Tecmo Super Bowl

Welcome to another one of my 'Not Very In-depth' guides to games for the Nintendo.

Ken, what's this all about?

The NES version of Tecmo Super Bowl, of course. This page will provide tips and tricks and other little insights into my most favorite NES game of all time. Please bear with me,

First, let me answer my most frequently asked questions:

Do you have any codes for Tecmo Super Bowl?

None of my own, but Game Sages do.

Do you have the game for sale? Where can I get it?

I have my own copy and I'm not selling it! To get your own, check out used game stores, flea markets or on-line. Happy Hunting

This page is lame. Where are the graphics!?

I'm one of those silly people who think the web should be used primarily for information exchange. Not making rilly kewl spinning logos and java program everything. Text provides all the info needed. Maybe I'll stick some screen shots on here someday, but that would require getting my NES back.

I'm going to break this document into some sections. Eventually I'd like to cover subjects such as: tips, teams, players, winning strategies, and a section of things that suck on the game.

For now, I'll just stick a quickie overview in to get the ball rolling.

Teams you can dominate with

I don't know about you, but every time someone wants to play a game they aren't familiar with, their first question is either 'Who's good?' or 'Who's the easiest to play?' After reminding the new person that this is set in the 1991 season, they'll probably still want to take Dallas.

Anyway, here's my List of teams you can dominate with:

Listed in the order I felt like typing

1) New York Giants - This team has no glaring weakness. The offensive line along with Dave Megget and Otis Anderson gives this team a potent running attack. Steven Baker and Mark Ingram are decent receivers, and you've got Mark Bavaro at TE. Phil Simms is more than adequate at QB. Sean Landetta is a top 5 punter (if you go for that punting thing anyway.) and Matt Bahr is still a Bahr.

Now we get to their strong point: defense. A front 3 that shred opposing OLs, defensive backs that are all over the field and give you interceptions. Oh yeah. And those 4 linebackers aren't too bad, either. With the front 3 holding up the OL, the linebackers crush the run up the middle, are fast enough to stop sweeps and easily pressure the quarterback.

2) Buffalo Bills - Their offensive line is as good as the Giants', but Jim Kelly, Thurman Thomas, and Andre Reed are just a wee bit better than what the Giants have at the same positions. Not only can Andre Reed catch almost anything thrown at him, but so can Thurman Thomas. The kicking game could use some work, but when all you need to do is kick extra-points, you don't notice this.

Buffalo's defense in general isn't as solid as the Giants, but they have a good player in every area. Not a team you can run or throw against easily. They have speed everywhere on defense, making outside running and deep passes tricky.

3)San Francisco 49ers - If you are a defender who likes to control safeties, this is the team for you. Ronnie Lott is the best safety in the game and a terror to do anything against. The 49ers also have a decent linebacking group and better than average front three.

Easily the most annoying team to try and stop offensively. Brent Jones, John Taylor, Tom Rathman, and Roger Craig are good receivers and running backs. Then there are those two guys named Joe and Jerry. Joe throws, Jerry catches. Heck, put Steve Young in and let him throw, Jerry still catches. What's that? 4 defensive backs guarding Mr. Rice? Doesn't bother him one bit. Jerry catches.

4)Chicago Bears - Their offense is summed up in two words: Neal Anderson. He runs, he catches and he's got Brad Muster blocking for him. Quarterbacks are average, the receivers and TE are mainly around to be thrown to when Anderson is covered.

Chicago's defense is another story. They are beyond solid at every position. Mike Singletary can run sideline to sideline to chase down any running back, and he's quick enough to slide through the line and sack the quarterback. He's freed up to do this because Chicago's secondary is probaby second best in terms of getting interceptions (Pittsburgh being the best).

I get lost of e-mail about this team or that team being left off of this list. Well, I've won the game with every team and without losing any games. You can dominate with any team in the game, the teams I listed are just the easist (in my opinion) with which to dominate.

Things that don't seem quite right...

I'm going to break this section into a few parts. Part one will be things that are annoying, but are just a part of football. We'll call it my 'arg' section. The second part will be things that cause spontaneous curses to issue forth from the mouths of the most tolerant Tecmo Super Bowl Player. The last part is some ways you can get back at other players, or the computer.

You can finish every sentance with: Arg!

In no particular order

1. Making a team go 3-and-out and forcing a punt deep in their territory. Your punt returner gets popped, the ball flies free and it is 6 going the other way. This one is even worse when you have a decent return before coughing it up.

2. Playing against Jerry Rice, Sterling Sharpe, Andre Rison, or the Houston Oilers, calling their plays and watching miraculous catches for first downs, or even touchdowns.

3. Calling the run play and then watching the running back (an even longer list than the one in 2.) get the corner, turn, and break it for a first down or touchdown.

4. Not having your play called, but all 5 receivers are blanketed and there is a defensive lineman who seems to think your quarterback has his bonus money in his back pocket.

5. Playing against a team with a juiced (excellent condition) DL that you have to watch on every passing play. It's hard to see what receivers are open as you scramble for you life. On running plays the juiced player can dive in and break up the handoff, or hold up the running back, letting the rest of the defense get in on the play.

Things that make you go 'You #$!@ lousy cheating..!'

Again, in no particular order

1. On either a kick-off or punt, having the opposing team's coverage outrun the football down the field and put the smack down on your return man as he catches the ball.

2. On a deep pass, having the opposing defensive back outrun the pass (over a distances of 30+ yards) and knock it down, or pick it off.

3. On a kick-off into the endzone, having the coverage team rip through your blockers, and gang crush your return man 5 yards deep for a safety. Your return man got to take all of 3 steps before the avalanche hits.

4. Catches where the receiver is out of bounds, but leaps and the computer gives credit for a catch...even if it happens off-screen.

Things you can do to tick off a human opponent

You can also use these against the computer after it does the above to you

1. If you have a good nose tackle, at every snap push down and forward with dive quickly. Depending on the quarterback, you can get a sack up to about 50% of the time.

2. Does your opponent like to rack up stats? One thing I learned is that a fumble is counted as a play that didn't happen for the offense (just as quarterback sacks don't detract from total yards, or count as a pass attempt or a run attempt). So if a guy just ran 80 yards for a touchdown, have the player you control run to where he's celebrating and just level him. (This works for plays that go out of bounds, too.) If the ball is coughed up, no yards will be given to the player. It doesn't happen often, but it does work.

3. Does your opponent like to crow about how many running and/or passing yards they get? Onside kick. A lot.

I'm tired of getting e-mails from people who can't think, so I've eliminated the 'click here to e-mail me' link. It's not hard to figure out my e-mail address, but if you want to send me a note, first you need to think.

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