Ultimate Soccer

Modern-day sports games have become overly complicated. Annualized series, feature bloat, rotating rosters, all of it is beginning to become too much. Let’s take a few moments to go back to the good old days, when sports games were still trying to figure out what they would be, and how they could bring an enjoyable experience to gamers who had controllers with limited buttons and limited power to bring those visuals to life. Let’s take a step back in time, to the year 1993, when Sega’s Genesis console and Game Gear handheld ruled, and was the home of state of the art (for the time) video game experiences like Ultimate Soccer, which was the pinnacle of sports-related video games at the time of its release. If you’re interested in taking some time to enjoy a game from years long past, here is everything you need to know about Ultimate Soccer.

Nostalgic Gameplay

Ultimate Soccer was created for Sega systems by Rage Software, a studio that at the time was the premier sports game developer, known for their Striker line of soccer games. Thanks to this previous experience crafting a compelling soccer video game experience for the consoles of the time, Rage Software was able to make something really special with Ultimate Soccer. Upon booting the game, you are greeted with a number of gameplay modes, including options for single or two-player friendlies, shootout, ultimate cup, ultimate league, and knockout.

Gameplay takes place from an overhead, isometric perspective that gives you a bird’s eye view of at least fifty percent of the playing field at any given time, with more being revealed as the ball is kicked across the field. The action centers on the ball, with you taking control of whoever has the ball on the team that you selected before the match. The game features 64 teams, each with different stats and various player models.

Retro Visuals

In terms of graphics, Ultimate Soccer is fairly advanced for it’s time, featuring an early method of faked 3D models (similar to the Donkey Kong games). These sprites give the game a depth that other games from the time period can not claim to have. From the isometric perspective you play matches in, you can see each individual player following their own routine, and either chasing the ball or defending with simple, but effective animations.

Pros

• Despite its age, Ultimate Soccer is still a ton of fun to play
• The many different teams allow for a different experience upon every play
• Different game modes make sure the sport never gets stale
• Impressive early 3D Esque graphics

Cons

• The game is certainly not modern in terms of how it plays
• Limited controls mean you're really just running and kicking, with not much strategy available