FIFA Soccer 95! Forget Baggio and Give Brazil a Thrashing!

Sono passati only a few months since the burning disappointment of Pasadena, the World Cup final you had been waiting for all your life, and you still have before your eyes the ascending trajectory, damnably ascending, of the ball kicked by the greatest Italian footballer of all time.

Ami football and can't wait to get your revenge, and that's how when Christmas finally comes, you buy Fifa Soccer 95 for your beloved Sega MegaDrive and get ready to give Brazil a beating!

Publiished by Electronic Arts, which over the years we would come to know both for its logo and for the unsettling metallic voice that would add "sports" to distinguish sports titles from all the others from this producer, Fifa Soccer 95 represented for 90s football simulations what Pes 5 probably was in the early 2000s: a revolution in terms of fun, gameplay, and longevity.

Entering the field, stepping out of the locker rooms like the most talented of footballers, the user approaching the game will immediately notice the choice made by the developers, a choice that will prove to be fortunate and above all well-judged: the isometric view, in fact, allows players to enjoy a complete view of the playing field and the formations on the pitch: this guarantees not only a total view of the game when we control the selected player (the one carrying the ball, to be clear), but also broad monitoring of the teams’ formations as they face off.

Player movement on the pitch, passing, marking: everything becomes fluid and manageable in-game, and what benefits is precisely the aspect that determines the difference between a title aiming to be simulation-based and another that is purely arcade, which instead tends to seek unrestrained, lighthearted play.

Two different philosophies, both equally capable of delivering adrenaline and encouraging competition; however, the improvements compared to the previous version did not concern only the purely technical aspects: with the introduction of celebrations after scoring a goal and a passing system that makes the network of possible passes less flat and more varied (stringing together a whole series of changes in an attempt to curb as much as possible the "railroad" effect typical of soccer games), Fifa Soccer 95 climbed onto the podium as the best soccer title of those years, a success with both the public and critics, something not so obvious back then, let alone today.

Personally, my gaming experience was exhilarating: one-on-one matches (but also two-on-two ones!) are still fun and easy to manage in terms of formations, with a pinch of pre-game strategy that never hurts. The Mega Drive joypad works very well as a grip and for button pressing, with a view to speed of execution and facilitating reflexes, which are essential for early plays and final passes aimed at becoming assists.

In addition, even though the original players' names are not included, it is fairly immediate to understand who we are moving during matches: the movements of players like Baggio or Romario are so legendary that confusing them with other players is practically impossible.

Electronic Arts effectively kicked off the modern era of soccer video games with this title, a revised and corrected version of that Fifa International Soccer that had caused a sensation not long before: the endless battle with its cousin PES, a titanic clash that continues to this day, thrills legions of couch players and could hardly be better than this.

È time to score. Baggio, this time we'll make it.