有人开发了一款仿佛90年代风格的宝可梦橄榄球游戏

A new craze in the football world is designing teams with Pokémon instead of players. We initially reported on the start of the viral sensation, which began when a fan designed an NFL team with 22 Pokémon in each starting position on the field.

However, the concept has gone far beyond that, and there are actual games you can play that turn it into reality. Several fans have designed their own versions of a Pokémon football game, but the best one we’ve seen looks like a retro ’90s game that lets you call plays, pick a roster of specific Pokémon, and even control your mons on the field.

There’s a new football game that lets you play as your favorite Pokémon

The game that seems to have taken off the most was developed by Twitter user @ColeThereum. The game can be played directly in your browser and has no requirements whatsoever, so you can hop in for free and immediately launch two different versions.

The first version is a Tecmo-style football game, called All-22 Bowl, where you see everything happen from a top-down sideline view. You control your whole roster of Pokémon, call each play on offense and defense, and can either choose to draft your team or pick one that’s been pre-selected. You’ll also pick your opponent from all eight Gym Leaders from the original Pokémon Red and Blue games. You can play in 32 stadiums, plus a full challenge mode where you face increasingly difficult opponents as you progress.

Perhaps the most impressive part of this version is the controls; from the kickoff to the individual plays, you fully control your Pokémon. The running and passing mechanics are seamless and never feel clunky.

The other version of the game is called All-22 Pro, and it’s meant to imitate traditional Madden gameplay. You play from an endzone perspective and choose from a wider variety of offensive and defensive plays. The best part is the Pokémon League mode, which lets you travel the Kanto map, battle Gym Leaders, earn badges, and face the Elite 4. You can even change your team throughout the journey, much like swapping out party members in Pokémon.

The depth of this game in its infancy is astounding, and who knows what the creator will come up with down the line. Even right now, there are hours of content available. Not to mention, the gameplay is fun and uncomplicated, making for an extremely pleasant experience.

Maybe we haven’t seen the end or even the peak of the Pokémon football phenomenon, but we’ve certainly gotten some fantastic creations from it.