''International Superstar Soccer Pro'' (known in Japan as and in North America as ''Goal Storm '97'') is a football video game developed by

Konami Computer Entertainment Tokyo , is a Japanese multinational video game and entertainment company headquartered in Chūō, Tokyo, it also produces and distributes trading cards, anime, tokusatsu, pachinko machines, slot machines, and arcade cabinets. Konami has casinos ...

. It is a slightly improved version of the Japan-exclusive ''

J-League Jikkyō Winning Eleven 97 , also known as ''World Soccer Winning Eleven 2'', is a 1996 Japan-exclusive List of association football video games, association football simulation sports video game, which was developed and published by Konami for the PlayStation (console), P ...

''. It features 32 international teams, four different stadia, 13 team formations along with eight unique strategies and a choice of Exhibition Mode, International League, International Cup and a Penalty Kick mode. It can be played as a one or two player game.

Teams available

''International Superstar Soccer Pro'' includes 32 different international teams based on their real equivalents of season 1996/1997 with accurate home, away and goalkeeper kits featuring manufacturer logos and national emblems. The line-up of each team consists of 16 fictional players.

Reception

The game was met with positive reviews. Critics were particularly pleased with the fluid, lifelike animations, the simplicity and responsiveness of the controls, and the strong blend of realism and fun. Kraig Kujawa of ''

Electronic Gaming Monthly ''Electronic Gaming Monthly'' (often abbreviated to ''EGM'') is a monthly American video game magazine. It offers video game news, coverage of industry events, interviews with gaming figures, editorial content and product reviews. History The m ...

'' went so far as to say it "may be the best blend of realism and entertaining gameplay that I have ever witnessed in a soccer title." However, the audio was criticized, with the primary complaints being the inconsistency of the announcer and the annoying clicking sound which accompanies players moving down the field. In Japan, however, ''

Famitsu formerly ''Famicom Tsūshin'', is a line of Japanese video game magazines published by Kadokawa Game Linkage (previously known as Gzbrain), a subsidiary of Kadokawa. ''Famitsu'' is published in both weekly and monthly formats as well as in the fo ...

'' gave it a score of 26 out of 40. '' Next Generation'' summed up that "''Goal Storm '97'' can't compare with '' Worldwide Soccer '97'' for

Saturn Saturn is the sixth planet from the Sun and the second-largest in the Solar System, after Jupiter. It is a gas giant with an average radius of about nine and a half times that of Earth. It has only one-eighth the average density of Earth; h ...

when it comes to graphics or control, but soccer fans will definitely appreciate the pace and strategy of the game, and PlayStation owners can rest assured this game is a very close second." ''

GamePro Gamepro.com is an international multiplatform video game magazine media company that covers the video game industry, video game hardware and video game software in countries such as Germany and France. The publication, GamePro, was originally la ...

'' concluded that it comes in second to ''

FIFA 97 ''FIFA 97'' (also known as ''FIFA Soccer 97'') is a football simulation video game developed by EA Canada and published by Electronic Arts. It was released for PC on 24 June 1996 and versions for PlayStation, SNES, Mega Drive and Sega Saturn fol ...

'', but recommended players rent both games to see which one better suits their tastes. In ''Absolute PlayStation'', Martin gave it an 86% and called it "the first soccer game on PSX that has the correct balance between superb graphics and intuitive controls", while co-reviewer Adam gave it an 8/10 and praised the players for being easily recognizable despite the absence of a players' license.

Legacy

''International Superstar Soccer Pro'' was considered a "game-changer" for football games, which had been largely dominated by rival ''

FIFA FIFA (; stands for ''Fédération Internationale de Football Association'' ( French), meaning International Association Football Federation ) is the international governing body of association football, beach football and futsal. It was found ...

'' on home systems for the last several years. Developed by Konami Tokyo, ''ISS Pro'' introduced a new 3D engine capable of better graphics and more sophisticated gameplay than its rival. Whereas ''FIFA'' had a simpler " arcade-style" approach to its gameplay, ''ISS Pro'' introduced more complex

simulation game Simulation video games are a diverse super-category of video games, generally designed to closely simulate real world activities. A simulation game attempts to copy various activities from real life in the form of a game for various purposes such ...

play emphasizing tactics and improvisation, enabled by tactical variety such as nine in-match strategy options. It spawned the ''

Pro Evolution Soccer ''eFootball'', formerly known as ''Pro Evolution Soccer'' (''PES'') internationally and in Japan and North America, is a series of association football simulation video games developed and published by Konami since 1995. The series consists ...

'' (''PES'') series, which became known for having "faster-paced tactical play" and more varied

emergent gameplay Emergent gameplay refers to complex situations in video games, board games, or table top role-playing games that emerge from the interaction of relatively simple game mechanics. Designers have attempted to encourage emergent play by providing to ...

, while ''FIFA'' was known for having more licenses. In the late 2000s, EA responded by borrowing gameplay elements from ''PES'' to improve ''FIFA'', which eventually pulled ahead commercially by a significant margin in the 2010s and emerged as the world's most successful sports video game franchise. The rivalry between ''FIFA'' and ''PES'' is considered the "greatest rivalry" in the history of sports video games.

Notes

References

External links