Libero Grande
Encyclopedia
Libero Grande is a 1997 arcade game
by Namco
, released in 1998 for the Sony PlayStation
.
in its various sports game franchises with the name Be a Pro
.
The player starts to choose one of the star players, and then a national team. Each star player, based on a real football player but with changed names (Zinedine Zidane
is Zenon Zadkine, for instance) is rated in both ball skill, speed and shooting abilities.
In addition to the original arcade mode, the home release adds an International mode (basically, the FIFA World Cup format), a league competition (up to eight star players/teams), which can be all human controlled and a skills mode where the player has to complete several training ground tasks such as hitting a target floating in the goal mouth or hitting an area from distance.
A sequel, Libero Grande 2 (Known as Libero Grande International in Europe) was released for PlayStation in Europe
and Japan
only, but with less success than the first title.
A playable demo of the game was included in Ridge Racer Turbo (Ridge Racer Hi-Spec in Europe), which was sold with Ridge Racer Type 4
. The demo includes three players (Zenon Zadkine, Alfred Shaffer and Jordan Krüger) and three teams (England, France and Italy), which a person could use to play a ten-minute game.
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...
by Namco
Namco
is a Japanese corporation best known as a former video game developer and publisher. Following a merger with Bandai in September 2005, the two companies' game production assets were spun off into Namco Bandai Games on March 31, 2006. Namco Ltd. was re-established to continue domestic operation of...
, released in 1998 for the Sony PlayStation
PlayStation
The is a 32-bit fifth-generation video game console first released by Sony Computer Entertainment in Japan on December 3, .The PlayStation was the first of the PlayStation series of consoles and handheld game devices. The PlayStation 2 was the console's successor in 2000...
.
Summary
A typical arcade football game in its nature, Libero Grande introduced a novelty factor: the ability to play as just one player, instead of controlling the whole team, always swapping for players nearer the ball. This idea was later used by Konami in Winning Eleven/Pro Evolution Soccer titles named Become a Legend mode, and by EA SportsEA Sports
EA Sports is a brand of Electronic Arts that creates and develops sports video games. Formerly a marketing gimmick of Electronic Arts, in which they tried to mimic real-life sports networks by calling themselves "EA Sports Network" with pictures or endorsements of real commentators such as John...
in its various sports game franchises with the name Be a Pro
Be-a-pro mode
The usage of be-a-pro mode is a repackaging of the player-lock feature with a primitive evaluation system added to rate the player's performance...
.
The player starts to choose one of the star players, and then a national team. Each star player, based on a real football player but with changed names (Zinedine Zidane
Zinedine Zidane
Zinedine Yazid Zidane is a retired French footballer. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest players of all time. Zidane was a leading figure of a generation of French players that won the 1998 World Cup and 2000 European Championship...
is Zenon Zadkine, for instance) is rated in both ball skill, speed and shooting abilities.
In addition to the original arcade mode, the home release adds an International mode (basically, the FIFA World Cup format), a league competition (up to eight star players/teams), which can be all human controlled and a skills mode where the player has to complete several training ground tasks such as hitting a target floating in the goal mouth or hitting an area from distance.
A sequel, Libero Grande 2 (Known as Libero Grande International in Europe) was released for PlayStation in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
and 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...
only, but with less success than the first title.
A playable demo of the game was included in Ridge Racer Turbo (Ridge Racer Hi-Spec in Europe), which was sold with Ridge Racer Type 4
R4: Ridge Racer Type 4
R4: Ridge Racer Type 4 is the fourth game in the Ridge Racer series on the PlayStation.Unlike some of the other titles in the series, this game is made only for a home console, and does not have an arcade machine version. It is the final Ridge Racer series game released in the PlayStation console...
. The demo includes three players (Zenon Zadkine, Alfred Shaffer and Jordan Krüger) and three teams (England, France and Italy), which a person could use to play a ten-minute game.