Mr. Eight-Three-One | Backyard Soccer (PS1) Gameplay @MrEightThreeOne | Uploaded 8 years ago | Updated 17 hours ago
Here we are with one of the two PS1 Humongous game ports. This is of Backyard Soccer; as far as I know, this is the only 2D Backyard game that was ever released on a console.

And...actually, saying it's a port of the original game is a little misleading, it's actually far closer to the MLS Edition. Or rather, MLS Edition Minus MLS. It shares most of the same graphics, including the pre-rendered CG character models (the original had hand-drawn), the same opening sequence, the same menu design, and just about everything else, although many people will mistakenly list this alongside the 1998 PC version due to it sharing the same title. However, the only thing it doesn't share in common is the pros; they're removed from this version for some strange reason (even though we see them in the intro...why). Also worth noting is that this is one of the only Backyard games that ever got released in Europe (under the title Junior Sports Football).

So, is this a decent port, then?

Oh GOSH no. In fact it's actually a pretty terrible port. The load times are annoyingly long, the graphics are pretty weak (the low resolution doesn't help in this matter at all), and the control is really really awful. Characters often get stuck on each other when you're trying to steal the ball, aiming the ball into the goal is much easier said than done, and so many other aspects are overly complicated or just don't work well (for instance, when you try to make a 180 degree turn, instead of the character turning on the spot, they make a long u-turn. To name another example, when passing the ball, oftentimes the player you're trying to pass it to will just outright ignore it, leaving the ball open in the field and free for the computer to take). Pile this on top of a lot of either annoyances that add up (an overall lack of background noise, heavily stripped down voice acting, lame penalty kick mechanics...), and you have the recipe for a pretty mediocre and forgettable port. Shame, I really feel like this could have been good but the execution was just really bad.

As for the gameplay...the computer actually ended up putting a pretty good fight. I didn't bother with the player positions before I started the game though, which probably was a partial cause to me not playing well (why did I leave Pablo on goalie? :/). Also this is the only gameplay video I've made so far where the game ended in a tie, which meant the end of the game went to penalty kicks, so at least it was a little unique in that regard.

Oh yeah, one other thing worth noting -- this game actually has support for up to four players. Frankly I think I'd have enough trouble finding just one more person who would want to play this bore-fest with me, let alone THREE, but still an interesting tidbit none the less.

Enjoy the video.