Super Soccer

There's some good news and bad news about Nintendo's Super Soccer for the SNES. The good news is that overall Super Soccer is a pretty cool game. It has sharp graphics, responsive controls, a unique viewing angle, and an entertaining format. The bad news is that you can't adjust the difficulty level. Once you've gone out and conquered the world, the game gets dull in a hurry.

The Rules of the Game

There are two basic modes of play for Super Soccer — Exhibition and Tournament. The Exhibition mode offers two game play options. You can select one of the 16 international teams and play against the computer or a friend. Two players can also take on the computer. The Exhibition mode also offers a Shootout option. Each team receives five penalty kicks. The winner is determined when one team is unable to overcome the goal difference. This is a good place to practice your goal keeping and scoring skills.

U.S. Stinks Again

The tournament mode is a 16- team kick-a-thon for world supremacy. Each of the teams has different strengths and weaknesses. A rundown of all the national teams can be found in back of the instruction booklet. As coach of a national team, you can make substitutions during the match. At halftime, you can also change formations.

The Dream Team they ain't. As is the case with most soccer games that feature different national teams, the United States team is just not a very strong squad. The top four teams are Germany, Brazil, Argentina, and Italy. If you're playing the game for the first time, it would be wise to choose one of these four teams and play against Belgium, the weakest team in the field.

Seeing Is Believing

Instead of the commonly used overhead view, Super Soccer puts you on the field for all the action. Your vantage point is from behind-the-keeper. However, there is a downside to this unique perspective. The view does not change in the second half after the two teams have switched sides. This awkward viewing angle in the second half makes it especially difficult to move the ball and score on offense. So you better have a big lead going into halftime.

Football With a Capital FOOT

Although Super Soccer is somewhat limited in options, it does offer enough solid graphics and smooth game play to make it a contender for any World Cup. If you prefer to play soccer on the field, instead of from a skycam, set your heading on the center circle of Nintendo's Super Soccer and kick off a sporting spectacular.

Here's another promising sports title for the Super Famicom from Human. This new soccer game utilizes the scaling and rotation capabilities of the system to bring you one of the most realistic soccer simulations ever. Pick and choose from a number of teams, each with different strengths and weaknesses. Play against the computer and try to win the exhibition or challenge another player. Fantastic scaling of the field brings the action up close and the sounds are very well done. Exciting soccer action that will please the most discriminating player.

Super Soccer (Super Formation Soccer in Japan) was released in Japan in 1991 and in the United States on May 1992. It is a soccer video game developed and published by Human Entertainment for the Super NES. The game consists of exhibition games and tournament games. At the end of the tournament, the player must play one final team, Nintendo. When the tournament has been won, the player receives a code to play the game in a more advanced mode.