Konami NFL Football (Game Boy, 1990)
I logged this game in my media database last week and, memories being fond, I slotted it into my Game Boy Colour and turned it on. I was greeted by a familiar start screen, and a simple choice: 1 player, normal length game, or short game.
I thought I remembered playing this game and having fun with it. It turns out I was confusing it with the NES game Techmo Bowl, which was fun. Konami NFL Football, released in 1990 for the Game Boy, is frustratingly hard to play.
Not only is it slow, but defense is punishing. You immediately start on offense - there is no coin toss. The gameplay is vertical, up and down the screen; yet another thing I was confusing with the NES game. That one is horizontal.
The NFL teams here are licensed in name only - every single one has nameless players and play exactly the same way. Since it's on the Game Boy, there are no uniform colours either. And I'm not the only one who finds this game frustrating to play, either. But...I was determined to try and win a game.
As I mentioned defense is punishing. It doesn't help that your players can't receive the ball at all. You have to try and complete short passes and somehow run past the CPU defense. That usually doesn't work, and because you always start on the 30 yard line on the kickoff (that's as far as you can get before the CPU tackles you, every time), the computer easily scores the first touchdown of the game within a few first downs.
But since defense was crushing me...maybe I could play the same game. I went aggressive on defense, ignoring the pass recipients and letting my CPU teammates deal with them. The CPU was quite predictable and usually goes the same direction on most plays. Many QB sacks. I quickly got used to forcing a turnover or punt (or a field goal, once) but couldn't convert the other way.
While I'm keeping this one for nostalgia's sake, I'm probably never going to play it again. I've deemed it impossible to play.
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