Jikkyō J.League Perfect Striker is essentially the N64’s first version of International Superstar Soccer (a franchise from Konami later known as Pro Evolution Soccer). While a game with very similar gameplay did get released elsewhere as International Superstar Soccer 64, the games are quite different, as this only features teams from the “J.League”, Japan’s football league. The international version was later released in Japan as Jikkyō World Soccer 3.

The gameplay of Perfect Striker is solid. The controls are intuitive, with A and B being used for basic move and the c-buttons for lobs and quick passing back and forth. I haven’t been a fan of the sport itself for a while, but this is still an entertaining video game. Movement is fluid and, for the N64, lit looks nice and is animated well.

Outside of the regular single match and league modes, there’s a “scenario” mode. Each of the 16 scenarios put you in the middle of a pre-set match and you need to try and win. Sometimes this is maintaining your lead, while other times you have to win from a losing position. It’s a nice little extra for when you’re on your own.

Perfect Striker is a good football game and I’ll be delving into it more when I get to the international version.