American Pro Football

From Sega Retro

n/a

  • PAL
  • NTSC-U

AmericanProFootball title.png

WalterPaytonFootball title.png

American Pro Football
System(s): Sega Master System
Publisher: Sega of America (US), Sega Enterprises, Ltd. (EU)
Developer:
Distributor:
Sega Master System
Tonka (US)
Genre: Sports[2] (American football)

















Number of players: 1-2
Release Date RRP Code
Sega Master System
US
$51.9951.99[4] 7020
Sega Master System
EU
7020
Sega Master System
UK
£24.9924.99[6] 7020
Sega Master System
AU

American Pro Football, known in the United States as Walter Payton Football, is a Sega Master System football game developed by Sega R&D 2 published by Sega. First released in the United States in September 1989, it is one of the first instances of Sega of America promoting their sports titles with direct celebrity endorsement.

Gameplay

The game is an American football game played from a top-down perspective on a vertically oriented field. It can be played by one or two players. Games consist of four quarters that are 5 or 15 minutes long. The team on offense has four downs to try to advance the ball ten yards in order to receive a new set of downs or to score by bringing the ball to the opposing team's end zone.

Walter Payton Football SMS, Coin Toss.png

Coin Toss
At the beginning of the game, the two teams meet in the middle of the field for the coin toss. Player one is always heads and player two (or the computer) is always tails. The winner of the coin toss can choose to receive (and start the game on offense) or kick (and start the game on defense).

Walter Payton Football SMS, Kick-Off.png

Kick-Off
A kick-off is done at the beginning of the game, on every new set of downs, and after a conversion play. Before the kick, the game shows the wind speed and direction and the distance to the goal. Pressing Left or Right chooses the kicking stance (sliced ball to curve to the right, straight ball, or hooked ball to curve to the left), and pressing 1 or 2 starts the kick. There are two gauges, one for power and one for spin, with the optimal ranges colored in red, and a marker passes over both. When the marker passes from left to right, the player can press 1 or 2 to stop it and determine the power level. Stopping the marker higher causes the player to kick the ball harder. The marker then passes from right to left, and the player can press 1 or 2 to stop it again and determine the spin.

Walter Payton Football SMS, Playbook.png

Huddle
On each down, each team gathers in a huddle and has 30 seconds to choose a play (or a play is chosen automatically). Plays are chosen using the D-Pad and pressing 1 or 2 to confirm. Offensive plays are shown on the left side of the screen, and defensive plays are shown on the right side of the screen. The first option on either side is calling a time-out to stop the clock (which can be done three times per half by each team). The team on offense is indicated by a red triangle next to their name, and the screen also shows the current quarter, the time remaining in the quarter, the current down, the current yard, the yards to go, and the score.

There are 14 offensive plays, including Punt and Field Goal. The other offensive plays are shown four at a time, with Next showing the next page, Reverse flipping the play, and Course showing the paths that the ball can be passed on passing plays. There are 7 defensive plays.

Walter Payton Football SMS, Defense.png

Defense
On defense, the team tries to choose a play that counters the play that the player thinks the offensive team will choose and tries to prevent the opposing team from gaining yardage.

After choosing a play, the team member that is controlled by the player is surrounded by brackets and can run in any direction using the D-Pad. The other team members are controlled by the computer. Pressing 2 tries to tackle a member of the offensive team.

Walter Payton Football SMS, Offense.png

Walter Payton Football SMS, Field Goal 1.png

Walter Payton Football SMS, Field Goal 2.png

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  • Error creating thumbnail: /bin/bash: line 1: /usr/bin/convert: Permission denied Error code: 126
  • Error creating thumbnail: /bin/bash: line 1: /usr/bin/convert: Permission denied Error code: 126
Offense
On offense, the team chooses from three kinds of offensive plays (line, passing, and kicking) and tries to advance the ball toward the opposing team's end zone.

At the start of the play, pressing 1 or 2 hikes the ball to the quarterback. In passing plays, the player controls the quarterback and can pass the ball to a receiver. In running plays, the quarterback hands the ball to a running back, who is then controlled by the player. The team member that is controlled by the player is surrounded by brackets and can run in any direction using the D-Pad. The other team members are controlled by the computer. Pressing 1 passes the ball and pressing 2 dives. In passing plays, the D-Pad can be used to aim the pass toward a receiver. Failing to catch the ball is an incomplete pass, which results in losing the down and gaining no yards.

Punts and field goals are done in the same way as a kick-off. After a touchdown, the offensive team is automatically given the opportunity for a field goal to earn an extra point.

Modes

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Tournament tree

There are two game modes:

  • Monday Night Game: Plays a single game against any team. This mode can be played by one player against the computer or by two players against each other. When playing against a computer opponent, there are three difficulty options (Easy, Normal, and Hard), which affects the speed of defensive players. A 26-character password is given after every game for keeping track of the player's wins and losses for each team.
  • Road to Super Bowl: Plays a tournament of games culminating in the Super Bowl. This mode can only be played by one player, so it is not an option if the player chooses a two-player game.

In either mode, players can choose between Running Time (the clock only stops when a timeout is called) and Real Time (the clock stops at the same times as an NFL game, including during kick-offs, incomplete passes, or changes of possession) and quarter lengths of 5 or 15 minutes.

Teams

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Team selection

There are 28 teams, based on NFL teams. When selecting a team, pressing 2 cycles between the uniform colors and pressing 1 chooses the team.

Conference Division Team Based on
AFC East Buffalo Buffalo Bills
Indianapolis Indianapolis Colts
Miami Miami Dolphins
New England New England Patriots
New York New York Jets
Central Cincinnati Cincinnati Bengals
Cleveland Cleveland Browns
Houston Houston Oilers
Pittsburgh Pittsburgh Steelers
West Denver Denver Broncos
Kansas City Kansas City Chiefs
Los Angeles Los Angeles Raiders
San Diego San Diego Chargers
Seattle Seattle Seahawks
NFC East Dallas Dallas Cowboys
New York New York Giants
Philadelphia Philadelphia Eagles
Phoenix Phoenix Cardinals
Washington Washington Redskins
Central Chicago Chicago Bears
Detroit Detroit Lions
Green Bay Green Bay Packers
Minnesota Minnesota Vikings
Tampa Bay Tampa Bay Buccaneers
West Atlanta Atlanta Falcons
Los Angeles Los Angeles Rams
New Orleans New Orleans Saints
San Francisco San Francisco 49ers

Versions

Localised names

Also known as
Language Localised Name English Translation
English American Pro Football American Pro Football
English (US) Walter Payton Football Walter Payton Football

Production credits

Source:
Uncredited


Magazine articles

Main article: American Pro Football/Magazine articles.

Artwork

Physical scans

ExpandSega Retro Average 
Publication Score Source
{{{{{icon}}}|L}} Division by zero.
Based on
0 review
ExpandSega Retro Average 
Publication Version Score
ACE (UK)
92
[6]
Aktueller Software Markt (DE)
47
[9]
Complete Guide to Consoles (UK)
95
[10]
Complete Guide to Consoles (UK)
96
[11]
Complete Guide to Consoles (UK)
95
[12]
The Complete Guide to Sega (UK) PAL
95
[13]
Console XS (UK) PAL
82
[14]
Computer & Video Games (UK) PAL
92
[15]
Game Mania (UK)
95
[16]
Mean Machines (UK)
83
[17]
Mean Machines Sega (UK)
95
[18]
Power Play (DE)
73
[19]
S: The Sega Magazine (UK) PAL
79
[20]
Sega Power (UK) PAL
75
[21]
Sega Pro (UK) PAL
85
[22]
Sega Pro (UK) PAL
79
[23]
Sega Master System
85
Based on
16 reviews

American Pro Football

Master System, US
AmericanProFootball US cover.jpg
Cover
WalterPaytonFootball SMS US Cart.jpg
Cart
Wpfootball sms us manual.pdf
Manual
Master System, EU
AmericanProFootball EU cover.jpg
Cover
AmericanProFootball SMS EU Cart.jpg
Cart
Master System, EU (Sega®)
AmericanProFootball EU R cover.jpg
Cover
Master System, AU
AmericanProFootball SMS AU cover.jpg
Cover
AmericanProFootball SMS AU Cart.jpg
Cart

Technical information

ROM dump status

System Hash Size Build Date Source Comments
Sega Master System
 ?
Expand
256kB Cartridge (EU)
Sega Master System
 ?
Expand
256kB Cartridge (US)

References


CollapseAmerican Pro Football

AmericanProFootball title.png

Main page | Magazine articles | Reception


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