Title: John Madden Football (NA) Pro Football (JP)
Release Date: Nov. 1991
Developer: Park Place Productions
Publisher: Electronic Arts
It is something not a lot of gamers talk about or mention, but sports games are a constant presence in the realm of video games, and I am not talking about just the big yearly releases for major sports; there is a whole slew of sports games for even minor or regional sports. It's crazy. It is saying a lot when out of the 41 titles covered so far, 15 have been sports titles (counting the Shogi and dodgeball games).This sports game, though, at least has a thoroughly interesting history to it.
Background
According to John Madden himself, the Madden franchise has been a "a way for people to learn the game and participate in the game at a pretty sophisticated level," as he viewed the games as more of a football simulator than a true "game." For those who don't know who John Madden is, he is easily one of the most recognizable faces/voices in the history of American football. He was a superbowl winning coach for the Oakland Raiders, and an NFL color commentator for many years (fun fact, he was one of the few commentators to work on all for major television networks). Originally the franchise began on home computers in the late 80s; EA approached Madden to endorse their product, and Madden actually became much more involved in the development process. He insisted that the games have a veracity to them, which complicated production in some cases and caused the initial computer game to be heavily delayed. One of the most challenging limitations placed by Madden was that he insisted on having 11 players on the field per team at the same time, which was something most computers at the time just couldn't handle efficiently. Madden's help didn't come without perks though, as he drafted and helped contribute numerous football plays for the game, adding a layer of strategy that most other football video games didn't have at the time.
The game was met with lukewarm reception at the time; it was critiqued for being more of a simulation than a fun game, and ran very slowly. The franchise really didn't explode until it was ported to consoles. EA, who had developed the game for computers, decided to license out development of console ports to Park Place Productions. Park Place had worked on a few other sports titles, but really wasn't known for much else (in fact, the company would go under in 1993 due to mismanagement and inability to meet deadlines). Park Place made the decision to veer away from a football simulator, and accentuate the "action and impact" of football. EA was impressed with what they developed, and sold the game to Sega to be one of the headliners of Sega's 1990 Christmas season. The game sold incredibly well, and became Sega's first hit piece of software. From there, Madden was ported to every other console under the sun, including the good old SNES. Even today, Madden remains THE football video game franchise with very little competitors. Gameplay
It is a football game, that's for sure. It definitely shows its age, but it functions as a football game. I think if I wasn't playing with a modern mindset, having played Madden 2016 and its modern counterparts, I would be able to wrap my head easily around how the game is played. It is weird, I am actually accustomed to the more complex layout of the more modern games, that I am having trouble figuring out how they programmed football on a simpler machine. Just because I am no good at the game doesn't mean that it doesn't maintain a semblance of quality. The amount of what is here is pretty impressive. You can demand instant replays, challenge calls on the field, have different weather conditions, and players can sustain injuries. At the time, I am sure most of these additions were considered pretty darn novel.
The game, even back then, feels like a Madden game. It doesn't have the flashy impact of Blitz or other football sims, but feels like a faithful representation of the sport, even in a 16 bit layout. It is pretty amazing to see one of the oldest video game franchises maintain its spirit for years and years.
I have nothing too much to say about this title, sad to say. It is a football sim, and I am really quite terrible at this game.
Music
Ads, Commercials
Final Verdict
Overall, this game really isn't my specialty. I would recommend it for those Madden purists out there, as it surely is a piece of gaming history. If you don't like football or sports games though, I might just ignore this one. Sure enough, we will be playing this for every release year for the rest of this blog, so don't worry if you miss this one.
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