FIFA 98: Road to World Cup

Genre:

Sports

Year:

1997

Developer:

Electronic Arts Canada

Publisher:

Electronic Arts

Perspective:

Top-down

Theme:

Soccer / Football

Releases:

Windows (1997), SNES (1997), Nintendo 64 (1997), Genesis (1997), SEGA Saturn (1997)

Also known as:

FIFA: Rumbo al Mundial 98, FIFA: En Route pour la Coupe du Monde 98, FIFA: Die WM-Qualifikation 98, FIFA: A Caminho da Copa 98, FIFA ロード・トゥ・ワールドカップ 98, FIFA 98

FIFA 98 has become a classic game, astonishingly outperforming many of the later entries in the FIFA series with its craftsmanship. Widely regarded as the most complete and best-balanced game in the series, FIFA 98 allows for both friendly matches and league play. The most significant attraction of this installment is undoubtedly the Road to the World Cup mode. In it, players lead a team from the initial qualifications to the main tournament, adapting to different systems used around the world. The game features 16 different outdoor stadiums and includes 189 clubs across 11 leagues. Each team is enhanced by specific crowd chants integrated into the ambient sound. All teams that competed in the qualifiers across all continents are represented in the game, allowing players to choose, for example, the Solomon Islands and navigate through the qualifiers to the tournament itself. Notably, the offside rule is correctly implemented, artificial intelligence has been improved, and a player editor is included. Stadium crowds offer announcements in various languages, while players are distinguished by different faces and hairstyles. For the first time in the series, there is a licensed soundtrack featuring many popular bands, including Blur.