Championship Bowling (NES review)

Developer: Athena
Publisher: Romstar
Released: 1989

Championship Bowling is a sports game that was later released on the Nintendo Famicom in 1991.

+ Supports four players (turn-based) and there's a ton of options to explore including different avatars, lanes and ball weights.

+ Action moves along at a brisk pace (allowing you to play a full game in minutes) and the bowling mechanics are intuitive.

+ Secondary lane view is handy for making micro-adjustments, particularly when attempting a 7-10 split-pin shot.

- Longevity when playing solo is debatable, as without a Tournament mode you're stuck with bowling single games only.

- Little difference between the five available lanes and the associated alley backdrops are almost identical.

- Spin control only takes effect once the ball reaches the pins, which severely limits where you can line up your bowler.

- While the music is good, there's no option to turn it off and the energetic tunes eventually start to irritate.