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

[@AllSportsHistory]

Hey Sports Historians! What did you guys think about the lasting legacy of Tecmo Super Bowl? 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!

[@TeddyBelcher4kultrawide]

The Mario killer because Mario never played football

[@MisterNoah]

Great video, homes. You got it wrong about the "password save system". Yes, the first NES Tecmo Bowl used passwords for season mode. Tecmo Super Bowl, however used a battery in the game carridge for season mode saves...allowing for player stats and injury tracking. Truly was the most important sports video game ever made, and one of the greatest video games of all-time

[@ChildTheDJ]

Omgeeeeez. I thought I was alone.!!!! Goated

[@breal1183]

To this day I don't think any other football game captured the feel and difference between a starter and a bench player. The player ratings were everything in this game. When your starting QB, RB, or WR got hurt. It surely affected your teams chances. Thats what made it feel so real and fun. It's a shame PlayStation never kept up this football gem!!

[@AllSportsHistory]

Yep definitely one of the best ever!

[@TheShepdawg9]

Well... doesn't that make it less real? Most teams don't get much worse when a player goes down

[@xp8969]

😂​@@TheShepdawg9has never seen football

[@unw0ke]

​@TheShepdawg9 that made no sense whatsoever.

[@TheShepdawg9]

@xp8969 how often does a player going down (other than qb) mean the team is much worse?

[@Learnjapanesefromsomeguy]

My greatest Tecmo memory/achievement is scoring 69 points with the Saints with 0 offensive yards thanks to the incredible power of Gill Fenerty and Morten Anderson.

[@AllSportsHistory]

That’s an amazing feat!

[@-PURPLE-HEAD]

What I like most about Tecmo was that every team and every player seemed to have their own identity. With Madden, there are no differences at all.

[@AllSportsHistory]

Very true!

[@iowa_lot_to_travel9471]

My favorite game ever. Christian Okoye was unstoppable. Defenders literally would bounce off of him. Jackson was sheer speed and hard to catch

[@hankdewild9720]

Yes if the defenders had 50 hp less than the player they bounced off except for diving tackles

[@emptyhand777]

My three roommates and I played entire seasons against each other in college back when Tecmo Super Bowl first came out. One roommate always took the stacked 49ers. The greatest memory was his losing the Super Bowl to a guy using the Bengals. A last second Hail Mary with a super jump reception screen was the game winner. We talk about that Super Bowl to this day.

[@kiljaedyn]

"played entire seasons" yah it was kinda the first ever. also Baseball Stars was one of the best baseball games to do something similar.

[@emptyhand777]

@@kiljaedyn - Baseball Stars was the greatest. Needed to win to earn money to upgrade your players. I remember getting players with the potential to have max stats. Great game.

[@checkdown3774]

I remember as a kid, locking myself in my room day and night playing tecmo.

[@AllSportsHistory]

I did the same!

[@checkdown3774]

@@AllSportsHistory I'm doing it right now.

[@becomeanolive1637]

My older brother bought this game for me on Christmas 1991, and it was the best Christmas gift I can remember, nothing has eclipsed that magic popping that game in my NES on Christmas Eve.

[@AllSportsHistory]

Love those kind of memories!

[@MainEventPoint]

TECMO BO....GOAT of Video Game athletes. You could run him all the back to his one yard line and ALWAYS score a 99 yard touchdown.

[@hankdewild9720]

Against the computer yes but the Raiders aren't even a top tier team in the game in the competitive community

[@jrcapone1980]

When i was 12yrs old. My best friend would spend the weekends, our sole mission was to play an entire season before morning. He took Detroit, I took Philly. Each of us armed with a 2 liter of Mountain Dew and staying up all night. At the end we would face each other in the NFC championship, winner to go on to play in the superbowl. I recently purchased one of those newly moded games, love it. The best part of the game is "popcorning" defenders, "pancaking" QBs, 100 yard hail mary TDs, getting you favorite player in excellent condition, etc etc etc.....

[@shareofmoney]

Tecmo Superbowl was such a great title that has left a great legacy on gaming. I was able to get Tecmo Bowl Throwback for my Xbox One so I still get to relive some of those Tecmo Bowl memories

[@AllSportsHistory]

Yeah unfortunately Tecmo is now out of business I think. Id love for the NFL or Madden to partner up and make another throwback game.

[@gridirongamer]

Great video. Tecmo is alive and well! Lots of programmers make yearly updates to the game. NFL and college. There's even a guy in Texas that does a HS version.

[@vinewood8295]

Bought it when it debuted & played it like I needed it to live always with the Eagles & Randall (QB Eagles). Un-defeated Superbowl Champs every year...

[@rolloff1218]

This was huge back then. Legendary game.

[@AllSportsHistory]

It absolutely is!

[@mykalwagner5341]

I still play this occasionally and when I do, I finish a season over the weekend. The good ole days of QB Eagles, QB Bills, and QB Browns.

[@markharper375]

Played them all as a teen and loved every minute of it.we would have weekend tecmo parties and it would just be amazing

[@AllSportsHistory]

Yeah that does sound amazing!

[@buckyjr710]

Eric Dickerson played for the Falcons on the SNES version of Tecmo Bowl. He made the game roster, but was cut from the Falcons before the ‘93 season started. The games prefaced that “all rosters are accurate as of August 16, 1993”.

[@AllSportsHistory]

Ah good to know!

[@jerryalexander8803]

Tecmo Super Bowl the NES version is the best football game of all time imo, such a groundbreaking game, it was the first football game to do a lot things..

[@AllSportsHistory]

Agreed, it was one of the best!

[@Avertan221]

I agree. I wish they would port it to the nintendo switch. The switch only has tecmo bowl, while not bad, but is far inferior to tecmo super bowl

[@lukelaser5397]

Bullshit it's not the best football game. You smoking Crack dude? Game sucks ass

[@lukelaser5397]

This video is complete bullshit

[@TwilightxKnight13]

I still play my Tecmo Super Bowl on Sega Genesis. Love it! I fear the day the cartridge final stops working

[@AllSportsHistory]

I still have mine too!

[@Boogie_the_cat]

What makes it special is that you can yell "hut" for 9 hours if you don't hike the ball. Classic, total classic. This one time, i went to an outdoor concert at Konocti Harbor with Dio, Deep Purple and Za Scorpions. The end.

[@glopesci]

Joe,Jerry, John,Jones San Fran was unbeatable

[@AllSportsHistory]

Yep exactly!

[@ashyarafanmike]

I remember when I was completing my run of winning the super bowl with all 28 teams I had to go up against the 49ers with the Colts. My center and a guard where both 'bad' condition while the 49ers NT and DE (why am I blanking on the names, darn it!) where both 'excellent.' Not to mention Jerry Rice being excellent. Had to go for all shotgun plays, the one play from center was a nearly instant sack/tackle even without a guessed play. It was dishonorable but after losing to them in the Super Bowl on my last playthrough I went with the 'pick your nose' defense - the old dive with the NT and usually get the QB before anything can happen. Still barely won. Of course, after completing all 28 I did a Chiefs run to vent and got some other team than the 49ers in the Super Bowl.

[@an0therdimensi0n99]

i think more than the game, us older guys are more infatuated with the simplicity of our lives when the game was new. huddling around a crt with cousins, the laughs, the smell of mom's meat loaf and green beans, just total immersion.

[@AllSportsHistory]

Yep a lot of great memories!

[@johnstarks5323]

Tecmo Super Bowl is the Original Fantasy Football, and is considered the goat of football games in terms of fun and entertainment.

[@jamesmoss3424]

Tecmo Super Bowl kick ass. 😀👍🏈🎮

[@AllSportsHistory]

Agreed!

[@thrillbilly9785]

I LOVED this game as a kid. My brothers and I would end up fighting each other if we lost due to our competitive nature. Haha!

[@basementcardcollector]

You had me at Tecmo Bowl!! Loved this video!! I had a neighbor with the Tecmo Bowl and Walter Payton! We got the NES for Christmas and Super Tecmo Bowl!!!!! It is the greatest game ever! I feel like as a 9 year old kid from Indiana, that game is a huge reason why I am 49er fan still to this day!!! Jerry Rice!! I still have the 1993 Version for my Sega that is hooked up in my card room that I still play occasionally! I STILL have the stats from each season in a yellow paper notepad that my buddy and I would copy down after destroying the league and winning another Lombardi 🏆!!! I loved this video!!!

[@AllSportsHistory]

Glad you enjoyed the video, and brought back all those great memories!

[@tonycrabtree3416]

It kept yearly stats, allowed for playbook changes, and subs all while being super easy to learn and operate.

[@ThomB1031]

I could have Seattle's RB lead the league in running, receiving, and return yardage. That's what made it special.

[@thomascourt4935]

One of the great things about it is that games with full stats only took about 15 minutes. A game of Madden with 5 minute quarters takes 45 minutes.

[@AllSportsHistory]

Madden has gotten so bad 😣

[@user-ne8iz1cy6p]

I own all three games: Tecmo Super Bowl 1-3, and bought the polymega just so I can have a back up to my Cartidges. I think I’ll be playing the games when I’m 90 years old! 🤣🤣🤣

[@jarodjohnson4357]

da Bears and da 49ers are the greatest on the original NES Tecmo Bowl. I rented Tecmo Super Bowl with a SNES when I was maybe 8 years old and although I'm a Packers fan I couldn't help choosing the Cowboys and dominating! I was happy to see Tecmo Bowl as one of the selections on the NES mini!

[@fluoriteheals]

#1 with baseball stars a close second!

[@ArcadeOfKaos]

Everything!!! It's still is my favorite football game to date then you can throw in 2K14 in number 2 spot🎉

[@AllSportsHistory]

2k14 is a good one as well

[@natecasper6485]

Been playing this game since its inception, doing an annual series alongside the NFL season on my channel, still an amazing game to play

[@sneakyquick]

Best game of alltime. Not sports game just game.

[@AllSportsHistory]

Agreed!

[@jerryalexander8803]

I agree.. it is a great game

[@LuckyBird551]

It should also be mentioned that Tecmo also ported the three games (Tecmo Super Bowl, Tecmo Super Bowl 2 and Tecmo Super Bowl 3) to Nintendo's biggest rival in the console market, the SEGA Genesis.

[@EarlGray007]

Tecmo bowl, man. I remember the 99 cent video had like one copy and we be in that store every Friday after school trying to get it for the weekend! 😂 My neighbor would come over and we'd play tecmo bowl and double dribble all weekend 😂. I must of been 9 back then but I remember it like it was yesterday. Good times indeed. 😂

[@AllSportsHistory]

Great memories, love it!

[@andremiller1566]

The legendary players. The right generation of kids and the one button tackle/break tackle wars with your friends. Classic stuff.

[@AllSportsHistory]

Great memories for sure!

[@chrisrobinson8339]

I love tecmo super bowl for nes.

[@AllSportsHistory]

It’s the best!

[@blueknight5754]

Loved this game!

[@AllSportsHistory]

Me too!

[@protomasterdln0000]

Amazing Video about Techmo Super Bowl! I would love to see a video done on NHL 94'!

[@AllSportsHistory]

Thanks! Yeah I’d love to do one on NHL ‘94 as well!

[@troyc4250]

5:27 that’s the one I had. Great memories!!

[@henrygreenwood3927]

Bo Jackson was unstoppable in the original tecmo bowl. When tecmo super bowl came out. One of the changes made was player condition. Therefore, when Jackson's condition was average or bad, he was stoppable. When his condition was good or excellent. He became unstoppable. Also note barry sanders and Jerry rice are unstoppable when thier condition is excellent.

[@dannynhl9441]

Still playing my copy to this day.

[@AllSportsHistory]

I still have my original copy too!

[@dannynhl9441]

@@AllSportsHistoryNice! We didn't have an NES until 1991 and I think I got this a few days after Christmas from money so one of the handful of games got to enjoy. Got this years cart of roster off line too. Fun

[@the_sixxness]

Super Tecmo Bowl had an NFL license and NFLPA and it's accessible as hell. I have been playing the rom hack that has current teams and players. It's awesome.

[@AllSportsHistory]

Exactly! Very easy to play and fun

[@MisterNoah]

CHI Town, baby! Neal Anderson for life

[@CSXincyRailfan]

This is better than modern madden

[@AllSportsHistory]

Yeah I stopped playing Madden years ago, it's the same game every year.

[@Boogie_the_cat]

Yes, but TBF, cleaning my toilet after Taco Bell night is more fun that modern Madden. It's not the highest bar in the world, but I get your point. The gameplay is certainly superior, and there aren't any micro transactions, and the graphics are also slightly better.

[@vinceniederman]

@@AllSportsHistoryMadden is The Same Every Year and I Hear Tecmo Super Bowl is Fantastic!

[@babel-fishai]

no that old game sucks lol It had a glitch in it and I had a technique to where I could throw a hail mary go down and score and touchdown, kick the extra point and then I would kick the ball so deep that they'd catch it deep in the end zone and before they could run out of the end zone my guys were there and would get a safety and then they would kick me the ball, I would throw a bomb, kick the extra point, kick them the ball, get a safety, get the ball back over and over and the oppositions offense would never even step on the field. It would be like 72-0 when I was done lol no challenge. This was a hack that I had lol I play Madden Mobile but I don't play Madden on console. I have an Amazon Fire 10 HD Tablet that I hacked and I put Playstore on it and converted it into a proper Android Tablet and I have Madden Mobile on there. It is pretty awesome. With the 10" screen and the graphics and touch screen. It's much more faithful to what real life football is like as you have to watch the defensive schemes etc. People have a tendency to romanticize the past and remember it a lot more fondly than it actually was.

[@Ziki-P]

I get madden when it’s cheap near the end of its life cycle, I also play tecmo bowl from time to time and I have way more fun playing tecmo

[@miami8089]

I have this ranked as the greatest NES game ever. Numerous hours played on this during my Freshman year in high school

[@AllSportsHistory]

One of the all time greats, for sure!

[@hunter371]

Couple of random thoughts about one of my favorite videos games ever: 1.) Was TSB release delayed? It came out at the end of 1991, which is the end of the NFL regular season. It would seem to be better to release the game in September or October. 2.) It's strange the rosters are from the 1990 season when it was released at the end of the 1991 season; I guess they didn't want to rate rookie players who had no NFL experience? I'd love to know the reason why rosters couldn't have been a bit more updated. 3.) The cart was so expensive but had no battery save. What a missed opportunity

[@untexan]

One thing I hated about the 16-bit Tecmo games was how bad they nerfed the passing game. In the NES Tecmo Super Bowl you could throw from end zone to end zone. It wasn’t realistic, but neither was the 16-bit version where the QBs can only throw about 20 yards downfield. It took away a big part of the game and really helped the defense. If you play season mode in 16-bit, by midseason you basically have zero passing game.

[@dukejason]

I felt like one of the best to ever play this, it was a great and classic game with official nfl roster.

[@AllSportsHistory]

One of the best ever for sure!

[@acerimmer8338]

Tecmo Super Bowl is the MOST important sports game of all-time, no contest. It is the first to have full team licensing, full player licensing, a complete season using real NFL schedule, stat tracking the entire time, full playoffs, etc. It also had innovative things like player health w/ injuries, and something missing from even modern games today, players condition. The ability to actually change your playbook, change starters. I mean, this game was a revelation when it came out and solidified my love for football, especially NFL and Barry Sanders, as a kid. And it was also gorgeous, which I think gets frequently forgotten. Those cutscenes during play were amazing for its time. Every single sports game since owes a debt of gratitude to TSB. *Quick correction: TSB used battery backup, not password, for season play.

[@AllSportsHistory]

Yeah the cutscenes were one of the best parts of the game!

[@cliffwoodbury5319]

probably the best football game ever made and they should have done all sports and should have never stopped making them.

[@AllSportsHistory]

That would have been awesome!

[@kiljaedyn]

the answer is simple. it was the first mainstream football game that allowed saved season play, saved stats including non-player games, had individual player stats similar to DnD. you could finally play a "real" season. i get you young guns have trouble understanding, since almost all sports games do this now, it would seem so common, and that MLB has gotten insanely immersive.

[@erikriggs4954]

Great story. I got a few suggestions for you. How did the Yankees-Red Sox rivalry start? What happened to the Los Angeles Buccaneers? How did Ricky Henderson break the stolen base record? How did St. Louis lost two NFL teams? What happened to the St. Louis Browns? What happened to the Brooklyn Dodgers? What happened to the New York Baseball Giants? How did Tom Brady win seven super bowls? And.......What happened to the Houston Comets?

[@AllSportsHistory]

Thanks! Yes all of those are great suggestions, thank you!

[@shadowpapito]

GOAT ...

[@liquiddivide6505]

It did not utilize a password system. It had a battery save system, one of the few NES games to do so. But, if you didn't reset the game before turning it off, your save could be deleted.

[@AllSportsHistory]

Yep my bad, thanks for the correction!

[@liquiddivide6505]

Fun video. I enjoyed it. Thanks for making this.

[@TecmoSuperBowlProductions]

Awesome video!

[@AllSportsHistory]

Thank you, appreciate it!

[@matthewfoley252]

Great game!

[@AllSportsHistory]

Agreed!

[@lordrayden3045]

For the The NES version, every team had at least one “impact” player on both offense and defense, you just had to look for them

[@hankdewild9720]

Pretty good video you got most of the details correct. My life is effected by Tecmo more than anyone else on earth my roommate and boss I only know due to Tecmo. I'm I'm my 4th tournament of the year tommorow. And I'll be at my 7th April 13th for the national championship

[@lordrayden3045]

TSB 2 was released in the US It was just really limited, that’s why those copies are so expensive

[@barrymaaslow3480]

DEY BUTE 'ED?!! LOLOLOLOL! Good shit, bro.

[@AllSportsHistory]

You’re welcome lol

[@user-pt7mx5ct2t]

Its the best sports game ever period

[@AllSportsHistory]

Agreed!

[@Jetstorm26]

This is STILL( sorry NFL2K5) the greatest football game ever

[@AllSportsHistory]

Agreed, one of the best.

[@davidg1612]

I have both versions of TSB and I've always felt that the player names in top and music was better on the Genesis than the SNES although it would've been nice if the Genesis version had the endzone designs the SNES version got. Never understood why they did that.

[@dl30wpb]

If they could get an NFL license and make a modern 2.5D version of this game with the same mechanics (100 yard passes, players bouncing off guys like Derrick Henry etc.), I'd pay $70 bucks no questions asked.

[@AllSportsHistory]

I would too!

[@metrichotrods1763]

I played this game until the cartidge wouldn't even play anymore.

[@AllSportsHistory]

That’s dedication 🫡

[@jessekauffman3336]

One name made tecmo Bo Jackson

[@AllSportsHistory]

Agreed!

[@westmcgee9320]

Damn. I’m a scrub. I didn’t catch the “super” part. Short video. I’ll watch anyway.

[@fluoriteheals]

I still play it! It's fun even if my guy fumbles it on the 2! smh!! LMAO

[@benadams3569]

Hind-sight being what it is, I wonder if Randall Cunningham, Bernie Kosar, and Jim Kelly wish they had consented. They may not have officially consented to the use of their name/likeness, but it didn't matter. Each time my team(s) play during the seasons (which have been many since 1991), I've referred to each of them by their real name ...especially if I'm cussing at them because they are beating me. lol

[@lordrayden3045]

I still get a cartridge every year with the newest roster

[@AllSportsHistory]

Nice!

[@leroyjennings5842]

My favorite game on the nes. Says a lot because there were a lot of good games on the nes. Only complaint is that they should have made barry sanders the better rb than bo or at least on the same level. Bo was not the better back. Bo was fast but barry was just unbelievable in real life. Nobody has ever run the ball like that dude.

[@AllSportsHistory]

Agreed! Barry Sanders is one of the best to ever to do it.

[@WuAgent]

Arguably the best sports game ever made.

[@AllSportsHistory]

Agreed!

[@dr.awkward9075]

What makes it special for me is coach mode. I dominate too much. Coach mode at least gives the computer a chance.

[@AllSportsHistory]

Haha the computer never seemed to have a chance!

[@chancellor2755]

There was no password system for Tecmo Super Bowl as stated in the video, it was a battery backup

[@AllSportsHistory]

Yeah my bad, it was a battery backup as you said.

[@bonesjackson81]

Super Bowl is the better game but I actually have always liked the look of Tecmo Bowl. Bigger players. Less on field tho. I had that NFL game when I was a kid. What a chore to play. 15 minute qtrs, playbook is its own sheet. Slow and crappy. Yet I did play it.

[@AllSportsHistory]

My brother got Tecmo Super Bowl as a gift one year and that’s what we played mostly (the SNES version). A lot of fun memories, we also had QB club 98 for the N64 which was cool.

[@bkhizzo]

Play this over Madden any day

[@AllSportsHistory]

Definitely!

[@rayhume1971]

The unstoppable play with the curl pattern to the right side made the game unenjoyable.

[@AllSportsHistory]

Definitely could see that, it also was one of the better NFL games for its time. The LJN game was horrendously bad.

[@hankdewild9720]

Play at a live tournament you would get more challenge than you could handle

[@punchborg]

I got the current roster rom, way harder teams are balanced and you really have to play defense

[@acerimmer8338]

Yeah it is. I actually lost for the first time playing TSB since I was a little kid. It was my Lions vs the Eagles in the NFC chip. They made playoff games WAY hard w/ the hack.

[@chickenalaking1319]

Is that a Ghostbusters logo on that thumbnail helmet?

[@AllSportsHistory]

A ghostbusters football team would be pretty sick.

[@deadlyredly]

Its #1

[@ShadowAngel606]

The simple answer is: Being blinded by nostalgia.

[@YourCanadianGuide]

I clicked on the ad just to make sure you get paid

[@AllSportsHistory]

🙌 appreciate it!!

[@djjackson1848]

I usually played with the Chiefs so Steve DeBreg was launching it to JJ Birden on the regular, never knowing that Christian Okoye was the new Bo Jackson... Damn...

[@SteelRhinoXpress]

I read that EA is losing some of its firm grip on its exclusive NFL license as a part of its agreement with the NFL to extend its NFL licensing so that EA could keep the simulated version of the game, exclusive to EA still. According to what i read, the NFL wants to expand their NFL license for arcade NFL games to other developers, which gives a pathway to games like Tecmo Superbowl to be redeveloped! If there were two football games i would love to see return again, it's Tecmo Superbowl and NFL Blitz back to their original glory.

[@AllSportsHistory]

That would be amazing!

[@SteelRhinoXpress]

@@AllSportsHistory it would! You did a great job on this video, you think you can make videos like this one of games like NBA Jam? That would be awesome. Like Tecmo Superbowl, NBA Jam still has a pretty big cult following to this day and is another game that hasn't had an update in a very long time since midway went under.

[@benjaminbrown5143]

They also put on Sega Genesis

[@AllSportsHistory]

That is true!

[@MrStretchification]

People that used Bo Jackson were thr original sweaty ass tryhards😂😂

[@White_sox_fan]

Bo Jackson is the fastest player in the game

[@AllSportsHistory]

Yep, by a mile!

[@kampfwagen]

Actually, the kickers are the fastest players in the game, at least during field goal attempts. Though the only time you really get to see this is if they recover a blocked one.

[@kenmck7802]

Orrrr in the FAMOUS words of some...guy, somewhere, at sometime said, "It just worked". Can't...remember the name of the...guy.

[@paulc5314]

A couple of things that should have been mentioned: Tecmo Super Bowl 2 was not only released in Japan, but also the US. It had an extremely limited run of 15,000 copies released at launch (more copies were released when TSB3 came out but people moved on at that point). Also, you never mentioned the PlayStation version of Tecmo Super Bowl. It was hot garbage, but still should have been mentioned

[@AllSportsHistory]

Yeah all good points, thanks for clarifying that!

[@Baloothepibble]

The time it came out

[@AllSportsHistory]

It was definitely a special time!

[@SaanMigwell]

You missed the psx version of tecmo bowl. 1997 season I think.

[@AllSportsHistory]

The PS version wasn’t any good though right?

[@SaanMigwell]

@@AllSportsHistoryI thought it was great, probably the best evolution of the game. It played like you would expect from tecmo, it was a much better than 2 or 3 on SNES. In my opinion it was better than the madden games of the era, and all the tecmo bowl's before it. The biggest difference from 3 on snes was you had penalties implemented that were not random as in 3, free agents were not bugged, you could create your own players, you had five seasons I think 91-96 or 93-98 maybe it's been years. You could switch the field orientation view IIRC if you preferred the behind the quarterback view. Though I don't think it worked very well with the tecmo style controls. I never used it. Home field advantage was implemented in that the at home your players got some stat boosts. All in all it was my favorite version. I remember some shade being thrown at it at the time for trying to be madden, but everyone I played with thought it was way better than madden.

[@SaanMigwell]

Oh yeah, and the playbooks were better than anything else on offer, and they were no longer limited to 8/16 plays per team. Also, defensive plays became solid, it was no longer choose formation then guess opponents play, Tecmo finally had defensive plays, which was awesome to me.

[@broncosbreaks]

No mention of the PlayStation version? I see why, but still, it’s part of the franchise

[@AllSportsHistory]

My apologies for not mentioning the PS version, I chose to focus on the Nintendo versions as that’s they’re more famous platform the game is remembered on. I didn’t mention the Sega versions or the PC versions for the same reasons.

[@emerliss962]

It’s not worth mentioning! Doesn’t deserve to have the ps version associated in any way.

[@stephengiannone5449]

Put Jerry Rice at rb he's the ultimate weapon.

[@AllSportsHistory]

Exactly!

[@becomeanolive1637]

I am not surprised he didn't mention the Playstation version, they could of given us Tecmo Superbowl with a 32-bit paint job instead we got a very average football game that lacked all the charm of the original.

[@AllSportsHistory]

Yeah the Nintendo versions were the superior versions in my opinion

[@fleetwoodsac]

It was only dope on regular NES. The super Nintendo and Sega genesis ones were bunk.

[@AllSportsHistory]

I still have my SNES version, I loved playing it as a kid but yeah the first NES version is the superior one.

[@hasanx8066]

Bo MF Jackson

[@AllSportsHistory]

💪

[@Guiltless765]

ESPN 2k5 is the greatest football game ever.

[@prezenter]

Maybe it was "greatest* but not "evermade". Greatest in the US only could be truth.

[@AllSportsHistory]

I could see that, what would you say is the best?