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.
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
I'm going to break this document into some sections.
So far I've got: Dominating teams, a look at offensive schemes, and a section of things that suck in the game.
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
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.
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.
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.
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's being the best).
*I get lots 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.
If you're playing against human opponents who are clueful, you need to set up your offense so that your play selection isn't obvious before the ball is snapped. That means you should match up your run and pass formations. For example, if you have a play action play in your offense, then you had better make sure you have the run play it closel y resembles in your playbook, or the defense is going to know to kill your QB.
A favorite of teams with two strong running backs, the two back set
has a large number of plays available, and you can actually have a two back
set in every slot (except one, I believe) to make your opponent really have
to guess what play is being thrown at him or her.
One thing to avoid when choosing this scheme are too many up-the-middle plays, whether they are runs, or play fakes. A good nosetackle or inside linebacker can dive into the play and knock out the QB and the RB in one devastating dive.
The pass plays tend to send every eligible receiver into the field,
which makes it tough for a defense to pick up everyone.
On pass plays where a running back is not thrown into a pass route, it's best to have your QB roll out to that side. That's an extra pass blocker you can use to buy yourself some time.
The screenshots here show the standard split backfield. There's a second set of plays that use a staggered backfield that is a big help in getting your fullback out as a lead blocker on running plays.
When your team is loaded with WRs, this is the offense you want to choose.
Watch Warren Moon and his Houston Oilers run this offense and you'll understand
how frightening this offense can be...until it runs into a team that has
equally talented DBs (Pittsburgh) who can shut down the passing game.
If you choose this offensive scheme, you'd best have a nimble QB because he's going to do quite a bit of movement in the backfield waiting for receivers to get open while the DL and LB from the other team tear through an undermanned OL.
Running in this scheme can work if your OL can hold up the defense for
a second and your running back is named Barry Sanders. There are more running
backs who can pull it off, but Barry's the best at 'I'm in the open field
and you're out of luck' type running that the shoot and run sets up with
its spread formations.
If you'd like to run more effectively from this set, try switching out WRs for TEs or bruising RBs and run towards the side on which they're blocking. Of course you'll have to mix up when you run with WRs and pass with the TEs and RBs or your opponent won't have much of a challenge.
This offense can't really be used by itself
because of the lack of unique plays. The dive through the left side and the
sweep around the left side work well, but the fake reverse, reverse, and
reverse/flea flicker can all be stopped very easily and should never be used against a clueful opponent.
Be careful that when you're choosing plays for the one-back set that you don't choose one of the motion offense (what the Redskins use as a default) plays. Any player with knowledge of how to run their linebackers through the OL gaps will destroy every single motion offense One back set play.
The pass plays in this set don't really send enough receivers into the pattern, but you've got to toss at least one in to keep the D guessing.
Not really an offense unto itself, the shotgun
can be mixed into an offense set when the defense is killing your blockers
off the snap. Also, the shotgun gives your QB an extra tick of time to get a
pass off in case the defense calls your play.
Called running plays don't work well out of the shotgun set, at least not as well as a nice scramble by a QB. Why? Because an experienced Tecmo player will watch, in order, the RB next to the QB, then the WR as they go into their routes.
If the RB stays home, there's a good chance it's a running play. If the WR run out and engage in a block, then it is a running play. The direct snap run is the best choice for a called running play here.
These plays may work against the computer, but
should rarely be used against a human opponent who knows anything
about this game.
The 2 TE set (see screenshot) just stinks. Any LB can run to that gap and crush the RB before the have a chance to get back to the line of scrimmage. That will stop either the running play, or the flea flicker.
Other flea flickers and play action sets have too much of a delay to be useful. They're really only effective when you've been killing your opponent with the run.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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[this page last updated May 12, 1999]
By the way, I don't own any of the copyrights. Here's who does:
