Prior games used either the real teams, the real players, or fictional substitutes, but not real teams and players together. Tecmo Super Bowl is a 1991 American football video game developed and published by Tecmo for the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES).

The Story Behind Tecmo Super Bowl

With Tecmo Bowl for NES in 1989, Tecmo had procured an official license from the National Football League Players Association, providing twelve teams and a truncated roster. This serves as a central theme for two 2016 Kia Sorento commercials, starring Bo Jackson and playing off his ridiculously advantageous in-game characteristics. Although the game was released in late 1991, all team rosters and player attributes are from the prior 1990–91 NFL season, so it contains no rookies taken in the 1991 NFL draft and no player team changes executed before the start of the 1991 season.

The success of Tecmo Bowl was followed by the release of Tecmo Super Bowl in 1991 in North America and Japan, for which Tecmo acquired both sets of the NFL/NFLPA licenses, making it the first and only NES game to feature both real NFL teams and players. This is the last entry in the series to have the NFL and NFLPA licenses, and reflected the rosters and attributes of the 1996 season. Sequels to these versions, Tecmo Super Bowl II: Special Edition and Tecmo Super Bowl III: Final Edition, were released in subsequent years for the Super NES and Genesis.

How Tecmo Super Bowl Plays

16-bit versions of Tecmo Super Bowl for the Super NES and Genesis were released in 1993 (reflecting the rosters and attributes for that season), which fixed many bugs and added some new features. Centering on the annual world championship tournament in Madison, Wisconsin, the episode includes interviews with NFL greats such as Emmitt Smith and Christian Okoye who are featured in the original game, and modern NFL players such as Philip Rivers who discuss their passion for the game. The game has alternate camera angles, instant replay, and the option to adjust AI difficulty in regular season games.

Bo Jackson's character in Tecmo Super Bowl is infamous for his high speed and agility in comparison to other characters, with players claiming that he could run for as many as 1,000 yards in a single game. Accelerated fifteen-minute and ten-minute quarters can only be used for Exhibition and Pro Bowl games. With Tecmo Bowl for NES in 1989, Tecmo had procured an official license from the National Football League Players Association, providing twelve teams and a truncated roster.

Why Players Still Load It Up

An episode of NFL Films Presents documents the video game and its cult following. Tecmo Super Bowl surpasses its predecessor with the complete 1991 league of 28 teams, expanded rosters, expanded playbooks, and statistical tracking including NFL records. The full NFL team license was unavailable because of the exclusive license held for another NES game, NFL published by LJN.

Lawrence Taylor's character was used similarly on defense. This gameplay foundation would be expanded upon during the course of the series' run. Accelerated fifteen-minute and ten-minute quarters can only be used for Exhibition and Pro Bowl games.

Tecmo Super Bowl — Frequently Asked Questions