Original Release: EA, 1993, Genesis / SNES
The 1994 Madden entry was the first to add NFL teams to the mix and a season mode, but still didn’t have a player license at this point.
Madden ’94 (Genesis, EA, 1993)
Where to Buy: Amazon
How to Emulate: coming soon!
Review by: C. M0use
At the outset of Madden ’94 you are greeted by a rather creepy full-body digitized Madden doing the robot. His voice work, however, seems to have been reduced to a phlegmatic “boom” or “pow” here and there. Not only is the voice clip quality reduced but he just seems to have less to say in general.
This was the first of the series with an NFL license and a season mode, but there’s still no NFLPA license, so we are still rocking jersey numbers that just happen to coincide with NFL rosters of the time.
The team roster here expands on the great historic teams – there’s at least one, and usually two for each franchise (none for Tampa Bay though, lols.) The All-Time Teams for each franchise also return along with their special playoff mode. Finally having a season mode is nice, but don’t expect anything beyond the absolute basics – no stat tracking and no Super Bowl celebration for you when you win it all.
The player sprites are bigger in this one, but have taken a turn for the ugly. You do get faster player movement and in-out of personnel to respond to the big problems of sluggish movement and lethargic pacing with the first three games, but the janky passing windows are still present here, and interceptions and pass interference are still way too easy to get away with. This is compounded by the fact that receivers still can’t handle any route that doesn’t involve running in a straight line.
Videos