Each year’s Madden NFL adds new layers of complexity to managing your ultimate team or nailing down the right playbook, but few sports games capture the excitement and action of arcade football like NFL Blitz. The Blitz franchise’s more recent entries might not have found eager audiences, but Arcade1Up recently brought the classic NFL Blitz games back in a big way with the NFL Blitz Legends arcade cabinet, a collection including NFL Blitz, NFL Blitz ‘99, and NFL Blitz 2000: Gold Edition.
Former Denver Broncos running back Terrell Davis joined Arcade1Up to help promote the new cabinet and spoke with us about what makes these Blitz games so appealing over two decades later, along with what it’s like stepping back onto the digital field.
“It takes me right back to 25 years when it first came out and just loving how different it was, Davis says. “It was football, but a little bit more animated, a little bit more exciting, with a little bit of trash talking. And it just had action, not like a regular football game where you have to wait. You can speed the game up and it’s just constant.”
Davis especially appreciates the throwbacks to football as it was during the height of his career, from fields that had actual dirt to the retro uniforms, and the rankings that captured an athlete’s performance at the time. Those rankings don’t always align with how players view themselves and their colleagues, though.
“I don’t agree with all the rankings,” Davis says. “Some of them could be higher, but it’s still fun to revisit those days.”
Davis’ favorite team is, naturally, the Broncos, and he says the Blitz version of himself is “pretty good.” More importantly for Davis, who suffered a serious knee injury in 1998, playing as the ‘90s version of himself offers a chance to recapture the feeling of being on the field again
“I think ‘If this could be true, if I can run like this in real life,’ and kind of live through this game,” he explains. “[Since] I don’t play anymore, that’s the only thing I have now – just playing through the game.”
While it may be a vicarious experience, Davis believes it’s still important and imparts a kind of joy only video games can provide. He feels strongly that playing something like NFL Blitz is more than just sitting or standing there with a joystick. It lets players live out their fantasies and feel like an NFL player themselves, even if they never step onto a real-life field.
Davis says the “fantasy” part is even more enjoyable since it lets you do things you could never get away with on an actual pitch.
“If you can’t run it, drag somebody 50 yards down the field – as you’re getting hit, the ball’s flying all over the place,” he laughs. “Some of those plays kind of push the envelope and [are what] make this game so unique and fun.”
And, of course, there’s the added benefit of Davis literally seeing himself in the game.
“That’s been one of the coolest parts,” Davis says. “I remember just seeing myself [for the first time] in an NCAA college game. It didn’t have my name. It just had a number, number 33 And I was like, ‘Wow this is pretty cool!’ And then when I got to the pros, the models improved, and you actually see your image in a game. That’s one of the coolest things ever.”
Davis believes lower barriers of entry make football games such as NFL Blitz welcoming to more people as well. Instead of having multiple tasks and players to keep up with, formations to plan, and some of the other complications in more involved NFL games, you can just jump in and go.
This greater accessibility made it easier for Davis to teach his own son how to play Blitz, and he hopes it inspires others as well.
“If people are playing this game, they’re becoming football fans, even if they’ve never played before or even like football,” he explains. “A lot of times, that’s how you start in sports, so I’m glad to be a vehicle for that here.”
Written by Josh Broadwell on behalf of GLHF
