FIFA Soccer 95

FIFA Soccer 95 is a football game released by Electronic Arts in 1994 exclusively for the Sega Genesis/Mega Drive.

It was when EA Games was a junior entering the gaming industry; no one expected the Fifa game series to get as big as it is today.

Fifa Soccer '95 was a sequel to the original FIFA International Soccer by EA Games, but unlike the predecessor, it was developed exclusively for the SEGA console. It was built as an improvement to the original title, as a fix to most of its major issues, and in my opinion, it did its job.

The game was vastly superior to the original from many perspectives, as the graphics were sharper, the sound effects were clearer, the game-flow was smoother, overall it was more refined and polished.

We all due respect to the limitations of the Mega Drive, Fifa Soccer 95 did a pretty impressive job on its visuals and graphics. For once, the players looked like real humans, the ball was clearly visible on the playing field, and it had cool goalposts, that just made you want to kick one through. The animations weren't to be disregarded as average, it looked more realistic with striker doing some memorable celebrations and the goalie diving all around trying to stop you from scoring and not to forget, the crowd throws the ball back!

However, it should be noted that the issues with player controls weren't solved at all, as I felt the movements and switching of players in-game were still clunky enough to be noticeable. It was also much harder to score when compared to the previous Fifa as certain spots that meant a free goal if kicked from were altered, and it wasn't as easy to find those spots either.

Within the first few minutes of playing, I felt that it was way harder to get the ball off the AI opponents; they passed the ball around in quick succession, making the good old tackle trick completely useless.

Although the game gets a bit boring after a few matches because each game feels the same as the previous one, the availability of different leagues, tournaments, and playoffs were a welcome addition, not to mention the presence of club teams for the first time. FIFA 95 includes the Premier League, Ligue 1, Bundesliga, Italian Serie A, La Liga and more.

The commentator screaming "Goal" and the customizable celebrations upon scoring indeed does bring a sense of enjoyment.

Overall the game is an excellent step up from the original. FIFA Soccer 95 has a much more diverse availability in customization to suit the player's preference; from celebrations, weather conditions, Game rules to cheat codes are available, giving a better replayability value for the player. The dual play feature and all of its other add-ons make the game indeed worth its time.

Last suggestion: if you are going to play, find a real controller!