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As a mid 30 year old gamer, the Tecmo Bowl name holds a place in my heart. This game did it's best to try and rip it out. There are better portable football games, time has moved on past this game.
Tecmo Bowl: Kick-off might also be a great buy for kids under 8 or so who are just starting out in the land of video games (again, it's easy to play and there is a built in feature that won't accept obscene names when customizing). Which is good, since Tecmo doesn't have the NFL or NFLPA licenses - meaning, the Chicago Bears will not show-up unless you create them. As the years passed and games like Madden the 2K sports series entered the landscape, Tecmo Bowl would become an "arcade" type football game - high scoring, little defense, etc. That's about it, most of the quirks are back - interceptions occurring if you happen to pass to a receiver that isn't completely open, you can zig-zag down the field (not as easily as before, but it still can be done), and you can easily score 40-50 points a game.One of the major strengths of this game is the ability to customize just about everything.
For starters, the stat system is horrible. Game play is simple - you have 8 plays to choose from on offense to run (4 run and 4 pass). Stats are only kept for the top 20 players in each category (even more insane is the defense team stats are recorded backwards - most yards allowed gets you the #1 ranked defense). In fact, if you don't the game will get real boring, real quick - the standard teams are all virtually identical right down to the numbers (i.e., all starting quarterbacks have the number 10, back-up has number 11, 3rd string has number 12). You can edit the team names, colors, logos, uniforms, players, plays, and even quarter length. Even if you are unfamiliar with the series you will be able to learn the basics quickly.
Eventually, the series was shelved - until now.Tecmo Bowl: Kickoff is the reintroduction of the game to audiences. At the time it was considered a realistic football game - that's not really saying much since it's main competition was 10 Yard Fight. Plus, some of the "funner" aspects of the original have been toned down: the zig-zag thing is not nearly as easy as it once was, you can no longer throw 60-75 yard bombs, and kick/punt returns are virtually impossible for some reason. For those that remember (and even for those that that don't, but have heard how great the original was) Tecmo Bowl has been brought back for the Nintendo DS.The Tecmo Bowl game most of us remember came out for the Nintendo back in the late eighties (it was an arcade game two years before the NES release). There are other flaws in this game as well.
On defense you choose from the 8 plays your opponent is running - if you guess right, you team will destroy the offense. A couple of final notes. Plus, it will take you awhile to edit all the players (especially when it comes to changing numbers). Tecmo Bowl was a video game icon - who doesn't remember "hut, hut, hut, hut." or zig-zagging their way down the field for another 50 yard gain or selecting one of 4 plays on defense hoping to see your guys just smear the opposing offense. So unless you are in the top 20 - there is no way to see what your stats are. Games also get repetitive - even when you customize everything, there is only so much you can do (really, there are only 4 traits that can be edited). Topping it all off is the fact that it's really pretty much the same engine from a game made in the late-1980s, which is going to limit it's appeal to basically gamers over 25.Overall, it's a great buy for those who remember Tecmo Bowl from their youth.
It's a quick, fun little game that will entertain you and bring back memories. First, there is online play available. Several sequels to the game were made, but each sequel failed to recapture the glory the first had (ironic, since it is one of the few games where each sequel was better than the previous version). I did not use it, so I have no idea how well it works. The customizing options are not perfect - the color selection, plays, and logos are all very limited. This wouldn't be so bad except that the game expects you to edit everything. For the rest of the young gamers out there, I would probably pass unless you want a quick, basic football game to kill some time.
Second, there are some bonus items that can be unlocked that do increase replay value.
Traditionally the computer gets better as the season goes on. Old Tecmo Junkies will feel right at home playing the new Tecmo.* Good music. It's why when the computer plays each other during the season the games all seem to end 24-21.* Speaking of the computer, the AI is awful. The team defense is ranked in the reverse order so that the team who gives up the most yards is ranked first.
You think they could have included one miserable bird as an icon considering all the NFL teams that have bird mascots.* Halftime stats page is atrocious. * Indeed, stats in general are poorly kept. It is nearly impossible to recreate superstars like Ray Lewis or Demarcus Ware since the computer rations out points per player instead of allowing you to dispense the points how you see fit per team. The Bad* Player customization is very clumsy. Same plays, movements and eccentricities.
when you pick a receiver to throw to this white cursor becomes slightly bigger but hardly enough to distinguish. this is annoying when trying to get out of the grasp of a linemen. on passing plays, all receivers have a tiny white cursor above their heads. That means you have 22 mediocre players instead of say 5 great players, 12 mediocre players and 5 lousy players. Instead you just keep thrashing the computer 40-0 week after week.
That is a damn shame as that was one of the features that made season play so interesting and forced team owners to use substitutions.* No endzone logos. The Good* Basically the same as original Tecmo. * When rushing the QB, if your player jumps to block the pass, he remains suspended in air and cannot chase the play.* No auto skip mode during the regular season, you have to see the stat page for every game played before you get to your game. The Ugly* Terrible icons for Team helmets.
It is completely unreadable. Why didn't they just stick to the standard halftime stats page from past Tecmo bowls. Then for things such as most receptions, the heading is COMP which is the same used for QB Completions.
* New Player "special abilities" is a nice touch* Customization allows you to program all 32 NFL teams with actual players if you want* While the screen is small you get used to it pretty easily.* Wi-Fi lets you play Tecmo dudes all over the country. Doesn't Tecmo have people testing these things before release. * Tecmo got rid of player conditions.
Small thing but irritating to see nothing in the zone.* The cursor for passing the ball is very difficult to distinguish. Only the top 20 in each category are shown, including team ranks. Overall grade is a B-
But hey its not trying to madden, which is what made the previous entires in the series a muddy unplayable mess, Tecmo Bowl 3 im looking right at you buddy. You do have to change directions after the 1 and 3 quarters you can go for a 2 pt conversion, however you can't run 20 yards backwards into your end zone and toss the ball the length of the field and come up with a td unfortunately, like you could in the NES days.
After a string of lousey wanna be madden like Tecmo bowls, Kick off is the game fans been waiting for. Yes Tecmo bowl is back.
The play book is exactly the same. A few things have changed but this time its all for the best.
New cut scenes, special ability's for your players like rocket pass, or super juke which you can get as you collect L points during your season. Seems like the pass range has been toned down to about 40 yards or so not including yards after reception.
Any way if you want to play some old school arcade football, Tecmo Bowl: Kickoff for the Nintendo Ds gets a 5 out of 5.The Game Doesn't have a NFL license but, it DOES come with a team and name editor so you can create you own personal league and what ever players you want I kept my league similar to the NFL except for a few exceptions,Houston Oilers (old school)Detroit PistonsCleveland IndiansSan Fransisco HippiesNY Hitmen (jets)Arizona Marshall'sOakland RiotsTampa Bay CSI (crime scene investagators) Oh and get this guess what quarterback beat Aaron Rodgers in both td ,yards and completions.Brett Favre.So go get it.Face Down hut hut hut hut.
I usually research all the games that I buy, but I bought this one on an impulse because I am such a huge fan of Tecmo Super Bowl. You can put in current rosters, past rosters, or a roster of you and your friends if you want.- Pocket sized, great for airplane trips or long car rides.-New features like points that can be earned to boost players and special abilities for players.Cons- I was a little miffed at the lack of statistics, I was definitely a TSB stat freak.- No NFL team liscenses. Overall I really enjoy this game, here are my pros and cons.Pro's- Gameplay is almost exactly like the NES version with only small differences. These differences include switching sides to play going right to left and left to right and minor playbook differences.- This version is fully customizeable, I have read articles people have written on how to hack into the code of a rom to accomplish this, but this version lets you do it in game. If you want the teams to be named like the pros, you have to do it yourself, time consuming.- No auto skip mode, you have to see the stat page for every game played as far as I can tell.- Menu style was so easy in TSB, should not have been changed.Overall 8/10, but if you are like me and remember every player from 1991 because of TSB, buy this game- in fact buy a ds if you don't have one just to buy this game. I liked this much better than the last ds madden that I played.
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