TrollmoEvery year, tecmobowl.org creates a new hack of the successful NES classic Tecmo Super Bowl with
updated rosters. This year's hack however has some serious issues that previous hacks haven't had. How bad do these issues effect the game? I'll tell you by making this review.
Graphics: 8/10 The visuals in Tecmo Super Bowl 2016 haven't changed from any of the other hacks or the original for that matter. Each team's colors are well represented on their jerseys, and the field looks the way you'd expect it to for a game on the NES. There are a number of cutscenes that show up during certain situations, such as a tough catch, touchdowns, injuries, etc, and each of them look great for an NES game. Overall, the graphics for Tecmo Super Bowl 2016 are good enough for me to give them an 8 out of 10.
Sound: 7/10 Similar to the graphics, the music is the same here as in other versions of Tecmo. The opening theme in particular is one of the more memorable themes you'll find in an NES game. There's plenty of other good music found in this hack, but there are better NES soundtracks out there, such as the Mega Man, Mario, and Zelda games among others. Overall though, this game's soundtrack is worthy of a 7 in my eyes.
Addictiveness: 3/10 This category is where Tecmo Super Bowl 2016 truly falters. For some reason in this year's hack, there are far more fumbles than usual. It doesn't matter if you have the best ball protector in the game, you can still fumble at random, which is extremely annoying, especially when you're playing it on netplay. Even trying to get to the sideline won't fully prevent you from fumbling and losing it. I've never played a football game where there have been so many fumbles in one match. The BS fumbles as I like to call them, ruin what is otherwise a pretty good hack.
Another reason why the gameplay suffers is due to the laughably inaccurate stats that certain players have. Some of the best examples I can think of are Legarrete Blount having 50 running speed, which is one of the higher totals in the game, while faster RB's like Giovanni Bernard have 44 running speed. That makes absolutely no sense. Also, Tyler Eifert's stats are horrible in this game, yet at this point in the NFL season, he leads the NFL in TD receptions? Looks like someone didn't do their research. Finally, Jeremy Hill's ball control is at 38, yet guys with more of a history with fumbles such as Ronnie Hillman of the Broncos has 50? Once again, the stats are totally inaccurate.There are plenty other examples I could probably find, but those are the main ones that rubbed me the wrong way. It's clear that the developers didn't use common sense when putting in stats for some of the players from around the NFL. This combined with the BS fumbles force me to give the addictiveness of this game a low score of 3 out of 10.
Story: N/A This game doesn't have a story, therefore I'm leaving this category blank.
Depth: 7/10 In Tecmo Super Bowl 2016, there are several game modes to play: There's preseason, which is basically exhibition mode, there's pro bowl mode which is where you can play as the pro bowl teams from last season. The other mode is regular season mode, which is where you can play the entire 2016 season as however many teams as you'd like. The regular season mode is where most of the depth in this game comes from. For an NES sports game, there's a good amount of content. Overall, the depth for Tecmo Super Bowl 2016 is worthy of a 7 in my eyes.
Difficulty: 6/10 Most of the toughness that comes from Tecmo Super Bowl is the broken amount of fumbles this game causes. If you're on the receiving end of these fumbles, then you're in for a long game and you'll need to play perfect defense to prevent the BS fumbles from ruining your game. If you're opponent has fumble problems, then the the game will be extremely easy to win if you're playing against the computer. If you're playing on netplay and you have fumble problems, then you're likely going to lose, which adds to the games frustration. Overall, Tecmo's difficulty is worthy of a 6 in my eyes because of the fumbles.
Overall Score: 5/10 Tecmo Super Bowl 2016 may look and sound like other Tecmo hacks and games, but the game's insane fumble problems cause this hack to feel more broken than previous installments. For those of us who have participated in the Autumn 2015 netplay tournament, we know just how bad the fumbles in this hack are. If you're playing a netplay match, then you'd better hope and pray that the fumbles doesn't strike you. If it does, then you're in for a nightmarish game. Overall, Tecmo Super Bowl 2016's fumbles and inaccurate stats are a big reason why I'm giving this game a score of 5 out of 10. Normally Tecmo games are fun, but the fumbles in this one are a load of bull, and it proves the hack itself is a troll! That's why I've started calling Tecmo Super Bowl 2016 "Trollmo".
Graphics
8 Sound
7 Addictive
3 Depth
7 Difficulty
6