Neo Geo Cup '98: The Road to the Victory | |
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Developer(s) | SNK |
Publisher(s) | SNK |
Series | Super Sidekicks |
Platform(s) | |
Release | |
Genre(s) | Sports |
Mode(s) | |
Arcade system | Neo Geo MVS |
Neo Geo Cup '98: The Road to the Victory is an association football video game based on the FIFA World Cup 1998, despite being released after the 1998 FIFA World Cup. [1] [2] It features 64 teams' countries. Each team enters a "Regional Qualifying Round Final" where it plays a team it actually played in the 1998 FIFA World Cup qualification. For example: Spain would face Yugoslavia, an opponent it actually faced in its qualifying group. Or Italy would face Russia, an opponent Italy faced in the UEFA play-offs. If the player beats the opponent, it goes to a group much like the real life World Cup. In fact, the team faces opponents that were actually in its group. For example: Mexico would face the Netherlands, Belgium and South Korea. It is a re-make of Super Sidekicks 3 , but the animations and designs were exactly the same. The only difference is teams to reflect the World Cup, kits again to reflect the World Cup, and players to resemble squads from the World Cup (teams that did not qualify use line-ups from friendly games and qualifiers). Its slogan is "We got the kick".
Unlike its arcade counterpart, the Neo Geo version tries to be more of a soccer simulation game. Differences include the Neo Geo version being more slowed down, and more realism added in shooting, passing, etc. A color version of the game was released for the Neo Geo Pocket Color as Neo Geo Cup '98 Plus Color; this version was later re-released as part of Neo Geo Pocket Color Selection Vol. 2 in 2022.
The game has 64 countries, grouped in 8 zones:
Europe (group A) * Italy * Netherlands * Switzerland * Norway * England * Turkey * Portugal * Croatia | Europe (group B) * Germany * Spain * Belgium * Romania * Denmark * Republic of Ireland * Scotland * Czech Republic | Europe (group C) * France * Bulgaria * Sweden * Russia * Greece * Hungary * Austria * FR Yugoslavia | Africa * Nigeria * Cameroon * Morocco * Egypt * South Africa * Zambia * Ivory Coast * Tunisia |
North America * United States * Mexico * Canada * Costa Rica * Puerto Rico * Guatemala * El Salvador * Jamaica | South America * Brazil * Argentina * Colombia * Paraguay * Chile * Ecuador * Uruguay * Peru | Asia (group A) * Australia * China * New Zealand * Republic of China * Iran * Iraq * Vietnam * Singapore | Asia (Group B) * Saudi Arabia * South Korea * Japan * United Arab Emirates * Hong Kong * India * Thailand * Malaysia |
The tournaments in the game are the following ones (between parenthesis, the real tournaments in which were based):
Neo Geo Cup '98 (ネオジオカップ’98) is a football videogame released in Japan by SNK in 1998 for the Neo Geo Pocket handheld system. The game was released in Europe as Neo Geo Cup '98 Plus. It is a scaled down port of the arcade game featuring black and white graphics.
In 1999, an updated version was released in Japan as Neo Geo Cup '98 Plus (ネオジオカップ’98プラス). This release should not be confused with the previous European release, since the Japanese version of Plus is compatible with the Neo Geo Pocket Color handheld system. The version was released in North America and Europe as Neo Geo Cup '98 Plus Color. It is an update of Neo Geo Cup '98 with, as its title suggests, colour graphics.
In both releases, there are three game modes; single- a single "exhibition" match, 2p play- an option for two players with two Neo Geo Pocket Colour systems, Neo Geo Cup '98 cartridges and a link cable to play against each other, and story mode- a career mode in which players compete in the Neo Geo Cup competition, play friendly matches, play against friends via the link cable and purchase "power-ups" at the Soccer Shop using credits gained in the Neo Geo Cup competition.
Due to failure of getting any official FIFA license (EA Sports held the license) the tournaments are all unlicensed. Also, due to lack of FIFPro license player names are fake. For example: Ronaldo is known as Rosa, Raúl is known as Roul, Luis Hernández is known as Hernardo, Eric Wynalda is known as Wyoming, Carlos Valderrama is known as Valledupar and Martin Dahlin is known as Dahlgren. Despite it, most player's appearance in this game resemble their real-life appearance. Easily identical players are: Colin Hendry (blonde hair), Luis Hernández (blonde hair and caucasian skin), and Jorge Campos (goalkeeper kit) and others appear in the game. Other appearances are inaccurate; for example, Ronaldo is dark-skinned.
Though a majority of team qualifying matches are accurate, there are inconsistencies with some of the team's qualifier opponents. For example, England would face Scotland (although the player can also be paired against Italy, a team England faced in the 1998 qualifiers). Brazil would also play a qualifier against Uruguay. Brazil qualified automatically due to the rule that the winner of the last FIFA World Cup would qualify automatically.
Also, some players have incorrect numbers. For example: Hernán Crespo (Cresko in the game) has the number 11, but in reality he wore number 19, while number 11 was worn by Juan Sebastián Verón.
The 1998 FIFA World Cup was the 16th FIFA World Cup, the football world championship for men's national teams. The finals tournament was held in France from 10 June to 12 July 1998. The country was chosen as the host nation by FIFA for the second time in the history of the tournament, defeating Morocco in the bidding process. It was the ninth time that it was held in Europe. Spanning 32 days, it was the longest World Cup tournament ever held.
The Republic of Ireland national football team represents the Republic of Ireland in men's international football. It is governed by the Football Association of Ireland (FAI).
The United States men's national soccer team (USMNT) represents the United States in men's international soccer competitions. The team is governed by the United States Soccer Federation, which is a member of FIFA and CONCACAF.
The Andorra national football team represents Andorra in men's international football and is controlled by the Andorran Football Federation, the governing body for football in Andorra. The team has enjoyed very little success due to the Principality's tiny population, the fifth smallest of any UEFA country.
The Paraguay national football team, nicknamed La Albirroja, represents Paraguay in men's international football competitions, and are controlled by the Paraguayan Football Association. Paraguay is a member of CONMEBOL. The Albirroja has qualified for eight FIFA World Cup competitions, with their best performance coming in 2010 when they reached the quarter-finals. A regular participant at the Copa América, Paraguay have been crowned champions of the competition on two occasions. Paraguay's highest FIFA World Rankings was 8th and their lowest was 103. Paraguay was awarded second place with Best Move of the Year in 1996 for their rise in the FIFA Rankings.
The South Africa men's national soccer team represents South Africa in men's international soccer and it is run by the South African Football Association, the governing body for Soccer in South Africa. Nicknamed Bafana Bafana, the team's home ground is FNB Stadium, which is located in Johannesburg. The team is a member of both FIFA and Confederation of African Football (CAF). The team are one of the most well-supported national sides in Africa, and are recognized by their traditional yellow-green kits.
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The King of Fighters '97(KOF '97) is a fighting game produced by SNK for the Neo Geo arcade and home console in 1997. It is the fourth game in The King of Fighters series. It was ported to the Neo Geo CD, as well as the PlayStation and the Sega Saturn in Japan only. It is last game in the "Orochi Saga" storyline, that began in The King of Fighters '95.
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Super Sidekicks is a 1992 soccer arcade video game developed and published by SNK. It is the first installment in the eponymous series and the second soccer game released for Neo Geo MVS, succeeding Soccer Brawl (1991). Featuring an arcade-style approach to soccer compared to other games released at the time, the title allows players to choose any of the available game modes with AI-controlled opponents or other human players with the team of their choosing. Its gameplay uses a simplified two-button configuration.
Super Sidekicks 3: The Next Glory is a 1995 soccer arcade video game developed and published by SNK. It is the third installment in the Super Sidekicks series, succeeding Super Sidekicks 2: The World Championship (1994). Featuring an arcade-style approach to soccer like its predecessors, the game allows players to choose any of the available game modes to compete with AI-controlled rivals or other human players with their preferred team. Though first launched for the MVS hardware, the title was ported for Neo Geo AES and Neo Geo CD, in addition of being re-released through compilations and download services for various consoles. It proved popular among players and garnered positive reception from critics, however most reviewers noted that it felt more an update than a true successor to Super Sidekicks 2. It was followed by The Ultimate 11: SNK Football Championship in 1996.
The Ultimate 11: SNK Football Championship is a 1996 soccer arcade video game developed and published by SNK. Despite the international name, it is the fourth installment in the Super Sidekicks series, succeeding Super Sidekicks 3: The Next Glory (1995). Featuring an arcade-style approach to soccer much like its predecessors, the game allows players to choose any available game mode to compete with AI-controlled rivals or human players with their preferred team. Although first launched for Neo Geo MVS, the game was ported to Neo Geo AES, in addition of being re-released on download services for various consoles. The title received positive reception from critics but proved to be less popular than its previous iterations. It was followed by Neo Geo Cup '98: The Road to the Victory (1998), which is a remake of Super Sidekicks 3 and served as the final entry in the Super Sidekicks saga.
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