Super Sidekicks (video game)
Super Sidekicks | ||
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Arcade system Neo Geo MVS | |
Super Sidekicks
Headed by
Gameplay
Super Sidekicks is a soccer game that is played from a top-down perspective in a two-dimensional environment with sprites. Although it follows the same gameplay as with other soccer titles at the time and most of the rules are present as well, the game opts for a more arcade-styled approach of the sport instead of being full simulation, using a simplified control scheme.[1] The tile features 12 teams divided into two groups which compete for the "SNK Cup": Group A (Germany, Italy, Spain, England, Mexico, Japan) and Group B (Argentina, Holland, Brazil, France, United States, South Korea).[1][2]
The players' team plays against all the others in their group, then it goes into an elimination tournament's semifinals and then the final to win the cup. There is an hidden mechanic in the game that affects single-player matches; During a free kick for the AI opponent, if the player has tapped button A for player two, the AI performs a short-shot while pressing the button A performs a longer kick. One noted mistake was that Spain's kit resembles Portugal's, which would not be featured until future entries.[3] Another mistake is Mexico's uniform color, which was corrected in the sequels.[1]
Development and release
Super Sidekicks was the second soccer game developed for the Neo Geo MVS after Soccer Brawl, being created by most of the same team that worked on multiple projects for the Neo Geo platforms at SNK such as
Super Sidekicks was first released by SNK for the Neo Geo MVS on December 14, 1992, and was then released for
Reception
Aggregator | Score |
---|---|
Hobby Consolas | 93/100[26] |
Joypad | 94%[27] |
Megablast | 68%[28] |
Mega Fun | 85%[29][30][31] |
Play Time | 81%[32] |
Player One | 95%[33] |
Video Games | 71%[34] |
Super Sidekicks garnered positive reception from players and critics.[35][36][37][38] In Japan, Game Machine listed Super Sidekicks on their March 1, 1993 issue as being the fourth most-popular arcade game at the time.[39] RePlay reported Super Sidekicks to be the tenth most-popular arcade game at the time.[40] Marc Menier and Robert Barbe of Consoles + criticized the presentation but praised the graphics, animations, sound design, playability and longevity, also stating that Super Sidekicks recreates the frenzied atmosphere of football matches.[21] Christophe Delpierre of Player One gave very high remarks to the visual presentation, sound design, playability, difficulty and longevity.[33] Andreas Knauf of Video Games complemented the detailed graphics and playability, regarding the game to be better than Soccer Brawl.[34] Paolo Cardillo of Computer+Videogiochi praised the visuals, audio, playability and longevity, stating that Super Sidekicks is "undoubtedly fun, but much more was expected from the Neo Geo".[24] Likewise, Piemarco Rosa of Consolemania commended the visuals, sprite animations and arcade-perfect gameplay but criticized the sound design for being inappropriate.[25]
Megablast's Michael Schnelle commended the visuals but felt mixed about other aspects.
Javier Iturrioz of
Retrospective reviews
Aggregator | Score |
---|---|
Nintendo Life | (NS) [43] |
Nintendo World Report | (NS) 4/10[44] |
VentureBeat | (PSN) 77/100[45] |
Bonus Stage | (NS) 4/10[46] |
Pure Nintendo Magazine | (NS) 6.5/10[47] |
Super Sidekicks has been met with mixed reception from retrospective reviewers in recent years. VentureBeat's Daav Valentaten noted its colorful graphics, fast action, simple controls but criticized the inability to choose players, precision to steal the ball from opponents and framerate in the PlayStation Network version.[45] In 2014, HobbyConsolas identified it as one of the twenty best games for the Neo Geo AES.[48] Elliott Osange of Bonus Stage stated that "Super Sidekicks will appeal to fans from the NEO GEO era and diehard football fans who need something to fill the void in their lives. For casual sports players and non-sport entities, however, this is going to be a hard pass".[46]
A staff member of German magazine MAN!AC reviewed the PlayStation Network version via PlayStation Portable, noting the difficulty level of AI-controlled opponents and praised the visual presentation, regarding the game to be quite entertaining but recommended playing its sequels.[42] Pure Nintendo Magazine's Trevor Gould commended the large sprites, gameplay speed, sound design and visual presentation.[47]
Legacy
Super Sidekicks spawned a series of three sequels and a remake; Super Sidekicks 2: The World Championship (1994), Super Sidekicks 3: The Next Glory (1995), The Ultimate 11: SNK Football Championship (1996) and Neo Geo Cup '98: The Road to the Victory (1998).[1][8][10] The Ultimate 11 proved to be less popular than its predecessors, while Neo Geo Cup '98 served as the final game in the series.[1][8] Mexican magazine Club Nintendo regarded the Super Sidekicks franchise as one of the best soccer sagas in video games, touting it to be better than Sega's Virtua Striker series.[1]
Notes
References
- ^ a b c d e f "Arcadias: Super Sidekicks". Club Nintendo (in Spanish). No. 199. Editorial Televisa . June 2008. pp. 66–67.
- ^ Super Sidekicks user's manual (Neo Geo AES, US)
- ^ Elias, Juan (October 11, 2017). "AlfaBetaRETRO: Super Sidekicks – Los magos del balón". Alfa Beta. Difoosion. Archived from the original on 2020-11-06. Retrieved 2020-11-06.
- ^ a b Iturrioz, Javier (August 1995). "A Pie de Pista: Neo Geo – Super Sidekicks". Superjuegos (in Spanish). No. 40. Grupo Zeta. p. 80.
- ^ Neo Geo MVS). SNK. Level/area: Staff roll.
- Vandal (in Spanish). El Español. Archivedfrom the original on 2020-11-06. Retrieved 2020-11-06.
- Hobby Hi-Tech(in Spanish). No. 2. Hobby Press. April 1995. p. 67.
- ^ a b c d "Dossier: Neo Geo Y SNK — Deportivos". GamesTech (in Spanish). No. 11. Ares Informática. July 2003. p. 60.
- ISBN 978-4990251215.
- ^ a b c "Title Catalogue - NEOGEO MUSEUM". SNK Playmore. 2010. Archived from the original on 2018-08-28. Retrieved 2020-11-06.
- ^ Semino, Manuel (March 1993). "IMA '93 In Frankfurt - Coin Op Special". Amiga Joker (in German). No. 35. Joker-Verlag. pp. 122–123.
- ^ "Neo•Geo CD: The Arcade In A Box - Quick Hits". GamePro. No. Premiere Supplement. IDG. Spring 1996. pp. 104–108.
- Siliconera. Enthusiast Gaming. December 6, 2010. Archivedfrom the original on 2020-08-10. Retrieved 2020-11-06.
- Viacom. Archivedfrom the original on 2018-10-21. Retrieved 2020-11-06.
- ^ Brian (July 20, 2017). "Super Sidekicks is next week's NeoGeo game on Switch". nintendoeverything.com. Nintendo Everything. Archived from the original on 2017-09-29. Retrieved 2020-11-06.
- ^ S. Good, Owen (June 10, 2018). "SNK announces the 40-game lineup for the Neo Geo mini-console". Polygon. Vox Media. Archived from the original on 2018-06-10. Retrieved 2020-11-06.
- CBS Interactive. Archivedfrom the original on 2020-06-05. Retrieved 2020-11-06.
- Vandal (in Spanish). El Español. Archivedfrom the original on 2020-08-12. Retrieved 2020-11-06.
- CBS Interactive. 2019. Archivedfrom the original on 2019-08-26. Retrieved 2020-11-05.
- ^ All Media Network. Archivedfrom the original on 15 November 2014. Retrieved 5 November 2020.
- ^ a b Menier, Marc; Barbe, Robert (March 1993). "Neo Geo Review – Super Sidekicks". Consoles + (in French). No. 18. M.E.R.7 . pp. 128–129.
- ^ a b Harris, Steve; Semrad, Ed; Alessi, Martin; Williams, Ken (May 1993). "Review Crew – Neo•Geo / SNK: Super Side Kicks". Electronic Gaming Monthly. No. 46. Sendai Publishing. p. 32.
- ^ a b Halverson, Dave; Sgt. Gamer; Stratton, Tom; Cockburn, Andrew (May 1993). "Viewpoint (Neo Geo) – Super Sidekicks". GameFan. Vol. 1, no. 6. DieHard Gamers Club. p. 21.
- ^ a b Cardillo, Paolo (April 1993). "Review: Super Sidekicks (Neo Geo)". Computer+Videogiochi (in Italian). No. 25. Gruppo Editoriale Jackson . p. 107.
- ^ a b Rosa, Piemarco (April 1993). "Super Sidekicks (Neo Geo)". Consolemania (in Italian). No. 18. Xenia Edizioni. pp. 46–47.
- ^ Hobby Consolas(in Spanish). No. 19. Hobby Press. pp. 56–59.
- ^ Yellow MediaArchivedfrom the original on 2017-09-16 . pp. 108–110. . Retrieved 2020-11-06.
- ^ a b Schnelle, Michael (April 1993). "SNK – Neo Geo: Super Sidekicks". Megablast (in German). No. 2. Joker-Verlag. p. 82.
- ^ a b Kraft, Uwe; Schneider, Ulf (February 1993). "Spieletest: Super Sidekicks (Neo Geo) – Fußall-Cracks Können jetzt auch auf dem Neo Geo einen Hat Trick vollziehen". Mega Fun (in German). No. 7. Computec. p. 50.
- ^ a b Kraft, Uwe; Schneider, Ulf (May 1993). "Test Neo Geo – Super Sidekicks". Mega Fun (in German). No. 8. Computec. p. 107. Archived from the original on 2020-11-06. Retrieved 2020-11-06.
- ^ a b Noak, Philipp; Hellert, Stefan (August 1993). "Special – Neo Geo – Super Sidekicks". Mega Fun (in German). No. 11. Computec. pp. 28–30. Archived from the original on 2018-10-21. Retrieved 2020-11-05.
- ^ a b S., G. (April 1993). "Neo Geo: Super Side Kicks". Play Time (in German). No. 22. Computec. p. 127.
- ^ a b Delpierre, Christophe (March 1993). "Tests De Jeux: Neo Geo – Super Sidekicks". Player One (in French). No. 31. Média Système Édition . pp. 60–61.
- ^ Markt & Technik. p. 34.
- ^ Davila, Mike (April 1993). "Video-Game Reviews – Super Sidekicks (SNK) For the Neo•Geo". VideoGames & Computer Entertainment. No. 51. Larry Flynt Publications. p. 42.
- Future Publishing. July 1993. p. 25.
- ^ "NEO GEO GAMES CROSS REVIEW: 得点王". Famitsu (in Japanese). No. 332. ASCII Corporation. April 28, 1995. p. 26.
- ^ Setsu (October 2003). "Dossier - SNK Neo Geo: 1992". HardCore Gamers (in French). No. 14. FJM Publications . p. 6.
- ^ "Game Machine's Best Hit Games 25 – テーブル型TVゲーム機 (Table Videos)". Game Machine (in Japanese). No. 444. Amusement Press, Inc. . March 1, 1993. p. 33.
- ^ "The Player's Choice - Top Games Now in Operation, Based on Earnings-Opinion Poll of Operators: Best Video Software". RePlay. Vol. 18, no. 8. RePlay Publishing, Inc. May 1993. p. 4.
- CBS Interactive. 2019. Archivedfrom the original on 2019-12-05. Retrieved 2020-11-05.
- ^ a b "Super Sidekicks – im Test (PSP)". MAN!AC (in German). Cybermedia. December 12, 2011. Archived from the original on 2020-11-06. Retrieved 2020-11-05.
- ^ Nintendo Life. Nlife Media. Archivedfrom the original on 2020-01-28. Retrieved 2020-11-05.
- ^ a b Cobran, J.P. (August 31, 2017). "Super Sidekicks (Switch) Review". Nintendo World Report. NINWR, LLC. Archived from the original on 2019-02-25. Retrieved 2020-11-05.
- ^ a b Valentaten, Daav (April 29, 2011). "SUPER SIDEKICKS – Neo Geo Station Review | Gooooooooal!". VentureBeat. Archived from the original on 2020-11-06. Retrieved 2020-11-06.
- ^ a b Osange, Elliott (August 12, 2017). "ACA NEOGEO SUPER SIDEKICKS Review". bonusstage.co.uk. Bonus Stage. Archived from the original on 2020-08-29. Retrieved 2020-11-05.
- ^ a b Gould, Trevor (August 25, 2017). "Review: ACA NEOGEO Super Sidekicks (Nintendo Switch)". Pure Nintendo Magazine. Pure Media, LLC. Archived from the original on 2019-08-19. Retrieved 2020-11-05.
- ^ Alonso, Álvaro (February 12, 2014). "Reportaje: Los 20 mejores juegos de Neo Geo (AES)". HobbyConsolas (in Spanish). Axel Springer SE. Archived from the original on 2014-03-02. Retrieved 2023-02-06.
External links
- Super Sidekicks at GameFAQs
- Super Sidekicks at Giant Bomb
- Super Sidekicks at Killer List of Videogames
- Super Sidekicks at MobyGames