Approximate Release Month: April 1992
Genre: Soccer simulation
Developer: ANCO
Publisher: Mindscape
World League Soccer is an exceptionally ugly game. That’s a necessary trade-off when a game is as fast as this one.
Really, really fast. Everything moves two or three times faster than you’d expect. This works because World League Soccer isn’t trying to be a super serious soccer game. I had enough fun just running up and down the field, slide-tackling opponents and making shots on the goal with goofy music playing. The outrageous speed of the gameplay makes this game shine because it adds so much energy to an otherwise very basic game. And when I say basic, I mean basic. The game is too frantic to do any planning or teamwork. Or passing.
That appeals to me, as someone who doesn’t really care about soccer. People wanting something resembling real soccer should look elsewhere. Even if there is depth here I’m unable to see, I don’t know if the game’s presentation would hold up. The map on the left side of the screen is criminally useless and makes it almost impossible to figure out where on the screen the player you’re controlling is.
Of all the soccer video games I’ve ever played – just one – World League Soccer is my favorite. It’s simple and silly, but in the best way.
Tomorrow: It’s a wonder that the folks behind Xardion didn’t get sued into oblivion by the creators of Gundam.
The cover looks very basic as well
I doubt many Super Nintendo sports covers are going to look remarkable in any way.
It’s a testament of that era of video gaming I guess. I wouldn’t get a game with such a cover, though I did buy PGA European tour for the gameboy. Black and white, boring cover art… All of it because my teacher liked golf and I was a teachers pet. She couldn’t care less.