3/5 ★ – PhilMyth's review of Ganbare! Super Strikers.

Originally written for Nintendo Village: https://www.thenintendovillage.com/articles/ganbare-super-strikers-review *** Football (soccer for our US brethren) can be a pretty intense sport. At it’s best it can be blindingly fast, with the ball being pinged around between players before being rifled into the back of the net. It’s a game of fine margins where a slow reaction can result in some serious punishment. A turn-based tactical RPG seems like an odd fit for the game on the face of it then, and yet Ganbare! Super Strikers does a rather good job of offering fans of both chess-like gameplay and the beautiful game a successful mashup. Fantasy Football The main campaign in Ganbare! Super Strikers sees you join a small team as the new star player. Pleasingly, you can customise the badge and kit of your team, as well as your own look and that of your teammates. Naturally, this meant I renamed everyone and adjusted their appearance to mean I was playing in a Blackburn Rovers all-time greats team. It’s not the most in-depth editor in the world, but a level of personalisation is always welcome. You then proceed through a number of 7-a-side matches, facing off against teams who all have an idiosyncratic leader of some description. Beat them all and you’ll join forces in the Japanese national side to take part in 11-a-side games. It’s not exactly the most in-depth narrative in the world, but it plays out with some solid-if-forgettable dialogue to add a little personality to proceedings. Tactical Possession The action on the pitch plays out in the standard turn-based format fans of the genre will be familiar with. Each turn represents a minute from the game’s half, so you have a limited number of turns to score a few goals before the ref blows his whistle. During a turn you can perform up to two actions with each player. These include moving, tackling, dribbling past an opponent, passing and shooting. Perform any one of these and your player’s relevant power will generate a number and placed up against your opponent’s. So, if you take a shot for example, you’ll generate a number. The opposing keep will do the same and the highest number wins, resulting in a goal or a save. It works pretty well, and playing matches earns you experience which will boost your stats to ensure you come off victorious more times than not. The RNG nature of it can be a little frustrating when you feel you should be successful more times than you manage, but by and large it works well. There are also special moves available that inflict status conditions on opponents. Paralysis prevents them from moving for example, whist poison will sap their energy. These often have higher power scores than your standard moves, but they also deplete your special bar so using them tactically is the key to success. Each match has certain secondary goals you can aim to acheive too, such as keeping a clean sheet or performing certain special moves. Doing so will unlock new equipment you can equip - shin pads, boots etc - that give you access to more special moves. It’s a good system, and gives you an incentive to go back and replay matches you may have only scraped through first time around. All of these various elements combine to make for rather interesting matches, particularly in the 7-a-side modes. Positioning your players so they can intercept any of your opponents players, whilst still ensuring you can chain passes together up the pitch is an interesting balancing act. Getting your strikers in position to stand a good chance of thwarting the keeper sounds easy enough, but you still need to be wary of leaving yourself exposed in midfield or even ending up offside. It means each match is a patient game of strategy rather than the kind of finger-flicking precision seen in the likes of FIFA, yet it can still be a rewarding experience whilst it lasts. Actionless Replay Unfortunately there isn’t a whole lot of variety on offer. Sure, you can take part in tournaments and leagues outside of the main story, but the action on the pitch is largely the same each time. 11-a-side matches don’t offer much in the way of challenge either, the added space arguably making it an easier and less-rewarding affair than the 7-a-side matches. Multiplayer offers a little replay value, but the lengthy matches means you’re unlikely to dive into the game for a quick match here and there like you would with a PES or even a Super Mario Strikers. VERDICT Ganbare! Super Strikers does a pretty good job of translating the beautiful game to a tactical RPG. Matches can be a little slow and drawn out, and there’s not a lot to keep you coming back again and again, but it’s nevertheless an enjoyable experience for the most part. If you like tactical RPGs as much as a kickabout with your mates, Ganbare! Super Strikers offers a solid mid-table finish - not pushing for the title, but well safe from relegation.