Sega Worldwide Soccer 97 (known as both Sega Worldwide Soccer PC and Victory Goal Worldwide Edition in Japan) is a football video game by Sega released for the Sega Saturn in 1996. It was followed by three more titles: Sega Worldwide Soccer '98 still on the Saturn and two editions of Sega Worldwide Soccer 2000, the second being Sega Worldwide Soccer 2000 Euro Edition for the Dreamcast.
Sega Worldwide Soccer 97, produced by Sega themselves, was one of the Saturn's killer apps in the peak of popularity for the console. It was the sequel to Victory Goal, one of the debut titles of the console, which had a poor performance critically and commercially. However, there was little overlap in the development staff of the two games. The game was ported to Microsoft Windows, with this version being released in Japan only on September 25, 1997.
Gameplay
The game features international teams and league, play-off and tournament modes. Although it used fictional player names (due to the lack of a license), the non-volatile memory of the Sega Saturn allowed editing of names. The team kits were as close to the official 1996 kits as possible.
In exhibition mode, the player(s) compete in a single match. In tournament mode, they go through an entire tournament, and in championship mode, they battle for the title of league champions.
Reception
The original Sega Saturn release was met with critical acclaim. Tom Hall of GameSpot said it "may be the best soccer game ever released"; Rob Alsetter wrote in Sega Saturn Magazine that it was "perhaps the best soccer sim yet";
The game sold over 340,000 units in Japan and entered Famitsu magazine's "Platinum Hall of Fame" for receiving Famitsu scores of at least 35 out of 40.
It was also one of the top selling Sega Saturn games of 1996 in the UK.