Gridiron Fight

Tehkan Gridiron Fight is a two-dimensional top-down scrolling American football game in which the player(s) control the virtual player on their team who is closest to the ball, with the trackball determining the speed and direction at which the player runs. A single push-button labeled "Kick" causes the virtual player in possession to release the ball with the same force and direction in which he is currently running. (This button is duplicated on either side of the trackball for left or right-handed players.) The Player 1 (red trackball) side contained two additional push-buttons for choosing between Single or Two-Player games.

g. "Sweep" or "Draw". The formation selected is displayed on a seven-segment LED on the player's control panel.

Gridiron Fight was developed by Tehkan. The game was designed by Shinichiro Tomie, and programmed by Michihito Ishizuka, who was also responsible for sound design, having previously programmed the sound driver for Bomb Jack (1984). His wife Rie Ishizuka (also known as Rie Yatomi) was responsible for the background graphics, along with other female staff members. Michihito and Rie Ishizuka had previously worked together on Senjyo (1983) and Bomb Jack.

In Japan, Game Machine listed Gridiron Fight on their April 15, 1987 issue as being the second most-successful table arcade unit of the month.

Jay Carter of Cash Box magazine compared the game favorably to the classic Atari Football (1978), stating that Gridiron Fight updates its essential elements. He said it has "everything from full color screen action to glowing track-balls and a full selection of both offensive and defensive plays that should stir up some strong head-to-head competition when the school semester ends and the kids are looking for some rainy day challenges and excitement".

Tehkan World Cup (1985) was an association football video game (soccer game) released later the same year, featuring almost identical hardware. It employed the same twin trackballs with an action button duplicated on either side and a similar cocktail cabinet design with horizontal screen. The primary hardware difference was the absence of the seven segment LED adjacent to the action buttons. The software of the two games exhibited a similar top-down two-dimensional window-on-the-field graphical design.

Both games were developed by several of the same team members. Both were designed by Shinichiro Tomie, who was a big association football (soccer) fan. After designing Gridiron Fight, he immediately wanted to adapt the gameplay format of Gridiron Fight for a soccer game. Michihito Ishizuka reprised his role as the programmer, while his wife Rie Ishizuka worked on the character design and background graphics.