International Superstar Soccer (series)

This article is about the series as a whole. For the first entry on the series, see International Superstar Soccer.

International Superstar Soccer (series)
Basic Information
Type(s)	Series
Developer(s)	Konami
Publisher(s)	Konami
Genre(s)	Sports, Association Football
Platform(s)	Microsoft Windows, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 2, PlayStation Portable, Mobile Phone, Nintendo DS, Wii, iOS, Mega Drive, SNES, PlayStation, GameCube, Xbox, Game Boy Advance, Saturn, Nintendo 64, Game Boy, Game Boy Color, 3DO Interactive Multiplayer, Sega 32X, Game Gear, Master System, SEGA CD, Amiga, Nokia N-gage, Gizmondo and DOS

International Superstar Soccer is the name of a series of football video games developed by Japanese company Konami, mostly by their Osaka branch, Konami Computer Entertainment Osaka. It should not be confused with KCET's Pro Evolution Soccer series (also known as Winning Eleven), which was originally developed for the PlayStation. Titles in the ISS series appeared on Super Nintendo, Mega Drive, Nintendo 64, PlayStation, PlayStation 2, Xbox, Nintendo GameCube and PC formats. The series is known as Jikkyō World Soccer in Japan.

Series

The series had its origins with the NES platform, late in 1991 with Konami Hyper Soccer, Konami's first soccer game on consoles. Although technically not a game in the series, the success of the game was enough for Konami start developing Jikkyō World Soccer: Perfect Eleven for the Japanese Super NES, released as International Superstar Soccer for the rest of the world, both in 1994. An improved version, Jikkyō World Soccer 2: Fighting Eleven (worldwide, International Superstar Soccer Deluxe) was released one year later, and saw a Mega Drive / Genesis version in 1996. These 16-bit titles, in many terms, were one step ahead from other contemporary football games, including FIFA International Soccer:

• Instead of tiny, super deformed players on pitch, player sprites had an adult look to them;
• The players looked all alike, only changing hair and skin color from team to team. ISS players had distinctive looks, corresponding to real-life players of the time (like the Swedish forward Magnus, a reference to Martin Dahlin, or the Argentine duo Fuerte and Capitale, reproducing Claudio Caniggia and Gabriel Batistuta);
• This was the first football game to ever show back numbers on the jersey for each player (though the keeper's jersey always showed a number 1, independent of his assigned number);
• The adult look given to players made their animation quite real, instead of the rather cartoonish way shown before (like the players jumping in slow-motion in FIFA IS), thus turning playability more fluid;
• The game was the first to feature play-by-play commentary (more frequent in the Japanese versions); previously, the announcer's voice could only be heard shouting "goal", and it was not present in every game.

In 1995, the first KCET title, Winning Eleven was developed for the PlayStation (Goal Storm internationally) and in 1996, Jikkyō J-League: Perfect Striker made its debut on the Nintendo 64 (re-used worldwide in 1997 as International Superstar Soccer 64 with international teams instead of J-League). In 1997 and 1998 there were several titles released, including the second and third versions of Winning Eleven (which included a fully-licensed release for the 1998 World Cup), but the first major in Europe since ISS Deluxe was International Superstar Soccer 98 for the Nintendo 64. It was one of the best titles for the console, and one of the highest selling third party titles.

By the turn of the century, KCET's Winning Eleven titles were improving considerably over KCEO's titles, and in 2000 ISS Pro Evolution was released worldwide. The last title for the Nintendo 64 was International Superstar Soccer 2000, based on Jikkyō J-League: Perfect Striker 2, and when ISS Pro Evolution 2 was released in 2001 and followed by the first Pro Evolution Soccer, there wasn't much room for the Jikkyou World Soccer/International Superstar Soccer series, although three ISS titles were released, the last (ISS 3, in 2003) for the first time was released for personal computers. There were also three Game Boy Advance versions, one of them based on ISS Deluxe.

Releases

Consoles

United States		Japan		Platforms
Name	Release Date	Name	Release Date
International Superstar Soccer	June 1995	Jikkyou World Soccer: Perfect Eleven	November 1994	Super Nintendo
International Superstar Soccer Deluxe	November 1995	Jikkyou World Soccer 2: Fighting Eleven	September 1995	Super Nintendo, Mega Drive, PlayStation
International Superstar Soccer 64	July 1997	Jikkyou J-League Perfect Striker	December 1996	Nintendo 64
		Jikkyou World Soccer 3	September 1997	Nintendo 64
International Superstar Soccer 98	September 1998	Jikkyou World Soccer: World Cup France 1998	June 1998	Nintendo 64, PlayStation
International Superstar Soccer 2000	August 2000	Jikkyou J-League 1999 Perfect Striker 2	July 1999	Nintendo 64, PlayStation
International Superstar Soccer	2000	Jikkyou World Soccer 2000	August 2000	PlayStation 2, Nintendo GameCube, Xbox, PC
		Jikkyou World Soccer 2000: Final Edition	December 2000	PlayStation 2
		Jikkyou J-League Perfect Striker 3	March 2001	PlayStation 2
International Superstar Soccer 2	May 2002	Jikkyou World Soccer 2001	September 2001	PlayStation 2, Nintendo GameCube, Xbox, PC
		Jikkyou J-League Perfect Striker 4	December 2001	PlayStation 2
International Superstar Soccer 3	March 2003	Jikkyou World Soccer 2002	May 2002	PlayStation 2, Nintendo GameCube, Xbox, PC
		Jikkyou J-League Perfect Striker 5	July 2002	PlayStation 2

Portable

United States		Japan		Platforms
Name	Release Date	Name	Release Date
International Superstar Soccer	June 1998	World Soccer GB	December 1998	Game Boy
International Superstar Soccer 99	2000	World Soccer GB 2	June 1999	Game Boy Color
International Superstar Soccer 2000	September 2000	World Soccer GB 2000	July 2000	Game Boy Color
International Superstar Soccer	November 2001	Jikkyou World Soccer Pocket	December 2001	Game Boy Advance
International Superstar Soccer Advance	January 2003	Jikkyou World Soccer Pocket 2	November 2002	Game Boy Advance

Unlicensed versions

Several unlicensed hacks of International Superstar Soccer were made available in South America, especially in Brazil. All versions have poor quality portuñol, Portuguese or Spanish translations, most of international teams swapped into national clubs, and bonus teams unlocked.

ISS Pro series

The first two ISS Pro games for PlayStation were produced by KCET for the European market. ISS Pro (also known as Goal Storm 97) was followed by ISS Pro 98. The latter features former England player Paul Ince and the former Italian Fabrizio Ravanelli on its UK PAL cover, although it lacked a FIFPro license.

Europe and North America		Japan		Platforms
Name	Release Date	Name	Release Date
International Superstar Soccer Pro	June 1, 1997	Winning Eleven 97		PlayStation
International Superstar Soccer Pro 98	May 1, 1998	Winning Eleven 3	November 12, 1998	PlayStation
ISS Pro Evolution	May, 1999	Winning Eleven 4	June 6, 2000	PlayStation
ISS Pro Evolution 2	March 23, 2001	World Soccer Jikkyou Winning Eleven 2000: U-23 Medal Heno Chousen	December 2001	PlayStation