Dynamite Soccer 98 PS1 Review

Dynamite Soccer 98 is a very unusual type of soccer game that would have been seen on the PlayStation that has your typical kind of modes and aesthetics similarly seen in other soccer games with exhibition modes, multiplayer modes with the use of various tiered systems in order to play out tournaments and so forth. 

You also can play up to four players using the multi-tap if you have access to one and you have access to another variety of different modes from like all star modes that allows you to assemble the best players from different teams that are available in the game so that you can put together the ultimate team and it gives you the access to utilize different strategies and tactics so that you can gain an advantage in the games when you're playing. 

But the most noticeable difference in this game as it has a very similar arcade aesthetic similar to earlier soccer games very like even the earlier ISS soccer games you would have seen during the early days of the PlayStation and even on earlier consoles. 

While the foundations of the game is in 3D, the characters themselves players are all 2D Sprites that move in real time so it has kind of like a 2d scrolling effect through the course of its gameplay. 

So even at this time when the game was released it's quite unusual and quirky because it feels more like a very very early PlayStation game but this game was actually developed in 1998 and this type of visual style that you see here would later go on to be present in all of the later sequels even up until the last entry in the series in 2004. 

So it would still use the same visual style all of they would tweak the graphics somewhat but it would play very similar it's a very unusual style but again I think it actually quite suits it because it is very reflective of its time but at the same time it also feels like a very very early PS1 title. 

It just feels very different, it very feels very quirky it feels almost like very Arcady, it's just it feels different let's just put it that way and I like it I like the the visual style but I think it really suits it because it really stands out compared to other games that you would have been familiar with especially when the game started to focus more on 3D. 

It's unusual to see a game that actually does have decent 3D visuals in terms of its environments but yes to be populated with 2D Sprites. 

When you look at it from a gameplay perspective with the sprite based models it kind of reminds me of the sprite models used in Die Hard Trilogy as it also used 2D style scrolling  Dynamics all set within 3D environments as well so this game kind of utilizes the same idea but from a sport or a football standpoint which is definitely different and I just think it looks pretty cool. 

But what does it feel like to play? 

Well in all honesty compared to other soccer games, right it may not be as easy to pick up and play and the pace of the game does seem to be quite a bit slower but it plays quite well you can dribble the ball around players you can string together on multiple passes. It can be quite difficult to hold on to the ball for any length or period of time because the chances are players will take the ball off you and it can be quite difficult to score goals in all honesty from the time I have spent playing it. 

But it definitely plays a lot better if anything don't let the visuals fool you from playing it it's definitely more fluent and more dynamic compared to the likes of even Adidas Power Soccer or even actua soccer. 

It plays and feels more like ISS Pro that's the funny thing about it if I would compare it like aside from likes of the FIFA series if there was a game that I played on the PlayStation that played very like ISS Pro this would be as close to the earlier ISS pro games in fairness. 

It just has that look and feel about it so it does and in terms of the attributes and the way you can control the players, it just has a unique take on it. 

Even though it's not really the best soccer game on the PlayStation it's far from it, it definitely has a lot of fun features and definitely quirky kind of traits that really stands out and I suppose it proved a point because it went on to provide three additional sequels throughout the PlayStation's life cycle up until the 2004 release. 

So the game obviously was popular for what was on offer. 

The one main noticeable fact is that the game wasn't really noticed as such in European regions as it seems to be more heavily influenced with the likes of the Japanese regions that seemed to be where it was most popular in all respect but in general from having spent time playing it I was actually quite surprised by it and I was actually quite impressed by it too like the gameplay is very sluggish and slow when you compare it to other soccer games but it has a nice kind of like dynamic to it that even though with the slow paced nature you do feel like you have some level of control in the game. 

When you have the ball you can dribble the ball around players, you can move around freely and it definitely feels like an all-around better put together game compared to other soccer games especially the earlier titles seen on the PlayStation. 

It's just the quirky nature of the game might put some players off thinking that it wouldn't be that good but to be honest from my own personal experience playing this it's a lot better than you would think. 

Don't let the looks fool you, it's actually a quite decent game to play although it is difficult to score goals I'm not going to deny that but it's actually quite fun and it's very different compared to other soccer games and I highly recommend that you try it out just for something different if you will away from your standard or more mainstream soccer games that you would have seen on the PlayStation. 

It definitely is a lot of fun to play, I have to say now that I enjoyed it. 

The later sequels in the game I will admit, even though they play very similar and they look quite similar, for me the way or harder to pick up and play and they were actually harder to win games or to even score goals even more so the difficulty in the game was somewhat ramped up for the sequels and I found it to not be as easy to play compared to this 98 version. 

But then it could be just down to me because again as they all say I'm not the best at soccer games because I would have spent a lot of time playing the more of ISS Pro or even the earlier FIFA games so when it came to playing other soccer games I will admit, I always struggled with getting used to them because the control systems and how they play always change and very depending on the titles you're playing so when you're so used to playing one it can be very very difficult to get used to playing the other game and that's what I always found from playing likes of ISS Pro and even FIFA. 

With ISS Pro it was always like circle to cross the ball and square to shoot but it was the total opposite with FIFA it was circle to shoot and square to cross the ball so when you went from one to the other let's just put it this way it would confuse you because your brain couldn't really get used to what was going on so it take a while or a couple play games to really adapt which could lead to some level of frustration and the same can be said for a lot of these other soccer games because the control systems were different. 

In some cases they might have been the same as those games but they just weren't as responsive for all intents and purposes but whatever way you see it this is actually a fun game to play, it's very very different it definitely appeals to me.

I love these type of quirkier style games so for me it was definitely a fun experience to have while it may not be for everybody and if you're looking for a more mainstream game you're probably better to stick with ISS Pro or FIFA but if you want something a little bit different give Dynamite Soccer 98 a go or even one of the games in the series. 

You might find it to be pleasantly surprised and you might enjoy it and I'd love to know your thoughts on this game or any of the games in series if you have played them yourself and if so what did you think of them. 

Do you enjoy these type of quirky style of soccer games or maybe not so much? 

I'd love to hear whatever stories you do have of this game so be sure to share it in the comments below and be sure to keep watching to see more content on other games similar to Dynamite Soccer 98, you can check out the blog where we will be diving into the iconic elements of these classic video games and as always keep those gaming memories alive...