Soccer Kid

for Panasonic 3DO

Condition: 9.5/10

Soccer Kid is a 1993 side-scrolling platform video game originally developed and published by Krisalis Software in Europe for the Amiga microcomputer. 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 on 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 with the original version. Conversions for both the Atari Lynx and Atari ST were also in development but never released.