A A A

Can Tecmo Bowl Throwback Tackle Madden?

Tecmo's classic football game returns with a new look, but doesn't mess with what made it a revered franchise.

April 30, 2010
You won't like this if...

you don't like sports, arcade games and cartoony characters.

Tecmo Bowl Throwback
Tecmo Bowl Throwback Credit: Tecmo

You know the age-old saying "if it ain't broke, don't fix it"? Well that doesn't quite apply to Tecmo's PSN/XBLA release, Tecmo Bowl Throwback. Instead of trying to completely overhaul the mechanics of the classic 8- and 16-bit football games, Tecmo simply applied a fresh coat of paint to the game while leaving the entire classic version intact underneath.

Tecmo Bowl Throwback is, plain and simple, Tecmo Super Bowl with updated visuals and audio. Making that all the more apparent is the ability to switch between the classic game and the updated version on-the-fly, anytime with a press of a shoulder bumper. Everything from the original version of the game matches up perfectly with what Tecmo has put together in the updated version -- the game plays exactly the same, so all of the changes are purely cosmetic. The updated mode is nice, but having the option to switch over to Classic whenever I want is perfect for those mid-game moments when I want to wax nostalgic.

Madden NFL Arcade. Throwback's animations are, of course, smoother than its pixleated predecessors, and the game switches between a 16:9 and 4:3 view in the modern and classic modes respectively. But either way, you play from the same elevated sideline view as the classic; calling this "Tecmo Bowl HD Remix" would have worked just as well.

Throwback even tosses in some team customization options. But while you can edit names and rosters, you only have the logos the game comes with to work off of. For instance, changing the San Francisco based team's name to the Oakland Waders (hey, there's an estuary there, it works) allows you to change all of the text related to the team (such as adding an actual team name), but you're still always stuck with the stock "wave" logo, and the stadium's end zones still say San Francisco. Not a big deal, but still worth mentioning for players that that want complete customization.

Throwback's online amounts to a single game matchup mode and online leaderboards where you can view both your single- and multiplayer ranked scores. I was able to hop in and play games easily, but playing against a live person is where the fun of Tecmo Bowl lies. It's worth noting though that the on-the-fly switching between classic and modern modes isn't available in online multiplayer. It certainly wouldn't give either player an advantage to use one mode over the other, since they're virtually the same game, so I'm not sure why you're unable to do that.

Tecmo Bowl Throwback is exactly what it claims to be, and it freshens up the classic version of the game without completely changing it (read: ruining it). Publishers working on remakes of older titles would be well-served in taking a page out of Tecmo's book in keeping the changes minimal and the nostaligia-factor high.


Originally posted on 1UP.

See More: Tecmo Bowl | XBLA