Review: Arcade Archives 10-Yard Fight (Switch)

by Danny Bivens

The first American football experience on the Switch.

Japanese developed American football games are somewhat of a rarity. So are American football games on the Switch. It almost seems fitting that the first American football game to be released on Nintendo’s system wouldn’t be a title that many people are familiar with. Enter 10-Yard Fight, one of the latest entries into the Arcade Archives series from Hamster. If you’ve been pining for some pigskin action on your Switch, this is currently the only horse in the stable. It’s important to keep in mind, however, that this probably isn’t what you expect from a retro football game.

10-Yard Fight features a nine on nine version of pigskin compared to the eleven players you will typically find. You don’t play the traditional quarters found in the game either, but rather a first and second half against different levels of computer controlled defenses. The title limits gamers exclusively to the offensive side of the ball. Taking control of the quarterback, you can perform forward passes as well as laterals to the running backs that are flanking you on the left and right. Unlike most modern American football games, you can’t choose your offensive plays. Your ability to read the defense and take advantage of mismatches will greatly help you drive the ball down the field. Lateraling to your running backs, running the ball or passing to your one and only receiver are your methods of offensive attack. In another quirk to make sure that the ball stays with the offense, having a pass intercepted by the defense results in a 20 yard loss. Well, I guess that’s better than an automatic game over.

The game starts off by having you play at the high school level, moving up to college, professional, playoff and eventually the Super Bowl. Points aren’t awarded in the typical fashion either, as the score of the game is a non-factor. In 10-Yard Fight, you get points (for high score purposes) for completing passes, running long distances and getting first downs. If you’re able to score a touchdown, you get a decent chunk of points, have a chance at an extra point or conversion and, more importantly, are allowed to move on to the next level of challenge. The game is basically a race against time and you will need to convert first downs and/or make huge plays to ensure you can keep on playing.

The visuals here are colorful and realistic for a game that was originally released in 1983. The compressed sound effects are, again, decent, especially considering how long ago this title was released. It’s not all a positive trip down memory lane here, though. The movement speed of 10-Yard Fight is painfully slow. Sometimes after running for what seems like ages, you look up to the first down marker only to find that you ran for about six yards. The difficulty curve when starting out is incredibly steep, but if you keep with it, there is definitely some fun to be had here.

Similar to other games in the Arcade Archives series, the basic modes of the games are available as are the High Score Mode (which doesn’t allow you to suspend or pause the game) and the Caravan Mode - the mode that gives players five minutes to get as many points as they can (without pausing or suspending play here, too). Online rankings are also available for each of these modes. There is even some multiplayer on offer here, which I unfortunately didn’t get to try out.

I ended up having a lot more fun with 10-Yard Fight than I thought I would. The gameplay takes some getting used to, but if you’re willing to put the time in, you can be competing with the high scores of dozens of players from all over the world. Even with that said, the slow pace of the ball carrier is sure to frustrate many and the initial learning curve is sure to turn many people off. There’s a good game buried here, but you have to be willing to sink the time in to get some fun out of 10-Yard Fight.

Final Score: 6.0

You can check out the video review below!