TSB 2027 BASE [STANDARD] — Update #5
Quick update on the NES build: it plays more like today’s NFL than ever, and the 1991 look is still there. The 2026 season is built in, and every change below has been played and checked.
The short version:
- All 32 teams, the 2026 rosters and the real 2026 schedule, 18 weeks with byes.
- A 14-team playoff with NFL seeding.
- Today’s overtime, the 2-point try and the NFL kickoff and punt rules.
- A new OPTIONS page: pick your own quarter length, from 3 to 15 minutes.
- Computer teams that play smarter football.
- New formations, with a fourth one for the teams that use two tight ends.
Football the way it’s played now
Both teams get the ball in overtime. You can go for two after a touchdown, or kick from the 15. Kickoffs have a real touchback choice, there are fair catches on punts, and you can call an onside kick with SELECT. Missed field goals are spotted seven yards back, never inside the 20. It all feels like a modern game while still being Tecmo Super Bowl.
Teams that play smarter
The computer coach now thinks about the situation. It goes for it on fourth down when the game calls for it, kicks field goals only when they’re in range, punts when it’s trailing late deep in its own end, hurries when it’s behind and runs the clock when it’s ahead. Quarterbacks throw to the first open man, scramble when the pocket breaks and throw it away instead of eating a sack. The result: games are tighter and less predictable.
Players matter more
Kick and punt returners now play like their own ratings, in played games and in simmed games. Passer ratings use Week One’s numbers, so a good quarterback looks like a good quarterback. There are fewer fumbles, and a runner tackled after scoring can’t fumble it away.
Options and extras
The new OPTIONS page sits on the main menu. It lets you choose the quarter length and it remembers your choice. You can skip the intro, and your play book stays set for the whole season.
The look
lpotter’s helmets are in for all 32 teams, large and mini. SheepdogXIX’s end zones carry each team’s art and colours. The goal posts are gold, the crowd wears the home club’s colour, and the champion screens show the right uniforms for the host and the road team.
What’s next
A second crowd colour and cheerleaders to match are being tried now. After that: more formations, blocking that changes with the defense, and a defense expansion with real depth and a return team.
This is built on bruddog’s disassembly of the 1991 game (with jstout), TSB Tool by BAD_AL, art by SheepdogXIX and lpotter, and a long list of work from the Tecmo community. Thank you all.