Ultimate NES Bracket
Inspiration for story ideas is drawn from unusual places. While I won’t call myself a writer by any stretch (blogger probably a reach as well) I was hit by a creative bolt of lightning while watching the FIFA Interactive World Championships last week.
My first thought was “holy shit, when did video games get so damn complicated and intricate?” I know this makes me sound like an old man since I played plenty of PS2 in my college days but that truly feels like an eternity ago especially when all your friends are getting married and popping out kids. Let’s be real; you’re still looking at a guy whose most cherished video game possession is a $20 Sega Genesis Plug and Play that allows me to stay crisp in NHL 95 (For the record anyone out there that would like to challenge me on that platform just let me know) just in case my prowess ever gets questioned. Yet, I digress from my main focus here…
The goal? Determine the undisputed single greatest sports game ever made on the original Nintendo Entertainment System
My plan was to hearken back to a simpler time; one where 8 bit video games were the norm and we all lived in neighborhoods with front doors permanently unlocked. To spare you the nostalgia, Ferne Dr in suburban Wheeling was a hot bed for video game activity…almost like a silicon valley for Nintendo. The amount of anger, animosity, and pressure felt in those basements playing Little League Baseball and Tecmo Bowl rivals the intensity you’ll see on the biggest of sports stages. Broken controllers, battered fingers, and the occasional black eye were par for the course if you sought video game glory.
Thanks to some pretty passionate please from the twitter community I’ve narrowed down all user submissions to the eight games mentioned most frequently that qualify as sports. Sorry Duck Hunt and Paperboy players, those weren’t considered among this list of heavyweights.
Once I had those eight games finalized seeding became the real chore. After consulting trusted advisors here’s the way we elected to seed the field from 1 to 8.
However it’s not my place to decide the eventual champion so that’s where you, the twitter community, comes in to crown the single best sports video game ever created on old school Nintendo. I’ll be tweeting out the quarterfinal match-ups over the next few days to set-up our dream semi-finals on Monday before unveiling the title combatants next week. Without further adieu here’s how the bracket looks:
- Tecmo Bowl vs 8. Excitebike
The ultimate NINTENDO sports bracket is live! Here's the first H2H match-up open for voting https://t.co/IXS1mUT8Uw
— Todd Fuhrman (@ToddFuhrman) March 30, 2016
2) Mike Tyson’s Punchout vs 7) Original Ice Hockey
GET UP AND VOTE! 2nd match-up is live in quest to crown best Nintendo Sports game ever https://t.co/IXS1mUT8Uw
— Todd Fuhrman (@ToddFuhrman) March 31, 2016
3) Baseball Stars vs 6) Little League Baseball
4) RBI Baseball vs 5) Blades of Steel
