GOAL!!!

Yep, it's soccer (or football, depending on where you're from) meets 8 bit gaming. It's Nintendo World Cup. So what makes this game special? There are countless Soccer games out there, since we seem to feel like we need a new edition of each sports game franchise every year, and in the end, a soccer game is a soccer game after all.

But after about ten seconds into your first game in Nintendo World Cup, you'll see that there's something different about this soccer game... The players have gone psychotic, and somewhere under the bleachers in an abandoned soccer stadium, there are a bunch of refs tied up. The end result being that all mayhem breaks loose, and players are often left unconcious after taking a hit, trip, or intentional soccer ball to the face. Folks, this is the NBA Jam of Soccer games.


The controls in Nintendo World Cup are pretty simple:

Offensive controls -
A - Pass
B - Shoot

Defensive controls -
A - Tackle
B - Slide

Every other button is just the standard stuff (start = pause, etc). So now that we've covered the basics, it's time for the review.


Graphics: 8/10
Exceptional.

The sprites are well designed, and smooth. The players look good, but a little...mantis like. It's like Heinz Doofenshcmirtz cloned himself into an entire soccer team, and it almost makes me expect to see Perry jump out of the stands at any moment. However, if you can get past the strange little mantis people, the characters look pretty good.

One thing about the player sprites that really impressed me was the fact that they all look different, rather than looking like a bunch carbon copies of one another. A very nice touch for an NES game.

The effects here are great. They're just so toony that you can't help but smile when you first see them. The way the players eyes buldge impossibly out of their heads when they take a hit, add to that the way they fly ten feet into the air (and completely off of the screen) when hit by (what I call) a super kick, and you get some pretty crazy action.

Each game begins with a new picture depicting the stereotypical scene from the country you're about to play against. Aside from that and the changes in skin tone of your opponents, not much variety is offered. But what do you expect from a soccer game? It's not like there's that much to show besides a field, players, a couple of nets, and a ball.

My only gripe with the graphics is that the programmers pulled a somewhat racist move when they made all US team members white, all Argentinian players black, etc. I suppose it can slide considering that this is an 8 bit game, but it is a little strange.

Highlights:
-Smooth and clean NES graphics

-A lot of attention was paid to player sprite details


Sound: 9/10
Excellent.

The music here is incredible. I love the tunes in this one; they're so well composed and fit the game perfectly. I would definitely say that this is easily some of the best audio work I've ever found (music wise) on the NES. It's like listening to an 8 bit rendition of a masterful music composer's greatest accomplishment! Okay...maybe not quite, but it is some of the best you'll find.

So after reading that last bit, you may be wondering why I only gave it a nine. If so, the answer to that would be: the sound effects. While the actual game sounds aren't bad at all (in fact, they're quite enjoyable), however, the beeping and error-like sound that plays when you instruct a player to do something that they can't do, is a problem. They aren't annoying really, but with such less-than-pleasant sounds, I couldn't bring myself to bump this category up. Finally, the whistle is a bit harsh on the ears, but it isn't unbearable by any means. More like what you would expect a from an NES trying to emulate a whistle.

So there you have it: the sound effects are a blend of good, with a recording of me singing in the shower, only slightly less grating on the ears...and the neighborhood dogs won't start howling, nor will small children be quite as frightened.

Highlights:
-Some of the best NES music you'll find

-Good soccer sound effects

-Far more enjoyable than my crooning


Story: N/A

You're just a team trying to win a championship. No story there, but with gameplay like this, who needs it?


Depth: 5/10
Average.

So it's a soccer game on an 8 bit console; what kind of depth could we ask for? Still, the developers didn't rest content in the knowledge that no one would even notice if they left all depth out in a game like this. Instead, they served up some surprises! And these are the good kind of surprises, not the inevitable family reunion mystery meat surprise dish kind of surprise.

First up, we have modes for one, two, three, and four players. Single player takes you on a journey, calling for you to defeat every other country. There are thirteen countries to choose from, and as an added (and unexpected) bonus, two players can play the championship mode together.

Now for my favorite part: the strategy phase. Before each round starts, you can set how your AI controlled teammates play, using the following four settings:
-Your offensive strategy ("pass the ball", or "use dribble")
-Should the goal keeper join in?
-Should your teammates shoot ("yes, frequently", "sometimes", or "no, not at all")
-Your defensive strategy ("try to tackle" or "mark the opponent")

These options have quite an impact on gameplay. However, the strategy doesn't end here. No, you can also change your positions around. Assign the person you want, where you want them.

Finally, the password system is a very much appreciated touch that we didn't see often enough in NES games, but thankfully we got with this one.

Highlights:
-One to four players

-Thirteen teams to choose from

-Plenty of strategy involved before the game even begins


Addictiveness: 10/10
Incredible.

Nintendo World Cup is most definitely an addictive little game, and this is coming from a guy that doesn't often play sports games. This one however is an exception, and I can say with certainty that I will be coming back to it soon and often.

The strategy involved in this game, combined with the crazy arcade-like action, smooth gameplay, and overall fun atmosphere, make it a great game.


Difficulty: 8/10
Very Difficult.

This rating is a bit deceiving, so allow me to explain: the game starts out pretty easy once you get the hang of it, but as you progress it becomes more and more difficult. At the start, your team runs faster than the enemies, but as you progress, your opponents become faster. In fact, by the time you get to the semi-finals, they'll be so much faster that you'll have to slide as you are about to cross paths with them, because you can't keep up with them. If they get past you at that level, they will literally run so fast that your character drops off of the screen. The worst part of this is that the difficulty spikes so quickly and unexpectedly. It seemed to jump from a four in difficulty to a nine in between matches! Not fun at all.

And how about those super kicks? After a certain point your opponents will be able to kick them from nearly half-field and these kicks have about a 95% chance of being unstoppable by a Goal Keeper. If he tries to stop it, more often than not it simply knocks him out of the way. These are a fun aspect of the game, but it isn't so much fun when the computer can do it so often and from so far away.

However, to ease the difficulty, you can use A and B to tell the team mate nearest (or with) the ball what to do. This is extremely helpful and pretty innovative I felt.


Overall: 8/10
Exceptional.

Nintendo World Cup is a great game that easily earns this rating and probably more. While it may not be a high octane adventure, or involve fighting 8 bit mutants, it most certainly is a great game for some extreme sports action, or a relatively quick time killer match.


I highly recommend Nintendo World Cup to fans of games like NBA Jam, NFL Blitz, or Kurt Warner's Arena League Football. It's a sports game taken to an extreme level of action and near fighting. This game is crazy, and worth a shot if you enjoy zaney high intensity action.

So yes, this review has been short and sweet, but this game does most of the speaking for itself. So try it out. It's worth a play, and worth it's weight in Viz...not that that makes any sense.

Lololol I was just playing this game yesterday and none of the dang passwords worked!!! (I was playing the gameboy version) Incredible work again. I agree with you on the difficulty. This game got me screaming and wanting to throw my gamecube out the window a few times.....

As far as really old school games go for football Italia 90 is pretty much the grand daddy. Remember playing that as a 5 year old.