Madden '92 Flashback

by VG Staff Writer Kobra

When you think of classic Madden, Madden 92 (actually called John Madden Football 92) on the old Sega is usually the one that pops up in most minds. With the weird funky electronic music kicking in during the intro screen you can’t help but feel like a kid again. The game play isn't much different from the very first Madden on the Apple that was put out in 1990, but the number of options in game had grown with this version. You could select from all 28 professional teams (plus an All-Madden team) and a ton of plays that were not in the first game.

Instant replays were added so you could look at how the play was run. I know from my personal standpoint, I used it a lot. Four weather conditions were added such as snow and rain, which actually affected the game play. You could play head-to-head or with a teammate against the CPU. I hated it when my friend took control of a receiver and missed the pass because he lacked stick control, lol. Players could be injured. When a player is injured, an ambulance came speeding out onto the field, running over several other players in the process!

Substitutions were a big part of the game. I remember putting DBs on the defensive line to get pressure on the QB. My buddies used to hate that type of game play, but hey it worked. Other nice features that were included in Madden 92 were tipped-passes, unsportsmanlike conduct calls for late hits, a larger variety of audibles, and the ability to review and overturn pass interference calls. Play modes included Pre-Season, Regular Season, Playoffs and Sudden Death.

The impressive 80-page(!) manual that came with the game contained not only complete instructions for play, but also descriptions of all the formations and pages of team statistics! Back then you received a print out of all the plays. I used to get mine laminated at Kinko’s as soon as I got the game. It cost me some money, but it was nice to have them next to me to study any time I wanted to (to do this for Madden 2006, check out the Virtual Playbook at Maddentips.com).

The game had a wicked sense of humor that made it an instant classic. The only other game I played as much as Madden 92 was Super Tecmo Bowl on the NES. As soon as I got Madden 92, my friends and I stopped playing Tecmo Bowl and moved on to Madden. Since then we have never looked back.