Captain Tsubasa: Rise of New Champions is the first home console video game since 2006 for Yōichi Takahashi’s Captain Tsubasa property. The anime/manga centers around Tsubasa Oozora, a passionate schoolboy who makes friends (and rivals) that push him into becoming a professional player of the sport. I had an appointment playing this upcoming action-sports title from Bandai Namco and walked away very impressed.

It’s likely that if you live in an English-speaking country, you don’t know of the Captain Tsubasa manga or anime. But you shouldn’t feel bad, as Takahashi’s creation was primarily distributed in Latin America, the Middle East, and Europe. In the places that it was more heavily syndicated, Captain Tsubasa resonated deeply with the audience that it found. Antoine Jamet (the head of group content marketing in Bandai Namco of Europe), was one of these people and spent 5 years trying to get a video game adaptation greenlit.

Captain Tsubasa returns to video games in full force

It’s touted that up to four people will be able to play Captain Tsubasa: Rise of New Champions at once. In my demo, I only played against a semi-difficult AI that was controlling a “rival” soccer team. There’s a polish on the overall presentation, that allows the classic anime look to pop on the PS4 hardware. As for the other platforms such as Switch, the quality remains to be seen. The representative at Bandai Namco informed me that the Switch port is being worked on in-house (which should only mean good things considering the company’s history with Switch ports).

It’s evident, after my time with Captain Tsubasa: Rise of New Champions, that the developers focused first on making a game that was fun and intuitive to play. Rather than not feeling like I had direct control over my teammates, the player characters moved in the ways that might’ve been unrealistic but were satisfying. There are over-the-top tackling moves that you utilize by pulling the trigger on the control after running up close to an opponent. Once you have the ball, you can use the bumper to dribble (which serves as a sprint that uses your stamina). The rewarding elements come within the combinations of these two gameplay mechanics. If someone decides to try and tackle you, and you time your dribble at the right moment, you can avoid the tackle and continue moving towards the goal.

Moving the goalpost

There are three different passing maneuvers and a shooting move tied to each of the face buttons. There are pros and cons when using each. I stuck with the shorter passes since they were easier to manage, but as I played more I found depth and strategy when utilizing the full variety of moves. If you are close to the goal, you can hold down the shooting button and a meter fills up. Once the meter is filled you have the opportunity to use flashy special moves that drain the stamina of the goalie (as the goalie’s stamina is drained there is a higher chance that they will be unable to keep the ball held away).

Simulation sports games are not my thing, but I greatly enjoy Nintendo’s sports titles that utilize characters from the Super Mario Bros. series. In the current scene of sports video games, there are very few titles other than those that are of the arcadey variety. Captain Tsubasa: Rise of New Champions fills this niche comfortably, adding a distinct over-the-top style with solid gameplay mechanics. While it’ll appeal greatly to those that enjoy soccer and the Captain Tsubasa anime, there’s also a lot of enjoyment for those who are apathetic to both. It’s a great deal of fun, and I can’t wait to dive into Tsubasa Oozora’s journey in the story mode and play the title with others.