is a

sports Sport is a physical activity or game, often competitive and organized, that maintains or improves physical ability and skills. Sport may provide enjoyment to participants and entertainment to spectators. The number of participants in ...

arcade game An arcade game or coin-op game is a coin-operated entertainment machine typically installed in public businesses such as restaurants, bars and amusement arcades. Most arcade games are presented as primarily game of skill, games of skill and in ...

released in 1990 by

SNK is a Japanese video gaming and interactive entertainment company. It was founded in 1978 as by Eikichi Kawasaki and began by developing arcade games. SNK is known for its Neo Geo arcade system on which the company established many franchises ...

for the

Neo Geo The , stylized as NEO•GEO, is a video game platform released in 1990 by Japanese game company SNK Corporation. It was initially released in two ROM cartridge-based formats: an arcade system board (Multi Video System; MVS) and a home video gam ...

console and arcade systems. The players controls characters with red and blue hair and can select balls from 8 to 15 pounds. It is the only

bowling Bowling is a Throwing sports#Target sports, target sport and recreational activity in which a player rolls a bowling ball, ball toward Bowling pin, pins (in pin bowling) or another target (in target bowling). Most references to ''bowling'' are ...

game released on the Neo Geo.

Modes

''League Bowling'' has three types of modes, played up to 4 players.''League Bowling'' user's manual (Neo Geo AES, US)

Regulation

Played just like a normal game of bowling, with 300 being a perfect score.

Flash

Values of 100 to 300 will flash on a randomizer during the time the bowler throws his shot. A strike adds the bonus flash value to the score accumulated at the end of the game. Below each strike value is a smaller point value, which is added to the score for a spare. Unlike regular bowling, bonus shots in the tenth frame are not awarded; once a strike or spare is thrown, the game ends. The maximum possible score is 3,000.

Strike 90

Played just like Regulation mode except that a strike scores 90 points for the frame, and a spare scores 60 for the frame, with no carry-over bonus. 30 points are awarded in the case of a field goal (throwing the ball in between the 7 and 10 pins). Like the Flash mode, there are no bonus shots in the tenth frame. The maximum possible score is 900.

Multi Link Play

In addition, it also has the option to link up to 4 Neo-Geo MVS machines to become the 8-player game. This is the only

game that features the 8-player support.

Reception

In Japan, ''Game Machine'' listed ''League Bowling'' on their February 1, 1991 issue as being the eighth most-popular arcade game at the time. Likewise, ''RePlay'' reported the game to be the twentieth most-popular arcade game at the time. The title was met with mixed to positive reviews from critics, many of which criticized its awkward controls for being passable but praised its humorous artstyle as well as the characters and their reactions. ''

AllGame RhythmOne , a subsidiary of Nexxen, is an American digital advertising technology company that owns and operates the web properties AllMusic, AllMovie, and SideReel. Blinkx was founded in 2004, went public on the Alternative Investment Market, ...

''s Kyle Knight praised the cartoon-style presentation, simple gameplay and multiplayer but criticized the audio and lack of replay value. ''Consoles Plus''s J.B. Aerstut also commended the visual presentation, comparing it with the works of ''

Tex Avery Frederick Bean "Tex" Avery (; February 26, 1908 – August 26, 1980) was an American animator, cartoonist, animation director, director, and voice actor. He was known for directing and producing animated cartoons during the golden age of America ...

'', audio and playability but felt mixed in regards to its longevity. ''

HobbyConsolas ''HobbyConsolas'' is a Spanish video game magazine founded in 1991 by Hobby Press and published by Axel Springer SE. The first issue appeared in October 1991. The monthly magazine offers information about games for all consoles, and since 2012 ha ...

'' Manuel del Campo gave positive remarks to the multiplayer, character animations, appropriate music, sound and playability but criticized one gameplay aspect. ''

Joystick A joystick, sometimes called a flight stick, is an input device consisting of a stick that pivots on a base and reports its angle or direction to the device it is controlling. Also known as the control column, it is the principal control devic ...

''s Jean-Marc Demoly and ''Player One''s Cyril Drevet commented positively in regards to the animated audiovisual presentation, realism and longevity. ''Joystick'' also regarded it as one of the best bowling simulators in the genre but was criticized for being repetitive and limited.

Ports

Tom Fulp Thomas Charles Fulp (born April 30, 1978) is an American programmer. He created the website Newgrounds and co-founded the video game company The Behemoth. Fulp has been credited with "changing the landscape of the Internet forever" by kickstart ...

, the founder and CEO of

Newgrounds Newgrounds is an American entertainment website founded by Tom Fulp in 1995 and owned by Newgrounds.com, Inc. The site hosts user-generated content such as games, films, audio, and artwork. Fulp produces in-house content at the headquarters and ...

, ported the game to Flash in 2002. The port features no ball selection, a regulation mode only, fewer animations, and the different player's sprites are the same. Later in 2010,

SNK Playmore is a Japanese video gaming and interactive entertainment company. It was founded in 1978 as by Eikichi Kawasaki and began by developing arcade games. SNK is known for its Neo Geo arcade system on which the company established many franchises ...

released the

NEOGEO Station NEOGEO Station was a brand by M2 for downloadable Neo Geo games that were previously available to be purchased from the PlayStation Store for Sony's PlayStation 3 (PS3), PlayStation Portable (PSP) and PlayStation Vita (PSV) video game console ...

, which includes the emulation of the game and other Neo Geo games for the

PlayStation 3 The PlayStation 3 (PS3) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Sony Computer Entertainment (SCE). It is the successor to the PlayStation 2, and both are part of the PlayStation brand of consoles. The PS3 was first released on ...

and the PSP. In July 2011,

Virtual Console The Virtual Console was a line of downloadable retro video games for Nintendo's Wii and Wii U home video game consoles and the Nintendo 3DS family of handheld systems. The Virtual Console lineup consisted of titles originally released on pa ...

version for the

Wii The Wii ( ) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Nintendo. It was released on November 19, 2006, in North America, and in December 2006 for most other regions of the world. It is Nintendo's fifth major home game console, f ...

was released in

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

Easter Egg

Nadia, from the anime '' Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water'', can be seen cheering in the background.

Amusements Arcade UK: Butlin's Minehead list

* ''

Butlins Butlin's is a chain of large Seaside resort, seaside resorts in the United Kingdom, incorporated as Butlins Skyline Limited. Butlin's was founded by Billy Butlin to provide affordable holidays for ordinary British families. Between 1936 and 1 ...

'' (1994–2001) (Neo Geo MVS: Neo-Fruito-MVS – 5 Slot: ''

Art of Fighting is a fighting game series originally released for the Neo Geo platform in the early 1990s. It is the second fighting game franchise created by SNK, following the ''Fatal Fury'' series, and is set in the same fictional universe. The original ' ...

'' (1992), ''

Samurai Shodown ''Samurai Shodown'', known in Japan as is a fighting game series by SNK. The series began in 1993 and is known for being one of the earliest in the genre with a primary focus on weapon-based combat. Plot The stories in the series take place i ...

'' (1993), '' Mutation Nation'' (1992), ''League Bowling'' (1990) and '' Super Sidekicks'' (1992))

Notes

References

External links

''League Bowling''
at

GameFAQs GameFAQs is a video gaming website that hosts guides and other resources, as well as an active Internet forum, message board forum. It was created in November 1995 by Jeff Veasey and has been owned by Fandom (website), Fandom, Inc. since October ...

''League Bowling''
at

Giant Bomb ''Giant Bomb'' is an American video game website and wiki that includes personality-driven gaming videos, commentary, news and reviews, created by former ''GameSpot'' editors Jeff Gerstmann and Ryan Davis. The website was voted by ''Time (maga ...

''League Bowling''
at

Killer List of Videogames Museum of the Game, which includes the Killer List of Videogames (KLOV), is a website featuring an online encyclopedia devoted to cataloging arcade games past and present. It is the video game department of the International Arcade Museum, and h ...

''League Bowling''
at

MobyGames MobyGames is a commercial website that catalogs information on video game A video game or computer game is an electronic game that involves interaction with a user interface or input device (such as a joystick, game controller, controlle ...

Play ''League Bowling'' online at Newgrounds

''League Bowling'' 8-player gameplay by Turfmasta on YouTube
{{DEFAULTSORT:League Bowling 1990 video games ACA Neo Geo games Arcade video games Bowling video games D4 Enterprise games Hamster Corporation games Multiplayer and single-player video games Neo Geo CD games Neo Geo games Nintendo Switch games PlayStation 4 games PlayStation Network games SNK games SNK Playmore games Video games developed in Japan Virtual Console games Xbox One games