Jaleco Sports: Goal! follows the same formula as Jaleco Sports: Bases Loaded only with two soccer games instead of two baseball titles. Just like the Bases Loaded compilation, I am happy and nostalgic that this bundling of old soccer games exists, but they don’t exactly hold up well today.
All the same bells and whistles from the Bases Loaded title are copy pasted here. Meaning, two games are included, the 3D rotatable box art zooming is a nice touch, scans of the instructions are welcomed, and the auto saving and reloading emulation features are streamlined. Also, the original artwork and soundtrack of the opening main menu is a nicely wrapped bow on top of this revival project. The presentation is great, actually.
The first included game is Goal!, the NES title from 1988, and the second is the Super Nintendo’s sequel Super Goal from 1992. Obviously the 16-bit game has more polish, options, and features but the original Goal had its fans from back in the day. Like Bases Loaded, these games are a little rough to play now. The isometric perspective and slower pace of the original doesn’t do it any favors while the SNES version contains some brutal AI. Fumbling for even a second can be punishing and the player with the ball moves much slower than every defensemen so working your way down the field and having the chance to take a shot often results in luck over skill.
If you were a kid in the 80s like me, then you knew which sports NES games were the best. The original RBI baseball still stands king even to this day. Football enthusiasts can’t get enough of Tecmo Bowl. Then there was always a split between Nintendo’s Ice Hockey and Konami’s Blades of Steel. Volleyball also had a fan base with Kings of the Beach and Super Spike V-Ball. Soccer, however, always took a back seat to the other sports games but there was a rivalry between Goal and Nintendo World Cup… personally I prefer the Kunio style. Also, like the Bases Loaded compilation, why weren’t the other Goal! titles not included? I also can’t but think these games should already have been placed on the Switch Online NES and SNES apps too.
Again, I am glad these games have been made easily accessible here in the modern gaming age but this bundle is only recommended if you are over 40 years old and enjoyed Jaleco’s take on soccer from the late 80s. Even then, I hesitate on a full recommendation if you had positive experience with these games when you were a kid because they unfortunately do not hold up well. Sometimes it is better to not tarnish those cherished memories.
SCORE: 4/10
Not As Good As: you remember
Play It Instead: Lunar Pool
Wait For It: a re-release of Magic Darts (NES)
By: Zachary Gasiorowski, Editor in Chief myGamer.com
X/Twitter: @ZackGaz
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