Let's Compare - Soccer Kid

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Soccer Kid is a 1993 side-scrolling platform video game originally developed and published by Krisalis Software in Europe for the Amiga. In the game, players assume the role of the titular main protagonist who travels across several countries around the world in order to repair the World Cup by retrieving pieces that were scattered by the alien pirate Scab, the main antagonist who failed to steal and add it to his trophy collection in a robbery attempt. Its gameplay mainly consists of platforming and exploration elements, with a main single-button or two-button configuration, depending on the controls setup.

Conceived by Dean Lester, Soccer Kid was created by most of the same team who previously worked on the popular Manchester United franchise at Krisalis Software and uses the same game engine as with Arabian Nights, another title made by the developer. After making multiple association football titles, the team experimented with creating a project that fused both football and platform game elements in 1992, developing a physics engine dedicated to the soccer ball that proved to be successful internally. Initially released for the Amiga platform, the title was later ported to other home computers and consoles including the 3DO Interactive Multiplayer, Amiga CD32, Atari Jaguar, Game Boy Advance, MS-DOS, PlayStation and Super Nintendo Entertainment System, each one featuring several changes and additions compared to the original version. Conversions for multiple systems were also in development but never released.

Since its original release on the Amiga, Soccer Kid garnered positive reception from critics who praised multiple aspects such as the presentation, visuals, original gameplay concept and replay value, while some felt divided in regards to the difficulty and sound design, with others criticized some of the repetitive set pieces later in the game. The Super Nintendo version received a more mixed reception from reviewers who felt very divided with the graphics, sound design and gameplay. The DOS conversion, although mixed, got a critical response similar to the original Amiga version for its visuals, sound and gameplay. The CD32 port was very well received by critics and the 3DO port got mostly positive reviews. The Jaguar port was received with mixed opinions from reviewers who criticized and felt that it did not improve the graphics and audio from the 16-bit versions, while the Game Boy Advance release was received with a more warm reception.

Gameplay

Screenshot from the original Amiga version, showcasing the titular character in London.
Soccer Kid is a platform game where players take control of the titular character travelling across the world in order to retrieve and restore the world cup from the clutches of the alien pirate Scab, who plans to add it to his ever-growing collection. By pressing different buttons at the title screen, the player can change the colours of their character's clothes in order to represent their favorite team. Each country has three levels that the player must navigate through.

The player character can perform various types of soccer moves such as runs, shots, bicycle kicks, headers and other sorts of moves to either advance in the level, get to hard-to-reach areas or eliminate enemies by using his soccer ball as the main tool. The player starts out with two hearts but by opening random chests scattered throughout the game, they can get more hearts. At the end of each third level, the player must fight a boss, based on stereotypical people associated with their respective country. However, the player must always explore each level to find soccer cards, which are crucial to getting the cup at the end of the game.

Once a country is completed and all the cards in that country are collected, Soccer Kid is transported to a bonus level where he must collect all the food against limited time in order for a piece of the cup to be obtainable. If all heart pieces are lost, the player character is respawned on a determined checkpoint after losing a life and once all lives are lost, the game is over, though there is an option of continuing. Depending on the version being played, progress is saved differently.

Source:  Wikipedia

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