Retro Replay Review

Gameplay

Ultra CD-i Soccer places you in the driver’s seat of a classic, top-down soccer simulation featuring 72 European national teams. From the moment the referee’s whistle blows, the controls feel responsive, allowing you to pass, tackle, and shoot with surprising precision for a CD-i title. Whether you’re weaving through defenders with a swift dribble or unleashing a power shot from outside the box, the core mechanics provide a straightforward yet engaging experience that both newcomers and soccer veterans can appreciate.

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The game offers multiple modes to keep the action fresh. You can challenge a friend in a head-to-head match, test your skills against increasingly tough AI opponents, or dive into the “Total Competition” mode, which has you battling through all 72 teams in succession. For those seeking a more customized journey, the “Create Your Own Competition” option lets you pick up to four squads and design a knockout bracket, fostering unique rivalries and memorable upset victories.

Match pacing is adjustable, giving you control over game length and speed. While the AI can feel predictable at times—often clustering around your goal in defense—it ramps up in later rounds of the tournament, forcing you to refine your strategies. The lack of complex tactics menus keeps the focus on on-field action, making each match a quick, accessible challenge rather than a deep managerial sim.

Graphics

Visually, Ultra CD-i Soccer embraces the limitations of the CD-i hardware while still delivering a colorful, retro aesthetic. The top-down viewpoint offers a clear view of the pitch, with each team distinguished by bright, contrasting kit colors. Player sprites are small but sufficiently detailed, allowing you to track your chosen avatar as they sprint down the wing or cross into the box.

Animation is functional rather than fluid, with players performing a handful of movement frames that can feel choppy during fast breaks. Still, the basic stepping and kicking motions get the job done, and the occasional slide tackle feels satisfyingly grounded. Stadium backdrops remain static, featuring minimal crowd movement, but the graphical style captures the era’s charm rather than trying to push modern realism.

The user interface is clean and unobtrusive: match timers, scorelines, and simple stat readouts sit neatly at the top of the screen. While there are no dynamic replays or zoomed-in goal celebrations, the quick transitions between matches maintain momentum, ensuring you spend more time on the field than waiting through cutscenes or loading screens.

Story

As with many soccer sims of its time, Ultra CD-i Soccer doesn’t offer a traditional narrative or character arcs. Instead, “story” emerges organically through the outcomes of your matches and the evolving competition bracket. Guiding an underdog nation to glory in the Total Competition mode can feel like an epic saga, with each upset victory writing a new chapter in your personal tournament legend.

The custom competition feature further enriches this emergent storytelling by letting you craft rivalries between four selected teams. Will perennial powerhouses clash in a dramatic semifinal? Can a small nation shock the favorites in the final? These unscripted moments create a sense of drama that stands in for missing cutscenes and dialogue.

Although there are no licensed player names, commentary snippets, or player profiles, fans of pure sports gameplay can weave their own backstories. The real narrative lies in the celebrations after a last-second winner, the frustration of missed penalties, and the thrill of navigating a gauntlet of European heavyweights on your path to the title.

Overall Experience

Ultra CD-i Soccer may not compete visually or technically with later soccer franchises, but it carves out its own nostalgic niche. The combination of 72 teams, flexible competition modes, and simple yet responsive controls delivers a solid soccer outing on the CD-i platform. Matches play quickly, making it easy to squeeze in a match or two without a steep time commitment.

Local multiplayer is where the game truly shines, transforming living rooms into friendly battlegrounds as you and a friend vie for European supremacy. The lack of online play is expected for its era, but the head-to-head matches remain as engaging today as they were at launch. Players looking for deeper management options or licensed rosters should look elsewhere, but those seeking pick-up-and-play fun will find plenty to enjoy.

In the end, Ultra CD-i Soccer stands as a testament to the charm of early ’90s sports gaming. Its limitations—stiff animations, minimal presentation flourishes, and no official player likenesses—are balanced by a comprehensive roster of teams and versatile competition formats. For collectors, retro enthusiasts, or soccer fans curious about CD-i’s library, it’s a worthwhile title that delivers straightforward, engaging football action.

Retro Replay Score

null/10