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Given that the last time gamers saw Tecmo Bowl was back on the PlayStation (and it was absolutely terrible), most probably lost hope for a new edition. Tecmo obviously realized there’s a rabid fanbase out there since mods are available for the classic editions on the NES with updated rosters. Enter Tecmo Bowl Kick-Off, a game that tries to rekindle some of the magic… and does, for the most part.

If you’ve never played Tecmo Bowl before, but instead grew up on Madden or 2K Sports, leave now. This is not a game for you. Given the purely old school design with no modifications, many gamers not familiar with this “ancient” type of game will be immediately turned off. True Tecmo Bowl fans will dive right in.

This is based on Super Tecmo Bowl on the SNES which is obvious from a gameplay perspective and visuals. Nothing has changed on the field. You still have eight plays to choose from, you still need to cycle through your receivers, and you can only view 30 yards downfield. The defense is basically at the will of the offense, with a blitz coming only when you’ve called the offense’s bluff.

In a sense, this keeps the game exactly as fans remember it. On the other hand, to see no changes it also disheartening. Why not at least include an option for a different passing system? There are no difficulty settings, so single player games are a blow out. The season play offers no challenge.

Taking a piece from Tecmo Bowl III, the brief player editor lets you change the name, stats, and skin color of each player on your team. Each game you play in a season lets you level up your players, though since the game is overwhelmingly easy, this only serves to make it easier yet. Team editing is minor, selecting the team name and finding a predefined logo. Yes, you can rename each squad into the NFL teams since the license is gone, but the logos remain generic.

On the naming front, Tecmo has enabled one of the worst language censors ever. Any word that even contains a nasty word could be censored. Think of “grass.” Yes, that’s offensive because of the last three letters. On the ironic side, one of the standard teams is named the “Supercocks.” No, really. Apparently, the censor wasn’t in place when that one went into effect.

Certain players carry with them specific powers, which appear randomly. Receivers have a DB juke, QBs have a rocket arm, etc. These plays can make a play into something spectacular, complete with the classicly styled cinematics that made Tecmo Bowl stand out.

The only changes to the core formula changes are due to technology. Touch screen play is a feature, though it’s hardly accurate or worth your time. A change that’s worthwhile is online play. For the first time, players can hop online to challenge friends and random people to games, and that’s where all the difficultly complaints stop. Real players can provide the proper challenge, and while the lack of any communication between users is a downer, it at least replicates a part of playing against friends.

Tecmo Bowl is purely a game for the fans. Anyone less than 20 years old probably has no recollection of this series, and hence no reason to play this. While it’s hard to go back to such a rigid football title after years of Madden, there’s still something special about Tecmo Bowl’s simplicity that makes it stand out.

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