Overview

A large part of the appeal of retro-gaming is the nostalgia you experience in the first 20 minutes to an hour of play. With old theme tunes, familiar graphics and classic gameplay mechanics you can often recall just why you were impressed by a specific game. However, its after that period of nostalgia that you see whether or not an older game stands up to the test of time with the strength of its gameplay (i.e. Sensible World of Soccer) or it falls flat on its face once the memories fade (i.e. Super Soccer).

International Superstar Soccer Deluxe is an interesting game for me because, up until a few years ago, I hadn’t played it! Around 1995 when ISS:DE was released I was busy playing games like FIFA International Soccer or Super Goal and ISS:DE completely flew under my radar. In fact, the first time I played an ISS/WE title was Goal Storm for the PSX! Therefore, my experience of ISS:DE was completely devoid of that nostalgia ‘grace period’ and yet it’s a testament to the timelessness of the game that I had one hell of a time playing it!

Graphics

As you can see from the screenshots, ISS:DE features 2D graphics and an isometric ¾ view of the field (much like the original FIFA International Soccer), and is easily one of the best looking soccer game of the 16-bit era.

The player models are intricately detailed and even though they’re relatively small sprites you can see details like boot colors, different player hairstyles and even some basic kit patterns. Player animations are done pretty well and range from simple passing and shooting to intricate animations for step-overs and volleys! There are also a few nice touches such as players bending over, hands-on-knees and panting when fatigued!

ISS:DE also impresses when it comes to the stadia included in the game. The game features EIGHT different stadiums, each with different pitch textures and, most impressively, different pitch dimensions! For example, the Nigerian stadium has a field length of 138 yards, whereas the Brazilian stadium is only 114 yards long. It’s a shame that this is a feature that’s been lost in subsequent games because the different sizes of fields (all within regulation limits) is what makes club soccer so interesting. Adding to the atmosphere is the fact that there are three different weather conditions (normal, rain, snow) and three different lighting conditions (day, evening, night)! Furthermore, each pitch/stadium features a great selection of pitch-side details such as running tracks, advertising hoardings and cameramen!

Audio

It’s 1994/5 and no one really cares about the audio in soccer games and Konami are no exception. Lame music and more or less looped crowd sounds. Yawn.

Options

ISS:DE features 36 international teams for use in the various play modes. The major modes of play are Exhibition, International (league), World Series (World Cup), Penalty Kick, Training and Scenario. The scenario mode is much like a scenario mode you’d encounter in today’s games with 12 different in-game situations that you have to navigate, be it erasing a 2 goal deficit or breaking a tie. The training mode is particularly impressive since it includes the mini-games/challenges that would only return to the ISS/WE series almost a decade later!

Before an exhibition match you can select the number or players on either side (11 vs 7 perhaps?), the ‘condition’ of the players and the goalkeeper skill from 1-5. Then its on to the tactical options where you can choose from a squad of 22 available players (alas, no license) each rated out of ten in nine different attributes. Also within this menu you can designate free kick and corner kick takers!

What about formation you ask? How about 16 default formations AND the ability to create CUSTOM formations!?! You can not only customize where each player sits on the field, but also their attacking bias (yup, 11 years ago you could add forward attacking arrows to a formation!). What about strategy? How about 8 different strategies, four of which you can assign to each of the face buttons (A, B, X, & Y) and toggle at any point in the match?!!? Hell you can even give man-marking assignments! For a game that’s more than a decade old, the wealth of tactical and strategic options is truly staggering!

Gameplay

ISS Deluxe features a fairly simple control scheme that’s very similar to the 16-bit era FIFA games;

A-Shoot
B-Sprint (hold)
X-Short Pass/Blocking Tackle
Y-Long Pass/Sliding Tackle
L + Face Buttons – Tactics
R + Pass – Through Pass, 1-2

Shooting doesn’t involve a power-bar per se, however, the longer you hold-down the shoot button the higher a shot rises. The short pass plays a pass 15-20 yards in a general direction and if a teammate is nearby the ball will go directly to him. Furthermore, you stand in one place with the ball and tap the pass button your player will flick the ball in the air for you to volley! Long passes are lofted balls that can also be used as crosses and don’t go directly to a teammate.

The controls are fairly intuitive, however, the neatest thing about the shooting and long passing is that you can add aftertouch (or curl) once the ball is in flight! This works just like adding aftertouch in both Kick Off and Sensible World of Soccer – you push the D-pad in the direction you want the ball to travel.

So those are the basic controls, but how does the game play? The best way to describe ISS:DE is a more balanced, more methodical and more intricate version of FIFA International Soccer. The CPU defense does a good job of defending the dribble and as a result pass and move are the keys to success and your AI teammates do a very good job of getting open (there’s even a little animation of teammate waving his arms to call for a pass when he’s open in space!). Although the game more an arcade interpretation of soccer than a simulation (the ball physics are mostly scripted) it is nice to play an old-school game that isn’t end to end and where possession is often the key to winning. There are a decent variety of goals that can be scored (including volleys and headers) and most importantly there’s a nice sense of satisfaction when you do stick the ball in the net.

Replay Value

Back in ’95 I can imagine ISS Deluxe would have provided a great deal of replay value. On top of the league, cup and scenario modes is a solid multiplayer mode. Much like later games in the ISS/WE series the game earns most of its replay value on the strength of its solid game engine and no two matches alike.

Today the game still stands up as a title I go back to every once in a while and its definitely my most played emulated game on the PSP.

Overall

I had a lot of fun playing International Superstar Soccer Deluxe and I’m disappointed that I never discovered the game around the time of its release. Not only does the gameplay stand the test of time but the game’s feature set is on par with many games released more than a decade later.

Lavan Chandran
9/6/2006