Unsurprisingly, Konami and EA Sports have fought – and could be fighting until now – a long struggle for leadership in the football simulator market. At the time, FIFA and Winning Eleven were raising the bar on digital lawns, but that didn’t stop other endeavors from happening. This is the case of our twenty-seventh honoree of the Gamepedia which, despite being an international product, brought all the Brazilian flavor to digital. To paraphrase Milton Leite, “and how good it is to say: Ronaldo V-Football!”
Released in 2000, Ronaldo V-Football (called V-Soccer in American soil) is a three-dimensional, lateral dynamics and isometric camera game, produced by PAM Development, a French company that is acquired by 2K in 2005 and discontinued in 2008, and published by Infogrames, a subsidiary of Atari. While FIFA sought to be a simulator and Winning Eleven had a fluid gameplay, V-Football brought a touch more arcade that sought to represent the Brazilian style of playing football: fast, dynamic and fun. It may not have reached its full potential, but the proposal was followed and the game met these three points, even if in parts.
Ronaldo V-Football’s gameplay is very simple and dynamic, with a very interesting game rhythm and easy access even for less experienced players. The negative point, but which does not compromise, is the lack of more advanced movements that would enrich the experience of playing, for example, with the shirt 9 cover of the game. If, for example, the classic pedaling was lacking, the deep passes make it possible for Ronaldo to execute his sprinting characteristics to finish in good conditions.
The game featured more than 100 national teams, and the main countries had the names of their licensed stars. In addition to them, four star teams could also be unlocked by completing some requirements: Asian All-Stars, African All-Stars, Brazilian All-Stars e European All-Stars, bringing in big stars in continental squads. The title had five game modes: Exhibition, Arcade Cup, Endurance, Tournaments and V-Football Cup. Resistance, also called Endurance, is a five-division challenge where players must beat eight other teams to move up to the next rank. Endurance mode is completed when the player reaches the highest point in the final ranking.
The graphic aspect is quite dubious. If, on the one hand, all the green and yellow aesthetics, the opening video with the Phenomenon shots and a polygonal representation of the 15 stadiums were pleasing – despite the limitations of the time – on the other hand, the cameras were very limited and the players could sometimes look very strange. in approximate views. Even so, the setting experience was well represented, except when the game crashed – in fact, this happened sometimes in the editor’s Play, even without the CD being scratched or the player dirty.
One of the best was saved for last: the sound design. As FIFA: Road to World Cup 98, this title carries a very striking soundtrack that sets the pace, literally. If you have had any contact with Ronaldo V-Football, you will quickly make the connection between the song and the game that bears the name of the Phenomenon. Called “Samba de Janeiro”, the track is the first work song by the band Bellini – which bears the name exactly in honor of the canary captain in the 1958 World Cup. Despite its German origin, it is interesting to note that the green and yellow vein comes from one of the members of the group, the Brazilian Dandara Santos-Silva.
In addition to the track, Ronaldo V-Football had the complete translation of the game in Portuguese and the narration by the late Doctor Osmar de Oliveira, doctor, journalist and sports commentator, who died in 2014. With the translated title, the greatest Brazilian player of the time on the cover and the narration in the local language, the game certainly captivated some players who had fun with the game. title. Still, it’s okay to say that the game wasn’t a success – at the same time that it wasn’t even close to a failure. Released for Playstation and, a year later, for Game Boy Color, Ronaldo V-Football carved its place in Gamepedia and was one of my childhood games. So, has this game marked you? Comment with us in the comments!
