Nintendo World Cup

Nintendo World Cup
Cover art
Developer(s)	Technōs Japan
Publisher(s)	Nintendo
Designer(s)	Noriyuki Tomiyama, Hiroyuki Sekimoto, Mitsuhiro Yoshida
Composer(s)	Kazuo Sawa
Platform(s)	Nintendo Entertainment System, Sharp X68000, Game Boy, PC-Engine, TurboGrafx-CD, Mega Drive, Virtual Console
Release date(s)	May 18, 1990 NES JP May 18, 1990 NA December 1990 EU June 27, 1991 Sharp X68000 JP 1990 Game Boy JP April 24, 1991 NA June 1991 EU 1991 PC Engine CD-ROM JP December 20, 1991 PC Engine JP April 3, 1992 Mega Drive JP August 7, 1992 Virtual Console JP October 7, 2008 (Famicom) JP November 4, 2008 (PC Engine CD-ROM)
Genre(s)	Sports
Mode(s)	Tournament (1-2 players against CPU), VS Match (2-4 players)
Media/distribution	2-megabit NES cartridge Game Boy cartridge

Nintendo World Cup is a soccer video game for the Nintendo Entertainment System and Game Boy, developed by Technōs Japan and released in 1990. The NES version is a localization of Nekketsu Kōkō Dodgeball Bu: Soccer Hen (熱血高校ドッジボール部サッカー編 ^?, lit. "Hotblooded High School Dodge Ball Club: Soccer Edition"), the fourth Kunio-kun game released for the Family Computer. Ports for the PC-Engine and Sega Mega Drive were also released in Japan only. The Game Boy version of the game was released in Japan as Nekketsu Kōkō Soccer Bu: World Cup Hen (熱血高校サッカー部 ワールドカップ編, Nekketsu Kōkō Sakkā Bu Wārudo Kappu Hen^?, lit. "Hotblooded High School Soccer Club: World Cup Edition") and was based on the American release of the NES version.

Overview

Gameplay of Nintendo World Cup. The player-controlled U.S.A. team competes against Japan, led by Kunio.

At its core, the game follows the rules of soccer, but with noticeable differences. Each team has only six players (a goalkeeper, two defenders, a midfielder and two forwards). You control only one of them, but you can give commands (Pass/Shoot) to the others. Offsides are non-existent and fouls are not punished. Players can be knocked out by repeatedly sliding, tackling or shooting them, afterwards they will stay down for the rest of the half. Players can also use up to five "super shots" per half; these powerful, odd-looking shots are used whenever a player does a bicycle kick or a diving header^[1], or when he shoots after walking a certain number of steps^[2]. The "super shots" differ from player to player. The playing fields also differ in respect to material, e.g. ice, which heavily impacts movement of both, players and the ball.

There are two game modes^[3]:

• Tournament mode, in which one or two players take control of one of the 13 available teams, in order to defeat their CPU-controlled opponents.
• VS Match mode, which enables players to confront each other on sand, ice or dirt playing fields^[4]. Up to four players can compete using the NES Four Score^[5] or the NES Satellite. For the Game Boy a link cable or Four Player Adapter would be used.

Graphically, the game looks similar to others in the Kunio-kun series, particularly River City Ransom, with its short-legged, big-headed characters with varied faces; in fact, some sprites, such as Kunio and the other members of the Japanese team, were reused from River City Ransom.

Teams

The national teams in this game are as follows:

 Argentina
 Brazil
 Cameroon
 England
 France
 Italy
 Japan
 Mexico
 Netherlands
 Soviet Union
 Spain
 United States
 West Germany

Some of the teams had naming issues:

• The Soviet Union is denominated as Russia in the NES port of the game, but as U.S.S.R. in the Game Boy port
• West Germany is denominated as W. Germany in the NES port, but as Germany in the Game Boy port
• The Netherlands appears in both versions under the name Holland

Regional differences

The Japanese Famicom version of Nintendo World Cup, Nekketsu Kōkō Dodgeball Bu: Soccer Hen, differs from its NES counterpart, in which instead of a World Cup theme, the game centers around a national soccer tournament set in Japan between thirteen high schools. In the main Tournament Mode, the player takes control of the main team of Nekketsu High School team and competes against the twelve other teams. The Tournament Mode features an opening intro and story sequences not in the NES version. In the Famicom version's "Vs. Match Mode", the player can only choose between the Nekketsu team and four other teams. Since the main Tournament Mode in the Famicom version only featured a single team, the NES localization allows the player to choose between the thirteen nationalities represented in the game by changing the palette of the player's team and their super shots. However, unlike the NES version, the Famicom only supports up to two players.

Ports

X68000

The X68000 version of Nekketsu Kōkō Dodgeball Bu: Soccer Hen​ was released on 1990. This port was developed by SPS and published by Sharp.

PC Engine

The game was ported to PC Engine Super CD-ROM² version, title Nekketsu Kōkō Dodgeball Bu: CD Soccer Hen (熱血高校ドッジボール部 ＣＤサッカー編^?, Nekketsu High School Dodgeball Club: CD Soccer Edition) was released in December 20, 1991, was published by Naxat Soft and it also released for the PC Engine Hu-Card on April 13, 1992 under the title Nekketsu Kōkō Dodgeball Bu: PC Soccer Hen (熱血高校ドッジボール部 ＰＣサッカー編^?, Nekketsu High School Dodgeball Club: PC Soccer Edition). Only differences between the two versions, the Super CD-ROM² version has enhanced graphics, an arranged soundtrack, and add voice acting for opening intro and cut scene, while the Hu-Card version has no voice acting, etc.

In addition for the PC Engine Super CD-ROM² version, includes five national teams (France, Brazil, Argentina, Italy and Germany) in Tournament mode which is after beating the final match.

Mega Drive

The Mega Drive version of the game, title Nekketsu Kōkō Dodgeball Bu: MD Soccer Hen (熱血高校ドッジボール部 ＭＤサッカー編^?, Nekketsu High School Dodgeball Club: MD Soccer Edition) was released by Palsoft in Japan on Aug 7, 1992. Unlike the NES version and other Platforms, this version has all the teams playable in VS. Mode.

Game Boy Advance

The Famicom version of the game was ported to Game Boy Advance as the part of Kunio-kun Nekketsu Collection 2 (along with Downtown Nekketsu Kōshinkyoku: Soreyuke Daiundōkai), was released on October 27, 2005 in Japan.

Virtual Console

The original Famicom version of Nekketsu Kōkō Dodgeball Bu: Soccer Hen was re-released for Wii's Virtual Console in Japan on October 7, 2008. Nintendo World Cup, however, there is no plans for North America or PAL regions released. The PC Engine Super CD-ROM² version of the game was also re-released in Japan on November 4, 2008.

External links

• Nintendo World Cup at MobyGames
• Nekketsu Kōkō Dodgeball Bu: Soccer Hen Virtual Console site (Japanese)

References

1. ^ Instruction booklet, p. 6
2. ^ Instruction booklet, p. 14
3. ^ Instruction booklet, pp 7-8
4. ^ Instruction booklet, p.17
5. ^ Instruction booklet, p.17