Libero Grande PS1 Review

Libero Grande is a very unique and very different style of soccer game that originally saw life in the arcades in 1997 that was created by Namco and was later ported to the PlayStation in 1998. 

The elements used in this game were taken directly from a previous title in namco's library way back during the days of the Nintendo entertainment system or NES console where you could just play as one player on a team. 

So instead of controlling all of the players on the pitch or the player that was closest to the ball wherever the ball was positioned on the pitch, you only had access and the ability to control one player on the team in the game and it was up to you to control that player to interact with get involved with the whole dynamic of what was happening on the field but also to initiate various commands and give orders to other players to get them in position and to get them to pass the ball so forth and you would do the same for them.

 For its time it was definitely a very unique concept and it was something that really stood out because nothing had been seen like a before on consoles and in games in general. 

So you had the ability to choose one of the star or main players of the particular national team. 

Now all of the teams would have various characteristics traits and stats that were very reflective of top players during that point in the seasons at that period of time although the game wouldn't have access to the official licenses of the names because they couldn't afford or couldn't acquire the licenses. 

Mainly those licenses were always usually in the hands of the likes of the FIFA games so likes of the ISS series by Konami would also utilize different ideas and re-change names that looked and felt similar to those iconic names and Libero Grande did the same thing. 

So you'd kind of get an idea of the types of players that were in the game and who you wanted to play as so in addition to the original arcade mode with the console version you had access is to additional features and modes with an additional kind of like World Cup format that you can play in a competition with up to eight players. 

And you also have the ability to get involved with different training modes where you could complete various training ground tasks and upgrade your skill levels so that you could increase your attributes and your overall stats with each player that you decided to pick that you would use to move forward in the various championships in the game itself. 

So as you were playing, you had to run around the pitch but also you had to make sure that you were always in a different position and you would be given the ability to initiate orders with your teammates to get them to move around into different positions but if they had the ball then they were close to you that you could get them to pass the ball to you so that you could either pass the ball to somebody else or to go ahead and try and score goals yourself. 

Even though the concept of the game feels like it has a very simulation kind of focus aesthetic which it does to some degree but it plays more like an arcade game as originally it was in the arcade so it has a mixed elements in terms of how it plays. 

The controls in the game even though from the player perspective in a lot of ways it can take a bit of getting used to especially on the console versions as it can seem a little bit on the clunky side but what it does do it does do extremely well and the game did get decent reviews across the board and magazines stating that they love the quirkiness of it and they enjoyed their unusual aesthetic that the game presented as it was different from anything that had been seen at that point. 

Originally a demo of the game was also included with the release of Ridge Racer 4 with the Ridge Racer high spec demo and on that demo disc was also a playable demo of Libero Grande as well so it gave people more opportunities to try the game out. 

The game would go on to receive somewhat of a cult following because it was very dynamic and was very different from what was currently out there at the time. There would be a sequel that would be released later with Libero Grande 2 that would also be released on the PlayStation in Europe and Japan but even though it improved drastically over all of the elements seen in the original title but it wouldn't receive the same level as success of that of the first game. 

It's just a very very different type of soccer game in all respects to the word the fact is that you can only control one player but I will admit from my own experience having played the game because I used to own it back in the day myself, I remember picking it up and I enjoyed it, it was very very different now mind you and from a beginner standpoint if you are an absolute beginner coming into playing this for the first time believe me you are going to be completely overwhelmed by what's going on because it tries to replicate how you would feel if you were actually playing on a football pitch all on your own even though you have a lot of team players around you. 

Technically that's what it's trying to reflect that you are on your own even though you're playing alongside other players that you're responsible for your own influences on the game so that's what this game tries to replicate and it does do it quite well. 

But you need to have your wits about you. 

You need to be aware of your surroundings as to what's going on at any one time and you need to make sure that you're in the right position at the right time so you have to have various elements where you have to help, not only attack but you can also help for creating chances both in midfield and even how defending if you have to as well. 

But if you're an absolute beginner there's a very good chance you'll be just running around like a headless chicken you will be all over the place with this game. 

It will definitely take a bit of time to understand the whole dynamic of what's being presented in the game in some cases for many players you probably might put them off and I'm sure back in the day it probably did and I know myself when I first played it I was all over the place and even going back to playing it now and I haven't played it in a couple of years leading up to recording this video and I hadn't played in quite a while as well and took me about 10 or 15 minutes before I could really get a handle on what was going on just trying to figure out the button combinations and trying to know where to be to make sure that I was in the correct position. 

There's a lot of responsibility on the player in general with this game because you are responsible for your own actions and what goes on, on the pitch because you have to be aware of everything and you have to have the ability to also be present so that your players and your teammates can help you out which presently is like just like playing ball for real. 

If you're playing as part of a team because the play dynamic is very different because when you're playing games like FIFA and ISS Pro yes you can control individual players with different points but usually whoever has the ball or whoever nearest to the ball is the one you control at first and again they all have their own abilities some people that have better skills or they have more speed, stamina or even strength so you can kind of run around with different players as and when you need to or whoever has the ball but in Libero Grande's case you don't get that privilege. 

You pick one player and that's your player throughout the entirety of the match so it is up to you how you focus your time and effort and energy on what it is that you're going to do. 

So it is a very unique dynamic that definitely holds itself well and it's something that really stands out and in all respects to the idea, games likes of ISS Pro or even the Pro Evolution Soccer series and even the FIFA series would later go on to use similar elements seen in Libero Grande with some of their additional modes that they would add into their newer games that will be seen later on and the PS3, PS4 and PS5 with various Legend modes that can be seen in the Pro Evolution Soccer series and the equivalent in the FIFA series with the become a pro modes so they would focus their elements on one particular player and you'd have to build up their attributes so that they could become a super star. 

So it's interesting to see where they got these elements from and a lot of it came from the ideas seen in Liberal Grande. 

While it's not considered to be the best soccer game on the PlayStation it does have some very unique attributes that really stands out and in some ways was ahead of its time in all regards and respects to it and it did help to pave the way for what was to come. 

I often say like many of these soccer games that we do play especially on the early days of the PlayStation one although while a lot of them may have been not considered as good or as comparable to the likes of FIFA or ISS Pro they did in their own right help to set a structure and set a foundation for many of the future games that we now play today and had games like Libero Grande not existed we wouldn't have access to all of the additional modes and features that we would see in games at this current time. 

So it is a testament to those ideas from back in the day and they are what we're playing in all respects. 

So I would love to know your thoughts of Libero Grande if you have played it yourself back in the day and if so what do you think of the game overall. 

Did you find it overwhelming and frustrating to figure out what to do or were you able to get a grip as to what you were supposed to do in the game. 

I'd love to hear whatever stories you have of this iconic 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 Libero Grande, 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...