Nintendo Okie

Every once in a while you go into a game with some preconceived notion about how the game is going to be.  You take a look at the title, or the cover or the screenshots and you decide immediately what the games are going to be like.  The beauty comes in the fact that sometimes we’re wrong.  I played Go! Go! Beckham! Adventure on Soccer Island because the name sounded ridiculous and I thought it was going to be one of those games that you can play and make fun of.  Let me just say, I was wrong.

The game is a platformer that was released only in Europe, which makes sense, because David Beckham is insanely popular in Europe.  I guess that comes from him being considered one of the greatest soccer players in recent history.  I’m only a casual fan of soccer at best.  I, like many Americans, never really got into the sport, but I enjoy watching it from time to time.  Adventure on Soccer Island uses soccer mixed with platforming to deliver a unique angle on a genre that’s been around since the beginning of video games.  You have to keep control of a soccer ball that is used to collect objects littering the landscape and to attack enemies.  It appears that Mr. Beckham himself is anti-violence, but only if he’s forgotten his soccer ball.  You’ll kick it into enemies to stun them and kick them again to remove them from the world.  They’ll be transformed into an egg, which you can then collect.  Some of the enemies have weaknesses that you must exploit and some even have soccer skills of their own and will kick the soccer ball to a different part of the level, which you must then go and retrieve.

The game also isn’t just simply a case of run to the right until you reach the end.  There are objectives to fulfill in each level in order to unlock the gate to let you leave the level.  You’ll have to unlock a number of locks that can only be done by kicking them with your soccer ball.  Most of the time you’ll run across these just by simply running to the right, but I did on occasion miss one and had to go back through the level to find it.  If you’re worried about this, though, understand that even with any backtracking levels only took 3 or 4 minutes to complete.  The game’s 47 levels are broken up into nice manageable pieces that you’ll be able to pick up and play any time you want.

The soccer ball also has some strategic elements to it.  In order to keep control of the soccer ball you lose some of your abilities, like height of a jump.  You’ll have to many times kick the soccer ball to a different area in order to progress and then go retrieve it.  There are also bonus soccer balls that you can find.  You’ll have to leave behind your main soccer ball and these bonus balls can’t be used to remove platforms and obstacles and it can’t be used to defeat enemies.  So you’ll have to balance this bonus with your regular soccer ball to get the maximum points and bonuses.

Like so many platformers on the GBA or even now, the game’s levels are presented in the form of an Overworld map.  There are 5 worlds in total that you’ll explore and you can go back into any level you’ve completed.  There are a number of gems, treasures and eggs to collect and chances are you might not get them all on your first play through of the game.

When you first see this game in action you immediately are reminded of games like Yoshi’s Island; games that are so cartoonish and cute that it’s almost sickening.  David Beckham is portrayed by what looks to be a young man, but it’s really hard to tell because there’s not a lot of detail in the main character.  He’s sort of flat, and doesn’t really look anything at all like the man that’s named on the cover of the game.  The rest of the game is very vibrant with lush, green hills dominating every aspect of the landscape.  Many of the game’s enemies are variations on the same theme.  They all look similar in terms of color, but you’ll be able to immediately tell by their appearance what type of enemy you’re facing.

Go! Go! Beckham! Adventure on Soccer Island is one of those rare games that seem utterly worthless on the surface.  It’s got a saccharin sweet exterior that will definitely appeal to younger gamers, but the gameplay is amazingly deep.  You have to get around the fact that the game is almost like a constant escort mission, where you’re escorting the ball to a different destination.  The mechanic takes some getting used to and you have to remember to carry that soccer ball with you everywhere, but it’s a unique hook that I found myself being sucked into and couldn’t get away from.  I’m happy to admit that I was wrong about this game based on my initial judgment.  It’s actually a great platforming experience, that if you can find out there somewhere you need to buy.  It will work in any GBA or DS despite only being released in Europe.

Final Verdict: FIND IT!!!