Tecmo Super Bowl: The GOAT of NFL games

Every year, hundreds of thousands line up outside of EB Games, GameStop and other electronics stores one night every August. They wait with rapidly-beating hearts, looking with anticipation for the employee who is coming to open the locked door. It’s as though a million dollars is inside, given out on a first-come, first-serve basis.

All of these people are waiting for the latest EA Sports Madden game. What they don’t know? They are all second-best.

Video games have been coming out since the 1960’s for commercial use. The first sports games using real professional teams were still decades away, not coming out until the 1980’s. The Madden series began on Apple II in 1988 (per IGN.com), starting what has become the greatest franchise of gaming in United States history. The series exploded during its time on Sega Genesis before moving to PlayStation, PlayStation 2, XBox 360 and so forth.

Yet, the Madden series didn’t change the way we view sports games. Tecmo Super Bowl did.

Critics will say the graphics and features of Madden are wildly better, and they are correct. However, Madden games take 45 minutes to complete and are insanely sophisticated. When you play a video game, you want entertainment and relaxation. Sure, a challenge is nice, but what adult has 45 minutes to sit down and play a fake football game?

With TSB, you are in and out in 10 minutes. Heck, you can play a whole regular season in under three hours. Additionally, you have to live with the limitations of your team. None of this create-a-player and trading to make your favorite group better. You like the ’91 Colts? Saddle up with Jeff George and Bill Brooks. A fan of the ’91 Buccaneers? Get ready to party with Vinny Testaverde and Reggie Cobb. Winning something with those teams meant something, because TSB didn’t level the playing field. If your team was awful in real life, it was awful in gameplay.

There was none of this “level of difficulty” nonsense. With each four-game block, the season gets harder. Regardless of which team you are playing with, the playoffs are an ordeal. Nobody can cruise through an entire TSB season without a struggle or two on their hands, whether it is running into a tough opponent or the game forcing you to fumble five times. You have to face adversity. There is no other option.

Next: Why TSB stands alone...