[Playing…] International SuperStar Soccer Deluxe

I have to admit that I am not the least bit interested in football. However, I am always willing to play a few games of that sport's video games if they are fun. That is why some of my favorite sports games are precisely soccer.

In 1994, when EA Sports began to be a benchmark in soccer games with the first FIFA Soccer, Konami launched a game of the same sport for Super Nintendo called International SuperStar Soccer, proving that It wasn't that difficult to equal or surpass EA's star game.

ISS Deluxe It was released by Konami for Super Nintendo and a version was later released for PlayStation with some additions. There is also a version for Mega Drive that, despite being almost identical to the SNES version in many aspects, has some differences (for example, there are notable changes in the skills of the different teams, the artificial intelligence of the CPU players has been modified and it is easier to score goals from specific points on the field), probably because it was programmed by Factor 5 and not by Konami.

International SuperStar Soccer Deluxe It is a soccer game that, despite having very surprising graphics (compared to its direct rivals), shows its best face in the gameplay, because its control is very good and allows us to do all kinds of plays and actions, including many unusual tricks such as self-passes (delaying the ball and lifting it above our head with a back heel until it falls in front of us).

Our players will start the game with different physical conditions (there are various levels of fatigue represented with smiling faces) and We will have to wisely manage the endurance of our footballers and never lose an eye on the state of the substitutes. For example, if we are used to making footballers use the turbo all the time, they will end up exhausted before the second half and we will have a really difficult time coming back if we lose. This addition makes the game very interesting and the substitutes' bench is not something symbolic, which is only used to remove players with a yellow card.

Placement and strategy options are also plentiful, in fact We are allowed to choose the training we want among many available and modify them manually and even individually mark the players we want to go on the offensive every time we have the ball (which will come in handy when the forwards are exhausted).

Of course we can also modify the playing time, if we want there to be extra time or a golden goal, the level of difficulty and even the type of match referee. This seems silly but it is not, well each of the three available referees has a different personality and makes decisions according to it (for example, he may not call too many fouls, but when he does, he draws a card or he can be very strict and stop the game constantly but not draw too many cards). There is a secret referee that we can unlock by doing the Konami Code at the beginning of the game, and it is none other than a dog!

On the playing field we will also notice the influence of the weather and the field on which we play (since they are not all the same size) which further multiplies the possibilities during the game. As if that were not enough, in some game modes we can modify the color of our team's clothing and even the statistics of the soccer players to try to create our perfect team.

International SuperStar Soccer Deluxe It has many game modes, some of them designed to play for a short time (short leagues or championships, exhibition matches, penalty shootouts) or for a long time (longer leagues and competitions) in addition to having the Scenario mode, which places us in matches that have already started with objectives to be met under the conditions of the match (for example, there is 1 minute left in a match and we are losing by 2 goals and we have the striker sent off).

It is true that This game only has country selections (and some secret All Stars teams) but it does not have licenses and therefore we will not see competitions, teams, or real players, something that may have been negative in its day, but today, 20 years later, it means absolutely nothing. It's also quite easy to forget about it when you're immersed in an intense game against the console or playing with your friends (up to 4 thanks to multitap).

In my opinion, The worst thing about this game is the password system., because not only are they long but they also use many symbols and letters that can be confused, so if you use them you have to write them down with excessive care.

Finally, comment that the Japanese version of this game (Jikkyou World Soccer 2: Fighting Eleven) is different from the western one (as happens with almost all Konami soccer games) and that existen muchas versiones piratas modificadas por fans (Futebol Brasileiro 96, Fútbol Argentino 96, World Cup France 98) donde se introdujeron equipos y jugadores reales.

Por mucho tiempo que pase y pese a tener juegos de fútbol mucho más recientes no puedo evitar volver a este juego cada vez que me apetece algo de este deporte, principalmente porque ofrece diversión inmediata y tiene una jugabilidad que ha aguantado perfectamente el paso del tiempo.