Troy Aikman NFL Football
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
1994
  • Super NES
    • NA: August 1994
    • EU: 1994
    Genesis
    Jaguar
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 on August 1994. Officially licensed from the National Football League, it prominently features former NFL player Troy Aikman, who became the first member of the 1993 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

Screenshot of the SNES version showcasing a match between the Buffalo Bills and the Dallas Cowboys.

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

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 on 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 1 February, 1995, then in Europe on May of the same year and later in Japan by Messe Sansao on July.[3][2][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

Reception
Aggregate scores
Aggregator Scores
SNES Genesis Jaguar
GameRankings 61.50%[14] — 65%[15]
Review scores
Publication Scores
SNES Genesis Jaguar
AllGame [16] [17] [18]
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 — — [27]
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

  1. 1 2 3 4 ICEMAN, The; Cowboy, Video (October 1994). "Team EGM - Genesis - Troy Aikman NFL Football". Electronic Gaming Monthly. No. 63. Sendai Publishing. p. 152. Retrieved 22 May 2019.
  2. 1 2 Smith, Jason. "Atari Jaguar Timeline". jaguarsector.com. Archived from the original on 29 June 2013. Retrieved 7 October 2018.
  3. 1 2 Castle, Justin (21 July 2018). "Historical Atari Jaguar UK Magazine Advert/Reviews Collection" (PDF). Issuu. p. 340. Archived from the original on 4 January 2019. Retrieved 22 May 2019.
  4. 1 2 DD (14 October 2012). "JAGUER販売カタログ". astralunit.blog.fc2.com (in Japanese). Archived from the original on 25 August 2018. Retrieved 22 May 2019.
  5. 1 2 "SportsWire - Aikman Plays The Game". VideoGames - The Ultimate Gaming Magazine. No. 70. L.F.P., Inc. November 1994. p. 116. Retrieved 22 May 2019.
  6. ↑ Troy Aikman NFL Football instruction booklet (Super Nintendo Entertainment System, US)
  7. ↑ Troy Aikman NFL Football instruction booklet (Sega Genesis, US)
  8. 1 2 Troy Aikman NFL Football game manual (Atari Jaguar, US)
  9. 1 2 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 22 May 2019.
  10. ↑ Z. Ball, Lou (September 1994). "The Sports Scene: Troy Aikman Tackles The Opposition". Nintendo Power. No. 64. Nintendo of America. pp. 35–37.
  11. ↑ "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 22 May 2019.
  12. ↑ "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 22 May 2019.
  13. ↑ "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.
  14. ↑ "Troy Aikman NFL Football for Super Nintendo". GameRankings. Archived from the original on 10 September 2015. Retrieved 22 May 2019.
  15. ↑ "Troy Aikman NFL Football for Jaguar". GameRankings. Archived from the original on 10 September 2015. Retrieved 22 May 2019.
  16. ↑ Alan Weiss, Brett (1998). "Troy Aikman NFL Football (SNES) - Overview". AllGame. All Media Network. Archived from the original on 14 November 2014. Retrieved 22 May 2019.
  17. ↑ Alan Weiss, Brett (1998). "Troy Aikman NFL Football (Genesis) - Review". AllGame. All Media Network. Archived from the original on 15 November 2014. Retrieved 22 May 2019.
  18. ↑ Scoleri III, Joseph (1998). "Troy Aikman NFL Football (Jaguar) - Overview". AllGame. All Media Network. Archived from the original on 14 November 2014. Retrieved 22 May 2019.
  19. ↑ Iida, Keita (2002). "AGH Jaguar Review: Troy Aikman Football". atarihq.com. Archived from the original on 17 October 2016. Retrieved 22 May 2019.
  20. 1 2 3 ICEMAN, The; Rookie, The (August 1994). "Team EGM - Super NES - Troy Aikman Football". Electronic Gaming Monthly. No. 61. Sendai Publishing. p. 107. Retrieved 22 May 2019.
  21. 1 2 ICEMAN, The; Cowboy, Video (February 1995). "Team EGM - Jaguar - Troy Aikman NFL Football". Electronic Gaming Monthly. No. 67. Sendai Publishing. p. 122. Retrieved 22 May 2019.
  22. 1 2 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 22 May 2019.
  23. 1 2 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 22 May 2019.
  24. ↑ Brumley, Doug (October 1994). "GP Sports - Reviews - Troy Aikman NFL Football - Genesis". Game Players. No. 64. Signal Research. p. 116. Retrieved 22 May 2019.
  25. ↑ "Spiele-Tests - SN - Troy Aikman NFL Football". MAN!AC (in German). No. 16. Cybermedia. February 1995. p. 55.
  26. ↑ 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 22 May 2019.
  27. 1 2 "Finals - Jaguar - Troy Aikman Football". Next Generation. No. 6. Imagine Media. June 1995. p. 103. Archived from the original on 4 January 2019. Retrieved 22 May 2019.
  28. ↑ "Now Playing - Troy Aikman NFL Football". Nintendo Power. No. 64. Nintendo of America. September 1994. p. 105.
  29. ↑ 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 22 May 2019.
  30. ↑ Lib (October 1994). "Vite Vu – Super Nintendo – Troy Aickman". Player One (in French). No. 46. Média Système Édition. p. 128.
  31. ↑ 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 20 August 2016. Retrieved 22 May 2019.
  32. ↑ "Esporte Total - Jaguar - Troy Aikman Football". Super Game Power (in Portuguese). No. 14. Nova Cultural. May 1995. p. 54. Retrieved 22 May 2019.
  33. ↑ Amann, Hans-Joachim (December 1994). "Test - SNES - Troy Aikman NFL Football". Total! (in German). No. 20. X-Plain-Verlag. Archived from the original on 29 April 2016. Retrieved 22 May 2019.
  34. ↑ Hara, Tetsuhiko (January 1995). "Reviews - Troy Aikman Football - Super NES". Video Games (in German). No. 38. Future-Verlag. p. 129. Retrieved 22 May 2019.
  35. ↑ Hara, Tetsuhiko (June 1995). "Jaguar / SNES - Reviews - Troy Aikman Football". Video Games (in German). No. 43. Future-Verlag. p. 106. Retrieved 22 May 2019.
  36. 1 2 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 22 May 2019.
  37. ↑ 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 22 May 2019.
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