CAPTAIN TSUBASA: Rise of New Champions PS4 Review – Welcome to the world of Captain Tsubasa

A WELL KNOWN CLASSIC

Honestly, even as an anime/manga fan, I don’t know much about Captain Tsubasa. I only know that it’s part of the staple mangas in Weekly Shonen Jump! in Japan. I also saw it as a design on a shirt from a famous clothing brand when Shonen Jump celebrated their 50th anniversary.

A quick google search tells that Captain Tsubasa tells the story of Tsubasa Oozora and his love for the sport of football and dream of winning the FIFA World Cup for Japan. The series creator, Yoichi Takahashi was inspired to create Captain Tsubasa after seeing the 1978 FIFA World Cup in Argentina.

Over the years, Captain Tsubasa has became one of most memorable manga and anime all over the world and has inspired countless of athletes to pursue their passion in football. Captain Tsubasa is synonymous to football as Slam Dunk is to basketball.

NEW PLAYERS WELCOME 

Captain Tsubasa’s story mode gives new players a chance to know about the legacy of the franchise. The story mode plays as a visual novel as you begin your football career as a teenage Tsubasa on the verge of winning their three peat.

The dialogues and  scenes are what you’d expect from a game based on an anime/manga title. You wouldn’t feel lost as to who’s who in the game as each character in typical anime fashion let’s you know who they are and why you should remember them. Haha.

ARCADE OVER SIMULATION

Captain Tsubasa: Rise of New Champions as expected showcases the dynamic and signature moves from the series as compared to the real life football. It’s exciting to see mini-cut scenes when you’re able to pass consecutive defenders and execute your special move. Unlike, real football, it’s not that hard or you don’t need to execute plays to score in this game.

Each team’s goalie has a spirit/life bar that gets depleted each time they block a shot. Over the course of the game, with enough attempts you’ll eventually be able score. In some rare instances, you’d be able to score with a single special move.

Other gameplay features include offline and online versus modes that let’s you battle another player or against the cpu.

It also features an online tournament format wherein you create and personalize a team and battle it with other players. Winning lets you earn points to increase your team’s rankings. The online experience was great as I experience minimal or no lag at all. Provided that your internet connection allows you to connect to the game’s network, you shouldn’t have any problem.

 VERDICT – GOAL!

I believe that the game was made with the fans of the classic Captain Tsubasa in mind. Fans of the series would be delighted how their sports hero was translated over in current generation consoles. Though the story mode does not alienate newcomers to this world, it may take awhile before they get acquainted with Captain Tsubasa’s history. In addition, players with short attention span may skip the story mode altogether because in true visual novel, it may take you up to a 10 minute dialogue before you’re able to play a few minutes of gameplay depending on the scenario.

Versus mode against the cpu is average and the tutorial on the onset of the game is helpful in learning the game’s mechanics. The online experience is a nice challenge to play against other players online provided that your Internet Service Provider allows you to.

Overall, Captain Tsubasa: Rise of New Champions is a good pick if you’re a fan of the series. However, if you’re looking for a more realistic gameplay, you’re better playing off another sports game.

I can only hope that Captain Tsubasa: Rise of New Champions would be pave the way for other sports anime adaptations into a video game even for the current-gen consoles or the next.

[This review is based on a retail copy of  the game provided by the publisher]