Battle of the Ports - Soccer Kid (グレート サッカーキッド) Show

[@GamayObera]

It's funny how the SFC version shows off an complete different character in the title screen and when you start playing the game, the character transforms back as "kid Jim Carrey" from the OG version.

[@RetroCore]

Lol, I know. Talk about lazy.

[@alvarochaves1999]

At least the Japanese version from the 3DO port keeped the Soccer Kid.

[@amerigocosta7452]

I used to find Soccer Kid on the Amiga more tolerable than other euro-platformers, but it's unsurprising that it didn't translate very well to consoles. There were also a couple of games released pretty much at the same time that had the same soccer ball gimmick, one being Marko's Magic Football and the other Hurricanes.

[@System_Sega]

I don't know why Soccer Kid was so excited for the 94 world cup, England didn't even qualify that year.

[@philliphackney7451]

Although it’s not getting a lot of love here I think Neil Adamson did a superb job with the graphics. During development it was always referred to as Football Kid or Footie Kid. I helped out by doing some of the enemy sprites and animations. I can confirm Soccer Kid was started before Arabian Nights and had a completely different dev team (I also did some sprites and animations for that too). The original plan was to do Mad Professor Mariarti 2 with Shaun Hollingsworth and Matt Furniss driving it. As I remember it Dean Lester (who worked for our sister company Teque London), suggested giving Mariarti a ball as a weapon. This then developed into what became Soccer Kid with Matt Furniss heavily involved in the design and Nigel Little taking over coding duties. Dean left at some point and took the idea with him - his version became Marko’s Magic Football. So both games have that connection. At the time the original game was completed (August’93) England were still in with a chance of qualifying for the ‘94 World Cup. The dev team was really young (Matt and I were only 20 years old - Nigel and Neil were only about 22!). Anyhow some good memories. 😊

[@RetroCore]

I think the game is graphically fine. Quite typical of its time with that very British 16bit computer game look. Sadly the gameplay is terrible or at least it is when compared to console platform games of the time. It's always good to hear from people involved in games. I, myself have had some involvement in big titles from UK Liverpool based developers in the past (almost 25 years ago now). It was a very cool time.

[@francescobicci3314]

@@philliphackney7451Finally the similarities with Marko's magic football explained. Couldn't have been a coincidence. Loved Soccer Kid on Amiga: gameplay was brilliant this review sounds clueless.

[@johns6265]

The way 'kid' is drawn on the title screen makes him look like a granny. I guess you have to admire the sheer persistence if nothing else with them deciding that Playstation owners needed to suffer as well a decade after the initial release.

[@SLON-sh2jg]

A little granny who has to kill worms, farmers, dogs, drunkards, and skateboarders with a ball. What a creepy shit.

[@Spark010]

That PlayStation version! 🤣🤣🤣 looks like a master system game!

[@fungo6631]

Well there is parallax scrolling though. So not really.

[@chowmein0941]

@@fungo6631 there was a bit of parallax scrolling in California Games on master system.

[@RetroCore]

@@chowmein0941 and chopper lifter and others.

[@1985dossantos]

For me it has a lot of colors and the char size is not compatible with SMS.

[@iXien]

As an Amiga user, you can easily imagine that I played it a lot. On Amiga first, then on CD32. I think that this game was acclaimed on western computer world because it was a very consolish platform game on Amiga with really nice features compared to a lot of other crap attempts. As you said, GFX and musics are very nice and all is moving smoothly with parallax scrolling in 50fps. But you're right, there is a real problem with the gameplay. Once again on computers, developers are seeking to offer innovative gameplay rather than focusing on more classic gameplay like on consoles. It really takes a while of adaptation and perseverance to master this damn ball. On computer, it was so impressive technically that platform lovers like me took the necessary time to do that and then you discover a really nice game. When you master it, you don't have to recall so much the balloon as you do, you rather throw it forward or up so that it protects you in places where you know it will come back to you which makes the action much more smooth. But once again, you make this effort when you don't have so much choice if you want to play on Amiga a nice platform game you don't have already ended. That's why the bar was not as high on Amiga than on consoles I suppose. Platform games were really a specialty of consoles. Of course on console Soccer Kid consists only in an average attempt compared to so many fabulous platform games. Now I was very suprised when I saw all these versions launched all over the years (like Whizz or James Pond: Robocod). There was an A1200 version that is basically the same as CD32 but with A500 musics. PC DOS version you forgotten too is the same as the A1200 version. The visual of Soccer kid is so laughable on the japanese SNES version. And they didn't even change the sprite while playing! I never took time to try the 3DO version but many thanks for the demo, it seems really nice. Just for fun, I advice you to try another Krysalis game called Arabian Nights. Not very inventive but therefore this one is very nice to play (only available on Amiga and CD32), if only they did the same on Soccer Kid.

[@thefurthestmanfromhome1148]

Soccer Kid built on Arabian Nights Engine I believe?

[@iXien]

@@thefurthestmanfromhome1148 Yes. A really underrated gem. What Soccer Kid could have been with more accessible gameplay.

[@thefurthestmanfromhome1148]

@@iXien Thank you, thought i might of been barking up the wrong tree completely there for a while 😂 Guessing it sadly never got the sales it deserved on the Sega systems then?

[@iXien]

@@thefurthestmanfromhome1148As Mark said, the Megadrive version of Soccer Kid never been released. Concerning Arabian Nights, It remains an Amiga exclusivity (if we consider that the CD32 is an Amiga system).

[@RetroCore]

That is correct.

[@alvarochaves1999]

The FMVs were animated by Catalyst Pictures, a British animation studio.

[@martinefrensoquigomez7835]

The Japanese SFC version actually features character designs by a mangaka whose name I don't remember all that well, but he did actually draw a sports manga (except it was dodgeball) Too bad the change didn't carry over to the sprites, I think the design is actually pretty cool

[@RetroCore]

I agree. A change to the sprites would have made this way more appealing. It still would be a crap game though.

[@mr.y.mysterious.video1]

the type of game Amiga owners would grit their teeth through while proclaiming to their console owning classmates that they didn't need those console toys when they had a real computer

[@MrYossarianuk]

It's true however. Although the best games were designed for the Amiga originally rather than ports... Also we had Civilisation which once you got you needed no other games

[@RetroCore]

I has tat on the Saturn :) Japanese exclusive like a lot of computer ports to the system.

[@GreatHealer.]

Oddly this one is quite a vivid memory for me on the Amiga.

[@thefurthestmanfromhome1148]

There was a planned sequel. According to CU Amiga magazine in November 1993, it would be with a different protagonist and a different sport theme - Basketball!

[@RetroCore]

I can honestly imagine it being the exact same game but with bouncing a ball rather than kicking it.

[@sumdood8563]

It kind of pisses me off how underutilized the Jaguar was. Games like Zero5 and Iron Solider 2 didn't even get to come out during the system's official lifespan, yet we got garbage like Soccer Kid and Club Drive. The worst part is that there were some pretty cool looking games that got cancelled like that Bomberman game, a Golden-Axe-esque beat em up starring Conan, and a Jaguar port of Battle Wheels (there was that Checkered Flag sequel that was pretty bad, but there was also that remake of Blue Lightning, and that was pretty good). One other game that was in development was a platformer with the working title: ApeShit.

[@thefurthestmanfromhome1148]

Conan sadly never even had the first level completed, Battle wheels it seems Atari were never fully behind and Beyond Games waited till PC hardware was at the stage their concepts for it could be realized. ATD admitted they had no idea what they were doing with Blue Lightning.. Rebellion were under contract to do a plain polygon Racer for the Jaguar, Atari renamed it to Checkered Flag II for a better marketing angle. Apeshit never got very far in development Titles like: Skyhammer, Zero 5,Iron Solider II showed the Jaguar hardware at it's best.. The likes of: Dactyl Joust, Black Ice White Noise, Legions Of The Undead etc were a glimpse of what could of been if Atari had the resources, better development tools and listened to developers. Sadly, it was not to be and the systems commercial library ended up with a lot of Amiga, MD and SNES ports.. Big mistake when your advertising is geared around promoting the 64-bit architecture

[@mightyfilm]

I don't know what seems weirder to me. The fact a European game company developed this game, yet still gave the sport it's American name that didn't even retain the title in the US, or the fact that the French version is based off an anime instead of the Japanese version. Though I just get the vision of every British programmer grunting, groaning, and rolling their eyes for every time they had to use an instance of the word "soccer" instead of football.

[@RetroCore]

lol, I agree with everything. Such an odd release.

[@mightyfilm]

But you have to admit, "The Adventures of Kid Kleats" (I'm assuming it's with a K not a C) is pretty much the name it WOULD have in the US. I'm actually shocked they didn't shove the word "Extreme" in there.

[@ExtremeWreck]

@@mightyfilm The X-Treme Adventures of the Ultimate Kid Kleats of DOOM! should've been the US title for the lolz.

[@williamwilliam9993]

Amiga CD32 and 3do port has a intro FMV the 3do port during introduction the spaceship is now in texture mapped polygon

[@bondosho]

*Matt Furniss :) I remmber this on 3DO. I played it for about 10 minutes, and turned it off.

[@iXien]

It could be nice to play as soon as you understood how to control the character and his balloon. But the fact that the gameplay isn't instinctive is already a proof that something is wrong, and they were so many good platformers on every system back then, it's not surprising Soccer Kid didn't manage to convince...

[@andy6576]

I remember really trying to love this game, the Amiga didn't have that many such technically proficient platformers (not compared to consoles, at least) but the play mechanic is just SOOOO frustrating. "Arabian Nights" - also by Krysalis - was much better, although still flawed.

[@JoystickVersusMachine]

I remember picking this up in the bargin bin for the 3d0 back when that console was still kind of relevant. This was one of those games that fell in price drastically shortly after release. I thought it was fun for about an hour. Then I was mostly over it.

[@KorenLesthe]

Sweet french accent ! Btw, L’école des champions, IIRC, was a Japanese-French collaboration anime that was, indeed, very popular but had to re-use stuff from multiple episodes to make the ending.

[@KGRAMR]

Do you know where I can find a .ROM of the French SNES version? Just curious...

[@KorenLesthe]

@@KGRAMR I don’t know but there might be some ROM websites around the net ^^

[@RetroCore]

Cheers. No idea if that was pronounced right. I'm shire Champion should have more of a Sha sound at the beginning.

[@RetroCore]

I'm not sure. Even the French Rom site GameTronik and Planet Emulation don't have it.

[@KGRAMR]

@@RetroCore Damn! So, we might have an undumped SNES game in our hands

[@truebaconking123]

Woow my dad used to play this game with me on his Amiga 500.

[@dreamcastfan]

Those farmers saying “Get off my land!” in the 3DO version. 😂 It’s a real pity they didn’t get this game right, it seems like such a great idea. Using a ball to attack is really unique, I noticed you could also stand on the ball and roll which seems ripe for doing fast platforming sections. Ricocheting the ball around the screen to solve environmental puzzles would have been cool too. Perhaps someone can do a modern reboot of the game?

[@JustPeasant]

Football world cup was slated for June 1994 in USA, so let's capitalize on the craze & get on a bandwagon. ⚽⚽⚽ Edit: There was a MS DOS version too, if not mistaken.

[@enigma776]

Sure was Soccer Kid: Feets of Fury!!

[@RetroFett]

MSDOS version kzbin.info/www/bejne/Zn-paYGwq82Nh5I

[@GzegzolkaDA]

I have played them all, and finished Amiga and CD32 versions. For me 3DO was definitely the best version. It has better quality of video intro and outro, runs in higher resolution so You see bit more on screen, and yes - controls are tweaked so it is easier to perform some skill kicks.

[@RetroCore]

100% agree

[@GzegzolkaDA]

@@RetroCore so I play it today 3do version got also more sound effects in comparison to cd32 version and some characters sprites were drawn differently (some are same, but usually sprites of big human characters were remade).

[@alexismazzanti6929]

I remember playing a version of soccer kid for MS-DOS. If I remember well, it had the Ocean logo and was a demo, and was not very different form the amiga version. Got tired of it after 10 minutes or so xD

[@RetroFett]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/Zn-paYGwq82Nh5I

[@JorgeAraujo97]

Good ole Jaguar and his physical toilet appearance. Kudos for the designer: never someone got it so right when designing a product. xD

[@thefurthestmanfromhome1148]

Background info on Jaguar version : www.gamesthatwerent.com/2010/09/soccer-kid-atari-jaguar/

[@WMARUoriginal]

Who knew this was this many ports of Soccer Kid. Fascinating!

[@RetroCore]

I sure wish there wasn't 😢 playing Soccer Kid so many times was not a fun experience.

[@brass_fox]

The AVGN covered this game in his recent 3DO episode!

[@RetroCore]

I've not seen that one yet.

[@Charlie-Cat.]

I have the Atari Jaguar version of Soccer Kid Mark. Well worth the investment to have this one in the collection. Love it. 8^) Anthony...

[@RetroCore]

Good that someone likes it 👍

[@sonicmario64]

I never was a fan of soccer, and this game probably doesn't help change my opinion about the sport despite me being a huge fan of 2D-style platformers. :P

[@blutryforce762]

This game saddens me because of how good it looks and I find it's gameplay concept interesting, reminding me of Vic Tokai's platformers like Psycho Fox or Kid Kool.

[@RetroCore]

Phyco Fox is so much better 😉

[@MrNightshade2010]

i remember seeing this game a lot in the magazines back in the day so the story was he's fighting aliens while trying to go to a soccer game?

[@thefurthestmanfromhome1148]

Think said Aliens stole the World Cup or something..

[@RetroCore]

Yep, that's basically it. The aliens stole the world Cup but then broke it with parts landing across the earth, 🙄

[@thefurthestmanfromhome1148]

Previewed as Football Kid on Amiga by German Press I have seen. But then Reviewed as Soccer Kid on CD32 and Amiga. 🤔

[@RetroCore]

Strange indeed.

[@cristianobb13]

i wonder how in the world does a developer think that snappy "back and forth" camera is something tolerable? it hurts my eyes just looking at it i assume they had to do that so you could see farther ahead and be able to see the ball rolling longer, instead of having the character on the middle of the screen. still there had to be some better way of doing this instead of the migrane inducing camera

[@Jabroniville]

Nice compilation! It's really interesting to see them all one by one. It's interesting how modern reviewers all trash the game for obvious mechanical issues, while contemporary reviews often sung its praises. Those old-school reviewers were probably short on time and were just like "yeah, the first level is okay- 70%!".

[@RetroCore]

I was a teen when this game was released but even then I thought it was crap. The people who like it tend to be those who played computer games rather than console games. This makes sense I guess.

[@KISSbestfan]

IIRC the Jaguar version is basically a recreation of unfinished build, that was unoptimised, and had still lot to improve. I guess the developer Just made it to the point when it was playable until the end, and Gave up fixing the rest

[@RetroCore]

it looks that way but they did change some colour pallets for some reason.

[@matttheshadowman2790]

@@RetroCore I think that may be more down to how the Jag displays colour than any actual effort on the part of the developers.

[@pcachu]

You have to admit, for a home computer euro-platformer it's got a surprisingly low jank level. No surprise that they thought it'd be going places. Also: >ported to Playstation >based on the zoomed-in low-rez GBA port and many faces were palmed that day.

[@RetroCore]

What's so amazing about the PlayStation version is that the GBA game it is based upon is a gimped SNES port. So basically the PlayStation got a copy of a gimed SNES game.

[@maesejesus]

In all honesty, if someone is interested in this concept, GBA's "Go, go Beckham!" did it better. That japanese character reminds me a lot of a dodge ball rpg on the famicom!

[@RetroCore]

I think that is what they were going with on the SFC game.

[@TonimanGalvez]

I love Soccer Kid on Amiga, really good game and with unique mechanics.

[@juststatedtheobvious9633]

The Retro Pals said it best: Soccer Kid looks like a puppet from Christian TV.

[@KISSbestfan]

He looks like Fats from the movie Magic

[@fungo6631]

The Jaguar version has loading most likely because of a hardware bug where the Jaguar CPU cannot reliably read cartridge memory, so they used the 68k to copy the contents to RAM.

[@thepirategamerboy12]

I find it odd how there were a number of GBA to PS1 ports late in the PS1's life. There's also a really poor port of the GBA version of the Three Stooges to it. It's missing most of the voices (even the NES had them) and the graphics are very badly upscaled.

[@KISSbestfan]

I guess its because PS One was still quite strong during that time because the next gen consoles were expensive and there was a massive library of games. Sure, those were mostly games made with little effort (No wonder last release was FIFA Based off the few years old Engine with minor tweaks), but still they hoped for some easy money. Tbh I dont know much about ports you mentioned. Anything I should check out?

[@DeskoDev]

Just noticed the description says "Arcade" for the Amiga version. Whoops. Never played this one but I've heard some tracks from it and they're absolutely great, which is unsurprising when you know Matt Furniss was the one behind them.

[@RetroCore]

Fixed that now 👍

[@spacefractal]

Again its was pretty much full screen when played on a monitor. the main game used 306x200, while the status was placed under it on own its own screen (property used 320x40px resolution). Amiga could show multiple resolutions on the same screen. This Hence the Amiga should not redraw the status all the time, only when its changed. Using 306px wide resolution was quite comon on Amiga when you using sprites as there was some wierd issue when they are used when 320px was used. Hence using 306px. Anyway fair review of all platforms.

[@RetroCore]

The title is full screen but the main game is not.

[@spacefractal]

Its likely due sprite hardware bugs on the Amiga Hardware. title is 320x256 with no overscan used. Ingame used 304x200 + 320x40 for the status. They could not uses sprites for the status on the Amiga anyway, so its the right call to do that. Better to uses the limited sprites ingame. Also... SNES, while correct fullscreen is still lower resolution.

[@spacefractal]

regaardless the gameplay review is fair.

[@JudgmentStorm]

I like Soccer Kid on the 3DO. The Amiga versions are alright, but 3DO wins with the better control and added voices. Yellow Card for SNES and GBA... and Red Card for PS1 since it's an inexcusably halfassed GBA port. The PS1 version should've been based on the 3DO one.

[@RetroCore]

Yep, I'd go with the 3DO version too.

[@thefurthestmanfromhome1148]

Shaun Hollingworth was willing to release the Amiga and 3DO versions source code, back in the day, so someone could convert it to the 32-bit Acorn Archimides computer, as a thank you to users for supporting him: www.acorn-gaming.org.uk/Features/Old/News/SKid.html Doesn't look like anyone took up the offer.

[@RetroCore]

That was very nice of him but it isn't really a game that anyone really wants so......

[@thefurthestmanfromhome1148]

@@RetroCore 😂

[@chano7053]

At the tail end of my Amiga days. I remember this game. It wasn't bad but, as you say, it was a tad too hard for its own good. I guess it's a good thing it didn't get originally released on the Jaguar. I mean: back then the game library for that console was already wretched as it was...

[@RetroCore]

Just imagine seeing this running on a SNES then realising your Jag version was actually inferior. Man, no wonder that system was a flop.

[@oscarzxn4067]

It seems the bar for Amiga platformers was very low

[@juststatedtheobvious9633]

The British microcomputer scene was, in some ways, like America before the Crash. But a lot of this was just due to other genres being more popular than 2d platformers. And the fact that their 2d platformer designs were more influenced by Manic Miner than Miyamoto. Cheap deaths were considered a virtue when done right...but Sturgeon's law turned that into a curse.

[@amerigocosta7452]

It was. The most acclaimed platformers on the Amiga (namely Super Frog, Zool, Chuck Rock, Soccer Kid and a few others), on any 16 bit console would have been considered (and they were, when ported) at best average and forgettable. Truth to be told, Soccer Kid is not a load of crap once you get a grip on how the controls works and what's likely to cause a cheap death. It was OK for the Amiga, and less than mediocre for a console like the SNES.

[@volkte37]

Need to do BotP for Power Drive the 16 bit Rally Racer!

[@RetroCore]

I'll add it to the list. I remember that got a few ports. Played the snes version myself.

[@williamwilliam9993]

on 3do ports ths spaceship on the FMV is now 3d complete with texture mapped polygon

[@turrican3839]

Why did this random game get ported to *LITERALLY* everything at the time and it's suprising seeing no Gameboy, Game Gear or Genesis conversion getting released either PS: It's Matt Furniss xd

[@RetroCore]

Isn't that what I said? Or maybe I said Furness ? Can't remember now.

[@turrican3839]

@@RetroCore That's how you pronounce his name lol

[@WeskerSega]

Mega Drive version was not released because of Ocean. For some reason they had a lot of Mega Drive games planned and after releasing like some four of them, they cancelled the rest outright despite most of them being actually completed. The situation of having so much cancelled games for the Mega Drive was only mirrored by Psygnosis which, at least, still released more titles than Ocean ever did.

[@PedroFerreira-sx2gd]

There is also a pc port. Yes the game is nothing special, but if you were a kid at that time probably you would appreciate more. specially if you were a soccer fan and a casual gamer. the game is creative and has unique mechanics. It was probably the only game related to soccer without being a soccer game. The controls allow to perform a great variety of tricks (including bycicle kick that is not featured in the video).

[@RagingRowen]

The DOS version is a dodgy port with worse color, slowdown at times and no parallax scrolling. I also don't think the L'ecole des Champions version for the SNES was released. The only info on it is a magazine article.

[@RetroCore]

Ah, that would explain why there is no French ROM of the SNES version.

[@FuzzballRenakitty]

Wait Tim Furniss? I think you meant Matt Furniss! :P I had to wonder if my hearing was off~ That PS1 version though is... well that IS something...something crap! The 3D0 version looks to be the prettiest though out of the lot

[@RetroCore]

Yeah, brain fart time at that point. Matt it should be.

[@shotgunl]

I never have played Soccer Kid, though I know I at least saw a review or preview of some version in a magazine back in the 90s. Eventually, I got this game confused with Marko, which I definitely remember seeing a bunch of magazine ads for. I didn't think about this game until much later looking at videos, and I still have never touched it since I just can't stand that quick-snap camera combined with the camera anchor point being so far from the center of the screen. However, the Jaguar version seems to have brought the soccer kid character toward the center of the screen with a much smaller camera pull zone that keeps it from being so horribly snappy. The 3DO version certainly looks to have the best presentation out of the bunch, but that refined camera probably makes the Jaguar the best to actually to play. What do you think, Mark? Also, though I probably still wouldn't be that interested in the game, I would have definitely liked to have seen the Genesis version come out just to hear what Matt Furniss did with the soundtrack. Of course everyone has their own opinion on the subject, but I always liked most of Matt Furniss's work on the Genesis, and he's probably my second favorite western composer on the system.

[@RetroCore]

I think the 3DO version wins overall. The Jag has less snap to the camera but the 3DO feels better when playing. No matter which version you choose though, they're all pretty crap.

[@solidusgrcsnakegrc3322]

I think the 3do version maybe its the best of all!

[@RetroCore]

I'd agree.

[@Clasiku]

I wouldn't care much for the game even with its potential it has, but I do like the Japanese version of Soccer Kid's character, he's cute. I'd even imagine an 90's anime series with him and the other characters from the Super Famicom cover art of the game.

[@liamh1982]

Go Go Beckham on the GBA is a much better take on a similar idea.

[@thefurthestmanfromhome1148]

Originally known as Football Kid: With an ST version seemingly considered at one point. www.atarimania.com/reviews/hi_res/sleepwalker_sas_command_football_kid_pre_str_05.jpg There are claims Telegsmes considered doing a conversion for the Lynx at one stage, but that would require due diligence research to confirm and see if any coding was ever started. Ditto the ST version shown in link, that might of been an assumption on part of the press.

[@RetroCore]

I'm pretty sure the ST version was in production. The www.atarimania.com site mention it.

[@thefurthestmanfromhome1148]

@@RetroCore I'd have more confidence it was actually started, if there was more than just a single magazine preview, which Atarimania has.

[@davidvfx]

Curious that the MD version is canceled why in Sega but this game was originally developed: marko's magic football by Dorkman kzbin.info/www/bejne/j5DVeaqrqa1_frs It almost seems that they tried to make a better game based on the mechanics from scratch and not a Port .... Of course it would have been an exclusive from MD but it was believed to be a pord to SF.

[@RetroCore]

I'm pretty sure there is no SF version. Just Mega Drive and Mega CD.

[@WeskerSega]

@@RetroCore There is. Marko's Magic Football was released for the Mega Drive, Mega CD, SNES and Game Gear. A Master System version was also developed, but cancelled. The Game Gear version actually has a very Master System friendly resolution so it makes sense (and has a homebrew Master System conversion which was easily done because of that). Overall, and because of the unreleased Mega Drive version of Soccer Kid, the SNES is the only platform which has these two similar titles in its library.

[@RyumaXtheXKing]

@@WeskerSega The GBA also offers Go Go Beckham, if you really love football platformers.

[@ExtremeWreck]

At least the Japanese Soccer Kid looks friendly compared to the original European Soccer Kid who looks like a smug drug dealer who loves to give people a bad time if they didn't buy his drugs.

[@RetroCore]

Lol, nicely put.

[@jayminer]

I remember loading this game up a lot on the Amiga back in the day, I really wanted to like it and thought if I just gave it some more time I might get the hang of things but I never did. Nice graphics and presentation but sadly a boring game.

[@RetroCore]

Same here!

[@chakrazoo]

Why the "Golden Grahams" on his Jaguar jersey? Was the cereal brand involved?

[@RagingRowen]

It was present in the previous versions, and SNES cartridges were prizes in Golden Grahams boxes for a limited time.

[@RetroCore]

They were too lazy to remake the sprite. By the time the Jag version came out that tie in was well over.

[@GlenLehane]

There's an MS-DOS version as well, I think I still have the floppy disks somewhere! I didn't mind this game, it wasn't brilliant, but it was different and quirky. Though I can see why people don't like it. AVGN humorously pans the game in his recent 3DO episode

[@dlfrsilver]

I have Soccer Kid on Amiga, Amiga 1200 and also IBM PC. It's running very well under DOSBOX. I have even preserved the game in IPF format (IBM Version).

[@fungo6631]

For the DOS version, maybe try a different version of DOSBox.

[@KISSbestfan]

Its better to get an oldschool laptop from early 2000s. I have one for those DOS games

[@fungo6631]

@@KISSbestfan Early 2000s laptops for DOS are to be avoided like rona. Unless they are Soundblaster compatible.

[@KISSbestfan]

@@fungo6631 Ive got the California Access one from 2001, and it does job really good. I also have standart PCs that are even older, but I understand that they are quite spacy, so a laptop is to be considered

[@RetroCore]

I did. Tried 3 versions. All could run the set up program but all crashed the game.

[@WeskerSega]

@@RetroCore Maybe the Steam version could have solved the problem for you. It's a DOSBox packed version but it seems to work fine, with no crashes at all. It's actually at discount right now.

[@mariomacius]

90s european kids: oh look at this manga-like character. It's sooooo col. 90s western designers: ok, well... we adapted the character and the cover to be western-like. Here you have, ugly like a shot of shit.

[@thefurthestmanfromhome1148]

Krisalis received £40,000 for the deal to put Soccer Kid on Golden Grahams cereal boxes.

[@RetroCore]

A cereal I never ate and one I'd actively avoid seeing Soccer kid in it.

[@thefurthestmanfromhome1148]

Looked into Marko's Magic Football and also U. S Gold's Hurricanes.. U. S Gold appeared scared to send magazines review copies of their title. Where as DOMARK spent a lot on magazine advertising for theirs and game seemed well recieved, but sales were poor?

[@RetroCore]

Well, I can't see either being any worse than this one.

[@thefurthestmanfromhome1148]

@@RetroCore Hurricanes, G. G and M. D, European release only, done by Arc Developments, Gameplay differs between each version. U. S GOLD Claimed it was aimed at kids, being based around the Cartoon. Probe did the Noth America only SNES version. Said to be awful. Mega Drive version makes clever use of the systems color palette and features a lot of parallax scrolling, detailed backgrounds and tight controls. Arc admit it's ahem, influenced by Soccer Kid. Marko's Magic Football? Praised for it's animation, for being something original on M. D, but gameplay was Flagged up for being slow and frustrating. 56% Sega Zone. 64% Mean Machines Magazine. 61% Sega Magazine. 60% C+VG Were among the lower end scores

[@orderofmagnitude-TPATP]

Maybe the Japanese company for the A32 version couldn't be arsed?

[@amerigocosta7452]

It was said on a UK Amiga magazine, but then again they didn't even mention which Japanese studio was supposed to be doing the animation. Let's be honest, there never was a Japanese animation company working on this or an any other Amiga game. It also looks like nothing any Japanese company at the time would make.

[@RetroCore]

@@amerigocosta7452 absolutely. It looks like some low budget British animation.

[@JFD62780]

...I think you have a correction to make in the description. Case in point, I was like, "There was an ARCADE game?!?!" >;) . . . curse my Mandela Effect addled brain; I thought it WAS Soccer Kid in the US on the SNES. o.o

[@SIDEKICKDUSTY]

Also, "music by Tim Furniss." I think he meant Matt Furniss and got him him mixed up with Tim Follin.

[@RetroCore]

lol, I did.

[@RetroCore]

Oops, fixed that.

[@bit-ishbulldog2089]

MARKO'S MAGIC FOOTBALL on SEGA Mega CD is that not a version of Soccer Kid? Same gameplay etc.

[@RetroCore]

no, it is a game that is very similar though. It was also released on the Mega Drive.

[@WeskerSega]

@@RetroCore You probably could do a Battle of the Ports of that next so people will stop mistaking the two. If you do, aside from the official Mega Drive, Mega CD, SNES and Game Gear versions, there's also a nice homebrew Master System conversion you could also check out.

[@WrightOffsGaming]

Hats off to you Mark for a excellent and almost intolerable video, if a medal for the continued playing of shithouse Euro platformer's was a thing you'd be wearing it right now. I've got this sat on the shelf for my 3do and it's never been put in the machine lol, now I've watched you play I never need too. I actually owned this on my brief fling with the cd32 and you really haven't suffered the true pain of soccer kid. Until it's been played on the worst controller ever made.

[@RetroCore]

Yeah, it's funny how Euro platformers are so shit yet they kept making that way. Its not like they didn't know any better either as the Mega Drive was massive in Europe at this point.

[@jamesburchill7522]

Wow..did not see this one coming. Great video, questionable game. Let's end this debate. The name of the game is "Soccer Kid." I think we know what I'm implicating.

[@SnesForum]

What about the PC Version ? I played this game in my childhood on the PC and off course for this reason i like it but i understand the control critic.

[@RetroCore]

Couldn't get it to work. I did write this on the intro.

[@liambyrne3488]

What's a better game, this it Marco's magic football? Not that I've played either they just seem very similar.

[@RetroCore]

Probably Marco. At least they could learn from the mistakes this one makes.

[@thefurthestmanfromhome1148]

The Jaguar developers really did pin an awful lot on the system.. Generally, Krisalis are feeling very positive towards the Jaguar and think that if Atari can get enough machines into the market place, backed up with sufficient marketing, then it could be a great success. However, if they delay much longer then Sony may well steal this success away from them. Timing and marketing will prove to be crucial factors. Krisalis do see themselves as pioneers, and are already planning to release three Jaguar titles. Those currently in development include the highly-acclaimed platformer Soccer Kid and Battle Chess for other publishers. Work is also about to commence on a new football game. Krisalis believe that if developers don't commit to the Jaguar at this early stage it could well damage the console's changes. It's a good product. It's got good press. It has been very well received. They should go for it." Tony Kavanagh (Managing Director 3 planned titles and not even this made it out properly..

[@williamwilliam9993]

In north america soccer kid for the snes is released as the adventure of kid kleets

[@jesuszamora6949]

Yeah, he mentioned that in the video.

[@turbinegraphics16]

Good 2d graphics for 3do, makes me think it could run rayman.

[@thefurthestmanfromhome1148]

Krisalis have claimed that the 3DO company, liked them enormously and needed titles for the platform, so they put Soccer Kid and Star Fighter 3000 on it and suddenly 3DO wanted to buy them, but the offer was turned down, as 3DO wanted to shrink the company, by making staff redundant.

[@RetroCore]

At least they didn't cave to the big boys. But if 3DO thought soccer Kid and Star Fighter 3000 were great games, it's no wonder the quality was so low on the 3DO.

[@SynthatronPrime]

I truly hate this game but great video per usual! You can always detect a europlatformer by the unimaginative and or confusing level design and collecting of pointless objects.

[@newtypepunk9967]

This looks a lot better than I remember it, but still trash gameplay, I had the Hurricanes on MD, which wasn't much better tbh. It's a shame, as the concept of a football platformer is a good one, it's just nobody ever pulled it off.

[@SamMcDonald83]

Who knew there were so many versions of this 😳

[@guybrushsf3562]

Missing DOS version :(

[@RetroCore]

I know. It says so on the opening :(

[@jeremygregorio7472]

What, no Virtua Boy port?

[@supakusuta]

The Virtual Boy never came out in Europe.

[@thefurthestmanfromhome1148]

Don't forget PAL versions of this had in-game advertising for Golden Grahams breakfast cereal 🤣 Compo from the time: cerealoffers.com/Cereal_Partners/Golden_Grahams/1990s/Soccer_Kid_Competition/soccer_kid_competition.html

[@RetroCore]

They did. What is funny is the Jag version does too even though it come out 7 years later :D

[@Colin_Ames]

I get the feeling you’re not a fan of this game! The concept is good, in my opinion, but not the execution.

[@RetroCore]

I'm not. Good idea but poorly done.

[@thefurthestmanfromhome1148]

Ahhh Telegsmes... Why am I not surprised to find they were the ones behind porting a GBA title to the Playstation? 🤣

[@liamh1982]

Telegames - what an odd company they are. Happy to charge extortionate prices for common SNES and Mega Drive games but would occasionally team up with GAME to flog Jaguars and Lynxes for ridiculously trifling amounts. I got a Jag and five games for £30, a Lynx II with eight games for a tenner!

[@thefurthestmanfromhome1148]

@@liamh1982 Weren't they just? 😂 I used them a number of times when i got into Retro Collecting and bought a few Atari 8-bit titles from them, at some eye watering prices. Games arrived packaged well still sealed, but encased in thick layers of dust. They literally took them out of storage where they'd been sat for years, packed them up and shipped them. Could of cleaned them off first. Never used them again. There was also the infamous.. We lost everything in our warehouse due to a Typhoon claim, followed by water damaged games popping up for sale months later 😂 They also wanted a minimum of 6000 fully paid up pre orders to finish various unfinished Jaguar games they were sat on.

[@cristianramallo8042]

la version de super nintendo tiene buena paleta de colores. 3do si que era una buena consola

[@angelriverasantana7755]

The best part about the game besides the cheesy premise and music was the Japanese box

[@RetroCore]

Absolutely.

[@Corsa15DT]

How come the PS version looks worse than the Amiga? :)

[@garethskeg]

Never played until I got it on the evercade so disappointed always wanted to play it Marko's Magic Football is so much better

[@matttheshadowman2790]

This game is… not very good. You know your game is bad when I would pick Zool on the Mega Drive over you every time. Speaking of which I am surprised this didn’t get a Mega Drive version.

[@RetroCore]

There was a Mega Drive version in production but it was never released. There is no prototype released eiter.

[@liamh1982]

Maybe its similarity to Marko's Magic Football counted against it.

[@WeskerSega]

@@liamh1982 No, it was just Ocean playing dumb with the game (they were the ones intending to publish the Mega Drive version) like most of their other Mega Drive releases which were completed but not released for some dumb commercial reason. There's quite a lot of unreleased Ocean Mega Drive games because of that. Psygnosis is the only other third party company that comes close to them when dealing with unreleased Mega Drive games.

[@Dreddtube]

So many versions of such a bad game. And the less worst one being on a console nobody owned. Bravo.

[@JolliAllGenGamer]

If this game was a pile of crap why are those so many ports of it? I played the SNES version and I agree it wasn’t my cup of tea.

[@RetroCore]

Many ports never means quality.

[@davidmuldowney]

GET OFF MOI LAND! 😅

[@dlfrsilver]

(c) Cannon Fodder Mission 19 🤣🤣🤣

[@KGRAMR]

I have managed to play the Atari Jaguar version via emulation through the end and the most fucked up thing about the port is that the credits sequence is glitched up and the game crashes. I wish I was joking. I don't know if anybody else had the same experience as me but I would love to know...

[@KISSbestfan]

Jaguar is a homebrew Based off unfinished build

[@RetroCore]

The Jag never stops amazing me with its half arsed efforts.

[@KISSbestfan]

@@RetroCore nowadays Jag recieves a lot of ST ports. I guess some of them can be interested

[@KGRAMR]

Let's say a mix of ST-to-Jaguar conversion + original homebrew projects such as Kings of Edom and Asteroite.

[@KGRAMR]

@Jesus Zamora For the moment, there's no Jaguar emulator that plays all games flawlessly but i recommend 3: Projecr Tempest, Virtual Jaguar and Phoenix.

[@fulgenzio1973]

99% of western platformers were vastly overrated.

[@moxty2795]

WTF It's That his face 0:42

[@RetroCore]

Yep. It's bloody awful. Main reason why I used the Japanese artwork for the title card.

[@thefurthestmanfromhome1148]

Didn't Dean Lester go onto take the Soccer Kid Concept to DOMARK and make Marko's Magic Football : kzbin.info/www/bejne/m5moapiFacSfa7s

[@RetroCore]

not sure. I don't like football so I never really had much interest in any of these games.

[@thefurthestmanfromhome1148]

@@RetroCore A man after my own heart. Hate football. Hate generic European ST and Amiga platform games that look nice, play like a brick.. When you combine the two... 😂

[@SelfIndulgentGamer]

The PS1 looked like the worst version :D

[@RetroCore]

It was. Crappy GBA colour pallet, squashed graphics and really low quality sound effects