Tecmo Super Bowl - Remake of the Century

There are few games in life that cause me to lose control of my bowels, but Tecmo Super Bowl (NOT Tecmo Bowl for NES) is one of the privileged few. Whether you actually experienced the game back in the early 90s or stumbled across this little piece of history later in life, (I played it when I was a kid, but also in college) Tecmo Super Bowl is fun for almost anyone who enjoys football and has opposable thumbs. When I was but a young lad, I overlooked the sheer magic of TSB, but simply enjoyed the cartoon football players running into each other and spamming B as fast as I could (spamming B is how you won tackles when players interacted). While the spamming of B never changed when I played TSB later in life, the level of competition and seriousness quickly did.

Using Jerry Rice, Troy Aikman, Dan Marino, or any other all-star was enough to satiate my early hunger for TSB, but eventually I realized there was a competitive aspect to the game that took this 2D classic to new heights. From ensuring that your playbook was identical for each pass and run formation to using a D-lineman or linebacker for coverage, TSB allowed the creative mind to be innovative in stifling opponents on both sides of the ball. One might ask why I am suddenly spewing all of this bullshit about this gem, and I can happily lead you to this.

For someone who isn't that familiar with the game, I can understand if you aren't particularly enthusiastic about this news... but for those of us who lived and died by the fumble or interception, this is gigantic news. When I first read about this "throwback," I was overcome with excitement due to the mounds of memories I have. Just being able to play TSB was enough to make me piddle in my shorts, but the online capabilities with Xbox live (or Ps3) quickly turned a slight stream of excitement into a torrent of anticipation.

A quick trip down memory lane- While in college, an entire hall in my dorm decided to play a legitimate Tecmo Super Bowl Season that consisted of playing all 16 games for each team involved (probably 8 of us total, 4 in two conferences)... on ONE Super Nintendo. We would have drafts where we all selected our teams (which was full of arguing about the relative strengths of the teams which never was truly agreed upon), then proceeded to play the season out by having to share the one system in order to play. Playing computers and humans alike, the season was full of ups and downs and tons of hilarious gatherings. Our word of mouth coupled with Facebook allowed the season to flow somewhat smoothly and be completed in a couple of weeks. We finished 3 seasons (I have a ring with Green Bay in the third and final season, Brett Favre in the his younger years represent!) and eventually gave it up when people became busy or moved out following freshman year. So to sum up this brief, nostalgic journey: I loved playing this game with friends at a very competitive level when I was essentially a grown adult. So as previously mentioned, imagine my excitement when I learned of this remake.

From a business standpoint, it makes sense. I think most video game playing teenagers/young adults have played either Tecmo Bowl or Tecmo Super bowl at some point in their life (and like me, probably enjoyed it). For that reason, there are definitely some hungry fans that would gladly dump a measly 10 or 15 dollars for it. Hopefully there will be enough people to build an online community that can re-create the fun like the old days. If the designers can address some things like: the seemingly random fumbles and interceptions, more plays for the playbooks, and balancing the player's speed... this game could be a force to be reckoned with.

So the best advice I would have for someone who wants to purchase a game in the coming months: Save 10 or 15 dollars to purchase this game. You will not regret it, I would almost guarantee. If you do regret it, go find some bleach and drink it, because this game should be enough to take you from six to midnight.

SC