Football Champ
Encyclopedia
Football Champ is an arcade
-style football (soccer)
video game. The game was produced by Team Dogyan developers in Japan
, and originally released in the arcades by Taito
Corporation in 1990. Euro Football Champ and Hat Trick Hero are versions of this game with minor variations.
The player must first choose one of eight national football teams, followed by a star player from a choice of four available for each team. In the game a win is needed to progress to the next game. A draw will end as a 'game over', with no option for penalties, but a chance to continue by restarting the game in which a win was not achieved. Each opposition team is chosen according to a tier strategy, with the player's team removed:
Thus, playing with Germany, the first two games will be Spain or France in some order, the second two games will be Netherlands in Brazil in some order, the third two games will be England and Italy in some order, and the seventh game will be Argentina. The game is completed when all seven other teams have been beaten. The level of difficulty increases the further you progress. In addition, the game notices when individual team players score a hat trick. Scoring hat tricks has the effect of increasing the difficulty as well.
The game gained some notoriety for giving you the ability to use violence (including punches, flying kicks and shirt pulling). You could get away with this without giving away a free kick as long as the referee was either far enough or knocked onto the floor. The referee punishes every foul with a yellow card. Red cards occur at the third, seventh, and eleventh fouls, although every so often the game appears to miscount. No fourth red card is given by the referee. Besides the rough play, the game introduced the super shot, which occurs with 30 seconds remaining or less and when the score is tied or the player is losing by 1 goal. The star player chosen kicks a shot that pushes the goalkeeper into the stands.
The original eight national teams in the game are:
Argentina
Brazil
England
France
Germany
Italy
Netherlands
Spain
Some versions of the game use Japan and USA (e.g.: Hat Trick Hero) instead of Spain and France (e.g.: Euro Football Champ).
and Commodore Amiga by Domark Software. A ZX Spectrum
version was planned but never released. The game was released in its original arcade form on the Taito Legends 2
compilation for the PC
, PlayStation 2
and Xbox
.
Arcade game
An arcade game is a coin-operated entertainment machine, usually installed in public businesses such as restaurants, bars, and amusement arcades. Most arcade games are video games, pinball machines, electro-mechanical games, redemption games, and merchandisers...
-style football (soccer)
Football (soccer)
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...
video game. The game was produced by Team Dogyan developers in Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
, and originally released in the arcades by Taito
Taito
Taito may mean:*Taito Corporation, a Japanese developer of video game software and arcade hardware*Taito, Tokyo, a special ward located in Tokyo, Japan*Taito, also known as matai, paramount chiefs according to Fa'a Samoa...
Corporation in 1990. Euro Football Champ and Hat Trick Hero are versions of this game with minor variations.
Game play
- 1. Spain and France.
- 2. Netherlands and Brazil.
- 3. England and Italy.
- 4. Argentina and Germany.
Thus, playing with Germany, the first two games will be Spain or France in some order, the second two games will be Netherlands in Brazil in some order, the third two games will be England and Italy in some order, and the seventh game will be Argentina. The game is completed when all seven other teams have been beaten. The level of difficulty increases the further you progress. In addition, the game notices when individual team players score a hat trick. Scoring hat tricks has the effect of increasing the difficulty as well.
The game gained some notoriety for giving you the ability to use violence (including punches, flying kicks and shirt pulling). You could get away with this without giving away a free kick as long as the referee was either far enough or knocked onto the floor. The referee punishes every foul with a yellow card. Red cards occur at the third, seventh, and eleventh fouls, although every so often the game appears to miscount. No fourth red card is given by the referee. Besides the rough play, the game introduced the super shot, which occurs with 30 seconds remaining or less and when the score is tied or the player is losing by 1 goal. The star player chosen kicks a shot that pushes the goalkeeper into the stands.
The original eight national teams in the game are:
Argentina
Argentina national football team
The Argentina national football team represents Argentina in association football and is controlled by the Argentine Football Association , the governing body for football in Argentina. Argentina's home stadium is Estadio Monumental Antonio Vespucio Liberti and their head coach is Alejandro...
Brazil
Brazil national football team
The Brazil national football team represents Brazil in international men's football and is controlled by the Brazilian Football Confederation , the governing body for football in Brazil. They are a member of the International Federation of Association Football since 1923 and also a member of the...
England
England national football team
The England national football team represents England in association football and is controlled by the Football Association, the governing body for football in England. England is the joint oldest national football team in the world, alongside Scotland, whom they played in the world's first...
France
France national football team
The France national football team represents the nation of France in international football. It is fielded by the French Football Federation , the governing body of football in France, and competes as a member of UEFA, which encompasses the countries of Europe...
Germany
Germany national football team
The Germany national football team is the football team that has represented Germany in international competition since 1908. It is governed by the German Football Association , which was founded in 1900....
Italy
Italy national football team
The Italy National Football Team , represents Italy in association football and is controlled by the Italian Football Federation , the governing body for football in Italy. Italy is the second most successful national team in the history of the World Cup having won four titles , just one fewer than...
Netherlands
Netherlands national football team
The Netherlands National Football Team represents the Netherlands in association football and is controlled by the Royal Dutch Football Association , the governing body for football in the Netherlands...
Spain
Spain national football team
The Spain national football team represents Spain in international association football and is controlled by the Royal Spanish Football Federation, the governing body for football in Spain. The current head coach is Vicente del Bosque...
Some versions of the game use Japan and USA (e.g.: Hat Trick Hero) instead of Spain and France (e.g.: Euro Football Champ).
Home releases
A version of the game was released on the Super NintendoSuper Nintendo Entertainment System
The Super Nintendo Entertainment System is a 16-bit video game console that was released by Nintendo in North America, Europe, Australasia , and South America between 1990 and 1993. In Japan and Southeast Asia, the system is called the , or SFC for short...
and Commodore Amiga by Domark Software. A ZX Spectrum
ZX Spectrum
The ZX Spectrum is an 8-bit personal home computer released in the United Kingdom in 1982 by Sinclair Research Ltd...
version was planned but never released. The game was released in its original arcade form on the Taito Legends 2
Taito Legends 2
Taito Legends 2 is the sequel to Taito Legends and is a follow-up collection of 39 Taito arcade games for the PlayStation 2, Xbox and PC....
compilation for the PC
Personal computer
A personal computer is any general-purpose computer whose size, capabilities, and original sales price make it useful for individuals, and which is intended to be operated directly by an end-user with no intervening computer operator...
, PlayStation 2
PlayStation 2
The PlayStation 2 is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Sony as part of the PlayStation series. Its development was announced in March 1999 and it was first released on March 4, 2000, in Japan...
and Xbox
Xbox
The Xbox is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Microsoft. It was released on November 15, 2001 in North America, February 22, 2002 in Japan, and March 14, 2002 in Australia and Europe and is the predecessor to the Xbox 360. It was Microsoft's first foray into the gaming console...
.