrible 4-12 team, or a mediocre 9-7 team.

But man...The team names are ridiculous. I laughed:

Rocket Conference

Amazing

* Los Angeles Rockets
* New York City Apes
* Seattle Space Ants
* Philadelphia Dynamos

Paintbrush

* Buffalo Burgers
* San Antonio Charmers
* Detroit Gongs
* Memphis Violence

Wonder

* Quebec Thrashers
* St. Louis Seahorses
* Hawaii Dolphins
* Florida Fairies

Nightmare

* Charlotte Zephyrs
* Carolina Ladybugs
* Oakland Dragonflies
* Miami Honey

Turbo

* San Diego Werewolves
* Atlanta Clocks
* Indianapolis Brawlers
* Cleveland Crocodiles

Siren

* Green Bay Apple Pies
* Kentucky Toenails
* Chicago Scorpions
* Winnipeg Flapjacks

Woodland

* Rochester Radishes
* New England Torches
* Milwaukee Storms
* Indiana Nuts

Cactus

* Vancouver Sleds
* Calgary Pluckers
* Colorado Burners
* Iowa Gallopers

Hero

* Oaxaca Turtles
* Seoul Apples
* Rome Tigers
* Moscow Dragons

Life

* Saskatchewan Lions
* Stuttgart Pizzazz
* Cairo Pharaohs
* Nairobi Hippos

Banzai

* Akranes Shooters
* Sao Paulo Sunblocks
* Barcelona Bisons
* Sydney Sharks

R Extra

* John Glenn Eagles
* Deimon Devil Bats
* The RC Wildcats
* S.N.K. Superstars

[edit] Star Conference

Neon Sign

* Boston Rebels
* Anaheim Stars
* Dallas Condors
* Houston Fighters

Cookie

* Utah Belles
* Kansas City Hot Dogs
* Cincinnati Volcanoes
* Toronto Ducks

Evil

* San Jose Unicorns
* Hartford Ice Hawks
* Nebraska Nibbles
* Texas Sea Lions

Sparkling

* Jacksonville Lanterns
* New Orleans Bobcats
* Washington Buzzards
* Tampa Bay Flyers

Nitro

* Baltimore Dashers
* San Francisco Bumblebees
* Phoenix Kebabs
* Minnesota Oceans

Sky

* Tennessee Oil Slicks
* Denver Shadows
* Montreal Anteaters
* Portland Prisoners

Metro

* New Jersey Olives
* Pittsburgh Camels
* Foxboro Bolts
* Golden State Crystals

Swamp

* Ottawa Otters
* Edmonton Antidotes
* Tulsa Tulips
* Columbus Cabbages

Legend

* Beijing Pandas
* Tokyo Frogs
* Kiev Donuts
* Paris Targets

Death

* Amsterdam Jackrabbits
* London Lighters
* Jubail Rhinos
* Mumbai Elephants

Flambé

* Glasgow MoonHawks
* Taipei Shots
* Auckland Minnows
* Dublin Leprechauns

S Extra

* SOS Brigade
* Cerritos Falcons
* Capcom Cuties
* The SC Bulldogs

 

[Black Lushus]

Nothing says nightmare like the Miami Honey!

 

[Mazto]

Cookie Utah Belles... LOL

Also someone is an Eyeshield 21 fan in development with the Deimon Devil Bats. I bet they have a hella good RB

 

[devo]

Also someone is an Eyeshield 21 fan in development with the Deimon Devil Bats. I bet they have a hella good RB

Haha, good catch. Too bad more names from that series didn't make it, I wanna play the Devil Bats against the Oujou White Knights or the Shinryuji Nagas.

 

[Matt Young]

I'm all about the Kentucky Toenails.

 

[devo]

Are the team names listed above only available in multiplayer or something? In single player I can only play as the boring NFL knockoffs.

 

[Matt Young]

I don't know. I guess they're not in.

I played 1 game vs. the CPU and 3 vs. a friend online. It's good, simple fun. I like it.

 

[Matt Young]

Has anyone tried this yet?

I played Madden back in 1993, but never Tecmo. I must admit, while the game is pretty fun, there are several flaws. :

1. You can't change defenders after the snap.

2. Non-player controlled defenders just stand there sometimes and make no effort to tackle the ball carrier.

3. The 2D graphics are atrocious. I generally prefer 2D to 3D, but man... This **** looks like it was from the Sega Master System. Madden '93, released in the same year, looked great for its time. Good thing you can switch between 2D and fancy new 3D whenever you want.

4. The passing system can be annoying. You press A to cycle through receivers. If you make a mistake (or have a brief lag hiccup) and miss the guy you want to throw to, you have to go all the way back through every other receiver before you get to him again. By then, it's often a sack.

5. Touchbacks/safeties: If you receive a kickoff in the end zone, do not run out of bounds or stay there and get tackled. The other team will score a safety and get possession. Why is that a safety? **** if I know. Apparently, you have to press the B button repeatedly to "call for" a touchback. The game makes no mention of this in the "How To Play" or "Control" sections.

I know several of those things were in the original game. But if they're going to take the time to add 3D graphics and online play, why not do a little tweaking to make the gameplay more enjoyable?

But I criticize the flaws so much only because the base game is so good. Even with all that frustrating crap, I'm still glad I can play in an online league (online leagues not featured in the game; this is through a forum) as my Green Bay "Apple Pies", LOL.

If anyone else bought this, we should play!

 

[DrVenkman PhD]

I want EA to make an NHL Throwback.

 

[Black Lushus]

hmmm something like NHL 94 but with updated teams and rosters. Me likey.

Next they need to work on that No Mercy with updated roster deal...

 

[DrVenkman PhD]

They actually did do that for GBA in 2001 or 02, I believe (NHL) so it's not entirely out of the question.

 

[Matt Young]

They could definitely do something like that. They could use all the team logos and names, except I'm not sure how it would work with teams that have moved. However, their license with the NHLPA does not grant them the right to use the names and/or likenesses of the older players, so at best they'd end up licensing the rights to some big names like they do for Madden and the Hall of Fame players, and have the rest of the teams made up of guys with generic names, but with their proper numbers and abilities.

 

[DrVenkman PhD]

I think a way around that is to just assign everyone numbers and recognizable stats of some sort (like, the captain of the Penguins would be "#66").

Personally though, I would rather EA release NHL '11 this fall as usual and then have "NHL 11 Classic Edition" - an NHL 9X style game using today's stats - available on XBLA and PSN. That's just me dreaming though.

 

[Black Lushus]

They're probably worried that more people would by the Classic Edition than the regular titles...and they'd probably be right!

 

[Smues]

I've spent more hours over the years playing Tecmo Superbowl for the Genesis than I can count, so yeah I downloaded this. I've only played a few games so far but it's a pretty much perfect re-creation. I anticipate wasting a shitload of time on this. The new graphics are ok, but I'll probably still to the old school ones most of the time. Though I do love the ability to switch on the fly and I find myself switching multiple times during one play just because I can.

 

[Matt Young]

Wanna play online?