1992 · Port · Bowling · Sports

Super Bowling

Nintendo exclusivePort

Super Bowling is a third-person bowling game. Players may bowl in several different environments, which range from ice ponds to neon-lit Chinese temples. Players can face-off against characters in their home stages, much like a fighting game. If the player wins they can then play on these stages in other play modes.

Released: 3 July 1992
Platforms: Nintendo 64 SNES
Genres: Bowling Sports
Developers: —
Publishers: Athena
Modes: Multiplayer Single-player
Country: Japan
Age ratings: ESRB E

About

Super Bowling (スーパーボウリング) is a 1992 sports video game for the Super NES and the Nintendo 64. It was developed by KID and published by Athena, originally only for the SNES. It was later picked up by American Technōs and UFO Interactive and released for the N64 in 1999.

The Nintendo 64 version was a 3D remake of the SNES version. It became a rare collector's item, with complete copies now selling for upwards of US$1,000. The game released late in the N64's lifespan, and did not sell well, which has been attributed to its rarity.

Keywords

bowling
super-ness
nintendo 64 exclusive

Media

The articlegameplay, story, development, reception

Gameplay

Four computer opponents are available, two female and two male. There are three modes: Golf, Normal, and Practice where the player constructs their own scenarios and practices knocking down the bowling pins with either one or two balls.

Reception

Entertainment Weekly gave the game a B and wrote that "while it still doesn't rack up to the real thing, at least Super Bowl (for Super NES) has a sense of humor — an animated green chicken comments on the action, the on-screen players make funny faces when they throw gutter balls, and there's a 'golf ball' option that lets you alleviate bowling's inherent lack of excitement by assigning pars for different pin setups. Unlike The Blue Marlin or Side Pocket, Super Bowling offers at least one improvement over the real-life game: Scoring is completely automatic, meaning you don't need a degree in particle physics to tabulate two spares after a strike."