| Introduction
The over-a-decade-old 'Soccer Kid' joins the wealth
of 16-bit titles that are making their way to the GBA,
which is by no means always a welcome trend. Soccer
Kid was always a favorite of mine, so it will be interesting
to see if the years have been kind to the little fellow
and his ball as he attempts to locate the missing pieces
of the Universal Soccer Trophy. Telegames are a dab
hand at this kind of thing, producing quality original
titles and conversions for some years now, and with
that in mind, there's a good chance we're in for something
special.
GamePlay
Soccer Kid is a platformer with a difference--rather
than running, jumping and throwing missiles, your only
weapon is a football. However, you still need to jump
and collecting items from higher platforms is essential
to gain points and obtain cards. The football acts like
an extra player though, as not only does it dispose
of enemies, but knocks down walls as well, enabling
the collection of objects that are just out of reach.
You only have five hearts, which can be quickly depleted
if unfriendly locals hit you or if you fall prey to
a whole host of other dangers, with all of this running
against the clock.
The game takes place in five different countries;
it's important to realize that you will lose a football
if it lands on spikes, falls down a hole, or simply
because you lose track of it. Simply pressing the 'A'
button for a second or so will conjure up another football,
but the less footballs you use, the bigger bonuses you
get on level completion.
Once you've traveled through the countries, you must
battle an end of level boss. Initially these can be
defeated with little effort, but some of the later ones
are extremely tricky.
If you do manage to collect all 11 soccer cards,
you'll be treated to a bonus game. The object here is
to collect as many of the fifty available items before
the clock runs out--you'll have three attempts at this.
The password system would have worked far better
as a battery backup; it's not as frustrating as some
we've encountered, with the twelve letters easy to decipher,
but it does mean you'll need to write notes if you're
playing on the go.
Controls
Although the control system appears simple, success
is entirely dependent on your skill with the football.
Unfortunately, like real soccer, practice makes perfect,
so you'll probably have more than a few restarts before
you even manage to complete the first section. After
this, it all becomes much simpler, thanks to the excellent
sprite and collision detection and the incredibly responsive
controls. 'Help points' are dotted throughout the game,
and kicking your football against an 'i' will provide
you with valuable hints & tips.
Graphics
Visually Soccer Kid is a treat. The graphics seem
perfectly suited to the GBA's tiny screen while maintaining
that 16-bit quality. The developers have also succeeded
in capturing the essence of the different countries
represented in the game by combining a clever mix of
landmarks, vehicles, and people. The whole thing trundles
along at an impressive 60 fps, and as a result, regardless
of how much is happening on screen there's absolutely
no annoying graphical slowdown.
Sound & Music
The audio throughout Soccer Kid clearly has a strong
emphasis on fun, and everything from the various music
tracks to the sound effects has a wonderful cartoon
quality about it. It's all perfectly suited to the gaming
style, and is one of the few titles I've seen recently
where the audio is a positive gaming asset.
Final Comments
Apart from the password system, it's hard to fault
this game in any way. It's well designed, looks wonderful,
and provides a challenging as well as an entertaining
gaming experience. Initial worries that it wouldn't
be as enjoyable as Rage Software's recent 'Go Go Beckham!'
disappeared when I was only half way through the first
level.
Soccer Kid is actually the stronger of the two in
almost all areas, and it offers significantly more hours
of gaming. Telegames have managed to bring this game
into the new millennium with absolutely no loss of the
addictive gameplay and improved audio and visuals. If
you yearn for the days when playability was king, then
this is just what you're looking for.
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