Troy Aikman NFL Football
Troy Aikman NFL Football | |
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![]() North American SNES cover art by Debra Austin | |
Developer(s) | Leland Interactive Media Tradewest (Genesis) Telegames (Jaguar) |
Publisher(s) | Tradewest
|
Director(s) | Kevin Lydy |
Producer(s) | Michael Abbot |
Designer(s) | Gary Luecker John Stookey Michael Abbot |
Programmer(s) | Brian Johnson David Schwartz Michael Hunley |
Artist(s) | Andrew E. Wilson Bert Farache David Ellingson |
Writer(s) | Shawn Murphy Steve High |
Composer(s) | Robert Atesalp |
Platform(s) | Atari Jaguar Sega Genesis Super NES |
Release | |
Genre(s) | Sports |
Mode(s) | Single-player, multiplayer (up to two players) |
Troy Aikman NFL Football is an American football video game originally developed by Leland Interactive Media and published by Tradewest for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System first in North America in August 1994. Officially licensed from the National Football League, it prominently features former NFL player Troy Aikman, who became the first member of the Dallas Cowboys to have his namesake in a game, followed by his teammate Emmitt Smith in Emmitt Smith Football.[5]
In Troy Aikman NFL Football, players have the choice to compete in matches across any of the game modes available with either AI-controlled opponents or against other human players. Initially launched for the Super Nintendo, it was then released on the Sega Genesis a few months after the original version and was later ported to the Atari Jaguar in the following year.
Troy Aikman NFL Football garnered mixed reception since it was released for the SNES and Genesis from critics and reviewers alike, as they felt divided towards various aspects of the title such as the graphics, sound and gameplay, while the Jaguar version also received the same general reception and was criticized for its similarity with the 16-bit versions, in addition of also being compared with the John Madden Football series from Electronic Arts. Ports for the Macintosh and PC were also in development but never published.
Gameplay
[edit]
Troy Aikman NFL Football is an American football game similar to Madden NFL '94 where players can play exhibition matches, season matches, playoff matches, make their own plays for use on the field, and even make payments to the salaries of every player.[6][7][8] Most of the rules from the sport are present in the title, though they can be disabled from the menu options. Players can either play directly with the teammates on the playfield or coach an exhibition game or an entire regular season, including the Super Bowl. When playing a season, the progress can be saved via battery-backed memory (or the cartridge's internal EEPROM in the Jaguar version), which prevents the frustration of having to play 16-19 games in a single sitting. During gameplay, there is limited speech from the referee and announcer.
Development and release
[edit]Troy Aikman NFL Football was developed by Leland Interactive Media and published by Tradewest, who signed former NFL player Troy Aikman to endorse their then-upcoming American football project. Aikman was also heavily involved in its production by creating the plays as well as being designed alongside the Super Bowl MVP.[5][9][10]
Troy Aikman NFL Football was initially released in North America for the Super NES in August 1994 and was later released in Europe by Sony Electronic Publishing during the same year. The Sega Genesis version, developed by Tradewest themselves, was released shortly after the SNES version by Williams Entertainment and only in North America on October.[1] Versions for both Macintosh and PC were also in development and advertised to be released during the same period as with other version, but neither port were published for unknown reasons.[11][12] The Atari Jaguar version, developed at Telegames' CDG division, was released first released in North America on February 1, 1995, then in Europe on May of the same year and later in Japan by Messe Sansao in July.[2][3][4][8][13] This last version of the game features digitized graphics and sprites, instead of the original hand-drawn look in the 16-bit versions.
Reception
[edit]Reception | ||||
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Aggregate scores | ||||
Aggregator | Scores | |||
SNES | Genesis | Jaguar | ||
GameRankings | 61.50%[14] | — | 65%[15] | |
Review scores | ||||
Publication | Scores | |||
SNES | Genesis | Jaguar | ||
AllGame | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() | |
AGH | — | — | 5 / 10[19] | |
EGM | 80%[20] 84%[20] |
65%[1] 68%[1] |
13 / 20[21] | |
GamePro | 14 / 20[22] | 12.5 / 20[9] | 11 / 20[23] | |
Game Players | — | 77%[24] | — | |
MAN!AC | 40%[25] | — | — | |
Mega Fun | 79%[26] | — | — | |
Next Generation | — | — | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() | |
Nintendo Power | 12.3 / 20[28] | — | — | |
Play Time | 83%[29] | — | — | |
Player One | 60%[30] | — | — | |
ST-Computer | — | — | 71%[31] | |
Super Game Power | — | — | 2.8 / 5.0[32] | |
Total! | 4[33] | — | — | |
Video Games | 51%[34] | — | 77%[35] | |
VideoGames | 7 / 10[36] | 7 / 10[36] | 7 / 10[37] |
The two sports reviewers of Electronic Gaming Monthly gave the Super NES version scores of 65% and 68%, criticizing the small characters, choppy graphics, and poor defensive AI.[20]
Reviewing the Super NES version, Quick-Draw McGraw of GamePro commented that "What the Genesis did for Joe Montana, the SNES does for Troy Aikman." He noted the large number of options and special features, the inclusion of all the real-world NFL teams, the money management features, and the ability to create your own plays as the game's strong points, though he criticized the graphics and audio as mediocre.[22]
GamePro's Slo Mo accorded the same praises to the Jaguar version but was more vehement in his criticism of the graphics, remarking that it is impossible to identify individual players in large mobs. He concluded, "Despite some tantalizing innovations, Troy Aikman Football sits in favor of better-crafted 16-bit games, including Troy's own clones."[23]
Electronic Gaming Monthly's sports reviewers gave it scores of 6 and 7 out of 10, saying that though they were impressed with the Jaguar version's improvements, particularly the graphics and the new Play Selection Accelerator feature, the game is still so-so. Like Slo Mo, they found that it is difficult to keep track of individual players, and that the control "still isn't what it should be for a big-time football game."[21]
A reviewer for Next Generation, while praising the game's comprehensive content, NFL licensing, and realistic gameplay application of the nuances of football, said that the mediocre graphics and animation, though better on the Jaguar than in previous versions of the game, make it fall short of other football video games on the market. Assessing it to be more a game for hardcore NFL fans than for video gamers, he gave it two out of five stars.[27]
References
[edit]- ^ a b c d ICEMAN, The; Cowboy, Video (October 1994). "Team EGM - Genesis - Troy Aikman NFL Football". Electronic Gaming Monthly. No. 63. Sendai Publishing. p. 152. Retrieved May 22, 2019.
- ^ a b Castle, Justin (July 21, 2018). "Historical Atari Jaguar UK Magazine Advert/Reviews Collection" (PDF). Issuu. p. 340. Archived from the original on January 4, 2019. Retrieved May 22, 2019.
- ^ a b Smith, Jason. "Atari Jaguar Timeline". jaguarsector.com. Archived from the original on June 29, 2013. Retrieved October 7, 2018.
- ^ a b DD (October 14, 2012). "JAGUER販売カタログ". astralunit.blog.fc2.com (in Japanese). Archived from the original on August 25, 2018. Retrieved May 22, 2019.
- ^ a b "SportsWire - Aikman Plays The Game". VideoGames - The Ultimate Gaming Magazine. No. 70. L.F.P., Inc. November 1994. p. 116. Retrieved May 22, 2019.
- ^ Troy Aikman NFL Football instruction booklet (Super Nintendo Entertainment System, US)
- ^ Troy Aikman NFL Football instruction booklet (Sega Genesis, US)
- ^ a b Troy Aikman NFL Football game manual (Atari Jaguar, US)
- ^ a b McGraw, Quick-Draw (October 1994). "The Sports Page - Troy Wins Ugly on Genesis - Troy Aikman NFL Football - Genesis". GamePro. No. 63. IDG. p. 111. Retrieved May 22, 2019.
- ^ Z. Ball, Lou (September 1994). "The Sports Scene: Troy Aikman Tackles The Opposition". Nintendo Power. No. 64. Nintendo of America. pp. 35–37.
- ^ "You can't get your hands on Troy's playbook, but you can get your hands on a few key pages". Electronic Gaming Monthly. No. 62. Sendai Publishing. September 1994. p. 37. Retrieved May 22, 2019.
- ^ "Troy's missing a few pages from his playbook. - They're in here - Troy Aikman NFL Football". GamePro. No. 64. IDG. November 1994. p. 5. Retrieved May 22, 2019.
- ^ "Trailers - Jaguar - There's a challenger to the throne - Troy Aikman NFL Football. But will Madden lose his crown?". Ultimate Future Games. No. 3. Future Publishing. February 1995. p. 32.
- ^ "Troy Aikman NFL Football for Super Nintendo". GameRankings. Archived from the original on September 10, 2015. Retrieved May 22, 2019.
- ^ "Troy Aikman NFL Football for Jaguar". GameRankings. Archived from the original on September 10, 2015. Retrieved May 22, 2019.
- ^ Alan Weiss, Brett (1998). "Troy Aikman NFL Football (SNES) - Overview". AllGame. All Media Network. Archived from the original on November 14, 2014. Retrieved May 22, 2019.
- ^ Alan Weiss, Brett (1998). "Troy Aikman NFL Football (Genesis) - Review". AllGame. All Media Network. Archived from the original on November 15, 2014. Retrieved May 22, 2019.
- ^ Scoleri III, Joseph (1998). "Troy Aikman NFL Football (Jaguar) - Overview". AllGame. All Media Network. Archived from the original on November 14, 2014. Retrieved May 22, 2019.
- ^ Iida, Keita (2002). "AGH Jaguar Review: Troy Aikman Football". atarihq.com. Archived from the original on October 17, 2016. Retrieved May 22, 2019.
- ^ a b c ICEMAN, The; Rookie, The (August 1994). "Team EGM - Super NES - Troy Aikman Football". Electronic Gaming Monthly. No. 61. Sendai Publishing. p. 107. Retrieved May 22, 2019.
- ^ a b ICEMAN, The; Cowboy, Video (February 1995). "Team EGM - Jaguar - Troy Aikman NFL Football". Electronic Gaming Monthly. No. 67. Sendai Publishing. p. 122. Retrieved May 22, 2019.
- ^ a b McGraw, Quick-Draw (September 1994). "The Sports Page - Troy Aikman Drops Back To Pass...Touchdown! - Troy Aikman NFL Football - SNES". GamePro. No. 62. IDG. p. 116. Retrieved May 22, 2019.
- ^ a b Mo, Slo (May 1995). "The Sports Page - It's "Hail Mary" Time for Troy Aikman - Troy Aikman Football - Jaguar". GamePro. No. 70. IDG. p. 97. Retrieved May 22, 2019.
- ^ Brumley, Doug (October 1994). "GP Sports - Reviews - Troy Aikman NFL Football - Genesis". Game Players. No. 64. Signal Research. p. 116. Retrieved May 22, 2019.
- ^ "Spiele-Tests - SN - Troy Aikman NFL Football". MAN!AC (in German). No. 16. Cybermedia. February 1995. p. 55.
- ^ Girlich, Stephan (December 1994). "Test Kunterbunt - Troy Aikman NFL Football - Super Nintendo". Mega Fun (in German). No. 27. CT Computec Verlag GmbH & Co. KG. p. 98. Retrieved May 22, 2019.
- ^ a b "Finals - Jaguar - Troy Aikman Football". Next Generation. No. 6. Imagine Media. June 1995. p. 103. Archived from the original on January 4, 2019. Retrieved May 22, 2019.
- ^ "Now Playing - Troy Aikman NFL Football". Nintendo Power. No. 64. Nintendo of America. September 1994. p. 105.
- ^ Girlich, Stephan (December 1994). "Super NES Reviews - Troy Aikman Football". Play Time (in German). No. 42. CT Computec Verlag GmbH & Co. KG. p. 119. Retrieved May 22, 2019.
- ^ Lib (October 1994). "Vite Vu – Super Nintendo – Troy Aickman". Player One (in French). No. 46. Média Système Édition. p. 128.
- ^ F, R (May 1995). "Jaguar: Troy Aikman NFL Football - Nur für Fans?". ST-Computer (in German). No. 109. falkemedia. p. 111. Archived from the original on August 20, 2016. Retrieved May 22, 2019.
- ^ "Esporte Total - Jaguar - Troy Aikman Football". Super Game Power (in Portuguese). No. 14. Nova Cultural. May 1995. p. 54. Retrieved May 22, 2019.
- ^ Amann, Hans-Joachim (December 1994). "Test - SNES - Troy Aikman NFL Football". Total! (in German). No. 20. X-Plain-Verlag. Archived from the original on April 29, 2016. Retrieved May 22, 2019.
- ^ Hara, Tetsuhiko (January 1995). "Reviews - Troy Aikman Football - Super NES". Video Games (in German). No. 38. Future-Verlag. p. 129. Retrieved May 22, 2019.
- ^ Hara, Tetsuhiko (June 1995). "Jaguar / SNES - Reviews - Troy Aikman Football". Video Games (in German). No. 43. Future-Verlag. p. 106. Retrieved May 22, 2019.
- ^ a b Tschiltsch, Jeffrey (November 1994). "SportsWire - Sports Reviews - Troy Aikman NFL Football". VideoGames - The Ultimate Gaming Magazine. No. 70. L.F.P., Inc. p. 119. Retrieved May 22, 2019.
- ^ Higgins, Geoff (May 1995). "SportsWire - Sports Reviews - Jaguar - Troy Aikman NFL Football". VideoGames - The Ultimate Gaming Magazine. No. 76. L.F.P., Inc. p. 91. Retrieved May 22, 2019.
External links
[edit]- 1994 video games
- Atari Jaguar games
- Cancelled classic Mac OS games
- Cancelled PC games
- Leland Corporation games
- Multiplayer and single-player video games
- NFL video games
- Professional American football video games set in the United States
- Sega Genesis games
- Super Nintendo Entertainment System games
- Telegames games
- Tradewest games
- Video games based on NFL players
- Video games developed in the United States
- Video games set in 1993