A history of FIFA Soccer: Ranking the best games from FIFA 94 to FIFA 17
EA Sports FIFA Soccer is almost 25 years old. We decided to rate all the games, from FIFA 94 all the way up to FIFA 17
EA Sports FIFA Soccer is one of the most successful and celebrated video game series of all time. Since 1993, there have been 24 editions of the game and many developments made to make it as realistic as possible.
In order to establish which games are the best we’ve selected a few categories to judge each one on. First, it’s important to consider the general gameplay of each edition. How easy it was to play, if it was fun and how realistic it was. Another important factor to consider when playing each edition of FIFA is the new features in each game. Every year the developers at EA Sports add something new to the game, which makes it different and (supposedly) better from the last one.
Finally, any special features which appear in one game but not others shall be taken into consideration. For instance, in certain releases, there were cheats that could be used while in others there were secret players. We’ll give a verdict on each game using different soccer terminology each time. For example, if a game is great, then it could be considered a “title contender.” If it was a poor effort from EA Sports, then it may be “fighting relegation.”
After reading the article let us know what you think of the list and share some of your experiences with FIFA.
24. FIFA 94 (International Soccer)
The first FIFA game to ever hit shop shelves was FIFA 94 or “International Soccer,” which was released at the end of 1993. The early games in this franchise look like something you might find on someone’s cellphone 10 years ago. That shows how far FIFA has come, but the early editions were still entertaining.
Gameplay
FIFA 94 didn’t follow suit of the other soccer games around at the time as it used an isometric view for the gameplay rather than a top down one which all other soccer video games were using at the time. Unfortunately for soccer fans, it wasn’t possible to play as your favorite club team as only international teams were available to choose from. EA Sports hadn’t secured the proper licenses for player names and clubs either, but it was about as realistic as a soccer game could be for the time.
New Features
As this was the first game in the series there were no new features.
Special Features
FIFA 94 didn’t necessarily have any special features but it certainly had some interesting ones. One of these was the manner in which the referee distributed his cards. If a foul was committed, then the player who made the challenge could escape the booking by running way from the ref. You can see this for yourself in the video above, which has wonderfully been set to the Benny Hill music.
Verdict – Propping up the table
While this game might have been ahead of its time upon its release, it would be difficult to sit and play it today. For that reason, it sits at the bottom of the list.