Mega Man Soccer

Mega Man Soccer, known in Japan as Rockman’s Soccer (ロックマンズサッカー), is a soccer video game for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System/Famicom. The game is based on the original Mega Man series of action-platform games. Mega Man Soccer was first released in Japan on February 17, 1994 and in North America in April of that same year.

Mega Man Soccer is a traditional soccer game with exhibition matches, tournaments, and leagues that can be played both single-player and multiplayer depending on the mode. The game features characters and Robot Masters from previous entries in the original Mega Man series. Each character has a unique special shot that will temporarily disable anyone that comes in contact with the ball. This aspect of Mega Man Soccer was met with critical praise, but overall reception has been average, particularly due to its perceived poor play control.

Mega Man Soccer is a soccer game that allows the player to play as various characters from the Mega Man series including Mega Man, Proto Man, and several Robot Masters. The game features modes of play much like more traditional sports games, such as exhibition matches, tournaments, and leagues. The “Exhibition” mode lets the player play a single match with a team created using any of the game’s 20 characters on one of a dozen themed soccer fields. The “Capcom Championship” mode can be played either one-player or two-player cooperatively. For the first section of this mode, the player is given a team composed entirely of Mega Man robots, and is tasked with defeating eight teams of Robot Masters in an order of the player’s choosing. After beating each team, one member of a team joins the player’s team and can then be used, much like how Mega Man can gain the ability of a boss at end of each stage in other entries in the series. After all eight teams are defeated, the player has to defeat several other teams which are faced in a set order in the same way the stages taking place in Dr. Wily’s castle—the area that always followed the initial eight boss stages—occur in a set order in other Mega Man games. The “Tournament” and “League” modes allow one or two players to pick among nine teams and participate in a tiered schedule of games. Teams that neither player pick must simply be watched.

Mega Man Soccer has four statistics in which characters differ from one another in ability: running, kicking, tackling, and defense. These statistics are displayed on screen when the player is given the chance to set a formation at the beginning of a match, or make substitutions at halftime. Controls in Mega Man Soccer mostly mirror that of a more realistic soccer game. Individual buttons are mapped to shooting, passing, slide tackling opposing players, and headbutting or chestbumping the ball depending on its proximity to the player. The one feature that is decidedly dissimilar to anything in realistic soccer is the inclusion of “special attacks”. These shots resemble the abilities used by the characters in other Mega Man games. For example, Cut Man’s shot will turn the ball into a pair of cleavers, while Fire Man’s shot will set the ball ablaze. Special attacks will temporarily knock down, stun, or otherwise inhibit any character it hits. They generally are much more likely to produce a goal compared to normal shots, but can only be used a few times per game in certain modes. Games consist of two five-minute halves followed by five rounds of penalty kicks if the game remains tied. The clock stops while a goalkeeper has the ball or when the ball is out of bounds.