Ported from the successful arcade version to the Mega Drive, Super Kick-Off begs to be a rival to Sensible Soccer.
The menu system is okay, but can be a little complicated at times, trying to figure out which button to press to do what, to change what! After editing a whole team you can easily press the wrong button loosing all what you did… then having to start again! Ouch! Setting up leagues and cup competitions can be fun but the display menu can be a little annoying to look at. When you get into the game itself it is no where near good as graphics as the arcade was. The pitch looks bitty, the players look fat, but Super Kick-Off is okay graphics wise. The shadow and light of players and the menu system all look good. You even get to see ref’s and linesmen which most footy games miss out on.
One thing I do like about the game is it will tell you who is your referee for today’s game, well that’s always nice to know!
Super Kick-Off can be a fun game to play but its not all there and doesn’t have the simplicity of the one touch pass system like you have in Sensible Soccer. You really don’t get to play football. But what you do get is to run at the ball, trying to do the passing if you can. Frankly the best tactic is to run at goal then point, shoot and hope! In the arcade version after you scored a goal the players would do a celebration, in the Genesis version, that has been taken away. :( What is left is the replay, well at least you get something! Some footy games on the Mega Drive don’t even have that!
When you are in the menu area the music that you get to listen to is very cool, a pretty funky track. In the match you have pretty basic sounds with a punt of the ball, the whistle, the crowd don’t sound too bad. They go “aawwww” when you just miss and cheer when you score. Then there is kind of an “eeeewwww” when you tackle someone and give away a free kick.
But this is no rival to Sensible Soccer and doesn’t play all that well. The gameplay is poor, the music is good and you have a mix-match of a game. Can someone please tell me how this became the second best soccer (footy) game in Europe on the Mega Drive? Because sales are one thing and quality is something else all-together, Super Kick-Off is certainly lacking the latter.