Tecmo Super Bowl

Tecmo Super Bowl is the game that turned Tecmo Bowl into a simulation. It was the first console sports game to carry both the NFL and the NFL Players Association licences, which meant real team names and real player names - and real player attributes rather than a generic roster.

On top of that it added a full season mode with a schedule, injuries, player stats tracked across the year and a playoff bracket, plus an eight-play playbook per team instead of four. The result is a game that a generation of players ran whole seasons of, and its speed - the ball carrier genuinely accelerates - makes it feel far more like the modern sport than its predecessor. It is routinely named the best sports game on the NES and one of the best of its era.

• ▸First console football game with both NFL and NFLPA licences
• ▸Full season mode with schedule, injuries, stats and playoffs
• ▸Eight plays per team, doubled from Tecmo Bowl
• ▸Player-specific attributes and acceleration-based movement