Soccer Brawl

[Asura]

So, Soccer Brawl. NeoGeo classic, or so I always thought.

Is it really any good?

Bit of context. I just gave it a go, first time in decades that I've played it for more than a few minutes, and probably just as long since I l last played against the AI.

Is it just me, or is it the most difficult game ever?

Admittedly, I'm still getting the hang of something that both this and Super Soccer did, namely that when you hit "pass", the control immediately shifts to the receiver (who you may not be able to see), so if you're holding <right> on the pad, the receiver will have moved away from where-ever you're trying to pass while the ball gets there; but admittedly in this game you have to manually press to do jumping headers and diving headers, so I suppose I can see what they were going for.

But all in all, I found it really frustrating, and really not fun at all. The AI seems to win every single contest for the ball, and the keepers at both ends are either amazing or utterly clueless. I mean, sometimes the AI literally stands a player in front of your semi-AI friendly keeper and just obstructs them; the keeper throws the ball and immediately the AI player gets possession and knocks it in.

Also, passing is a real crap shoot; sometimes it works, but I've had enough times where you hit pass and the player just hoofs the ball into open space, or even right to an enemy player.

Is it one of those games that can be mastered? Or as a kid, was I just totally bowled over by its great-at-the-time visuals, and is it actually a bit crap?

[Colin]

I played it on release and loved it, owned it and played it to death on AES. I definitely suffer rose tinted glasses involving it. Is it a classic? No, not for me personally. It can still be fun but that’s about it.

[Nu-Eclipse]

I've got a soft spot for Soccer Brawl. One of the very first MVS titles that I played regularly back in the early 90s and it immediately comes to mind whenever I think of the Neo•Geo.

I still find it fun to play decades later and I do feel that it definitely can be mastered even though the difficulty curve is harsh (something that isn't alien to Neo•Geo sports titles, especially the Super Sidekicks games).

All said and done, the best Neo•Geo footy game IMO is Tecmo World Soccer '96. Difficulty balanced enough whilst retaining that 90s arcade fun gameplay.

[phillv85]

Was going to say, pretty much all Neo Geo footie games are balls to the wall rock hard. In fact most Neo Geo games are near impossible without serious dedication. Once you can get past the difficulty curve they are definitely fun games. When it comes to mastering, it’s tough to say for some Neo games, sometimes the AI is so brokenly unfair there’s nothing you can do. I’m no expert on Soccer Brawl so can’t speak for it really, but the games were designed to get you off them sooner rather than later.