August 2019 Together Retro: Retro Sports Games

[BoneSnapDeez]

My first exposure to the NES was at a babysitters house one summer. I'm trying to do some internet sleuthing to pinpoint the exact summer, and I think it would have been 1987. There's a very specific short list of early NES games that I can remember being exposed to at the time: Super Mario Bros, Excitebike, and Ice Hockey. So that being said, Ice Hockey has always had a certain level of nostalgic importance to me. After playing those three games I remember going home and pleading my case that I needed a NES. Dear Parents, this 2600 just isn't gonna cut it anymore.

Of course we all know the problem with nostalgia. It's the problem that creeps into being a fan of retro games. More often than not, going back and replaying these old games that have high levels of nostalgia attached to them tends to highlight that our memories aren't quite accurate. As much as I still appreciate Super Mario Bros, I'd much rather play 2 or 3 on NES for instance. And Excitebike? I'm really not a fan in my older years. So I had to wonder if Ice Hockey would still hold up. The answer is, "kinda."

What's interesting about the game is that you can tweak your team. They are three player types: a skinny weak dude that's fast, a big giant slow dude that's strong, and a totally average dude. And what's fascinating is that Nintendo has sort of stuck with this Goldie Locks philosophy ever since. I mean, some of us like to play as Toad in Mario Kart - a little weak fast dude. And some of us like Bowser who's a big slow strong dude. Others might just pick Mario who happens to be totally average. And so our picks can cater to our style of play. It's pretty neat to see this in such an early game.

The visual representation of hockey works fine here. The horizontal view of the rink; the fights; the Zamboni. It's good stuff. The controls are certainly serviceable as well. I never really had a tough time figuring out what was going on or anything. So in the big picture, I'd say sure, Ice Hockey still feels good to play today. But taking the game out of its original context... I don't feel like I have much reason to keep playing it. It's fun for a single game, but given that there's no season mode or anything, it's really kind of meant for a quick game. I guess it'd probably be a lot more fun against a friend rather than the computer, though.

What it ultimately comes down to is while it's simple and fun, there's been better hockey games since. And I'm not even talking about this year's entry. The truth is that if I'm in the mood for a hockey game (as rare as that might be) I'm thinking that I'd EA's 90's games would be something I'm far more likely to think of than this game. So hey, Ice Hockey was fun for a sitting but I'm in no rush to get back to it.

Solid post. Oh, and this is one of those games (well, one of many) where the Japanese art depicts the characters so much more accurately.

[prfsnl_gmr]

Nope. None of those players are wearing a jersey that says “HOCKEY” on it. How am I supposed to know what sport they’re playing if it isn’t spelled out on their jerseys?!

[Gunstar Green]

I never thought to look it up before, I'm in love with this!

[Sarge]

You might be interested in either the Genesis or SNES version of the game, it has Joe Montana quarterbacking for the Chiefs. Unfortunately just as "number 19 QB Chiefs" because his name was still licensed out to Sega at the time.

At some point, I do need to put more time into them. I did play a ton of Tecmo Super Bowl III: Final Edition, though. In that one, you can unlock all of the past greats of the game, although much like Montana, they're just a number, position, and team name.

I never particularly cared to use them much for whatever reason, but the Giants were really, really good in the NES game. As you might guess, so were the 49ers. This was pre-Cowboys, so they were meh. And the Patriots... oof. Terrible.

[pierrot]

Recently a friend sent me a wedding present, which happens to be around 40 SNES games, most of which I did not already own. I won't go into the specifics of some of the rarer titles I was sent *cough*I now own Hagane*cough*, but several of the titles were sports games.

What? Why? I want to hear more about these games you got.

Brunswick World

This is a new one by me. I didn't know there were any bowling games on older consoles. (I'm actually not sure I can think of any bowling games other than as part of other games on the WIi.) Sounds like it could be kind of interesting. I did a lot of bowling in middle school, and distinctly remember a game I had around 220, with two turkeys. Then we moved, and there were still only really candle pin bowling alleys up here. I eventually got fairly good at candle pin, too, but now I kind of struggle to get much above 100 on the rare occasions that I bowl.



I played a couple games in NBA Jam on the Genesis the other day. This is a game I played the arcade version of not that long ago, on an actual cab, so it did feel like a little bit of a downgrade to that. I think this was a game that I played way more of in the arcades when I was a kid. I don't remember if I actually had it on the Genesis, or if it was one I just rented regularly. The cartridge I have now was pretty broken in. The top player has a win record of 123, or something crazy like that, and even my initials had been entered before, with a 0-1 record. So I brought that up to 2-1, but that one loss kind of bugs me, since it's not mine. The eternal failure of this game is not having Michael Jordan in it. I mean, Pippin is still great, but pairing him with Grant just feels wrong. So, I started with the post man, and his elf (Utah), which did pretty well against Dallas. Then I remembered that I probably used to play as Charlotte all the time, partly because we lived in North Carolina around that time. I was also noticing that Larry Johnson, and Kendal Gill's stats seem pretty good. I had a much tougher time against Minnesota, playing as the Hornets, though. I kind of blame that on Laettner, though. (Stupid Laettner--I guess that sentiment makes more sense if I mention that we moved to Lexington, KY, and had seasons tickets at Rupp, that my mom won in a raffle.)

I'm not sure if I want to keep going, and finish it, by presumably beating all 27 teams, because it's not quite as fun for me at this age. It's still a good game, though. I enjoy breaking the backboard, and shoving guys, but I feel like NFL Blitz is probably the better Midway sports game, in retrospect. I do have NBA Showtime on NBC on the Dreamcast, though. I sort of feel like I should check that out, but I probably won't get to it.

[Gunstar Green]

I did play a ton of Tecmo Super Bowl III: Final Edition, though. In that one, you can unlock all of the past greats of the game, although much like Montana, they're just a number, position, and team name.

I never particularly cared to use them much for whatever reason, but the Giants were really, really good in the NES game. As you might guess, so were the 49ers. This was pre-Cowboys, so they were meh. And the Patriots... oof. Terrible.

Tecmo Super Bowl III is my favorite football game on the SNES, it's also maybe the only football game that's better on the SNES than the Genesis. It's not as crazy and super-unbalanced as the original game, but it's better for it, and the graphics are fantastic. The opening intro is also fabulously epic for a sports game. It makes you feel like you're about to watch an 80's sci-fi movie or something.

[noiseredux]

I didn't play Tecmo Bowl when I was a kid. I remember sometime in 1988 getting that Nintendo Player's Guide that had pro tips for a bunch of games and the title "Tecmo Bowl" led me to believe that it was a bowling game. Because I was a stupid kid. Of course by the time I actually started to understand the sport of football, it was the early 90's and I was on to beefier hardware. My favorite football game back then was actually Cyberball on the Genesis. If you haven't played Cyberball, it's the most accurate simulation of exploding robot football out there.

Anyway, I didn't actually play Tecmo Bowl until 2009 or so. By then, the game had a huge cult following with people going so far as to update the rosters each year and everything. So I thought that was interesting and picked up a Game Boy cart of the game. And I thought it was fine. It was basic, but fun. And in my mind I was like "oh yeah, I like Tecmo Bowl," but I don't think I've actually played it in the decade since.

What I HAVE played in those years is lots of other and newer football games. Look, it's no secret that I'm a fan of the Madden franchise. So here's the thing: when most people play Tecmo Bowl now, I feel like they're appreciating it as a game that they grew up with. When I play it, it's just another retro football game. It's not special to me.

I realize that what I'm saying here is pretty unpopular. And I'm by no means crapping on the game. But, playing Tecmo Bowl in 2019 isn't great for me. Instead it just makes me want to play a different and more polished football game. I know I'm a terrible person.

Admittedly part of it is probably that I'm not good at Tecmo Bowl. There's no New England game to choose from, so I go with San Francisco mostly because Joe Montana was awesome when I was a kid. All I know is this - passing seems pointless. I'm picked off constantly. And how many times can I do the same running play before this game gets boring? Answer: Not long. I'm also not a big fan of the horizontal representation of the field. I think over the years I've gotten really used to a vertical video game football field. So there's that, too. But yeah. I'm sorry. I'm not having a blast with this game.

[Gunstar Green]

Tecmo Bowl isn't nearly as fondly remembered as Tecmo Super Bowl. It was a major improvement that had a lot of love put behind it by the developers who focused on making an over-the-top football game.

[Ack]

Brunswick World

This is a new one by me. I didn't know there were any bowling games on older consoles. (I'm actually not sure I can think of any bowling games other than as part of other games on the WIi.) Sounds like it could be kind of interesting. I did a lot of bowling in middle school, and distinctly remember a game I had around 220, with two turkeys. Then we moved, and there were still only really candle pin bowling alleys up here. I eventually got fairly good at candle pin, too, but now I kind of struggle to get much above 100 on the rare occasions that I bowl.

Yeah, that's pretty much when I was bowling too.

As for bowling video games, there are actually quite a few that predate this one. The oldest was a built-in game for the RCA Studio II, simply called Bowling. And the first bowling game licensed by the Professional Bowlers Association was released on Intellivision in 1982, PBA Bowling. There were even a couple on the Virtual Boy and an arcade game from 1991 by SNK called League Bowling. Brunswick World is also not the only one for the SNES; there is at least one other bowling game, Super Bowling, though I've never played it.

And now some of you guys should go play some older bowling games and let me know how they are.

[Gunstar Green]

I used to rent Championship Bowling on the NES when I was a kid. I don't remember too much about it though.