10-Yard Fight[a] is an American football video game that was developed and published in Japan by Irem for arcades in 1983. It was published overseas by Taito in the Americas, by Electrocoin in Europe, and by ADP Automaten GmbH in West Germany.[2]
| 10-Yard Fight | |
|---|---|
 North American arcade flyer | |
| Developer(s) | Irem |
| Publisher(s) | |
| Producer(s) | Gunpei Yokoi (NES) |
| Composer(s) | Ichiro Takagi |
| Platform(s) | |
| Release | |
| Genre(s) | Sports (American football) |
| Mode(s) | Single-player, multiplayer |
| Arcade system | Irem M-52 hardware |
Gameplay
edit
10-Yard Fight is viewed in a top-down perspective and is vertical scrolling. The player does not select plays for either offense or defense. On offense, the player simply receives the ball upon the snap and either attempts to run with the quarterback, toss the ball to a running back, or throw the ball to the long distance receiver, basically the option offense. On defense, the player picks one of two players to control, and the computer manipulates the others. The ball can also be punted or a field goal can be attempted.
The game has five levels of increasing difficulty: high school, college, professional, playoff, and Super Bowl. If the player wins both halves of an "accelerated real time" 30-minute half at an easier level, the player advances to the next level of difficulty, like a career mode.
A player scores 20,000 points for any kickoff that is returned for a touchdown.
Ports
editThe arcade game was later published to the Famicom by Irem first in Japan, and later in North America and Europe by Nintendo in 1985 and 1986 respectively for the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES). The arcade game was also ported to the MSX home computer by Irem, but exclusively in Japan.
While graphically similar, there are some fundamental differences between the arcade and NES versions of the game. The arcade version only seeks to simulate the offense, with the team attempting to score a touchdown, which ultimately leads the player to the next level. The NES version was developed to allow both defense and offense, as well as a simultaneous 2-player mode.
10-Yard Fight was, along with Kung Fu, one of only two NES launch titles not originally developed by Nintendo. Both games were developed initially for arcades by Irem. Although Nintendo developed the NES port of Kung Fu, Irem handled the system's port of 10-Yard Fight.[3][4]
The arcade version was released in May 2018 by Hamster Corporation as part of their Arcade Archives series.[5]
Reception
editIn Japan, Game Machine listed 10-Yard Fight on their January 1, 1984 issue as the top-grossing new table arcade cabinet of the month.[6] It later topped Japan's table arcade game chart in March 1984.[7]
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette called it the "patriarch of football games".[8] Adam Duerson of Sports Illustrated stated that while no one remembered it or could say what makes it great, it is worth recognition for the fact that it brought football games out of the Atari era, setting a simple precedent for future football games.[9] Adam Swiderski of UGO Networks called it "downright advanced" compared to earlier football titles. He added that while it looked neat and had a quality soundtrack, it didn't play like "real football".[10] N-Sider called it more like a racing game than a football game, due to the objective being to race for a first down to increase players' time.[11] Author Bj Klein, however, called it less realistic than Tecmo Bowl.[12] The Journal News called it an "immortal classic".[13]
See also
editNotes
editReferences
edit- ^ "10-Yard Fight (Registration Number PA0000201534)". United States Copyright Office. Retrieved May 30, 2021.
- ^ "Overseas Readers Column" (PDF). Game Machine (in Japanese). No. 230. Amusement Press, Inc. February 15, 1984. pp. 29–30.
- ^ "How NES launch negotiations, Tetris, and Lode Runner inspired boutique game publisher Tozai". www.polygon.com. February 4, 2019. Retrieved July 3, 2021.
- ^ "IGN: 10-Yard Fight". December 13, 2010. Archived from the original on December 13, 2010. Retrieved July 3, 2021.
- ^ Lane, Gavin (March 13, 2020). "Guide: Every Arcade Archives Game On Nintendo Switch, Plus Our Top Picks". Nintendo Life. Retrieved March 28, 2020.
- ^ "Game Machine's Best Hit Games 25 - テーブル型新製品 (New Videos-Table Type)" (PDF). Game Machine (in Japanese). No. 227. Amusement Press, Inc. January 1, 1984. p. 37.
- ^ "Best Hit Games 25" (PDF). Game Machine (in Japanese). No. 232. Amusement Press, Inc. March 15, 1984. p. 31.
- ^ "Post-Gazette.com". Docs.newsbank.com. November 19, 2002. Retrieved August 15, 2012.
- ^ "SI.com - Scorecard Daily - Adam Duerson: Madden '06 is best ever - Thursday August 11, 2005 3:03PM". Sportsillustrated.cnn.com. August 11, 2005. Archived from the original on November 3, 2012. Retrieved August 15, 2012.
- ^ "A Brief History of Football Games". UGO.com. September 5, 2007. Archived from the original on July 29, 2012. Retrieved August 15, 2012.
- ^ "10 Yard Fight". N-Sider.com. August 30, 1985. Archived from the original on October 2, 2012. Retrieved August 15, 2012.
- ^ Klein, B. J. College Weekend...a Strange, True Story - Bj Klein - Google Boeken. Lulu.com. ISBN 9780557676552. Retrieved August 15, 2012.[permanent dead link]
- ^ "Madden bigger, better than ever". Pqasb.pqarchiver.com. August 13, 2009. Archived from the original on November 4, 2012. Retrieved August 15, 2012.