Sega Soccer Slam
Before we even get started talking about the games, let’s just acknowledge the elephant in the room: Yes, the images in this post are all over the place. Turns out it’s difficult to get lovely photos of particularly old game series, who’d have thunk! Anyway, let’s get onto what you’re actually here for.
Sega Soccer Slam was an absolute *chef’s kiss* — as the kids say nowadays — of an arcade soccer title that released on the GameCube, PS2, and Xbox back in 2002.
With an intuitive control scheme that made pulling off fancy skills, punches, and super-powered shots a cinch, and a cast of eccentric characters that represented their team’s feel beautifully, it had the foundations for greatness.
Toss in the fact that the game had a single-player mode, as well as local multiplayer for up to four players and it was an easy way to burn through a weekend indoors.
Alas, Sega Soccer Slam never got a sequel, nor did it ever get any kind of fancy remaster treatment for more recent consoles. And what a waste. Right now, there’s no true arcade soccer game… that doesn’t involve rocket-powered cars anyway.
With Sega Soccer Slam’s unique cast of characters and after 17 years off, there’s plenty of room for expanding this into a fully-fledged, modern arcade soccer experience. Give us more teams, improved visuals, and a lengthier career mode and we’re all in.
Oh, and online and couch multiplayer. But that’s a given.
