After the initial success of Tecmo Bowl, Tecmo followed up with the release of Tecmo Super Bowl in 1991. The company was able to obtain the NFL's team license, making it the first game to feature all 28 NFL teams of the day.
Tecmo Super Bowl retained the arcade-style football gameplay of the original, including the unique ability to break tackles, but it was more refined and deeper than its predecessor. It added new features, such as statistics, more plays, editable playbooks, fumbles, and player injuries. The game's use of detailed cutscenes for important events like touchdowns, halftime shows, injuries, and big plays was also unprecedented by other sports titles at the time. A similar cutscene style is also evident in other Tecmo titles such as "Ninja Gaiden".
Back in earlier NESguide days, I used to have a tradition of capturing and uploading a CPU vs CPU exhibition capture of this game every year right before the Super Bowl, selecting the teams that would be in the Super Bowl that year. In a way, giving the game a chance to predict the future... it never failed to be wildly inaccurate, but at least I had fun doing it. That's what you're looking at in the above video. 2025 ... looks up results ... the Eagles won 40-22
This game was and still can be a blast. First of all, it's better than Tecmo Bowl and it's really important to know the difference. "Super" Tecmo Bowl has actual NFL teams and players; it also gives you 4 plays to choose from per down instead of only two.
Play selection feels like a game of rock paper scissors. If your opponent happens to select the perfect counter-play to the one you selected, you'll get sacked, mobbed... worse, fumble. If they happen to randomly pick a terrible counter-play, you might get away with some yardage or a deep pass. There is skill involved in taking advantage of these opportunities, but the snap is always a toss-up and that keeps things lively.
I can testify from countless hours of head-to-head with friends back in the day that it can be a real blast to play with two players. Classic theatrical cut-scenes that are Tecmo's trademark from this era are interspersed throughout the gameplay and can really amplify the feeling of pain after a botched play or the thrill of a hard-earned touchdown.
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