Developer: Athena Publisher: UFO
Released: January 15, 2001 Rated: E 5/10
Usually with these profiles, resale value and rarity are things explicitly not worth focusing on, in the context of this website. The accessibility of these games through emulation or flash carts means that price point is not an inhibitor to anybody playing a game if they really want to. But in the case of the small handful of true collecting “grails” for the system, it would be ignorant not to mention. Furthermore, a game like Super Bowling, which has in most contexts only become known for its collectibility, it’s going to be important to talk about that and think about how we view a game that most have probably never heard of, let alone seen in person.
Made even more strange by the fact that for a console with so few games, three of them are bowling games, Super Bowling defies its generic name, a common thread throughout developer Athena’s previous bowling titles, and manages to be easily the most enjoyable of those three. While bowling games are by their nature repetitive, and save for the deeply satisfying touch of Wii Sports, not all that interesting, Super Bowling adds in flavor and flair where it can, even though it fails to shake the stigma of a budget title. A cast of characters with at least some variation in stats and personality, along with a mix of visually distinct venues to bowl in make this easily the most pleasant of the genre visually. And though content is still limited, the way Super Bowling offers some level of progression and some varied game modes like golf and challenge mode scores some points as well.
Of course, it’s most important that Super Bowling deliver something in the way of good gameplay, in spite of what little refinement can really be offered. That there’s both an easy to understand method for your individual roll — choose your address, spin, power, and angle, then time your release right to make sure you achieve the desired result — and a clear learning curve, with variation enough between characters to keep thing interesting as you challenge them, Mario Golf style, in an effort to unlock the full cast.
It’s tough to find much to talk about with Super Bowling, that’s for sure, but you’d be hard-pressed to say that it’s not amusing. “Inoffensive” sounds like a backhanded compliment, I’m aware, but considering how many games on the N64 can’t even reach that level of quality, Super Bowling should be happy to be there. Budget graphics, budget music, budget presentation, but it would have been okay for a weekend rental back in the day. Only the craziest collectors should bother paying up for the plastic, but don’t hesitate to try a few frames if it doesn’t cost anything.
Continuing Legacy
Developer Athena would go on to make a few more of their adventure, gambling, and mahjong titles in the sixth generation before petering out over the next few years. North American publisher UFO Interactive, on the other hand, has had a long and eclectic run of games that mostly ramped up at the start of the seventh generation. Producing both shovelware titles like Sudoku Mania, Balloon Pop, and Anubis II, as well as hardcore fare like the Raiden series and Way of the Samurai 3, it can be hard to get a bead on UFO, but their under-the-radar status has meant that the low print runs that made Super Bowling such a rarity have often continued in recent years — ask any Wii or DS collector about the Chuck E. Cheese games a few years ago.
Additional Information
Saves: Controller Pak
Compatible With: Rumble Pak
Players: 1-4
Print Guides: None
Aggregate Critical Reception (GameRankings): 69.00%, based on 2 reviews
Other Releases: JP, March 26, 1999
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