Conference rusure::nintendo

     Sounds like a great game!  You didn't mention whether or not it
    has a password.  It seems like you would almost have to have one
    to make it all the way to the World Cup finals!
    
    Thanks for the great review!
    Glen Joyner.

    I forgot to mention that this game has a password feature.  You can
    enter the password as one of the choices when starting if you want to
    pick up where you left off.  Or, if you make it to that final game and
    loose the first time, using the password will let you try again (and
    again, and again...).
    
    Mike

    So far, I have been able to win the World Cup with Brazil and Italy. 
    My next goal is to win with my favorite team (West Germany).
    
    I have won the pro tournament with Boston (believe it or not)!!!
    
    Mike

    	
    	Well Mike, I'd also like to thank you for the great review.
    My brother-in-law just recieved  "GOAL" for Christmas.  He got
    a blister on his thumb 'cause we played it so long.(The only reason
    I didn't get one is because I got the "advantage joystick")  But
    we really enjoyed ourselves.  Especially since my inlaws are 
    soccer finatics.  I guess now we can put the nintendo soccer game
    in the "MONEY WASTED" file!

    I have now won the World Cup with West Germany, Argentina and the USSR. 
    I have also been able to win the pro tournament with Dallas.  I have
    found it easier to win the tournament then the World Cup.
    
    I bought this game about 2 or 3 weeks ago and I have played it every
    day that I have been home for at least an hour.  I must commend Jaleco
    for the details of this game.  Anyone who has played or coached soccer
    can pick up subtlties in the game.  Players move in triangles, passing
    angles are true to the real game.
    
    In fact, the way the game is setup, you can't see the whole field at
    once.  But when I have a player dribbling, I think to myself "there
    must be an open man in that space".  So, I pass the ball to the space
    and sure enough, a player is there just out of the picture.  I switch
    control to that player and continue offensive moves.
    
    I have found a few tricks:
    
    - You can pause this game.  When a player has possession of the ball
    push the start button (I think).  The score board shows up and the game
    is paused.  To unpause, push start again.
    
    - You can speed up play after a goal.  When a goal is scored, there is
    a delay in starting play again because the score board is displayed. 
    Hit the "a" button when the scoreboard shows up and you are back to the
    kickoff.
    
    - The computer is sometimes dumb when taking goal kicks.  If he kicks
    it to one of your men, you can usually send a 35 yard shot back at the
    goal and using the curving ability, tuck the shot into the top corner
    and score.
    
    - Watch out on the high levels.  The computer is an excellent slide
    tackler.  The higher you get, the less you can dribble without being
    tackled.
    
    Mike

    This game really made our Christmas vacation.  It was great to play
    TOGETHER with my son against the computer - I like to pass, and he
    loves to score.  We even managed to win a few games.  It's great to be
    able to practice your shots in the Shoot-Out Competition.
    
    But I have a question.  The instruction book contains all this data on
    individual player abilities for each team, but how do you know who is
    who?  I find it very difficult to keep track of what position a given
    player has come from - it's all I can do to keep track of where the
    goal is!  And they all certainly look alike.  Is there a good way to
    figure out who you're looking at, and what his ability might be?  
    Also, I'm  often surprised to find no man from my team where I would
    expect.  Is that because I dribble/travel too far upfield or down with
    one player?  How do the other players on your team react to a mad charge 
    from backfield to goal?
    
    Does anybody know of a good thumb linament?  This game really takes its
    toll (even more than TECMO Bowl). 

    The only way to know which player you are controlling with the ball is
    to look (quickly) in the top left hand corner of the screen under the
    time.  The player's number is displayed.
    
    To tell you the truth, I don't pay much attention as to who has the
    ball.
    
    As far as passing into an empty space, this is where playing or
    coaching soccer comes in handy.  If you have played or coached for a
    period of time, then you should have a good understanding on
    positioning and play making.  The computer controlled players are
    pretty good at offering playmaking possibilities.
    
    It is possible that you are dribbling with one player too much.  I try
    working the ball up the field with short passes and find that works
    best (even at high levels where you have to be real quick).
    
    Mike

    
    Mike: Could you give us amateurs a few more tips on how to beat this
    game? I can cruise through round one of the world cup pretty well, but
    can't seem to advance beyond that. I'd like to hear more about the
    strategy you use to win at this game. This game is fun, but it can be
    very frustrating at times.
    
    I concur with the reply about this being a good 2-player game against
    the computer. My son also likes to be the scorer, while I try to set
    him up and get a few assists.
    
    Have you noticed that the computer player sometimes stalls while in
    possession of the ball? They just freeze in one spot and there seems
    to be no way to steal the ball while they're in this mode. It only
    lasts a couple of seconds at a time. One major nit with this game is
    the time keeping. If you have a shot in the air headed for a possible
    goal and time expires, the ball stops in mid-air! It seems as if they
    could have programmed this a bit better, don't you think? Aside from
    that the game play is very acceptable. It will be even better when I
    gain a few more soccer skills.
    
    						Paul
    

About the ball stalling in mid air...  In real soccer, when time expires the
game is over.  It's not like basketball where you can jump and time can run
out and the shot counts.  I have snuck a few goals in with 00:00 on the clock.
Of course, time expires immediately after the ensuing kick off.

As far as beating the computer on higher levels...  It takes practice,
practice, practice.  But here are a few tips:

- Don't dribble too much.  The higher the level, the more adept the computer
  is at stealing the ball.  Play a "kick & run" game.  That means instead of
  passing the ball (B button) kick the ball towards your opponent's goal with
  a full shot (A button) anywhere on the field.  You may get lucky and find
  one of your players in front of the goal - breakaway!

- Work on shots from the 35-40 yard mark.  It is not too difficult to score
  from this distance if you know where the goal is.  Just hit a hard shot and
  curve it around the goalie.

- Try forcing the computer to make goal kicks.  Sometimes, the computer makes
  very bad goal kicks right to you and you can bang a hard shot at the goal
  right away.  You may have to experiment with this.  Usually, goal kicks to
  left of the goal will come near one of your players.  Watch carefully when
  computer takes a goal kick as to where it goes.  The kick will be taken to
  the left of the goal if you can kick the ball out of bounds left of the goal.
  Try to steal the ball (goal kicks are pretty consistent, set plays) and then
  fire a hard shot that curves at the goal.

- Be hungry for rebounds.  If you make a good shot and it does not go in,
  chances are the goalie won't save it and there will be a decent rebound.  I
  score a lot on rebounds when I shoot from the top of the penalty area.

- When the ball passes (in the air) by any of your players, hit the A button.
  This will cause you to head the ball.  Do this when the goalie makes a save
  and you are close to the net.  I have headed in or made a diving kick at some
  goalie kicks.  You have to be quick and close enough.  Being able to head is
  key to winning in the later rounds.

- One way to rest your thumbs is to take your hands of the controls from time
  to time.  When the ball is free, don't move your man.  The computer is kind
  enough to move your selected man to the ball.  Gives your thumbs a break.

- If you want to do any passing in the later rounds, you must anticipate like
  a madman.  Before your player scoops up the ball, look around him and see who
  is around.  This is key to making good passes.  Don't worry about overrunning
  the ball as I mentioned in the last list item, the computer is kind enough to
  keep your man going towards the ball.  Once you know who you want to pass to
  wait until you get to the ball and make the pass right away.

Mike

PS - I have noticed the little pauses by the computer.  You can steal the ball
     but only if your man is approaching from the correct angle (I've done it).
     Anyone had a penalty called against them in the penalty area yet during
     regulation play?  I was wondering if a penalty kick is awarded.  I tried
     to make a fould happen for 3 games in a row in the penalty area but no 
     infraction was called.

    
    
    re .6
    
    So you have "Nintendo thumb" eh? I cured mine by buying the joystick.
    
    jeff

	I've finally gotten fairly adept at this game thanks to Mike's
	tips. I have won the World Cup with Italy, W. Germany, Holland,
	Brazil, USSR, Argentina and the USA. I've won the tournament using
	Boston, LA, and Kansas.

	As Mike has said there is much strategy required in order to win
	at the more advanced levels. Teams that you may have beaten at a
	lower round of the World Cup elimination, suddenly play like
	supermen! And don't be mislead by the stats of their players that
	you see in the book. A team that looks weak on paper is anything
	but that in the finals. I know; I've struggled with Algeria a few
	times.

	Something that you discover from playing (and losing to) the same
	team again and again, is that they all have particular weaknesses.
	It may take awhile to discover them, but they're there. Some teams
	have a goalie with a weak kick, that you can exploit by making them
	do goal kicks, as Mike indicated. Others may have a player or two
	who are weak tacklers. Find them and dribble right by for a good
	shot on goal.

	You may want to start out with a team that has real good defenders
	like W. Germany. By using their "marking" abilities to shadow the
	other team's top scorers, you'll have more of a chance to slide tackle
	the ball away. This is critical in the finals. If you let their better
	players dribble around too long near your net, they're bound to score
	sooner or later. I usually let my goalie send a long kick downfield,
	and curve it out of bounds. With practice you can steal the throw-in
	most of the time. This sets up many good scoring opportunities.

	The computer moves the ball downfield very quickly at the higher levels.
	They do this by heading the ball to one another, repeatedly. Many
	times the ball moves all the way from their end to yours, without ever
	being dribbled! This seems a bit unrealistic to me, but you have to
	learn to cope with this tactic or you'll get caught flat-footed.

	That's enough for now. If anyone needs help, I'll do the best I can.


							Paul


	

    I find it hard to control my goalie. I was wondering if anyone else is
    having the problem, I also noticed that if they other team gets a
    corner kick on the right side he automatically scores. I do have a
    maybe spoiler for kicking the ball
    
    
    
    
    Spoiler follows
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    When you kick the ball hold down B and the ball will speed up in the
    air.

Learning to control the goalie is something you have to experiment with.  I
find that as soon as the other team has a break away, if you hit the B button
to switch defenders, you will switch to controlling the goalie (but only if
the goalie is already in view).  If you need to control the goalie because of
a break away, wait until the goalie appears on screen, hit the B button and
you can make him dive.

Unfortunately, the computer is usually a crack pot shot and balls bound for the
far corner are nearly impossible to save.

About the corner kick...

Wait till the guy who does all the scoring hits the shot and as soon as he makes
contact, hit the B button (you are now controlling the goalie) and move the
goalie to his right.  With some practice, you should be able to thwart this
attack every time.

Mike

    Has anyone played the game Goal. Do you like it and what do you
    rate it.

I have already put my opinion in the various replies to the base note.
To sum it up:  I like the game and I would rate it 10 out of 10.

Mike

    Another good cure for the dreaded "Nintendo thumb" is to use a product
    made by SuperController.  Its actually a cover that fits over the
    standard controller. It comes with various small joystick attachments
    (which I don't bother with), and best of all it only costs about five
    bucks.  It should also increase your player manuverability.
    
    Go for the corners!,
    
    Rob

    re: challenge
    
    O.K Mike, anytime, anywhere.  I'll even play Japan.
    
    Rob