Kick Off World PS1 Review

Kick Off World for the PlayStation was published by Funsoft and developed by anco software that will see a release on the console in 1998. 

And this game would be heavily inspired by the iconic super kickoff games of earlier years back seen previously on 16-bit consoles such as the Sega Mega Drive, Master System and other personal computers back in the day. 

And it would also be the first in the series to move forward into that modern era of the time with use and 3D visuals and aesthetics but would take many elements from the previous entries. 

Not only does it focus for playing with national teams and even clubs, you have the ability to play in different tournaments and leagues but where this game differentiates itself from many other soccer games it's just kind of like a two-in-one package because this game also allows you to play the games as the teams and to control all of the individual characteristics of the players but you also have the ability to have a managerial mode and to coach players. 

So you also have the ability to buy players and sell players to build up your own personal team of the best players possible so that you can compete in both friendly,  cup and competition and tournament modes against other teams which is definitely a different take on the likes of your typical soccer game seen on the PlayStation. 

As yes there was management games that we're seen with the likes of the Premier manager series and a few other games but there was very little games that combine the two that allow you to both play the game and to play it from a managerial standpoint where you had to do all of the background stuff behind the scenes. 

So it definitely added a unique dynamic that would have suited a different style of players and for many players or even fans of this series even if you weren't a big fan of playing the soccer elements you could focus more heavily on the managerial side of things instead and it gave you that option so you could pick your play style based off your own preference whether you wanted to get more heavily involved with the game itself in terms of playing or you could just focus on the more admin aspect of the game if you wanted to do that also which was pretty cool. 

But when you look at it from a play point perspective when you got involved with the actual playing of the game when you're out on the field playing the actual matches what does it feel like overall to play? 

Well from my own experience I haven't spent time playing the game it has some quirky features but would I consider to be decent compared to more mainstream games? 

If I'll be honest it's definitely a difficult game to pick up and play. 

The computer AI if you're an absolute beginner coming into this you will get destroyed no ifs or buts about it. 

The computer AI is so relentless and aggressive, they nearly know exactly what you're going to do before you go and do it and just feels very clunky although the game is fast paced and it does play okay like you can string a couple of passes together but the chances are you won't be able to really dominate a game or to really gain any sort of a leverage. 

Even on the easiest of difficulties you'll still have a hard time trying to figure out how to play the game properly as It's just tough and it just it does feel somewhat on the clunky side, it just feels like you never really have any level of control of really what's going on and that can frustrate a lot of players. 

It has a lot of really cool ideas but unfortunately from my own standpoint from what I have played of it, it clearly wasn't executed as well as it could have been but in saying that what it lacks on certain elements it definitely makes up for what the fact is that you can play it from a managerial standpoint like I mentioned so you can focus on more of that type of stuff if that's more what you're into.

 At least this game does give you the benefit of both worlds but I suppose when you think of it from that perspective it would be very hard to get both elements perfect. 

It's either one or the other in most cases but if you do enjoy getting involved with the managerial aspect of things at least that mode is there and if you did want to try your hand to play in the soccer elements at least you do have that option but I will admit it's not as well polished or well refined compared to likes of your mainstream games which ISS Pro or the FIFA series and even a couple of other games seen on the PlayStation. 

I actually found many other series even series that I never really knew much about I actually found them to be somewhat more enjoyable but then that's just my opinion of this anyway but it's not to say that it's a bad game it's just I think that there's elements of it that actually do stand out but I think they just could have been executed better but again that's just the way things worked with the likes of the PlayStation. 

There was always so many unique elements and experimental takes on games not all the times where they considered to be good and not oftentimes did the developers get everything right. 

It was always an experiment really at the end of the day and sometimes it paid off, sometimes it didn't that's just the reality of these ideas but it's still interesting to see how these games were designed and how they where put together back then and even from when you think of it from an outside perspective even though these games may not be considered to be great they did help to pave the way from any other titles and even management type of sims later on down the line. 

So that in itself is an interesting perspective when you think of it from that way and I would love to know your thoughts of kick off world for the PlayStation if you have played it back in the day if so what do you think of it. 

Did you enjoy the aspect seen in this game both from either the managerial or even the play style aspect or maybe not so much? 

I'd love to hear whatever stories you do have with this game so be sure to share it down in the comments below and be sure to keep watching to see more content on other games similar to Kick Off World, 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...