Name: FIFA Soccer 09 All-Play
Item: FIFA Soccer 09 All-Play
Rating: 7.5
Author: Retro Replay

FIFA Soccer 09 All-Play

FIFA Soccer 09 All-Play is at its best when you want a quick, sociable kickabout rather than a stern simulation. The All-Play controls let newcomers swing the Wii Remote and stay involved while the CPU handles player movement, so a mixed-skill living room can get to goals and celebrations without a long tutorial.

That accessibility comes with a trade-off: experienced FIFA players may find the simplified mode too hands-off. Switch to a GameCube or Classic Controller for a more familiar match, or lean into the Wii-only distractions—Mii-styled Footii, tabletop football, and Boot It—where the game’s breezy party-game instincts are much more convincing.

Platform: Wii

Retro Replay Review

Gameplay

The first few minutes make FIFA Soccer 09 All-Play’s priorities obvious: get a ball rolling, put a Wii Remote in someone’s hand, and avoid turning the match into homework. All-Play mode handles player movement through the CPU, leaving you to trigger actions with buttons and Wii Remote gestures. For a newcomer, that can be genuinely liberating. You are involved in the decisive moments instead of spending half the match wrestling with positioning and the Nunchuk.

The downside is equally clear once you know football games. Handing movement to the CPU takes away much of the control that makes a full match satisfying. You may appreciate the ease when friends who never play sports games join in, then quickly want more direct responsibility over the flow of play. Thankfully, GameCube and Classic Controller support offers a more traditional route, and it is the sensible choice when you want to settle in for a proper match rather than host a casual group session.

The Wii-specific side modes give this version its personality. Footii turns the teams into eight-a-side squads with Mii-like players, including licensed-star captains to win by beating their teams. It is a playful change of pace, not a substitute for the main game, but it suits the console well. Table football goes even further toward party-game chaos: its top-down foosball format uses 13 characters per side and throws in oddball balls, including an invisible ball and a rocket-ball.

Boot It is similarly direct, built around a simultaneous shooting frenzy where you take the role of shooter or goalkeeper. These diversions will not replace a deep season of football, yet they matter because they break up the routine and give less committed guests something immediate to enjoy. With 500 licensed teams, there is also plenty of familiar club and international flavor behind the accessible surface. The Wii-specific Manager interface adds another way to engage if you want something beyond isolated matches.

Graphics

Footii is the visual standout because it recasts football stars as Mii-modeled captains and puts them into eight-a-side matches. Table football takes a clean top-down camera view that fits its foosball premise, while the strange balls—especially the invisible ball and rocket-ball—push that mode toward bright, silly arcade action rather than realism.

Story

There is no authored story campaign here; the drama comes from football’s usual rivalries, comeback goals, and the teams you choose to represent. With 500 licensed teams, you can pick a side that already means something to you instead of being pushed through a made-up narrative.

Footii supplies the closest thing to a lightweight progression hook. Beating a team can earn access to its licensed-star captain, turning matches against those squads into small goals beyond simply winning the next game. It is a modest incentive, but it fits a mode designed around quick sessions and comic Mii-styled football.

Manager mode offers a different kind of long-term frame through its Wii-specific interface. That gives the package some room for you to create your own club narrative over time, even if the game’s stronger identity remains its accessible, pick-up-and-play football.

Overall Experience

FIFA Soccer 09 All-Play is a smart fit for a Wii gathering because it does not demand that everyone in the room already understands football-game controls. All-Play lowers the entrance barrier dramatically, while the alternate controller options prevent the game from being locked into motion-controlled simplicity. That split makes it more flexible than it first appears.

Its best moments are not necessarily the most authentic ones. They are the noisy, immediate rounds of Boot It, the deliberately strange table-football matches, and the friendly novelty of Footii. If you want a serious, fully hands-on football experience every time, the CPU-guided control mode can feel frustratingly detached. But as an option for getting inexperienced friends onto the pitch, it works.

Think of this as the breezier cousin of FIFA Soccer 09 on PlayStation 3, shaped around Wii controllers and group play. It earns its 7.5 because it knows exactly when to simplify, and because its extra modes are more than menu clutter. Give it a chance if you want licensed football with room for both a traditional controller match and a deliberately goofy couch competition.