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Ice Hockey

Moby ID: 7547
NES Specs
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Description official descriptions

Ice Hockey is an action game for one or two players. Start of by selecting a team and customizing your players. Each team member can be one of three player types: small and skinny (very fast, but not good at checking or shooting), very large (slow, but with a strong body check and outstanding shooting strength) or average (medium speed, with average checking and shooting strength). After the teams are set up, it's time to play some ice hockey! Gameplay features a scrolling screen to follow the action, and lets you choose which of the players you wish to control when on defense (on offense you always control the player with the puck). Fights can break out between players, and the loser may end up in the penalty box. There are five different speed settings for the game, and periods can be either 7, 10, or 15 minutes long.

Spellings

  • アイスホッケー - Japanese spelling

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Credits (NES version)

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Critics

Average score: 72% (based on 17 ratings)

Players

Average score: 3.4 out of 5 (based on 40 ratings with 1 reviews)

Ice Hockey is an excellent NES game for both one and two players.

The Good
Ice Hockey is an (obviously) ice hockey simulation. The game comes with a one- and two-player mode. It's a very fast-paced game, and is also limited to simple passing and shooting mechanics (not that this is a bad thing).

The simplicity of this game is one of its biggest draws to me. There are just six teams, which are all the same, only with different uniform colors. But, the team doesn't matter too much; what matters is your team formation.

You get four players on the court, not counting the goalie, and each belongs to one of three weight classes: skinny, average, or stocky (fat). Skinny players are very fast and do well in faceoffs, but are terrible shooters and get knocked over by bigger players easily. Stocky players are the exact opposite, and you can guess what Average players are like.

The whole weight-class-team-formation thing adds a strategic element to this game, as there are dozens of player combinations, adding to the game's replay value.

Like I said before, there's just 1P and 2P. Playing against the AI, which provides a sufficient challenge, is pretty fun, but the 2P mode is an absolute blast. Of all the simultaneous multiplayer the NES has to offer, this is some of the best of it.

The Bad
I said the game was fast-paced; when I first picked up Ice Hockey, I found the game to be a bit too fast sometimes. Once you get a hang of the easy controls and the player-switching mechanics (how to pick your player while on defense mid-game) however, playing the game is very easy.

Also, the graphics are a bit sub-par to some of the better NES games out there, but they don't look very bad. Although the character sprites blink during events such as puck battles, but thankfully not mid-game.

The sound is also limited to only two or three tunes, with one that plays constantly while in a game. However, this is a good, long song and it never gets annoying really.

The Bottom Line
Ice Hockey is a fun, fast-paced sports game that any NES owner could enjoy. The multiplayer is excellent, and the customizable team elements make this game unique and extend its replay value. This also coming from someone who barely plays sport sims, much less hockey ones.

Nonetheless, this is a game you can't miss.

NES · by gakon5 (2) · 2005

Trivia

Awards

  • Electronic Gaming Monthly
    • November 1997 (Issue 100) - ranked #94 (Best 100 Games of All Time)
  • Power Play
    • Issue 01/1989 - Best Nintendo Videogame in 1988

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Related Games

Champion Ice Hockey
Released 1985 on SG-1000, MSX
Actua Ice Hockey
Released 1998 on Windows, PlayStation
World Ice Hockey
Released 1991 on Game Boy
TV Sports: Hockey
Released 1991 on TurboGrafx-16
Slapshot Ice Hockey
Released 1995 on Dedicated handheld
Super Ice Hockey
Released 1994 on SNES
Mini Ice Hockey
Released 1996 on Windows
Superstar Ice Hockey
Released 1987 on DOS, 1988 on Atari ST, Amiga...
Great Ice Hockey
Released 1986 on SEGA Master System

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Contributors to this Entry

Game added by Servo.

Wii added by Corn Popper. Wii U added by Michael Cassidy. Nintendo Switch added by Kam1Kaz3NL77.

Additional contributors: Apogee IV, Alaka, gamewarrior, Patrick Bregger.

Game added October 20, 2002. Last modified September 26, 2024.