Oliver and Benji: the video game ‘Captain Tsubasa’
Champions was one of the first Japanese animes: because of the moving story, because of how deeply rooted football is and because it managed to infect us with the will to constantly improve ourselves. More than 30 years after its premiere , Oliver and Benji return to the screens with Captain Tsubasa: Rise of New Champions, but not as a series, but as a video game, available for PS4, Nintendo Switch and PC.
Without a date yet clear beyond that it will be released in 2020, Captain Tsubasa will offer us the possibility of reliving the story with changes with respect to the original, since it will depend on our performances, so we will be able to attend dialogues and scenes never seen before.
Characters and story
That does not mean that we cannot revisit the most significant scenes in history, such as the Derrick twins’ infernal catapult, Marc Lenders’ tiger shot, Philip Callaham’s hard and iron training sessions, Julian’s delicate state of health Ross and others.
The playable characters that have been announced are: Benji Price (Genzo Wakabayashi), Tom Baker (Taro Misaki), Mark Lender (Kojiro Hyuga), and Oliver Atom (Tsubasa Ozora). Oliver and Benji
The history of the game will cover all its adventures from the beginning of the series to the World Cup dispute.
One of the great unknowns was whether Captain Tsubasa: Rise of New Champions was going to come localized or not. At first, it was only going to be in Latin America, but Bandai Namco changed his mind. That will undoubtedly be an extra that will give the game much more life, since we are used to Europeanized names and in this way, it will be possible to appeal to nostalgia more effectively.
Oliver Atom en PS4, Switch y PC
The little that has been revealed about the gameplay allows us to glimpse that the title will not be a pure soccer simulator, but will be mixed with the RPG genre. In a video that confronted the Toho school of Mark Lenders and the Nankatsu of Óliver Átom, arcade elements are perceived , such as, for example, the significant shots of each protagonist.
Each player will have a series of characteristics influenced by their position on the field and physical condition, and they must make the most of them for greater chances of victory. The fast ones, the technical ones, the intelligent ones, the corpulent ones… as if it were FIFA itself, a balanced starting 11 with different profiles must be available. The level of stamina is essential, because it will allow us to dribble past rivals or make shots with more force .
What has been shown so far shows that there is still much to be done, although the greatest incentive is already on the table: not only will we be able to relive one of the most significant series of childhood, but we will be able to do it with friends : up to four players at the same time they will be able to dispute the encounters with the equipment of the series.
At the moment, only Niupi and Toho are confirmed, although it is most likely that they will include the rest of the sports schools and even the national teams.
There are details to polish : the movements, which seem very forced and crude, and the ease in scoring goals are something that will have to be improved for the final product. The graphic style is far from resembling that of the 90s series, although it does maintain the essence of the series with greater dynamism and that animation style.
Champions to the World Cup, the game
The studio in charge of bringing back the childhood of many is Tamsoft, a Japanese developer that has more than 30 years of experience despite not being well known. The expectation that the title has aroused has been abysmal and the gameplay published so far has increased the intrigue .
And it is not for less: although a remastering of the series has recently been released, it has been a decade since the last time a game about the story of Óliver Átom came out. Oliver and Benji
One of the creators of the series, Yoichi Takahashi, has assured that it will be a work that “both fans of Captain Tsubasa and football in general” will enjoy. And, without a doubt, the timing could not be more perfect , since the European Football Championship will start in June.
The fact that the company that owns the image rights has reached a collaboration agreement with the French team could indicate that the game will be released before the competition begins.
The combination of RPG elements and soccer simulation will delight both those who come to Captain Tsubasa: Rise of New Champions from having grown up watching anime as well as soccer lovers. And it is done with a view to maintaining the magic of the series: soccer with high doses of epicity, as evidenced by the animated scenes of shots or goalkeeper saves.
The protagonists of the series have always stood out for always overcoming obstacles, encouraging all viewers to improve themselves and, of course, to maintain iron health through sports practice.
