Play Mode
There are three basic play modes: 1 Game, Season, and Playoffs.
1 Game mode offers a choice between playing with the Original Rosters or the Revised Rosters. Season mode allows you to continue a saved season or begin a new one. Playoff mode offers a choice between single elimination and best of seven series, and it allows you to continue a saved playoff series.
The Play mode line also accesses the Create Player, Trade Player, Release Player, and Sign Free Agent screens.
Team Selection
There are two team lines: Player 1 and Player 2 in Season and Playoff modes, and Home Team and Away Team in 1 Game and the three roster revision modes.
In Season and Playoff modes, Player 1 determines which team they control, and the schedule determines Player 2's team. In other modes, Controller 1 controls the Home Team and Controller 2 controls the Away Team.
Players
In Season and Playoff modes, where Player 1 selects their Team, the schedule determines who's home and who's away for each game. The following Player options are available:
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Two Player Head-to-Head
In other modes, you can choose which player(s) is home or away:
In Two Head-to-Head mode, Controller 1 operates the Home team.
Period Length
Make sure you set the period length before you begin. The seconds tick off in double time. Once you start the game, you can't change the period length.
Penalties
You can have penalties On, Off, or On Except Offsides.
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When penalties are On, the referees call them as they see them.
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When penalties are Off, anything goes.
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When Penalties are On Except Offsides, you don't have to worry about when you skate or pass the puck across the blue line.
Line Changes
When Line Changes are On, you're responsible for assessing the strength of your lines and inserting them at strategic moments during the game.
When Lines Changes are Auto(matic), the computer substitutes lines for you, keeping the freshest line, but not necessarily the best players, on the ice.
When Line Changes are Off, your first line (Scoring Line 1) remains on the ice for the whole game, except during power play and short-handed situations.
Difficulty
There are three distinct difficulty levels: Rookie, Veteran, and All Star. We recommend that you play Rookie level until you get the hang of the game.
If you get so good that even All Star level seems easy, you can always play with one of the weakest teams against one of the strongest teams.
Scoreboard Options
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Use the up/down directional arrows to move the white highlight up and down the menu.
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Press X to select the highlighted item.
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To exit the menu, press START.
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To start the game, press START again.
Line Editor
The default lines of each team reflect those of the actual 1995-96 NHL teams. The Line Editor enables you to make changes to those lines.
The name of the line appears in the lower left corner of the screen, and the players in that line appear in the window above. The player names are arranged in a diamond.
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The player at the top is the Center.
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The two players beneath him are the Wingmen, left and right respectively.
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The two players beneath those are the Defenseman.
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The player at the bottom is the Goalie.
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To cycle through the lines, press the () or [] buttons. You can also use the finger buttons.
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To highlight a player for substitution, press the up/down directional arrows.
Each time you highlight a player, the list on the right changes to present all the players available at the highlighted player's position. A 'O' next to a player's name indicates that that player is already "On the Ice."
To substitute the highlighted player:
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Use the up/down directional arrows to highlight the player you want to take their place.
The abilities of the selected player, and the overall performance level of the selected line, appear in their appropriate positions on the screen.
Game Options
The Game Options screen enables you to change some of the settings available on the Main menu, as well as to make additional choices.
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To highlight a setting, press the up/down directional arrows.
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To change the highlighted setting, press left/right and the directional arrows.
You can access the Game Options at any time during the game. The options explained below are only those not already found on the Main menu.
Auto Goalie
The computer controls the goalie. No manual override control.
Manual Goalie
You can override computer control on any shot on goal.
Cameras
Select which camera you wish to use throughout the game.
Quick Cam
With Quick Cam On, you can change views with the SELECT button during game play.
Sound Off
No on-ice or menu sounds.
Sound On
Sound effects.
Team Matchup
The Team Matchup screen displays a numerical comparison of the two opposing teams in six important areas. The highest possible rating in a given area is 99.
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To return to the Options menu, press START.