Spectacular shots, flashbacks that feel like entire lifespans and balls floating in the air for entire episodes. Back in the day, when I went to school there was only one big question. Were you a Ganbare, Kickers! Or a Captain Tsubasa fan. Both anime aired every afternoon after school and glued us in front of the TV. For me answer was easy. I was a Captain Tsubasa kid. The story of Tsubasa zora and the children of NankatsuHigh School was fascinating and spectacular. Even later when I grew up, I still followed the story and journey of Tsubasa all the way to the World Championship in 2002. How cool was it that the cast of the anime grew up and participated in the world cup.
With Captain Tsubasa 2: World Fighters, Bandai Namco is bringing that feeling to PC and consoles yet again. After Captain Tsubasa: Rise of New Champions, the sequel is not simply trying to continue Rise of New Champions, but significantly expand on the gameplay, content and presentation. World Fighers puts a stronger emphasis on tactical decisions, stamina and new possibilities for almost every important gameplay feature of the game. You considerably feel more in control, but at the same time the series remains faithful to its origin. Spectacular anime football all the way through.
A Content Beast
The scope alone seems insane. While the previous game already contained lots of teams and players, World Fighters comes along with 22 national teams and more than 110 playable characters, resulting in over 150 uniquely animated special actions. New teams from all around the world are added to the lore of the Captain Tsubasa world.
The story mode focuses on Tusbasa Ozora and the Japanese national team. The campaign moves from the Asian Youth Tournament towards the World Youth Championship. The story follows the manga and anime quite closely but also brings new aspects and story to the table that was done by the Mangaka Yoichi Takahashi. You tag along as a customizable character, who joins Tsubasa and his club in Brazil and get to know all kinds of new and old characters from the manga and anime.
Additionally, you get to encounter story flashbacks in new animated side quests and get to know the characters in small dialogue heavy interludes.
For people who seek even more challenges, there are also versus modes and local and online matches, which in combination with all the teams and characters, give you plenty of content to play once you finish the story.
It is worth playing all these different modes and matches, as you not only unlock new special attacks and actions through the story, but also you level your account through matches and unlock additional cosmetics and currency to unlock specific things faster.
Gameplay and Anime
One of the biggest improvements compared to Rise of New Champions is the gameplay control. The basic concepts remains the same, you move your players across the field, pass, dribble, tackle, attempt to outplay the opponents and eventually get an opening to score. World Fighters expands on almost all these actions.
Special actions are now available for dribbles, passes, tackles and blocks. This means specials are not limited to shooting anymore and can creatre a lot of pressure through unique techniques while moving towards the opponent’s goal. For example, a special tackle can move a player half across the field to gain the ball and special passes let you safely get the ball all the way to your offensive players to drain the goalkeepers HP.
This leads to more meaningful decisions during matches, and you feel more in control over what is happening on the field. The tutorial windows might at first overwhelm you and it takes some time to get used to it. But you can always attempt training matches and once you get to know your characters and have played a couple of matches, it’s very satisfying to use these special moves at the right time.
Captain Tsubasa 2: World Fighters finds the right balance between spectacular anime cutscenes and actual decision making here.
Super Football, Super Moves
Of course, the famous special techniques of characters like Tsubasa Ozora, Genzo Wakabayashi, Taro Misaki, Kojiro Hyuga and all the other players are still the heart of the game. These super long and spectacularly animated football moves have burned themselves into my head, ever since I first saw them back in the 90s and it was pure joy to see them in the game again.
The Super Moves in World Fighters are designed for different positions and situations, which give them more depth. Combined with the Chain System, the game allows players to connect actions in order to increase shots, giving the system another layer. It’s not only a question if you should use special attacks, but also when to use them.
This becomes clear with the new Goalkeeper system. Shots are no longer simply determined by a single value. Instead, it becomes a duel between the player and goalkeeper. The direction of the shot, stamina and defense, special attacks, all of them dictate how the stamina of the goalkeeper is reduced over time.
But there are limits to the players as well. It’s not just spamming special actions. Each player has a certain amountof stamina that recharges over time that they use for special actions. At first, it sounds limiting, but this limitation exactly is what the game needs. Nonstop special actions might look fun but would make the game spammy.
The cleaner and more effective you play, the higher your chance is to deal massive HP damage to the goalkeeper. It’s tense and super satisfying to blast through the goalkeeper’sstamina with a satisfying special attack at the right angle, after a clean chain of passes.
Presentation is Peak
What separates Captain Tsubasa 2: World Fighters from most other football games is its presentation. No realistic stadiums, TV-style camera angles and commercial breaks. World Fighers fully embraces its anime origin.
The game runs on the Unreal Engine 5 and makes the game look like a realtime anime. The more than 150 special actions look absolutely sublime and switching between the top-downcamera to the special techniques, make it clear something important is happening now.
Cutscenes outside of matches feel like simply animated 3D visual novels and give insight into the characters and events of the past.
Additionally, the soundtrack is driving the matches and make hype moments even more hype and make the game tournaments feel like massive events.
We would like to thank Bandai Namco for providing us with a key for a review purposes
Captain Tsubasa 2: World Fighters (PlayStation 5)
Captain Tsubasa 2: World Fighers looks like a promising evolution of the series’ over-the-top anime football formula. With more than 110 playable characters and 22 national teams, over 150 unique super moves and improved gameplay systems that lead to more decision making and tactical options, it addresses several weaknesses of it’s predecessor Rise of the New Champions. The new stamina, chain and goalkeeper mechanics add a welcoming strategic depth without sacrificing the fast-paced spectacle and the well-presented story and lots of unlockable moves and cosmetics, keep the player engaged. Captain Tsubasa 2: World Fighers is without a doubt the best Captain Tsubasa game yet.
