Super FamiComplete #79: Super Soccer Champ (Redux)

 

Title: Hat Trick Hero (JP) Super Soccer Champ (NA)

Release Date: 03/27/92

Developer: Taito

Publisher: Taito

Even with my promise to beef up the content and quality of my posts, this will most definitely be a short one. Here we have another sports game, specifically soccer.

Background
This was a game originally developed for the arcades by Taito, known then as Football Champ, where it was an arcade hit.

Gameplay
The game is soccer from a horizontal perspective. It really isn't a true soccer simulation, and the SNES port maintains the arcade style gameplay. The entire game lasts only four minutes, and it is a rush to see how many goals your team can score before the game is over. The sports action in this game is very simplified: you can do a fast and low kick, a lob kick that is better for passing and getting out from a defender blocking you, and a slide to either foul/steal the ball from the opposing team. That...really is it. There isn't anything too special about this gameplay-wise. If anything, the play of the game is really too slow.

As far as play modes, the game is also very limited. You can choose to play a game against the computer, play against another player, or watch the computer play against itself.

Aesthetics and Touches
There are some nice touches to this game. When the players score a goal, you have the typical "GOAALLLLL" screamed in a compressed voice clip. Your players then do a run by the stands to wash in the cheers of the adoring crowd. When fouled, your character will roll and whine and winge on the ground like is common in soccer (a sport known for the overdramatization of injuries to run out the clock). These are pretty fun and help the presentation of the game.

The aesthetic style is okay, though the presentation is very lackluster. The colors are poppy and vibrant, but the portraits for your players are really goofy. It just feels bare bones. There is barely any music, the game moves slowly but ends quickly, and there aren't enough of those special touches to really make the game stand out.

Music?
There is barely any music in this game. The whole soundtrack lasts 3 minutes. Wow.

The ONE Ad I found that has not aged well at all...

Verdict
This game is very forgettable. It is a middling soccer game that doesn't stand out in any conceivable way, and plays too slowly to stand up to the other soccer games on the Super Nintendo. Well, at least the middling pain of this entry was short lived.