NFL Blitz is a sports video game series that first released in 1997  on Dreamcast, Playstation, PC, Nintendo 64, Gameboy Color (Really), and Arcades. Published and developed by Midway, Blitz is football without the rules or realism. Late hits, pass interference, throwing a football on fire — it’s all there. If you’ve ever played NBA Jam, Blitz is the football version of that, basically.

I have fond memories of playing this game with my brothers on N64. I’m not much of a sports person, but I remember being really addicted to playing against the computer and my family. The sheer chaos of its gameplay made it like anything could happen on every play (interception, touchdowns, etc.)

I can’t mention this game without mentioning the music. While the main menu theme is probably what people remember the most, I’m also fond of the song that plays during the first quarter.

The Blitz series would go on for several more titles before Midway lost the license in 2005. They went on to make Blitz the League, a NFL-less football game that was a lot more violent and gritty. Personally, I never cared for it and much preferred the cartoonish gameplay/aesthetic of the older titles.

Midway declared bankruptcy in 2009, leaving this franchise in limbo until EA acquired the license and released the downloadable NFL Blitz in 2012. I’ve never played it, so I’m not sure what it’s like. I do know that they took late hits out, though. Even though that might’ve been the right call, jumping on a guy after the play was over was one of my favorite parts about the older games.

Being an older, license series, the games have never been ported over to modern hardware, which is a shame. It provided a nice alternative to games like Madden and made someone who doesn’t care about Football like me to enjoy it.

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