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Rating: I've been away for a while and, to be honest, I think I've even forgotten how to write a review.
Still, I wanted to try my hand at reviewing what was, at least for me, one of the most beautiful and entertaining soccer games, in full "arcade-style", class 1990 (referring to myself = 10 years old, but still too young to frequent arcades, let alone know the game).
Why review such a "dated", obsolete game, and, let's face it, utterly surpassed by the now real (sometimes even "surreal"), not to mention much more prestigious, "Pro Evolution Soccer" and "FIFA whatever"?
Well, it's simple. Because, to me, this game was incredibly captivating, and honestly, it would make me laugh terribly.
Fundamentally, we're still talking about "soccer". But "Hat Trick" (which was also the scream of the game's "announcer" when the same player scored a hat trick) managed to skillfully blend the soccer game, in a strict sense, with comedy that pairs with soccer like broccoli for a snack.
In fact, just from the team selection screen (which varied depending on whether you were playing the version from the Land of the Rising Sun or the European version, in which you could choose France and Spain instead of Japan and the USA), one would realize that the game (and its creator) were a bit "sick" inside. Once the team was chosen, you had to select the captain from 4 young men with serious expressions etched on their faces, which, immediately after selection, turned into ridiculous and idiotic due to the celebration (the "deforming-character" was hilarious).
Then you're off to the actual game where you find your team and the opponent you must face, lined up on the field according to a precise game plan. It's always the player who has the "ball" and the opponent the "goal". The kickoff whistle is blown by a fat referee who, once touched, falls (but he can also be taken down by a slide tackle or hit by the ball, and why not, taken out by a punch... That was the fun part). And that's the moment every player waits for: making the fat guy fall to unleash a flurry of fouls, ranging from a "meager" punch to the face to actual martial arts moves (the knee to the stomach is phenomenal for taking down the opponent. On that note, I remember well that to steal the ball from the opponent, sometimes, I would chase them with the precise intent to harm them, jumping on their back with a knee strike step by step until they were laid flat on the ground).
All accompanied by gameplay that could be divided according to the "player type":
•- Beginner: impossible to win (or even draw) from the very first match-clash;
•- Intermediate-expert: guaranteed winner (at least up to the semifinals).
And all this without even complicating life with 100 different buttons depending on the type of pass, infiltration, "turbo" mode or whatever you fancy (as is the custom in more modern soccer games) but, simply, with just 2 buttons. The first for shooting at the goal or for sliding in and stealing the ball from the opponent (and if the referee was involved, well, so much the worse for everyone. Fat guy down, obese fat guy, visually impaired fat guy, and... the "foul" becomes claimed!). The second for "mowing down" the opponent (and possibly getting a caution or being sent off. Depends on how nasty we've been) and for crossing or making passes.
However, the inexperienced player has no chance of winning from the first match. Because the gameplay is, for them, impossible. Unless they know a couple of tricks that ensure a SAFE GOAL!
And there were more than a couple. The pass (to be executed with millimeter precision) with a double overhead kick and/or different acrobat move unbeatable for the opposing goalkeeper; the cross at the edge of the area to be headed or different acrobatic move; the juggling about one-third into the opponent's area that turned into an overhead kick and then launched into the goal with another overhead kick (or other acrobatic move).
These tricks allowed you to "demolish" the first teams. Yes, because there are no qualification rounds and all that "stuff" to prolong the game, but you start already with the knockout phases having to challenge no less than 7 teams. The first ones to demolish, the last ones that managed to make life on the field really difficult for you.
Basically, the best-positioned team (in terms of game formation) was England (chosen by all players), but I managed to triumph with any lineup (I don't recall all the times I've led Italy to the final) enjoying the "cartoonish-absurd" expressions of the character selected as captain (who celebrated by extending his chin or making his eyes pop out of their sockets every time a goal was scored, who cried like a baby when you conceded a goal or managed to triumph at the wire). Not to mention the coaches of the teams (was it a coincidence that the coach of Germany had such a "Nazi" look?) who encouraged, smiled satisfied, or, when they saw their team buried by goals, lowered their heads (".... There's no hope left anymore...").
And what can you expect from such a game when you manage to triumph in the final? Simply seeing the oversized world cup fall on the entire field…..
"Hat Trick Hero", thanks to its "not so serious" formula for interpreting the game of soccer (in a total sense), became very popular in arcades winning over the coins of countless players who, despite the experience and many finals won, wanted to challenge themselves by scoring as many goals as possible. And I don't think it's a coincidence if its successor, more challenging in terms of game-playing, didn't achieve the same success among the game's fans.
Because, in the end, what matters is challenging oneself and one's skill. Which, in current soccer games (at least those mentioned), becomes really essential to succeed, at least, to not get too humiliated on the playing field from the first match.
This is also why I've fallen way behind when it comes to "PES" or "FIFA". Too much reality, from arcade to full-fledged simulation. The perfection reached and even surpassed. But the thing I detest most is the preliminary training (otherwise, you wouldn't accomplish anything on the field), as well as the use of all the keyboard buttons (or those on the controller) to play.
Sometimes, just 2 simple touches are enough.
And simplicity is, most of the time, the basis for a carefree life that allows us maximum enjoyment.
And, even today, I wonder if eating so many broccoli for a snack did me any good or not... And you? Have you ever eaten them for a snack?
Sayonara to all!
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