'Zany, unique and fast-paced' - Captain Tsubasa: Rise Of New Champions game review

Each goalkeeper has an energy bar which you will need to wear down to get any joy

Any of you reading my preview for Captain Tsubasa: Rise Of New Champions a few weeks ago will know I had really high hopes for this very different approach to football video games.

Captain Tsubasa promised a "refreshing look to the football genre with the exhilarating action and over-the-top shots." I have been craving a return to the cut and thrust arcade style action that made me fall in love with football video games - a love that FIFA and Pro Evo have slowly eroded over the last few years.

Here in the UK, one look at CT instantly evokes nostalgic memories of the classic Super Sidekicks.

And I’m delighted to report that the action matches my expectations and then some. CT is already an established hit series in Asia. In fact, it started out as a Manga comic over 40 years ago. This is the first game for 10 years, though, and it’s gone global.

Zany, unique and fast-paced

In terms of taking on the traditional football games like Pro Evo and FIFA, the truth is Captain Tsubasa: Rise of New Champions can’t compete. But that’s because it doesn’t want to.

It offers its own zany, unique and fast-paced take on the beautiful game and it looks stunning in terms of its anime and Manga style graphics. It has bags of charm, simple controls and an element of customisation and online play that caught me by surprise in a positive way.

Over the top cut scenes for special power shots and tackles are fun at first, but the novelty does soon wear off. And my biggest gripe is that it is very difficult to score without executing one of these, which takes away what was great about games like Super Sidekicks - engineering a run through on goal, choosing your angle of attack and smashing the ball home from inside the box.