"Thank you, TECMO! Thank you so much for knowing the full meaning of the word SEQUEL!!"

Captain Tsubasa 2 : The return of the fantastic footballers

Tsubasa and his friends are back for more intense soccer matches in Captain Tsubasa 2. The game is based on the same principle as its predecessor and relies on the same menu system such that those who have played the first title will immediately like the sequel which doesn't fail in the least to please the fans. The developers haven't changed anything in the way the game is played and since the menu was the same as before, I was very relieved when I grasped the controls as soon as I started playing.

This time, Tsubasa and his team-mates will have to play against whole new players who were not in the first title. Actually, the game just takes on from the anime again and you'll find the same storyline as in the newer seasons of Captain Tsubasa. The Sao Paulo players are still the same in the beginning but you'll see new faces after a few matches. A very good addition is the fact that you now control different teams in different tournaments.

The first one is, of course, Sao Paulo in a little tournament where Tsubasa and his team-mates will play rather easy matches…Well, easy compared to what you'll face later ! After that, you'll be controlling the Nankatsu Team in the Japanese Tournament. There are a lot of terrific players in this team and it's a very good team indeed. You'll have to play rather tough matches but thankfully, your players get better with each match and discover new ''abilities''. Once you're done winning the Japanese Tournament, you'll be controlling Sao Paulo once more in some friendly matches although I'm still unsure about the word ''friendly''… Your players are now better through training and Tsubasa has terrifying stats. And a very tough match awaits you at the end of this tournament where you'll have to face the Japanese National Team. Wow, I still remember how I had to play the match 6 times before finally winning it by only a 1-goal margin ! And then, the best part in the game. The Japan Team is yours with the best forwards, midfielders, defenders and goalkeepers that will make Raul, Zidane and Kahn look like kids !!

The gameplay in Captain Tsubasa 2 is incredible and with all the matches you're asked to play, this game requires almost as much time as a decent RPG. And it's a very nice idea to control other players which you'll have to face again later. There's even some major plots around Tsubasa and a couple of other players which explains why you're asked to control different matches. The story is unveiled before and after the matches in sequences and feel lucky if you know Japanese. I don't know Japanese myself but thankfully, I used to be a great fan of the anime and thus had no problem with the plot. But if you don't know Japanese and never watched the anime, you won't understand a single thing ! The game is very long and the difficulty level is even greater which means you'll have to play most of the matches at least twice to win.

Like I said earlier, people who played Captain Tsubasa will have no problem playing this damn good sequel. The system is still the same and it's a pleasure to try out the new shots as soon as new players come. You still press B to bring up the menu and press directions to choose your commands. If your player has special abilities (nearly all of them will have super tackles, dribbles, shots and volleys in the later matches !), these open up in a new window and you'll have to choose one. The players' guts still determine whether you can use these moves and you need to be careful or all your players will be tired and you'll start conceding goals each minute. To take the ball from the opponent, you need to choose whether you'll tackle him, wait for him to make a pass and try to intercept it and lots more from the menu.

Graphically, Captain Tsubasa 2 provides a giant leap over its prequel. The players are now better drawn and while you couldn't clearly make their faces' outlines in the prequel, you can now do so. Their faces are nicely drawn with the big eyes that are so characteristic of animes. The pitch has also been improved - the ''grass'' looks more like real grass - and the backgrounds are very colorful and yet, they seem to be here just as in real life. I do think this game has the best graphics for a NES title. Anybody who's played this and Captain Tsubasa 3 on SNES will immediately see how this title has better graphics than its SNES sequel. I'm still wondering what happened with the first SNES title…

There are now more details to the players and on the whole, everything is much better drawn. In fact, it's just like watching the anime except that you're now the manager or coach. The animation is one of the best in anime games. Even Yuu Yuu Hakuusho with its vast array of special moves comes nowhere close to Captain Tsubasa 2. The effects on the ball are amazing with the ball suddenly disappearing, skidding on the pitch and finally tearing the net apart while a helpless keeper looks on with wide eyes. There are a lot of new moves which didn't exist in Tecmo's first title and these moves are very nice to look at. The ball even becomes colored and yes, it still travels a distance which is 5 times that of the pitch.

There are now more themes in the whole game. As in the prequel, one theme is for your team while your rival has another theme. However, some teams have their own music just to let you know this is a special match like in the last match as Sao Paulo FC. The music changes from tournament to tournament so that you don't get bored but anyway, who would get bored with the great themes that you'll hear as from the first match ? All of them are good but none can top that of the opponent when you play as the Nankatsu Team in the Japanese Tournament and when you have the ball. This music is simply amazing and the small theme when you lose possession is just too great for the ears. Just listening to the music when your Nankatsu players have the ball is worth never losing possession to eventually win these tough fixtures.

So, is Captain Tsubasa 2 worth its prequel ? It does more than that !! The developers have corrected all the flaws that the prequel had and seem to have spent much time on the graphics. This game is a real beauty to the eyes. And it really amazes me how they have done that because I would never have imagined that a system such as the NES could support such details, backgrounds and colors. Captain Tsubasa 2 is, I'm not afraid to say it, one of the best titles on the NES overall ! So what if it's in a different genre ? The game is not that hard to understand and is fun. It doesn't get boring like some other games and although you're just playing football matches over and over, the plot is very interesting and you'll love it once you know how to play the game.

There is also a kick-off mode for 2 players where you can make your team from a certain number of top players and the mode is very fun. It isn't as rewarding as the story mode though but then, that's where the real purpose of the game lies. This game doesn't even need a 2-player mode but I'll take that too now that I remember of all the fun my friends and I had when my NES still worked. I'll even forget about how they would lie to me to keep the game a few days more. Yeah, there was a time when I had to play the game every day just for the sake of seeing Eagle Shots, Tiger Shots and Over Drive Kicks.

Captain Tsubasa 2 is a fine title and is worth your time. Well, I should also warn you that you may not like the genre. It's a game on its own, a blend between football games and RPGs. The football is not realistic and everything is just for fun (even though the game is as hard as hell...). Don't forget that Captain Tsubasa is an anime and what were you expecting from an anime !? But give me this game over any NES Final Fantasy title and I'll take Captain Tsubasa. For my love of soccer, for my love of the anime but most of all because the game is damn fun !!

SCORES
Graphics : 10
Control : 9
Sound : 10
Story : 10
Gameplay : 10
Replay value : 9
Overall : 10

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 09/02/01, Updated 11/09/02