This product is in good condition. At NexWave Games, good means:
Additionally, all discs at NexWave Games are carefully inspected and assessed for quality. When discs arrive, we do not accept any that are so badly damaged that they are unlikely to work. We only accept discs with light scratches at most. Discs with scratches are then treated in our professional disc repair machine. By warming the disc and polishing it with soft brushes, these machines can remove a very thin layer from the disc. This removes the layer containing surface scratches and improves the disc’s readability. This ensures the disc works properly, even on consoles with ageing lasers that have difficulty reading games! Great news for the player.
Total Soccer 2002 for Game Boy Advance
Total Soccer 2002 for Game Boy Advance lets you play football from a top-down view. Small players move across a clearly defined pitch as you look for space to pass, cross or shoot. The ball does not stay constantly attached to their feet, making it important to follow up properly after a pass. The selection combines clubs from different European leagues with national teams. You can start an individual match or spend longer working through a competition with a team, using squads from around the 2002 season.
Short passes help you move the ball past a defender, while a longer shot or a high ball can exploit space behind the last line. Power and direction need attention: reaching an unmarked attacker is different from simply kicking hard towards them. You can change your formation and players’ roles when the opposition finds gaps. Wind and pitch conditions also affect the ball. A replay lets you watch the final moments of an attack again.
Matches offer adjustable length and difficulty, so you can choose a short game or a longer competition. Your progress and settings are saved on the cartridge. Alongside playing against the computer, there is a local connection for two players. Each player needs their own Game Boy Advance and their own Total Soccer 2002 cartridge, together with a compatible Game Link cable. Those additional systems, games and cable are not included.
Region and language
Our Game Boy Advance games are European 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 Total Soccer 2002 for Game Boy Advance, 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 Total Soccer 2002
Total Soccer 2002 appeared for Game Boy Advance in 2001, despite the year in its title. Exient developed it and Ubisoft published it. It was an early football release for Nintendo’s then-new handheld. While many sports games tried to follow television presentation, this version kept the pitch in a top-down view. That left room on the small screen to build an attack and follow moving teammates without the camera constantly having to rotate behind the ball.
Ubisoft associated the game with well-known footballers in different European countries. Steven Gerrard’s name appeared on the British packaging, Alexander Zickler’s in Germany and Marcel Desailly’s in France. Behind those different names lay the same GBA foundation of Total Soccer 2002. The focus was on club and international football from that period, with competitions and tournaments you could assemble yourself. Combining a quick match with a longer schedule offered different ways to use the same squad.
The design followed the tradition of top-down football, where the free-moving ball and finding space receive considerable attention. On Game Boy Advance it added handheld controls, cartridge saving and a local cable connection. You could therefore spread a competition across several sessions. Later GBA football games emphasised other aspects, such as more extensive careers or a specific World Cup. Total Soccer 2002 remained tied to its early roster, clear pitch view and direct control over passes and shots.
Similar games for Game Boy Advance
FIFA Football 2005 also offers clubs, national teams and individual matches on Game Boy Advance. It adds a five-year career with objectives and challenges based on historic results. Total Soccer 2002 keeps its focus on a top-down pitch and competitions you choose from an earlier football period. Both let you build an attack through passing, but FIFA links more of its extended play to career development.
International Superstar Soccer on Game Boy Advance also focuses on passing, crossing and timing a shot. Konami concentrates on national teams and cup tournaments, with a different viewing angle on the pitch. Total Soccer 2002 combines countries with European clubs and uses a clear top-down perspective. If you mainly want to follow club competitions, its selection therefore differs from Konami’s emphasis on international football.
David Beckham Soccer also lets you play regular football matches on Game Boy Advance, but includes a training section covering passing and free kicks among other skills. Total Soccer 2002 mainly lets you learn its ball behaviour during matches and competitions. Both belong to the early handheld football games with a famous player’s name on some packaging, but differ in how they let you practise.
Mario Tennis: Power Tour on Game Boy Advance also revolves around choosing your position and placing a ball beyond an opponent’s reach. You control a tennis player rather than an entire football team, with training and a story set around a tennis academy. Total Soccer 2002 instead demands an overview of your formation, teammates and open space. Preparing a scoring opportunity is common to both; the scale of that preparation differs greatly.
Mario Golf: Advance Tour on Game Boy Advance, like Total Soccer 2002, asks you to consider wind, ground conditions and the power of a stroke or shot. In golf you can prepare that decision calmly and develop your own golfer within an adventure. Total Soccer requires the same attention to the ball while opponents keep moving. The sporting precision is familiar, but the pace and teamwork are very different.
