August 2019 Together Retro: Retro Sports Games

[pierrot]

an arcade game from 1991 by SNK called League Bowling.

I’m actually pretty intrigued by this one.

[Ack]

an arcade game from 1991 by SNK called League Bowling.

I’m actually pretty intrigued by this one.

Yeah, the art style on it definitely has me interested:



Leave it to SNK to make bowling somehow colorful, cartoony, and visually interesting enough to make me want to check it out.

[pierrot]

Yeah, that’s what I was thinking. Also leave it to SNK to put glam girls into bowling, I guess.

I was sort of thinking Neo Turf Masters, but with bowling when you mentioned it, and it seems like that might not be too far off the mark.

[Gunstar Green]

I remember the NES bowling game I mentioned randomly had cheerleaders or something too.

[Sarge]

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.

This is absolutely true. The original Tecmo Bowl is important, but it really isn't great. TSB stands well above Tecmo Bowl. It really isn't a fair fight.

As far as getting picked off, only throw to receivers who are uncovered. If you try to toss it to someone who is blanketed, they will typically step in front and snag it. TSB greatly improves this mechanic; many times good receivers will come up with the ball regardless of whether they're covered or not. You need to be careful if you're playing a team with a good secondary, though, and double-coverage can still be a bad idea to throw into.

You get eight plays in TSB, and on top of that, you can change those plays out before games. There are a few you'll want to get rid of (I hate the flea flicker play, for one), and a few must-haves in my opinion (Pro T Flare D, even if the GameFAQs guide doesn't recommend it). That play lets you get out of a blitz situation by hitting A twice and tossing to your tight end. It very rarely will get picked, but if you have anything resembling a decent TE, it's a money play vs. the CPU.

[noiseredux]

ah, okay. It sounds like I was confusing the reputation with TSB and TB. And thus, my expectations were far too high on this one. Makes sense then.

[BoneSnapDeez]

Well, I beat Ice Hockey.

By which I mean Ice Hockey for the Atari 2600!

This is a pretty fun game. It's a single 3-minute 2-on-2 game of hockey.

The system's limitations really shine through here, in a rather amusing way. Only two hockey sticks can be rendered onscreen at once (one for the player, one for the AI opponent). So, when you pass the puck you also "pass" the stick -- it disappears from one player's hands and appears in the other's.

One issue I have is that you can only move the player with the puck. The other teammate just stands still. Sounds reasonable for the Atari era. However, when the puck is passed, control isn't automatically switched to the other player. Instead it's like you have to wait until the puck gets "close enough" which sometimes doesn't leave you with enough time to react to the opponents. I don't know if I'm making sense here. It's an Atari game.

[prfsnl_gmr]

I don't know if I'm making sense here. It's an Atari game.

That pretty much sums it up. I tried playing Double Dunk the other day; realized the technical limitations, and...nope. Wasn’t having it.

[Gunstar Green]

I found this interview with the creators of Tecmo Super Bowl. It's really interesting stuff showing how Japanese developers dealt with making something very American they weren't familiar with.

https://www.louraguse.com/the-fathers-o ... uper-bowl/

[Sarge]

Wow, that's awesome.