Man, John Madden Football – Pro Football on the Genesis is pure nostalgia. You boot it up and immediately hear that classic EA Sports jingle—you know the one. The graphics are obviously dated now, but back then, those chunky player sprites and smooth animations felt like the future.

First thing you notice? The playbook. It’s simple compared to today’s games, but there’s something satisfying about picking a basic I-formation or shotgun and just seeing if you can bulldoze your way downfield. The controls take a second to get used to—button-mashing for tackles feels weird at first, but once you get the timing down, laying out a receiver mid-catch is stupidly satisfying.

And yeah, the commentary’s repetitive (it’s basically just Madden yelling "BOOM!" every tackle), but that’s part of the charm. This was the game that made football fun on consoles, before everything got hyper-realistic. Still holds up if you’re into retro sports titles.