The first time I played a Konami football game, it was the Playstation port of 'ISS Deluxe', 2D and viewed 'side-on'. I dunno if it was the same team that eventually made Winning Eleven that developed this, but my hunch is it was the other mob, KCEO, given the little touches like a dog running onto the pitch, etc, and the general arcadey gameplay.
I didn't own an N64, I never played the KCEO-developed (I think) versions of the game. I also wasn't aware of imports, etc, so the first game that blew me away was ISS Pro (I think the WE equivalent was Winning Eleven 3). I think the next one was ISS Pro 98, after which I got into the game in a big way, found out the Japanese versions hit months earlier than the Western releases, and got Winning Eleven 4. It just blew me away. Over the years I waited on each new version with massive anticipation, as they always included subtle gameplay changes which when playing each new version for the first time would be tremendous fun to pick up on - "They've added that animation", or "Look at how the through pass is balanced better", etc (I'm sure fans of the series will know the feeling I'm talking about).
My point is, over the years, they seem to have 'over-developed' the gameplay engine. Maybe I'm looking at the old games with rose-tinted glasses, with too much nostalgia, but they had concrete game-mechanics and you knew what would happen if you pressed a certain button. To me, the series feels like it's moved away from this and maybe too many new things have been introduced at once, but the main problem is far too much of the gameplay now feels scripted. It's nothing like FIFA, and it's still controllable enough to enjoy, but it's definitely lacking that 'complete control' aspect the earlier versions had IMO. If I did something wrong in an older version, I'd know I'd done it wrong and it'd be fine. In recent editions, it feels like sometimes the game just 'decides' for me, for example I'll press the exact same command in an identical situation, and it will pass, shoot, cross or dribble differently from the time before.
The series is still marvellous and I love it, and like I said, maybe it's all in the head, or maybe I'm just not into videogames as much as I was back then. But my gut feeling is the series has gone a little astray from that basic, pure and unfiltered, controllable joy it used to provide.
With WE already announced for next-gen, it's unknown how it will progress (graphics aside). Look at the final version of WE/PES for Playstation, and look how different it is today. Back then, players were called Roberto Larcos! I just hope they can re-capture some of what made WE so appealing to me in the first place.
Thoughts?
I didn't own an N64, I never played the KCEO-developed (I think) versions of the game. I also wasn't aware of imports, etc, so the first game that blew me away was ISS Pro (I think the WE equivalent was Winning Eleven 3). I think the next one was ISS Pro 98, after which I got into the game in a big way, found out the Japanese versions hit months earlier than the Western releases, and got Winning Eleven 4. It just blew me away. Over the years I waited on each new version with massive anticipation, as they always included subtle gameplay changes which when playing each new version for the first time would be tremendous fun to pick up on - "They've added that animation", or "Look at how the through pass is balanced better", etc (I'm sure fans of the series will know the feeling I'm talking about).
My point is, over the years, they seem to have 'over-developed' the gameplay engine. Maybe I'm looking at the old games with rose-tinted glasses, with too much nostalgia, but they had concrete game-mechanics and you knew what would happen if you pressed a certain button. To me, the series feels like it's moved away from this and maybe too many new things have been introduced at once, but the main problem is far too much of the gameplay now feels scripted. It's nothing like FIFA, and it's still controllable enough to enjoy, but it's definitely lacking that 'complete control' aspect the earlier versions had IMO. If I did something wrong in an older version, I'd know I'd done it wrong and it'd be fine. In recent editions, it feels like sometimes the game just 'decides' for me, for example I'll press the exact same command in an identical situation, and it will pass, shoot, cross or dribble differently from the time before.
The series is still marvellous and I love it, and like I said, maybe it's all in the head, or maybe I'm just not into videogames as much as I was back then. But my gut feeling is the series has gone a little astray from that basic, pure and unfiltered, controllable joy it used to provide.
With WE already announced for next-gen, it's unknown how it will progress (graphics aside). Look at the final version of WE/PES for Playstation, and look how different it is today. Back then, players were called Roberto Larcos! I just hope they can re-capture some of what made WE so appealing to me in the first place.
Thoughts?