The word Madden is pretty much synonymous with football in video games these days. While there are several titles on the market letting you simulate the iconic sport, the Madden series looms largest. With a history of annual releases stretching back to the earliest days of the video game industry, Madden gives players of all ages and console generations a chance to hit the field themselves. Nowadays, the Madden franchise has received criticism for releasing newer entries like Madden NFL 19, which don’t iterate on the formula and don’t introduce improvements for new consoles. Fans complain that they’re essentially buying the same game again and again every year. This was not the case back in 1994, however. The release of Madden NFL 95 was a big moment for the series.
Madden NFL 95 Premise
The premise of Madden NFL 95 is essentially the same as any other Madden game. The game effectively simulates a football match, which you can play through using real-life teams, all designed using real-life stats from real games. Over the course of the game, you can simulate an entire NFL season, as well as events like the Super Bowl. You can manage your team, execute plays, and even contend with injuries for an added level of immersion. The game launched on SNES, Game Boy, and Genesis, with a Game Gear port following a year later. This of course prevents it from being quite as immersive and realistic as modern iterations in the franchise, but the nostalgic factor is still there.
Madden NFL 95 is also a historically significant entry in the franchise. This game was the first in the series to carry the NFLPA license. This allowed it to list football players by name, instead of just number. This game was also the first one in the series to depict black players with the proper skin tone. This little bit of inclusivity might seem trivial nowadays, and certainly, it would be expected of any respectable modern game. Back then, though, it was a pretty big step.
Madden NFL 95 Main Characters
This is not a story-focused game at all. Madden NFL 95 is simply a football simulator, and nothing more. Aside from the titular John Madden, there really aren’t any characters to speak of. And even Madden is less of a character than he is a famous football commentator who adds his unique flair to every game. Instead of characters, the focus of Madden NFL 95 is on the players themselves, and the in-depth stats used to determine their effectiveness on the field. To that end, here’s a full list of the teams available in Madden NFL 95.
- Arizona Cardinals
- Atlanta Falcons
- Buffalo Bills
- Chicago Bears
- Cincinnati Bengals
- Cleveland Browns
- Dallas Cowboys
- Denver Broncos
- Detroit Lions
- Green Bay Packers
- Houston Oilers
- Indianapolis Colts
- Kansas City Chiefs
- Los Angeles Raiders
- Los Angeles Rams
- Miami Dolphins
- Minnesota Vikings
- New England Patriots
- New Orleans Saints
- New York Giants
- New York Jets
- Philadelphia Eagles
- Pittsburgh Steelers
- San Diego Chargers
- San Francisco 49ers
- Seattle Seahawks
- Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Washington Redskins
- All Madden Team
Madden NFL 95 Titles In The Series
Madden NFL 95 is a truly titanic franchise. The series has almost four decades of continuous annual releases under its belt, forming a massive list of entries. Luckily, as has been previously mentioned, there’s no storyline in the Madden franchise. Since each game is just a straightforward football simulator, there’s no real reason to play them in any sort of order. And given the aforementioned criticisms about the recent games introducing minimal changes, you might want to actively avoid buying every game, since you might end up wasting your money on versions without enough differences to justify the cost. With that in mind, here is a full list of every Madden game to date.
- John Madden Football (1988)
- John Madden Football (1990)
- John Madden Football II (1991)
- John Madden Football 92 (1991)
- John Madden Football 93 (1992)
- John Madden Duo CD Football (1993)
- Madden NFL 94 (1993)
- John Madden Football (1994)
- Madden NFL 95 (1994)
- Madden NFL 96 (1995)
- Madden NFL 97 (1996)
- Madden NFL 98 (1997)
- Madden Football 64 (1997)
- Madden NFL 99 (1998)
- Madden NFL 2000 (1999)
- Madden NFL 2001 (2000)
- Madden NFL 2002 (2001)
- Madden NFL 2003 (2002)
- Madden NFL 2004 (2003)
- Madden NFL 2005 (2004)
- Madden NFL 06 (2005)
- EA Sports Madden NFL Football (2005)
- Madden NFL 07 (2006)
- EA Sports Madden NFL Football: Season 2 (2006)
- Madden NFL 08 (2007)
- Madden NFL 09 (2008)
- Madden NFL 10 (2009)
- Madden NFL 11 (2010)
- Madden NFL Football (2011)
- Madden NFL 12 (2011)
- Madden NFL 13 (2012)
- Madden NFL 25 (2013)
- Madden NFL 15 (2014)
- Madden NFL Mobile (2014)
- Madden NFL 16 (2015)
- Madden NFL 17 (2016)
- Madden NFL 18 (2017)
- Madden NFL 19 (2018)
- Madden NFL 20 (2019)
- Madden NFL 21 (2020)
- Madden NFL 22 (2021)
- Madden NFL 23 (2022)
- Madden NFL 24 (2023)
Madden NFL 95 Cheat Codes
Modern Madden games have a heavy emphasis on online play, which generally prevents them from hosting any cheats or cheat codes. Madden NFL 95 has no such restrictions, and as such it has a few handy codes you can input to shake things up if you get bored. Of course, the codes will be different depending on what version of the game you’re playing. Here is a list of codes for the Super Nintendo, courtesy of GameFAQs, and codes from IGN for the Genesis version as well.
Super Nintendo Cheat Codes
- One Minute Game: Press A, C, C, B, B in the Setup menu.
- Play as the Jaguars: Press L, R, L, R, A in the Setup menu.
- Play as the Panthers: Press L, R, L, R, Y in the Setup menu.
- Fast Blitz: Press Left, Right, Left, Right, and Y in the Setup menu.
- Play with the 69 Bears and Little Walter: Press Y, Y, X, Y at Team Select.
Genesis Cheat Codes
- Keep the Ball: When you kick the ball off, wait for the kicking meter to appear, then hold the D-pad right, and press and hold C. This should cause your opponent to either fumble or completely miss the ball when you kick it.
- Unlock new teams: At the game setup screen, press B, A, C, A, C. The Jaguars and Panthers should both be unlocked for play.
- One minute game: At the setup screen, press B, B, C, C, A, A, B, B.
- One minute quarters: At the setup screen, press Left, Right, Left, Right, Y.
- Turbo coin toss: Press A, C, C, B, B at the first options screen.
Madden NFL 95 Cheat Codes FAQ
Who was on the cover of Madden NFL 95? The question of which athlete or athletes appear on the cover of any given Madden game is always an interesting one. This is in part because of the urban legend of the “Madden curse.” It’s claimed that football stars who appear on the cover of Madden games will go on to have horrible years in the games following their appearance in the game. While it’s debatable if this is a real phenomenon or just superstition, the Madden curse didn’t really apply until around 1998. Prior to that, Madden games, like Madden NFL 95, primarily featured the man himself on the cover. While Erik Williams and Karl Wilson, of the Dallas Cowboys and San Francisco 49ers respectively, also appear mid-match, the focus is undoubtedly on Madden himself, who was not a player at all.
Why is it called Madden NFL? The title figure’s status as a commentator and a coach, instead of a player, may make one wonder why the franchise was named after him. Even in 1988, when the first entry came out, Madden was making a massive impact on the football community, and on the nature of the game itself. His ability to analyze and provide insights into complex football strategies makes him a beloved icon of the sport, and well worth naming such a massive franchise after.