Frequently unasked questions regarding the most complex football game
ever created….
10 YARD FIGHT!!!
Date: 1/04/01
Created by: Melzo McPhun
(Note: If anyone in society actually reads this, please let me know at
phunruss@hotmail.com.)
Contents of this document…….
I. What is 10 Yard Fight?
II. What's the layout of the game?
III. How do I overcome the clever AI? Is it even possible?
IV. What's the best offensive strategy?
V. How can I play well on defense?
VI. Why bother with this crap?
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I. What is this game, exactly?
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Welcome to what's most likely the only FAQ for this game. Being that
it's so simple to play, I'm guessing it's a pretty comprehensive guide,
as well. Woo hoo.
Essentially, this is a game that humanity avoids. It's a football
game, in case nothing has tipped you off yet. No, it's not really
anything resembling fun, but it's a title some may remember from the
early days of the Nintendo Entertainment System.
Okay, I'm going to be completely honest here. There are two reasons I
bought this game. First and foremost, I'm a collector and I gotta have
em all. But did you know that cheap NES games make great projectiles to
chuck at unsuspecting pedestrians as you pass in a car? It's true.
Clean out your local Funcoland by purchasing every copy of the dollar-
and-under games you can get your hands on. These carts are surprisingly
durable. They still function normally after being subjected to flames,
microwaves, dogs, toilets, food processors, and freezers. We even ran
over a copy with a truck and it still works great.
So, what happened over the years? Similar experiments with an Area 51
CD ended in disaster and a hefty tab at Blockbuster. CDs are more
fragile, of course, but even Genesis games can't take a fraction of
this punishment. Here's another fun activity: place an NES/SNES cart on
a bare halogen lamp. Nice melting effect, eh? My copy of WWF Super
Wrestlemania has an odd crumpled look, but I can still play it whenever
I want to. Thank you for so many good times, Nintendo.
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II. How do I play this classic masterpiece?
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My advice would be: do not. If you absolutely must, however, there's a
rather simple control scheme that it won't take very long to get used
to…
Control Pad: Up moves you up, Down moves you down… get the idea? You
can also move diagonally, which is probably this game's highlight.
A Button: Pass, tackle, select your position on defense.
B Button: Kick ball, tackle, select position on defense.
Start Button: Make selections at menus, pause the game.
Select Button: Causes complete and utter destruction of the universe.
Don't worry about any snazzy button combinations or controller
motions; there aren't any. That's actually pretty cool if you think
about it. No load time, no playbook, no stats, no trading, no coaching
mode… just pop it in and play. Who said it had to be enjoyable?
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III. How can I stop the computer from kicking my ass?
********************************************
It's actually not too hard to win at 10 Yard Fight, so if you need to
look here, consider yourself in big trouble.
High School level: I'm pretty sure you could outrun the high school
team if you weighed eight hundred pounds, smoked three packs a day, and
had two broken legs. In other words, the hardest part is restraining
yourself from pulling the cord from the wall out of boredom.
College level: Aside from wearing loud yellow jerseys, the college
team is exactly the same as the previous match. To give yourself a
challenge, play upside down using only one hand. No, I've never
actually done this…
Professional level: Sure, there's no NFL license, but let's try to
guess where we are, anyway. Well, judging by the performance of the
opposing team, I'd say we were facing the Chicago Bears. Aside from a
slight speed increase, you won't find that the CPU is any smarter or
better in this match.
Playoff level: If you started from the beginning and made it this far,
you deserve recognition. I'm a seasoned Saturday detention veteran, and
I had big problems. The playoffs are slightly difficult in 10 Yard
Fight, but nothing a few simple offensive strategies (see below) can't
overcome.
Super Bowl level: Okay, I'm going to spoil the ending for you now. If
you win, it tells you to keep going to the Super Bowl. There. I ruined
any fun you might have had with this game. Are you pissed? Anyway,
please take notice of the pretty pink jerseys on the opposing team.
Don't they complement the turf nicely?
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IV. What are some offensive strategies?
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Okay, here are a couple of neat tricks to use when you're battling the
computer for glory. Keep in mind that if you somehow manage to find a
human partner to play this game with, none of this will really work on
them. Well, maybe… if they're catastrophically stupid.
Passing and Running: This is a bit hard to use consistently against
the higher-level opponents, but in the first couple of rounds you can
use it repeatedly for easy victories. When your teammate is open, snap
the ball and pass it to him right away. Most of the lemming-like
computer players will shamble towards the quarterback, allowing a safe
throw. If you wait long enough, you'll earn a double-digit yard gain.
Of course, somebody could intercept if you hesitate too long.
When you're running with the ball, jamming on the directional pad will
get you out of most encounters with the enemy. Zigzagging all over the
field is always a surefire way to throw off any would-be heroes.
Trigger your pursuer's tackle so he moves sideways, and head vertically
while he's sliding. You're a sneaky one, aren't you?
Eat Up the Clock: While it doesn't work here as well as it does in
some other games (Nintendo's sports titles almost always have a glitch
similar to this), it's sometimes possible to wait out the game on the
very bottom of the field without anyone coming after you.
How exactly does this work? It's incredibly simple, really. Wait until
you're about ten or twenty yards from a touchdown, then instead of
making the run for the points, turn around and head downfield. When the
screen stops scrolling, wait around a bit. If you're lucky, nobody from
the other side will follow to beat on you. They can and will, though,
but it's actually not too hard to lead your opponents from one end of
the field to the other. Make sure you don't score points for the other
team in the process. Since it's impossible to stand still on the turf,
this might be more trouble than it's worth. If you get tackled, it's a
long, long trip back to the line of scrimmage. Oh yeah, you need to be
leading the score for this to be advantageous.
Getting the Extra Point: Kicking after the touchdown is about as easy
as it gets in 10 Yard Fight. Move the arrow left just a bit so it's
between the goalposts, and… wow, how the hell are you supposed to miss
that?
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V. How can I play good defense?
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If you can believe it, defending is even simpler than running in this
game. Always pick the lineman with the wider coverage, since that's
usually where the computer heads (and you should, too). Head straight
for the quarterback and knock him flat. If he passes, which is a
rarity, your AI-impaired buddies are gonna have a tough time catching
up.
If you're really creaming the opposition and it's already fourth down,
they'll usually try for a field goal. There's really nothing you can do
about this, but there's no reason to bother anyway. Most of the time
the punt will fall far short of the goalposts, and the ball will be
yours again. On the higher levels, the CPU will be more agile and
better at avoiding you, but it's still not very difficult to win.
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VI. What's the point of this nonsense?
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Okay, there really is none, since the few hardy souls that would
actually have the patience to play through this game are those monks
that have given up speech and recreation altogether. If you can somehow
secure a human partner to play this game with, though, you might be
surprised. I actually had some fun.
Or, here's a neat idea. Offer copies of this game to random people in
a crowded public place, such as an airport. While this isn't likely to
rid you of the carts (people in large crowds are terribly mistrusting
of strangers), it can be a fun diversion while you're waiting for a
taxi or something.
10 Yard Fight is a copyrighted "product" of Irem Corp. and Nintendo of
America.
