Upon its creation in 1988, John Madden Football has reigned supreme as the best and most popular American football video game ever made. However, it’s not the only game in town. Countless football game franchises have flourished in the wake of Madden‘s global popularity over the past three decades, many of which have been named after or endorsed by the NFL’s biggest star players.
Moreover, football video games have also branched away from the NFL to focus on the college ranks, the Arena League, urban street brawls, backyard football, and more.
Mutant League Football (1993)
Developed by EA Sports for the Sega Genesis, Mutant League Football‘s ingenious change of pace makes it an all-time great football video game. With gameplay controls very similar to Madden, the game function less as a football competition and more of a post-apocalyptic scrum.
Rather than NFL players, teams are comprised of aliens, robots, skeletons, trolls, and superhuman beings who engage in Mortal Kombat-style fisticuffs for ultimate supremacy.
NFL Fever 2002
Microsoft developed the short-lived NFL Fever series for the Xbox after the inaugural game (NFL Feveer 2000) was made for Windows. The best of the bunch remains NFL Fever 2002.
With Hall-of-Famer Peyton Manning on the cover, the single and multiplayer game provided a fun alternative to Madden when it was released in the fall of 2001. In addition to its 79 Metascore, the game earned high marks from Game Informer (8.25), GameZone (8.5), and OXM (9.1).
NFL Quarterback Club 99
Published by Acclaim Entertainment, NFL Quarterback Club was a series that ran from 1996 to 2002. The best iteration of the franchise belongs to NFL Quarterback Club 99.
Made for the Nintendo 64, the game allowed players to replay former Super Bowls, create new characters, teams, coaches, playbooks, uniforms, and even access players from NFL Europe. IGN rated the game 8.4/10, Game Informer gave it 8.25/10, and Consoles+ bestowed it with 85%.
NFL Gameday 98
Other than Madden, NFL GameDay was one of the most predominant football games on the planet. The series ran for a decade between 1995 and 2005, with the high-mark coming with its 1998 edition.
NFL GameDay 98 was published by Sony for sole use on its nascent Playstation platform. The game drew plaudits for its lifelike 3D engine, resulting in positive reviews from Next Generation (5/5 stars) EGM (9.25/10), IGN (8.8/10), and GameSpot (7.8/10).
Tecmo Super Bowl (1991)
While the 1987 release of Tecmo Bowl is largely responsible for laying the blueprint for football video games, its 1991 successor Tecmo Super Bowl took the format to exciting new heights.
Developed by Tecmo for the NES, the game improved on the arcade-style presentation with the inclusion of larger and customizable playbooks, fumbles, coin-flips, timeouts, player ratings, injuries, and much more. As a result, ESPN named Tecmo Super Bowl “the greatest sports video game of all time.”
NFL Street (2004)
Boasting an 81 Metascore, NFL Street bucked traditional rules and conventions of the National Football League in order to allow players to engage in brutal backyard gamesmanship.
Playable on PS2, GameCube, and Xbox, the EA Sports game featured the 2003 NFL roster and allowed users to play Quick Games, Pickup Games, NFL Challenges, and All NFL Pickup modes. One of the main objectives is to gain “style points,” which strengthen players to become unstoppable “Gamebreakers.”
NFL Blitz (1997)
Although the franchise devolved into mediocrity over the years, the original NFL Blitz still remains one of the all-time best non-Madden football games.
Developed and published by Midway Games for various platforms, NFL Blitz took an aggressive 7-on-7 gameplay approach in a rule-free, no-holds-barred presentation that allows players from the 1997 NFL season to fight without penalty. The N64 and PS versions drew universal acclaim, with high-marks coming from IGN (9.4/10) and GameFan (92%).
ESPN NFL 2K5
Published by Sega in 2004, ESPN NFL 2K5 drew ubiquitous acclaim to the tune of a 92 Metascore. Featuring such popular personalities from ESPN as Chris Berman, Trey Wingo, Mel Kiper, and Suzy Kolber, the game features single, multi, and online-player modes.
With gameplay quality compared to Madden 2005, the game also features a celebrity Pro Bowl showdown including Carmen Electra, David Arquette, Jamie Kennedy, Funkmaster Flex, and Stevo-O.
NCAA Football 2004
EA Sports’ NCAA Football series is the closest equivalent to Madden ever assembled. Essentially the collegiate counterpart, the series reached its absolute pinnacle with the 2004 edition.
With a 94 Metascore, NCAA Football 2004 also functioned as a Bio that was compatible with fellow EA releases such as Madden 2004 and NASCAR Thunder 2004. EA canceled the NCAA Football series in 2013 but recently announced the return of the beloved franchise for next-gen platforms coming as soon as 2022.
NFL 2K1
Published by Sega for Dreamcast in 2000, NFL 2K1 is deemed the best non-Madden football video game ever made. With a 97 Metascore, the game was lauded for its superb online and offline gameplay modes. As a result, it was listed as the 14th highest-rated video game of all time by Metacritic. NFL 2K1 was named “Best Dreamcast Game” by GameSpot.
The game was developed as an alternative to Madden when EA Sports declined to publish the game for Dreamcast. 2K1 was preceded by NFL 2K and succeeded by NFL 2K2 and NFL 2K3 before the franchise was rebranded as ESPN NFL Football in 2o03.
