From arcade masterpieces to sims that almost brought down the Madden NFL juggernaut, Sports Gamers Online counts down the Top 10 NFL Video Games of All Time.
No. 10 — Troy Aikman Football
At number 10, we start with Troy Aikman Football. Now, it wasn’t the most aesthetically pleasing game and the music was kind of weird, but on the field, there was no denying how well Troy Aikman Football played.
It was the first game that allowed deflections to be caught by receivers and defensive backs. It also allowed users to create their own plays, and add them to their season mode or exhibition. Another cool feature was that it was the first with the ability to pay players salaries during season mode.
I guess the only draw backs you can take away from this game were the facts that the AI on defense wasn’t really that great. So, if you were playing the computer, you were likely to run up the score. And, unless you’re a cowboys fan, you probably weren’t to happy with the ratings as Aikman rated all the teams and players himself, giving a lot of them one and two stars.
No. 9 — NFL GameDay 98
At number nine we have NFL Gameday 98 for Playstaton. Gameday was big because it changed the landscape of all NFL football games. It was the first game to feature fully-3D polygonal athletes, it had the deep franchise and training camp modes, and players played on the field exactly as you’d expect in real life.
Barry Sanders just couldn’t be touched, Brett Favre had a cannon of an arm, and Jerome Bettis, the games cover athlete, was as powerful as the Bus he was named after. It really was a great game for its time, and was even voted the best football game ever up to that point.
A lot of things Gameday 98 did still even resonates today like the way tackling is done. It’s just a sad story the way the franchise died out in the mid-2000s.
No. 8 — NFL 2k
At number eight we have the original NFL 2k for the Sega Dreamcast. NFL 2k took everything football fans loved in video games, and made it better.
From the great TV style broadcast presentation to the gameplay that was crisp and smooth to graphics that, aside from some minor clipping, were the best in football gaming to date. There wasn’t a franchise mode – which is why it isn’t higher – but that didn’t stop you from having fun with the season mode or the fantasy draft mode, which was, again, a first for its time. There really was nothing better in 1999 than NFL 2k.
And you’d think a game like that would’ve kept the Dreamcast going. But alas, the Dreamcast died along with the 2k Franchise, although the 2k series did have one more ace up its sleeve before its eventual end.
No. 7 — NFL QB Club 96
Number seven on this list is NFL QB club 1996. This game wasn’t the best by any means, and, in the grand scheme of things, won’t be remembered for its marvelous innovation. So why is it in the top 10?
Because it offered fans modes that no other game did. They focused on the QB in NFL QB Club 96, as you could guess by the name. So what did they do? They introduced a skills competition mode where players could take control of the QB of their choosing and compete against the other QBs of the league in contests such as mobility, obstacles, accuracy and just overall distance. Games were able to be saved; players were able to be traded. There was a season mode, pregame shows, different camera angles to choose from, and there was the no huddle offense.
The only thing that really stunk about this one was the fact that AI just seemed unbeatable. Unless you were playing against a friend, you had your work cut out for you.
No. 6 — NFL Blitz
You talk about pick up and play, NFL Blitz was the perfect pick up and play football game whether you were a diehard fan or just a casual observer. NFL Blitz took everything that fans loved about sim football and threw it out the window in this arcade beat ’em up mixed with sports.
At number six on our list, NFL Blitz had no rules, 30-yard first downs, late tackles, helicopter spins, shoulder dives, and spears. You name it, it was in the game. You can kick long field goals though if you tried to kick a field goal, you were probably made fun of.
In retrospect, it’s kind of hard to believe a game like this was sanctioned and allowed to use the NFL license based on all the concussion issues, and how this game is predicated on violence. But back then, people probably had more common sense and realize that this is just supposed to be a fun game. Still, this is a game that you can pick up and play today, and it’s just as fun and exciting as it was when it was released in 1997.
So, if you’ve never played NFL blitz before, I suggest you find a way to get your hands on it, and spend a few hours finding out why everyone loves this game.
No. 5 — MADDEN 06
We finally hit the Madden machine at Number five with Madden 06.
Now, we’re focusing on the PS2 and Xbox versions of the game because the Xbox 360 version wasn’t good…at all. And believe it or not, QB vision cone is not why the game is this high.
Nope.
In fact, it was the superstar mode that debuted in Madden 06 that allowed you to take control of a player, and live the life of an NFL star. You chose your parents, and that gave you a base level of skills on what you’d be good at in the NFL.
You were able to import your player from NFL Street 2 or NCAA 06, or create someone from scratch. Either way, you started from scratch and worked your way up from a rookie to a Hall of Famer. You had to choose what movie roles to took, your look, your haircut, whether you went to the performance center to practice, sign an agent to help you get more money, and even get endorsement deals. All the real life things that players had to deal with, you got to do in Madden 06.
Unfortunately, this feature died with the addition of Connected Careers over the last few years in the Madden franchise. But man, wouldn’t it be great to see a Superstar mode like this return in the near future.
No. 4 — NFL Street
NFL Street finds its way to number four on this list by taking everything great about NFL Blitz and improving on it and making it their own.
NFL Street featured 7-on-7 football with NFL players that are drafted by the users wearing street clothes in various environments including on the street, in a park, in a cage, etc. There are Gamebreakers, there’s showing off, there’s style points to try and make your team blow out the opponent.
There are multiple game modes including NFL challenge, which is the main mode where you create a team and take on all comers to prove you’re the best street team. NFL Street had a lot of replayability, and got even better with the release of NFL Street 2. But NFL street takes the spot on this list simply because of what it did for the football arcade genre.
No. 3 — MADDEN 95
At number three we have Madden 95. Madden 95 is big because it was the first Madden game to have both NFL team licenses and NFLPA licenses. It was also the first Madden to get rid of the WR passing windows, though you could turn them on if you wanted via the options menu.
It also tracked individual stats throughout a season for players so they know how their team was faring against the rest of the league. It was the first Madden to feature players on the cover as Dallas Cowboys left tackle Erik Williams and San Francisco defensive lineman Karl Wilson were featured on the box alongside John Madden. Plus it’s got the theme song for the NFL on Fox.
It was a great game overall that was fun to play, and it still gets a lot of love to this day.
No. 2 — NFL 2k5
That’s right, we finally reached it. NFL 2k5 comes in at number two on our countdown for the greatest NFL video games of all time.
What’s not to love about 2k5? It’s been 13 years since this game came out, and it still holds up today when you put it against madden 15,16, 17 and beyond.
Visual Concepts hit the game out of the park when it came to gameplay and visuals. The franchise mode was deep, the pre-, half- and post-game shows were fantastic. The fact that you could watch a weekly roundup hosted by Chris Berman in your franchise mode to check out scores, stats and highlights was revolutionary…and it’s something we haven’t seen since.
The Cribs were awesome, and it gave you a nice little reason to keep going. Everything about this game was seemingly perfect. Playing against celebrity teams to try and become the best team, and the fantasy draft mode that was popular in 2k added even more fun to the game. First-person football kind of stunk, but it was nice little innovation they tried, it just failed. But there’s hardly anything negative you can say about 2k5.
It’s so popular and so beloved that it’s still played by quite a few people to this day. In fact, it probably would’ve overtaken EA as the juggernaut of the football sim if EA hadn’t gone out and purchased the NFL exclusivity license after 2k5 was released.
No. 1 — Tecmo Super Bowl
At number one we have Tecmo Super Bowl for the NES, as if there was any doubt.
Tecmo Super Bowl was the very first football game to feature both the NFL and NFLPA licenses allowing use of players and team names for the game.
It featured 9-on-9 football, full season mode, play now mode, some of the best gameplay of its time, and there’s just nothing to hate about this game. Unless you were facing Bo Jackson, but that’s for a different video all together because he’s the greatest player in Tecmo Bowl history.
Of course, Touchdown Thurman Thomas remains my favorite simply because I’m a little bit biased, but that’s neither here nor there. It’s just so nostalgic.
The game gets updated every year with new rosters, and you can still buy cartridges with the updated rosters every year. It’s stood the test of time, still great. It’s hard to put into words just how great this game was and still is.
Do you agree with our list Sports Gamers? Let us know on our Twitter and Facebook pages what your favorite NFL video games are!