Welcome back to another offering in our suggestions for the title of greatest game of all time, and this one is an absolute cracker.
Yes, that's right, the great-grandfather of Pro Evolution Soccer, International Superstar Soccer Pro 98 was a delightful football game that came out on both N64 and Playstation back in 1997, and it was utterly sensational.
The graphics were sharp, the gameplay is still enjoyable to this day, and it had game modes to keep you coming back for more. Emotional attachments were made to this superb effort from Konami, and here are the reasons it should be considered the greatest ever.
The Fake Player Names
Just look at that Ireland team. Creating the fake player names must have been one of the more enjoyable aspects of making this game for the developers, and it turned what should have been a negative in not having the licences into a positive in terms of pure comedy.
The Commentary
https://youtu.be/_02AMVjjZ54?t=3m29s
(skip to 3:29)
The utterly bizarre commentary could switch from mundane to over-excited in the same sentence. Iconic.
The Cover
Fabrizio Ravanelli starting on Paul Ince? This one jumped off the shelves in Golden Discs.
All Star Matches
These were an absolute joy to behold, and were the cause of some of our fondest memories with the game. You may have had to guess who the players actually were, but sure that was half the fun.
The Kits
Those kits looked really damn nice for 1997. All the teams in the game had kits as close to the real thing as possible, and that was a big deal back then.
France 98
Despite Konami again losing out to EA Sports when it came to the World Cup, they didn't let that hinder them and offered their users "France Selection" in Cup mode, as well as including all 32 competing nations, to make sure the tournament was on offer.
The Celebrations
(skip to 1:58)
Another iconic part of ISS Pro 98 were the celebrations, which often involved players running far more than they previously had in the match,
The Ridiculous Signs In The Stadium
Vintage Konami. The Japanese developers used to love throwing inspirational signs and messages into the backdrop of their footy games, and things like "GET A GOAL!" often gave you that extra push you needed to.. Well..
The Player Form Indicator
Konami decided the use of smilies was the best way to judge who should play, and by the way, check out that foreshadowing with a certain Brazil #9's form against France. Creepy.
The Dome Stadium
'Stadium D' was the only choice. A beauty.
