International Superstar Soccer
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
International Superstar Soccer is the name of a series of Football (Soccer) videogames developed by Japanese company Konami, mostly by their Osaka branch, KCEO. It should not be confused with KCET's Pro Evolution Soccer series, which was originally developed for the PlayStation, while ISS was mostly aimed for Nintendo 64. The Pro Evolution series was known in Japan as Winning Eleven, and it is now gaining worldwide release under that title. But, differently of widely common thoughts, Winning Eleven and International Superstar Soccer series had been developed by different subsidiaries of Konami CO. So, one is not the other's sequel, and so on. The series is known as Jikkyō World Soccer in Japan.
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[edit] Series
The series started with the NES platform, late in 1991 with Konami Hyper Soccer, Konami's first football game on the Nintendo. Although technically not a game in the series, the success of the game was enough for Konami start developing Perfect Eleven for the Japanese Super NES, released as International Superstar Soccer for the rest of the world, both in 1994. An improved version, Fighting Eleven (worldwide, International Superstar Soccer Deluxe) was released one year later, and saw a Mega Drive / Genesis version in 1996. These 16-bit titles, in many terms, were one step ahead from other contemporary football games, including FIFA International Soccer:
- Instead of tiny, Super Deformed-like players on pitch, player sprites had an adult look to them;
- The players looked all alike, only changing hair and skin color from team to team. ISS players had distinctive looks, corresponding to real-life players of the time (like the Swedish forward Magnus, an obvious reference to Martin Dahlin, or the Argentine duo Fuerte and Capitale, reproducing Claudio Caniggia and Gabriel Batistuta);
- This was the first football game to ever show back numbers on the jersey for each player (though the keeper's jersey always showed a number 1, independent of his assigned number);
- The adult look given to players made their animation quite real, instead of the rather cartoonish way shown before (like the players jumping in slow-motion in FIFA IS), thus turning playability more fluid;
- The game was the first to feature play-by-play commentary (more frequent in the Japanese versions); previously, the announcer's voice could only be heard shouting "goal", and it was not present in every game.
Yet in 1996, the first KCET title, Winning Eleven was developed for the PlayStation (Goal Storm internationally) and Perfect Striker made its debut on the Nintendo 64 (re-used worldwide in 1997 as ISS 64 with international teams instead of J-League).
In 1997 and 1998 there were several titles released, including the second and third versions of Winning Eleven (which included a fully-licensed release for the 1998 World Cup), but the first major in Europe since ISS Deluxe was International Superstar Soccer 98 for the Nintendo 64. It was one of the best titles for the console, and one of the highest selling third party titles.
By the turn of the century, KCET's Winning Eleven titles were improving considerably over KCEO's titles, and in 2000 ISS Pro Evolution was released worldwide. The last title for the Nintendo 64 was ISS 2000, based on Perfect Striker 2, and when ISS Pro Evolution 2 was released in 2001 and followed by the first Pro Evolution Soccer, there wasn't much room for the Jikkyou World Soccer series, although three ISS titles were released, the last (ISS 3, in 2003) for the first time was released for personal computers. There were also three Game Boy Advance versions, one of them based on ISS Deluxe.
[edit] Konami Hyper Soccer
| Konami Hyper Soccer | |
|---|---|
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| Developer(s) | Konami |
| Release date(s) | 1991 |
| Genre(s) | Sport |
| Mode(s) | Single player, multiplayer |
| Platform(s) | NES |
Konami Hyper Soccer for the Nintendo Entertainment System was Konami's first soccer game on a Nintendo console, and the game that sewed the seed for the International Superstar Soccer series. It was part of Konami's Hyper Sports series which included Hyper Olympic (Track & Field outside of Japan), and its sequel, Hyper Sports. The game was only released in Japan and Europe.
As the NES's controller has only 2 buttons, the gameplay is understandably simple, on the ball, one button for pass and lob and one for slide tackle and one for headers whilst off the ball. The game allows two players, either against each other or both against the computer in either a single match or a tournament. There are 24 playable international teams, Germany, the Netherlands, Italy, Argentina, France, Spain, England, Brazil, Poland, Uruguay, Hungary, USSR, Sweden, Czechoslovakia, Cameroon, Ireland, Japan, Korea, USA, Mexico, Australia, Scotland, Colombia and Yugoslavia. Before the game, the player can choose the formation of their team as well as number of overall attributes, including offense and defense, as well as luck. Unlike other similar games at the time, Hyper Soccer featured more advanced moves such as bicycle kicks, flying headers and volleys. The game features a scrolling view of the pitch and 2-Dimensional sprites for the players, one of two background midi tracks can be chosen to play during the match. Unusual for a sports game, there is no on screen display of the game's score or the time remaining, this feature was not added to the International Superstar Soccer series until International Superstar Soccer on the Super Nintendo.
[edit] Unlicensed versions
Many unlicensed hacks of International Superstar Soccer were available in South America, especially in Brazil. All versions have poor quality portuñol translations, and bonus teams unlocked.
StarSoccer Excite Stage
In this version there were real names in some players and the FIFA team unlocked, but it was named as Peru
Campeonato Brasileiro
All teams were changed to follow the teams of Campeonato Brasileiro and some international teams.
Futebol Brasileiro 96
The sequel to the last one, but this time the game was a hacked version of International SuperStar Soccer Deluxe. As there were more teams present in this iteration, European and South American clubs were included.
Ronaldinho Campeonato Brasileiro 97
The same as the last one but Ronaldo was hacked in various parts of the game, probably for attracting buyers, although he makes no serious appaerance.
Ronaldinho Campeonato Brasileiro 98
The sequel to the last one. No major changes. just some graphics update.
Futbol Argentino '96
Parallel to Futebol Brasileiro '96, but based on Argentina's First Division. As the Brazilian game, it also include some international teams. In the game, though, clubs San Lorenzo and Vélez Sarsfield have each other's crests.
ISS64; JS Limited Edition Released unofficially in 2004. Same as standard game but original cartridge was spraypainted gold in respect of the worlds best player of the game. This particular version is rumoured to be extremely rare. Like Tauros on Pokemon Blue.
[edit] ISS Pro
The first two ISS Pro games for Playstation were produced by KCET for the European market.
ISS Pro (also known as Goal Storm 97) was followed by ISS Pro 98, which featured England player Paul Ince and Italian player Fabrizio Ravanelli on its UK PAL cover, although it lacked a FIFPro license.
