Games worth discovering

If you like FIFA or EA SPORTS Tactical Football, you might like this anime-inspired soccer game

38K View2023-07-06

CAPTAIN TSUBASA: ACE

9.1

SportsStrategyFootballSingleplayer

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Captain Tsubasa: Ace is an enjoyable and thrilling soccer game that reminds me of FIFA and EA SPORTS Tactical Football. It doesn’t introduce anything unique or refreshing outside of its anime-inspired visuals and characters, but it still packs a lot of action to be enjoyed.

I’m not a huge fan of sports games myself, but even I had a blast playing Captain Tsubasa: Ace. The gameplay itself is pretty similar to FIFA where you control characters on a field, move them around, dodge incoming players, and attempt to score a goal to win. The only slight difference is that some characters have castable abilities. In terms of performance, the controls are a little finicky, but the gameplay itself feels fun, dynamic, and intuitive. There are also a lot of activities to do in Captain Tsubasa: Ace like Dream League, Quick Match, and Passionate Journey which provide a lot of ways to enjoy the game.

My favorite thing though was assembling and experimenting with different players on my team and upgrading them. In Captain Tsubasa: Ace, I could roll for unique characters in the game’s gacha system and level up them using resources to make them stronger. Although I didn’t get a lot of resources to pull characters at the start, the gacha system was generous enough for me to score almost every common character, as well as five rare ones.

The only problem with these characters is that some of them felt a little overpowered in matches, especially when I was going up against stronger opponents. The rare and legendary characters have their own unique skills to use in battle which gives them an edge over everyone else. Despite upgrading most of these characters, I occasionally faced moments where I was at a disadvantage against an opponent because of my inferior team and it was a little frustrating to experience.

But don’t let these slightly overpowered characters dissuade you from giving Captain Tsubasa: Ace a chance. The engaging gameplay and enjoyable team-building paired with cartoony visuals and characters from the anime series Captain Tsubasa makes for a great time and a wonderful soccer game, even if you're like me and don't overly enjoy playing sports titles.