Considering its relative obscurity, Jaleco’s Goal! series has quite a confusing history. Different regions gained versions under different branding, with examples including Super Goal! rebranded as Super Cup Soccer for the Japanese market, and the Famicom sequel ditching the ‘2’ in the title – making it appear the same as the US original. Then there’s the case of the rare France-only edition of Goal! Two, which gained additional licensing to become Eric Cantona Football Challenge…. with Cantona’s face slapped on the box and nowhere else. Nope, not even on the title screen. French football fans must have been mildly miffed back in 1992.
Helping to make more sense of the Goal! timeline is this second collection from Rock It Games. The first was released late last year and featured five different versions of two different games – one for NES from 1988, and the other for SNES from 1992. In our review we concluded that the low £6.49 price tag was pretty reasonable for the 2-3 hours of entertainment both games provide while trying to beat their Super Cup tournaments. They also offered monthly online leaderboards, tallying goals scored in each, along with box art scans, CRT filters, and a few extras.
Jaleco Sports: Goal! 2 is presented in the same manner, only now box art must be unlocked by winning a match. It’s also a slimmer package, containing just three games: the US and Famicom versions of Goal! 2 (also known as Goal! Two) from 1992, and the US version of 1993’s Super Goal! 2 for the SNES – which, amazingly, never made it to Europe. We can only assume that Jaleco thought the SNES market was crowded with footie games come 1993. The almighty FIFA International Soccer was starting to make a name for itself too, although only on the Mega Drive at this point.
The NES version of Goal! 2 comes across as one of the better football games for the system, although it’s somewhat hindered by the console’s visual limitations and the two button control set-up. It’s viewed diagonally, with the camera zooming out whenever the ball is launched into the air, giving the chance to better reposition players. Goalkeepers can be set to automatic or manual, fouls and offsides can be turned off, and both Super Cup and Exhibition Modes are available – complete with two-player. Oddly, the rewind tool remains present when playing with a pal, meaning it’s possible for both players to abuse it. While it’s possible to perform bicycle kicks and headers, the controls are a little unwieldy due to the isometric perspective, often resulting in misdirected shots and botched passes. Another downside is that everything comes to a standstill when three players clash, with their sprites remaining motionless until somebody moves.
It does at least seem that this sequel was geared more towards the European market than the original, featuring international teams (including, erm, “Rumania”) and there are no out-of-place cheerleaders this time either. Incidentally, during goal celebrations we spotted a billboard for Jaleco’s premier SNES scrolling brawler Rival Turf. Play the Japanese version of Goal! 2, and you’ll instead see banners for Rushing Beat, which was its overseas name. Other differences between the US and Japanese versions of Goal! 2 are minimal, with even the menus still in English.
This leaves us with just the US version of Super Goal! 2, which may be new to retro footie fans, given its limited release. Sprite scaling is the order of the day here, featuring a unique ‘behind the goal’ viewpoint that sees the screen scroll vertically. Consequently, most of the action takes place in the middle of the pitch. The controls are responsive, and the difficulty level is pretty low, making scoring a breeze. It has the typical assortment of options (Super Cup, Exhibition for up to two players, and a new Penalty Shootout mode), and there’s a choice of stadiums too, including one with a rainbow and another coated in snow.
The presentation is marred somewhat by the slow plodding music, which doesn’t suit the briskness of the matches well. What really harms the experience is the peculiar ball physics, with the knee-sized ball (!) using jerky sprite scaling when kicked into the air. It also tends to come to a sudden standstill instead of rolling. Overall, though, this is better than some of the football games we did gain in Europe (Pele, Champions World Class Soccer), and it may have performed reasonably well had it been given the chance.
While there are fewer variations here than in this collection’s predecessor, the quality is slightly higher – these are sequels intended to improve on their originals, after all. The five year gap between NES Goal! and Goal! 2 is highly apparent, going from a simple footie game to one that makes good use of the limited hardware. Super Goal! 2 meanwhile is surprisingly accessible, and its use of sprite scaling remains visually appealing. Neither are essential (unless you’re a retro sports sim diehard, if such a thing exists) but if you are ever hankering for a quick kickaround Super Goal! 2 is a good fit for that. Snug like a keeper’s glove.
Rock It Games’ Jaleco Sports: Goal! 2 is out now on PS5 and Switch. Developed by Sickhead Games. Original games by Jaleco and Toze.