Football Champ

Taito

Industry	Video games
Founded	1953
Headquarters	Japan
Products	Arcade games, video games

Football Champ is a soccer-themed arcade game created by Team Dogyan in Japan and launched by Taito in 1990. Variations such as European Football Champ and Hat Trick Hero (1992) feature minor modifications. Subsequent arcade editions include Hat Trick Hero '93 and Hat Trick Hero '95, the latter also recognized as Taito Power Goal.

Gameplay

Players choose from eight different national squads, each offering four star players to pick from. Advancement depends on winning matches; if a game ends in a draw, the session concludes unless restarted. Opponents are organized into four levels, excluding the player's selected team:

• First level: Spain, France
• Second level: Netherlands, Brazil
• Third level: England, Italy
• Fourth level: Argentina, Germany

For instance, selecting Germany requires confronting Spain and France initially, followed by the Netherlands and Brazil, then England and Italy, culminating with Argentina. As players progress through rounds, the challenge intensifies, particularly when achieving hat tricks.

A distinctive feature is the allowance for rough play such as punches and kicks without immediate consequence if the referee is out of position or incapacitated. Fouls lead to yellow cards; red cards are issued on the 3rd, 7th, and 11th fouls, although occasional errors in counting occur. The maximum number of red cards given is three. In the final 30 seconds of a tied or one-goal deficit match, a special "super shot" becomes available where the star player’s powerful strike can send the goalkeeper flying into the stands.

Original national teams include:

• Argentina
• Brazil
• England
• France
• Germany
• Italy
• Netherlands
• Spain

Certain versions substitute Spain and France with Japan and USA, as seen in Hat Trick Hero.

Home releases

Domark published ports for the Super NES and Amiga. Although a ZX Spectrum version was planned, it was never released. The arcade original was included in the Taito Legends 2 collection for Windows PC, PlayStation 2, and Xbox. In 2023, Taito reissued the game on a portable device featuring their classic arcade titles.

Reception

The arcade edition garnered positive feedback, with Zero magazine awarding it a 4 out of 5 rating. The Amiga adaptation received a 64% score from Amiga Power, which criticized its simplistic gameplay and graphics inferior to the arcade original. Meanwhile, The One Amiga gave it 71%, remarking that it lacked the fluidity and pace found in the arcade version.

See also

• Hat Trick Hero 2 – sequel released in Japan
• Hat Trick Hero 95 – also known as "Taito Power Goal" or "Taito Cup Finals," an arcade sequel