International Superstar Soccer
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 This really IS football!
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International Superstar Soccer (also known as Jikkyō World Soccer in Japan) is a series of football video games developed by Konami. Do not be confused by the other Konami soccer series Pro Evolution Soccer.
List of Video Games
- International Superstar Soccer (1995 and 1994) - Note: 1994 is the Japanese release date
- International Superstar Soccer Deluxe (1995)
- Goal Storm (1995 and 1996) - Note: The North American version was released in 1995. Everywhere else got released in 1996.
- International Superstar Soccer 64/ISS Pro (1997 and 1996) - Note: 1996 is the Japanese release date for the 64 version.
- International Superstar Soccer 98/ISS Pro 98 (1998)
- International Superstar Soccer/World Soccer GB (1998)
- ISS Pro Evolution (1999 and 2000) Note: 2000 is the Japanese release
- International Superstar Soccer 99 (2000 and 1999) Note: 1999 is the Japanese release
- International Superstar Soccer 2000 (2000 and 1999) - Note: 1999 is the Japanese release date of the console version. The handheld version of the Japanese release was released in 2000
- International Superstar Soccer (PS2) (2000)
- ISS Pro Evolution 2 (2000 and 2001) - Note: 2001 is the Japanese release date.
- International Superstar Soccer/Jikkyō World Soccer Pocket (2001)
- International Superstar Soccer 2 (2002 and 2001) - Note: 2001 is the Japanese release date
- International Superstar Soccer Advance (2003 and 2002) - Note: 2002 is the Japanese release date
- International Superstar Soccer 3 (2003 and 2002) - Note: 2002 is the Japanese release date
Why It's A Goal
Overall
- Vibrant graphics with each installment stepping up to their potential no matter the console. You know you are in for a cool soccer match just by watching every detail. Even putting the games on the Game Boy Advance still looks pleasant to look at. They even try to implement the games on the original Game Boy and the Game Boy Color resulting in basic yet look like something out of an NES without being too ugly.
- Character animation is very lifelike and does a good job with bringing the character animations to life without looking too awkward regardless of whether the game is in 2D sprites or in 3D graphics. Back then, it was pretty innovative for its time as the first game existed.
- It's one of those game series in the early days that have a diverse selection of players just to capture the real-life soccer teams you see on television or a soccer arena. Many of the teams include Germany, Colombia, France, Italy, England, Netherlands, Japan, South Korea, Mexico, Sweden, the United States, Brazil, you name it. Some teams are only available in other versions of the game series that you can find in either the USA or the Japan versions. Take ISS 64 as an example as the USA version can have Wales, Scotland, and Greece as one of the exclusive teams while the Japanese version can have Canada, Australia, and Saudi Arabia as one of the exclusive teams
- A good amount of modes to work with like Open Game (a simple match), World Series (all teams play against each other in a round-robin system), Training (basically a tutorial mode), Scenario, and Penalty Kick. You even got stuff like All-Star Match (a Match between World Stars Players and European Stars Players), Shootout (a minigame where you shoot the ball to the net), Master League (completing a squad with real players on terms of transfers), and Cup Mode (emulation of FIFA World Cup)
- Master League became present in every subsequent version in the ISS and PES series. In successive versions of the series, throughout many modifications and improvements, later versions do have some differences from the original mode from ISS Pro Evolution.
- Engaging soundtrack. Once you hear it (especially with certain games), you know that you get to have a blast!
- The gameplay is fun. All you have to do is just play soccer. If you played soccer, then you should know the rules. It could be best to learn how the series works before jumping into a good soccer game. The game gets a lot of fun when you play with more than one person. It's just your typical soccer game.
- Before starting soccer, all you got to do now is do some adjustments before you start your same due to your strategy and rules. You can also pick between different types of fields for your football game. This can also apply to halftime.
- Since we did mention the fields, the games have a variety of stadiums to play with thus taking place in different parts of the world. The same can be said about stadiums that are infected by the weather like having to play a stadium where it's rainy.
- The voice acting for the announcer is crisp to listen to. The same can be said about the voices of the crowds. Believe it or not, the sound quality is surprising on certain systems like the SNES as a good example.
- The commentator in the game keeps making comments or noises that are relevant to the gameplay. It's nothing annoying and instead, you know how a soccer game on tv feels now. Those who do not feel right about the commentary (because some could be distracted) can have the option of turning off the commentary.
- Good controls. The controls are easy to learn and responsive for a soccer series. You may want to practice yet you get to know the game well in the meantime.
International Superstar Soccer Deluxe
- You can now play with two players co-operatively against the CPU
- Extra commentary is added with phrases like "Down the Wing!", "Incredible control", and "It's a biiiiiiiiig kick". To be fair, it was basic yet interesting.
- The enemy AI has gotten improvement. Players can now tell the type of player being selected, striker, defender, etc.
- If you were to activate a set of strategies, you will get the name of the strategy appearing on the screen.
- Winning the league mode in the hardest difficulty unlocks the all-star team. The all-star team has the best players in the game maxed out so every player in the all-star team is equal in abilities. While hard, it's worth getting.
- Curling the ball became more pronounced, including the ability to curl kicks taken by the keeper.
- Corner kicks and direct free kicks no longer have a few seconds before taking where the camera pans around the players. Now it's possible to do control panning before the kick is taken.
Goal Storm
- They are 36 national teams in this game.
International Superstar Soccer 64/International Superstar Soccer Pro
- Basically, each game is similar to each other yet they are kinda different from one another due to hardware with 64 being released on the Nintendo 64 and Pro being released on the PlayStation.
- Pro is basically a slightly improved version of J-League Jikkyō Winning Eleven 97 only this is part of the ISS series instead of the eFootball series. The adjustments of the game have to be changed a little just for kicks.
- Pro is considered to be the game-changer of football games. ISS Pro used a new 3D engine for better graphics and more sophisticated gameplay. Compare Pro to the FIFA games as the former is more of a simpler arcade-style game while ISS Pro introduced more complex simulation gameplay with the usage of tactics and improvisation to enhance tactical variety.
- One thing that Pro did spawn was the Pro Evolution Soccer series which were later known for faster-paced tactical lay and more varied emergent gameplay. Without Pro, the PES series would never exist.
- The roster on the N64 version of the game is closer to the SNES version of International Superstar Soccer Deluxe only with South Africa replacing Morocco.
- One thing the game has included that was important for its time was the introduction of a through the pass. A through the pass is when a player passes the ball a little farther down the field into an open space for a running teammate. This feature right there is an early implementation.
International Superstar Soccer 98/International Superstar Soccer Pro 98
- Even though both games were lacking FIFPro license, they still managed to feature people like Fabrizio Ravanelli, Andreas Koepke, Paul Ince, Carlos Valderrama, and even license from Reebok.
- Both games have their differences
- The list of teams on Pro 98 are slightly more compared to that of the N64 version
- The Nintendo 64 version lets players have the number of members on each team to have slightly more. N64 lets you have 20 while Pro lets you have 18.
- Player creation mode exists in the N64 version. You can make up to 60 individuals
- Pro 98 has a few more stadiums compared to the N64 version.
- Pro 98 has more content compared to the N64 version. You have the choice of difficulty and game length allowed in other game modes than Exhibition Mode. The game also introduced a slide bar that lets you adjust the speed.
- Player name editor. To edit your player name, just go to the options menu and that's just about it.
- The Japanese version in the form of Winning Eleven 3: Final Ver. made some minor changes and improvements compared to those games
- The look is less vivid just to increase the level of realism
- Some home, away and goalkeepers kits have been updated (including the All-Star teams).
- The squads were updated to give a nod to the 1998 FIFA World Cup.
- The number of players in line-ups has been extended to 22
- The difficulty levels are simpler to implement since they are only three instead of five. The three are easy, medium, and hard.
- The choice of match length has been widening to 30 minutes in spaces of 5.
- Match settings in Exhibition Mode now have the option of players to pick out uniforms, extended period, penalty shoot-out, and golden goal.
- During Cup Mode, the statistics of scores and assists have been added
- The imitation of Stade de France, the venue of the 1998 FIFA World Cup final has been added as a new stadium.
- Replays that show off the most interesting moments like missed shots an example.
- The most noticeable changes during play covered improved shoot system and added power slide bar during corner kicks.
- A new one-two pass method is added, allowing the first player to pass and run without the second player has to return the ball immediately. This new move added much more variety to the game.
ISS Pro Evolution
- The game has been recreated to provide new player movements, new animations, and improved graphics.
- The game was precise in every detail and aspect of the game, such as the fact that the team captain could be selected with the captain's badge on the arm and the color of players' shoes could also be individualized.
- If you want to save a replay, you can store it on your PS1 Memory Card. Speaking of the memory card, trophies and unlocked bonuses can also be saved as well.
- The one-two pass system is more threatening than before. Useful on the opponents if you ask us.
- Dribbling (like the trick-shoot) is a new trick in this game.
- The number of international teams has been increased. Though not licensed, they have their original home, away, and goalkeeper kits with logos and emblems resembling their official counterparts from real life.
- Beleive it or not, some of the players of this game have a real name which consists of Rafael Marquez, Sol Campbell, David Regis, and Maik Taylor.
- For the first time ever, club teams are introduced along with national teams. The only way to play them is by going to a mode called Master League. That is unless you exported the team on your memory card.
- Stadiums no longer bear generic names. The stadiums' fictional names stand for their real-life equivalents.
International Superstar Soccer 2000
- This is the first and only game in the series to support the high-resolution mode through an expansion pack
- The is the only game to have players with real names. This only applies to the North American release and no team had a 100% real roster.
- The roster is considered to have one of the most comprehensive teams in many football video games. The team the game consists of happens to be 100 in total. articularly, every nation affiliated to UEFA at the time is present, since one of the game modes consists of a European Championship in the same format as the UEFA Euro (which had an edition that year), including the qualifying round.
- The Japanese version does have some differences.
- The roster consists of the J.League instead of the international teams.
- Each team has a different crowd chant. This was never seen in western releases.
- There is a game mode that you can only play in the Japanese version called Success Mode. It's your typical career mode.
ISS (2000 Video Game)
- You can train and edit your teams for a soccer match. When you know you are ready, please be sure so that you can do well in this soccer match.
- During a match, you can control your camera angles, make substitutions, change your strategy, adjust the game speed, and so on. This is all based on your liking!
ISS Pro Evolution 2
- This happens to be the first ISS Pro game with proper licenses despite some players having real names like Beckham.
- Master League is more extended with 2 divisions and eight more clubs. The total clubs that you have in this game results in 24 club teams! The same can be said about some more international teams being added.
- Gameplay has changed. This is because the game will now be more smoother and realistic. Just as real as a soccer match.
- The injuries are more realistic as well.
- Also featured a Chip Shot. For those who don't know, a chip is a shot in which the ball is kicked from underneath with accuracy but with less than maximum force. Launch it high in the air in order to either pass it over the heads of the opponents or score a goal over the goalkeeper.
- You get to choose your captain for your team. You know, leadership!
- New formation data manager with 15 save spots and a much-improved algorithm. That is the key to a player's movement.
- The Japanese version of the game contains Under-23 National Teams as well due Japan U-23 has qualified to the final round at Sydney Olympics, such as Australia's Under-23 National Football Team
ISS 2
- Goals in this game come from a variety of sources. They consist of crosses, corners, penalties, free kicks, passing plays, solo runs, lobbed efforts, and long-ranged drives.
ISS 3
- Mission Mode serves as a replacement for the Scenario Mode. After Scenario Mode was gone in ISS 2, we technically got it back on ISS 3. Rather than placing you in a match-up where you have a goal deficit to make up, it gives you one-half of a match to simply win under preset conditions.
- The in-game currency for this game is Points. You can use the points to be used for going into the Catalog mode. The catalog gives you the ability to spend your points for new tricks, custom kits, and stadium parts. The number of items available is 34.
- Tackling is improved here. In previous games, tackling would almost always end up with you having the ball no matter where you tackled the opposition.
- You can now pull the opponents' shirt and try to outmuscle them if you do end up on the wrong side of them.
- Create a player is put in this game. You also got create a team mode that allows you to customize many elements of a team like a name, kits, and a flag.
Bad Qualities
- The gameplay doesn't really change that much despite having good games no doubt.
- The game can also be tough at times due to its nature. Yes, it's soccer but the reason behind this would be nature itself.
- Some teams are only exclusive to various versions of the game as mentioned before.
- While still good, the commentary can get pretty repetitive.
- ISS 2 does have fewer movements due to the game having more of a soccer-sim approach compared to the fast-paced games.
- Some complained about the Japan-only Jikkyou J-League Perfect Striker being easy.
- The Game Boy version of ISS as well as the Game Boy Color games (ISS 2000 and ISS 99) does lack a commentator (this is understandable due to technical limitations)
- The Game Boy Color version of ISS 2000 keeps making this annoying sound that is heard during the soccer game.
- Both ISS Pro and ISS Pro Evolution have names of the players that are misspelled. Though this could be intentional since they still sound right while being pronounced yet still.
- Penalty Kick is absent in ISS 3.
- Same can be said about Scenario mode being absent in ISS 2
- Goal Storm did suffer from some problems like the character animation being kinda sluggish and using the same butting for both defense and offense results in players kicking the ball away as soon as they gain possession until they get the hang of the game. Also the sound effects. Goal Storm was less innovative as well in comparison to FIFA.
Reception
Most of the games have gotten reviews that were positive due to their presence as good soccer games. ISS Deluxe has a rating of 91% on CVG. International Superstar Soccer 64 was considered to be one of the best N64 third-party games with critical acclaim getting shown off by many reviewers including N64 Magazine and Nintendo Power. ISS Pro got positive reviews for its fluid animations including reviewers from Joystick and Next Generation. ISS 98 got universal acclaim on Metacritic due to its ridiculously addictive gameplay. ISS Pro 98 got favorable reviews as well. Nintendo World Report gave ISS 2 a 7.5/10.
Trivia
- In the first game of the series, Konami created fictional names due to lack of licenses of FIFA. One of them is Allejo who is modeled after Bebeto. This is seen by some as a Brazilian meme. Allejo got popularity due to having impossible moves and goals.
- ISS 64 does have a bootleg version of the game called Mundial Ronaldinho Soccer 64 which became an internet meme in 2020. The bootleg, made by Peruvian programmer Lobsang Alvites, changed the announcer's language to Portuaguese with a heavy Spanish affectation. The bootleg is named after the Brazilian soccer player Ronaldo.
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