Legend Bowl takes you back to the Golden Age of football gaming.
We all love a good retro video game, mainly because it somewhat reminds us of how great the gaming life was when we were much younger. The stress-free, carefree lifestyle that we once had, and one of our biggest worries, was simply what game we were going to play. This especially goes out to the fellow older generation players that, despite the incredibly advancing technology in modern gaming, every now and then, we take a trip to the past with retro-styled video games.
And sports games are no different. This genre is one of the most popular in the retro gaming world. This is where Legend Bowl comes in, taking us back to the pixelated video-style video game, which culminates a simulation and arcade-style football that’ll surely trigger your enjoyment whenever you’re in the mood to get in touch with nostalgia.
Legend Bowl grants you the total power to customise teams and players, and also the seemingly endless variations to your leagues. Let’s put it this way: in the great words of Burger King, in the Legend Bowl, you can really have it your way. Now, brace yourselves because you are also privileged with a fine selection of a whopping 32 unique teams to control and enter the gridiron to kickstart your retro football gaming experience.
But before jumping the gun, it’s always best to practice before heading into a match, and Legend Bowl is no different. The game’s practice mode gives you the privilege of training on the game’s fundamentals. Ranging from practicing kick-offs to full scrimmages to special moves, Legend Bowl has the tools to help you prepare for the real thing.
The Exhibition mode is, of course, the stress-free chill zone mode that enables you to play against the CPU or another human. You also have the choice of playing up for four of your friends. And with the couch multiplayer feature, you can go head-to-head or split-screen.
But on the other hand, if you’d rather grab some popcorn to watch the games, then you can actually set up CPU Vs CPU contests and enjoy the battles. The CPU’s AI isn’t very sharp but still poses a challenge in almost all occasions when it comes to strategising – if you were to select the toughest difficulties.
And speaking of difficulties, depending on your skill level, as well as how comfortable you are playing against the CPU, the difficulties range from rookie to legend. Whether it’s based on kicking, the intelligence, or vision of the quarterback, it also has difficulty settings that you can modify. And if you need a helping hand, you can toggle the mobile quarterback, quarterback assist, and kick assist functionalities. Moreover, you have many options to satisfy your needs and skills. As well as delivering a challenging yet fun footballing experience.
As mentioned, Legend Bowl’s gameplay is focused on a combined arcade and sim-style football, which is reminiscent of the 1980s and 1990s video games. The finely pixilated and vibrant colours bring the game to life. And listening to the classical soundtracks was the icing on the cake. You are to choose the team you wish to control, as well as your opponent. The teams possess their stats that are based on four categories: Overall, Offensive, Defensive, and Special, as well as the rankings, which paint a more accurate picture of the teams.
As your start your match, you enter a coin toss and select heads or tails. And whether you win or lose the coin toss, you’re given options based on your choices, as well as your opponent’s choices. Example: whether to kick or receive. During the matches, you’re given plays based on whether you’re on the offence or defence. The tactics or formations for you to select are displayed before and after plays, similarly to how you would in much higher-profile football games such as Madden NFL.
Furthermore, when you’re required to select plays, you’re typically given four options: By play type, by formation, special, and if you’re not a very tactically astute individual, you can use the ‘ask coach’ option for strategic recommendations. Legend Bowl’s delivery on the field also features halftime and full-time stats, as well as live referees, field stat overlays, mascots, adverts, and much more to give you a truly authentic American football experience while maintaining the retro style.
That’s not all – Legend Bowl’s matches are accompanied by a remarkably realistic weather system. You can play in clear, rainy, snowy, stormy, and cloudy conditions. All conditions accurately affect the players’ performances. For a game that aims to go old-school, Legend Bowl definitely takes pride in itself in having sizeable and flexible offensive and defensive control functionalities. We are talking snap ball, hard count, motion, dive tackle, defend a pass, plus much more, including the presence of using the touchpad to call timeouts.
There is also a commendable button layout for ball carrying, kicking, and throwing. Moreover, the kick and throw mechanic involves a meter where players are required to hold the X button to power up and follow it by pressing the X button again to release the throw or kick. As well as aiming at where to throw and kick. Furthermore, with the throwing mechanic, you can control the ball, resulting in your receivers having the best chance possible of catching the ball.
The franchise mode features players undertaking the role of a football coach that they’ll customise of course. They must select one of the 32 teams, and it’s their job to guide the team to championship glory. They get to enjoy challenging matches through a full 17-week schedule. Also, there is an off-season where they’re responsible for taking their team through free agency, player progression, and retirements. Plus, the seven-round draft to look forward to.
Another thing that players need to prepare for is the intense grilling of the relentless press, and how they handle them says a lot about their character, along with having to deal with player demands and stadium facilities. They are getting the perks and difficulties a football coach faces. As for the Tournament mode, you can pick any team you wish and enter an action-packed 16-team tournament that is bracket-style, and your goal is to get to the top. Although both modes are enjoyable, the Franchise mode is Legend Bowl’s better spark.
The primary reasons are the thrills you have running through your veins of having many real-life responsibilities of a football coach, as well as surpassing tough obstacles to win the game’s biggest prize. And whenever you wish to check over your progression, you can head over to ‘Records’ in the main menu and see if you beat your personal best franchise, tournament, and single-game records.
Do you remember when I said that in the Legend Bowl, you can have it your way? Well, when you go to ‘teams’ in the main menu, you’ll realise that this is very true. Legend Bowl has an unbelievably large customisation that allows you to edit just about anything.
Put your creativity to good use with teams, team names, players, skills, uniforms, coaches, and plenty more. Heck, you can even change the name of your leagues. Moreover, if you’re a fan of the NFL and one of the franchises, you can edit the aforementioned to have the identical look of your favourite teams, players, and more.
Legend Bowl is the retro football game the old heads and new breeds deserve and I’m glad it finally made it to consoles. I had so much fun playing matches and tournaments, and the game’s customisation is truly amazing and one of the best I’ve used.
On top of that is the low price you’re required to pay for such a great quality video game. The only negative I can discuss is that it doesn’t have an online mode. It’s nice to play with friends, but what if you’re the only one to have this game? This is one reason why an online feature would’ve benefited greatly.
