Completion time: 18:51

Coming into this, I was prepared to do playoffs + Super Bowl as the winning condition, however Madden NFL 2000 didn’t actually have a playoff mode. Because there are so many sports games, how samey they all are, and the lack on interest from all parties, I had adopted the “win one game” theme for the majority of sports game. In general, PSX Mania is an “any % any difficulty” project, and it’s primarily sports games that I will be flexing that rule, likely into each sports game.

Playing through a game of Madden NFL 2000, it was a lot of mixed emotions. I remember being crazy good at these games, but I forgot how to do so much on offense. I didn’t dislike my time with this one for the first time in a very long time, but even from this one game, I really do not wish to dedicate more time than needed with any sports game. Honestly, the way I see sports games as “any %” is basically winning a single game means I’ve seen all there is to see for that game. Genres like fighting games, you at least have a final boss, where the battle its self will be different due to said bosses powers and such. Platformers usually have evolving stages and bosses to tackle. RPG’s you are constantly strengthening up, visiting new places and fighting a myriad of adversaries. Sports games, you just play the same number of teams with slightly better or worse rosters, where the final “stage” is basically just another samey team.

Sorry, I went on a rant about sports games in general, but Madden NFL 2000 quickly made me realize that with so many games on the console in a plethora of genres, sports can easily be played in a “one and done” victory in exhibition mode, and the bulk of the experience was done there. Some may disagree with that assessment, but with all due respect, I’d love to get to the countless titles in the library that, although they maybe derivative of similar games within their genres, they have a lot more meat to their bones. I don’t think a majority of viewers will shed a tear if I streamlined sports games to a “one and done”, just so we could get through and see the games that matter (basically everything but sports games). And like I said, even though the stakes are different between an exhibition and game a championship game, the actual gameplay is basically the same..

Madden NFL 2000 was fine as a game. Everything about it was functional, and although I’ve lost my touch with it, I still have a soft spot in my heart for it. It’s probably my all-time favorite football title, not just for the sick opening. It did teach me to forego extended playthroughs on sports games in an enjoyable enough manner. I’d go out of my way to say that Madden NFL 2000 is actually worth playing if you’re a football fan, but if you’re not, hopefully this one game was enough to sate your curiosity for what it offers. Each sports game from here on in will likely be a short text review, with little to no frills to them. Sadly, we’ll have a couple hundred of these coming up along our journey, but hopefully we’ll get that one win in quick and move onto more important and more impactful games in the PS1 library.

Rating: 8

Twitch VOD: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/947723929

YouTube video: