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International Superstar Soccer for Super Nintendo SNES
International Superstar Soccer for Super Nintendo SNES is a football game in which you control a national team. You build attacks with short passes, send in crosses and look for space to shoot. Players have different attributes and recognisable shirt numbers. The side-on view lets you follow the distance between defence and attack. A commentator responds to important moments, while replays after a goal show how the attack developed. A well-timed pass often makes more difference than simply running forwards.
You can choose a single match, play the International Cup or begin the longer World Series. Scenarios give you a predetermined match situation that you still have to turn around. On the training ground you practise elements of your game against the clock; a separate penalty competition focuses entirely on shooting and goalkeeping. Before a match you can change the formation and style of play. During the game, tired players, substitutions and fouls demand attention alongside scoring goals.
With two standard controllers you can play against each other simultaneously in Open Game. The maximum is two players; the International Cup, World Series, scenarios and training are single-player activities. A Multitap is not needed. Passwords let you resume progress in the International Cup, World Series and scenarios later. This is the original International Superstar Soccer, not the later Deluxe release with expanded features.
Region and language
Our Super Nintendo SNES games are PAL editions, unless stated otherwise. This product contains a loose cartridge for the European market. A box is only included if explicitly stated in the product details. We note any different region in the product details. In almost all cases, the game is playable at least in English, and often in the other five common European languages too.
Manual
With International Superstar Soccer for Super Nintendo SNES, you receive a loose cartridge. A box and manual are not included unless we explicitly state otherwise in the product details. This is the standard way we supply this copy.
The history of International Superstar Soccer
Konami made International Superstar Soccer for the Super Nintendo. The Japanese edition appeared in 1994 as Jikkyou World Soccer: Perfect Eleven; Europe and North America followed in 1995. This started the ISS series on the console. The game emphasised football with clearly differentiated players, detailed animation and a match view that lets you follow both the ball carrier and the movement of teammates. Shirt numbers and short commentary lines helped present the action like a televised match.
Its structure goes beyond a collection of individual matches. Konami divided the content between an international tournament, a long competition, training, penalties and scenarios. The scenarios in particular change the usual kick-off: you enter a situation already in progress and have little time to recover the result. The tactics screens let forwards, midfielders and defenders take on more attacking or defensive roles separately. The game therefore connects actions on the pitch with decisions about how the team is organised.
International Superstar Soccer Deluxe followed as a separate sequel, with more teams and expanded playing options. That naming makes it important to distinguish the first cartridge from Deluxe and from later ISS games on other consoles. The original SNES release retains its own menus, scenarios and two-player matches. For the longer activities it uses passwords, so progress does not depend on a season saved in the cartridge's memory.
Similar games for Super Nintendo SNES
International Superstar Soccer Deluxe uses the same foundation of passing, distinct players and tactical decisions. The sequel expands the selection and offers extra possibilities, including matches with more human players when the necessary adapter is connected. The original International Superstar Soccer is limited to a maximum of two players opposing each other in Open Game. Its playing style is familiar, but teams, scenarios and multiplayer options are not simply interchangeable between the two cartridges.
Super Soccer also lets you play with national teams and resume a tournament through codes. However, it looks across a rotating pitch from behind a goal, making depth and shot direction feel different. International Superstar Soccer uses a side-on view with more detailed animation and more separate challenges. Super Soccer also lets two players cooperate against the computer; in the first ISS, playing together means facing each other directly.
Like ISS, FIFA International Soccer centres on full football matches with national teams, passes and shots. FIFA shows the pitch from a fixed diagonal angle. In International Superstar Soccer you follow the action more from the side, with scenarios and focused training offering separate challenges alongside tournaments. The choice is therefore not just about teams, but also about how you read unmarked players and the depth of the pitch.
Sensible Soccer shares the importance of quick passing and creating space for a teammate. Its small players and overhead view show a larger part of the pitch at once. International Superstar Soccer centres on larger, more extensively animated footballers and devotes more room to presentation and tactical menus. In both games you need to spot passing lanes, but the difference in camera and scale changes how early you see an attack coming.
NBA Jam also offers fast SNES sports matches in which a human opponent can disrupt your timing. However, it reduces basketball to small teams, spectacular dunks and deliberately exaggerated action. International Superstar Soccer centres on a full football team, offside, substitutions and build-up through several lines. Both reward a well-chosen pass, but NBA Jam reaches a scoring opportunity much sooner and without the same organisation across a large pitch.
