The Video Game Critic

[QUOTE=Sut]It's interesting hearing your opinions on Sensible Soccer, it's reputation is nearly as legendary as Mario and Sonic in the UK. When this thing was first released on the Amiga and ST it was the source of many game nights and playground banter. Seems very strange to hear indifference about it, might be a NA/Euro gaming divide.[/QUOTE]

I almost mentioned this a couple days ago when the Critic first posted his Sensible Soccer review, but I'm glad it came from someone that personally experienced it rather than an American like me.  I have never played Sensible Soccer (except the demo on Xbox Live), but I have read several books from the UK [I have found that the UK, and Europe in general, put out much better books on classic gaming than we do in the States] and Sensible Soccer is always mentioned in very high regard in those books.  In terms of sports game, I think the fairest comparison for US gamers would be with how we regard the Tecmo Bowl series.  Of course, it's obvious why Sensible Soccer never caught on over here in the US, since the sport is not popular here and, unlike in Europe, computers were not popular gaming machines at that time.  Still interesting to read the review though, and I did wonder if European gamers would find it blasphemous to give it less than an A or A-.

It's great to see new Jaguar reviews. I believe the only games to support the team tap were NBA Jam and Barkley Shut Up and Jam, which I believe is an unreleased prototype. It must be awesome to play NBA Jam with the team tap and pro controllers, so you can use the shoulder button for turbo. I'd love to see NBA Jam and Zero 5 reviewed.

PSX1 wrote:

Sut wrote:It's interesting hearing your opinions on Sensible Soccer, it's reputation is nearly as legendary as Mario and Sonic in the UK. When this thing was first released on the Amiga and ST it was the source of many game nights and playground banter. Seems very strange to hear indifference about it, might be a NA/Euro gaming divide.

I almost mentioned this a couple days ago when the Critic first posted his Sensible Soccer review, but I'm glad it came from someone that personally experienced it rather than an American like me.  I have never played Sensible Soccer (except the demo on Xbox Live), but I have read several books from the UK [I have found that the UK, and Europe in general, put out much better books on classic gaming than we do in the States] and Sensible Soccer is always mentioned in very high regard in those books.  In terms of sports game, I think the fairest comparison for US gamers would be with how we regard the Tecmo Bowl series.  Of course, it's obvious why Sensible Soccer never caught on over here in the US, since the sport is not popular here and, unlike in Europe, computers were not popular gaming machines at that time.  Still interesting to read the review though, and I did wonder if European gamers would find it blasphemous to give it less than an A or A-.

Yes, I am an European gamer and, in my opinion, Sensible Soccer is A or A+, below this is a joke...
A detail about the review, the game has more than 150 teams, not 64, greetings.

Anchoa79 wrote:Yes, I am an European gamer and, in my opinion, Sensible Soccer is A or A+, below this is a joke...
A detail about the review, the game has more than 150 teams, not 64, greetings.

Welcome to the forums, Anchoa!

The post by "PSX" above was me back in the day. I would add, though, I wonder if the Jaguar version is an inferior version of Sensible Soccer? Obviously the Jaguar version isn't the one that European gamers know and love... usually it was the computer versions, like the Amiga. So I wonder if the Critic truly missed the mark here or if it the Jaguar version just isn't as good.

Either way, I've never played Sensible Soccer on any system and I hope to fix that someday. It's too important of a game to not play at least once.

Retro STrife wrote:I wonder if the Jaguar version is an inferior version of Sensible Soccer? Obviously the Jaguar version isn't the one that European gamers know and love... usually it was the computer versions, like the Amiga. So I wonder if the Critic truly missed the mark here or if it the Jaguar version just isn't as good.

They actually dumbed down the console ports making them easier to control. The ball sticks to your feet far less in the Amiga/ST versions. I would imagine the Critic finding them much more difficult/frustrating than the console ports.

Retro STrife wrote:

Anchoa79 wrote:Yes, I am an European gamer and, in my opinion, Sensible Soccer is A or A+, below this is a joke...
A detail about the review, the game has more than 150 teams, not 64, greetings.

Welcome to the forums, Anchoa!

The post by "PSX" above was me back in the day. I would add, though, I wonder if the Jaguar version is an inferior version of Sensible Soccer? Obviously the Jaguar version isn't the one that European gamers know and love... usually it was the computer versions, like the Amiga. So I wonder if the Critic truly missed the mark here or if it the Jaguar version just isn't as good.

Either way, I've never played Sensible Soccer on any system and I hope to fix that someday. It's too important of a game to not play at least once.

Thank you very much Retro STrife!!! I highly recommend the Megadrive/Genesis version, is the best on consoles.

Anchoa79 wrote:Thank you very much Retro STrife!!! I highly recommend the Megadrive/Genesis version, is the best on consoles.

I've down a little research on Sensible Soccer and, interestingly, it seems like the Jaguar port was the only console version released in the US. And people do seem to credit it as being a good port, although the Amiga version is still the preferred version. Unfortunately, the Jaguar port of Sensible Soccer is pricey, going for around $40. I don't want to play it that bad... For the European versions, the Mega Drive version sells for about $20 in the US and the SNES version sells for around $10.

Anyone know what's the easiest way to play European SNES or Mega Drive games in the US? (without spending much money in the process, since that would defeat the point of avoiding the Jag port)

It was released as Championship Soccer ‘94 on the Mega CD in the US. If that’s an option for you ?

https://segaretro.org/Sensible_Soccer

PAL/50Hz SNES games are a pain since they're inherently region-locked at the hardware level, present a physical obstacle too (same as Japanese games), and many have a software check as well. You can bypass these issues with a Pro Action Replay of the right kind, but I'd sooner just use a flash cart and hard-patch the ROMs.

Mega Drive games often present no issue except for the change in speed. Some have region locking in software that can be bypassed easily with a Game Genie code or three, though that can interfere with saving your game. (You definitely can't save while the Game Genie is active, but I recently read speculation that it'll work if you deactivate it during gameplay.)

From what I can see, the original Sensible Soccer isn't region-locked on Mega Drive, but International Edition is.

Sut wrote:It was released as Championship Soccer ‘94 on the Mega CD in the US. If that’s an option for you ?

https://segaretro.org/Sensible_Soccer

I appreciate the tip on the name difference. You got my hopes up there for a minute, but unfortunately Championship Soccer '94 is rare and sells for about $40 too, so it's in the same realm as the Jaguar version.

goldenband wrote:Mega Drive games often present no issue except for the change in speed.

Yeah, I've had success with playing a couple European games on my Genesis without any issues (Zero Wing comes to mind). However, as I search for Sensible Soccer, it looks like the cheapest copies of the Mega Drive version would cost $30 once shipped here.

By comparison, the SNES version is going for like $12 shipped. In terms of price, that's the best option. Is there an easy way to play a European SNES game in the US, without investing any significant time/money into it?