Pele II World Tournament Soccer

Pele II World Tournament Soccer is a 1993 sports video game developed by Radical Entertainment and published by Accolade for the Sega Genesis. The game is based on the sport of association football and puts the player in control of a football team in modes of play such as exhibitions, tournaments, and seasons. It is named after and endorsed by former Brazilian footballer Pelé, who also provided input on the game’s design.

Pelé! received mixed reviews from critics, who commended the graphics and amount of options, but criticized the controls and difficulty. A sequel, Pelé II: World Tournament Soccer, was released in 1994.

Gameplay – Pele II World Tournament Soccer

Pelé! is a simulation of association football in which the player can control one of 40 national teams.^[1] Gameplay takes place from an isometric perspective,^[2] and during a match, the player controls the selected player’s movement with the D-pad, while the button commands vary depending on whether the player is on offense, defense, or whether the ball is in the air.^[1] 

On offense, the player can chip, shoot, or pass, while on defense, the player can check, tackle, or switch control to the player closest to the ball. If the ball is in the air, a player within its vicinity may perform a header or a bicycle kick.^[3]

The usual rules of the sport apply, including fouls and the penalty box, corners, and offside; fouls can be triggered on or off in the options menu.^[1][4] The player can change formations at any time, with Pelé himself appearing to give advice on what formation to use.^[4] The game features four modes of play. In “Exhibition”, players can play a match against a computer-controlled or human opponent.

The player can also play through a 16-game “Tournament” or a 40-game “Season”. The “Practice” mode allows players to perfect on-field moves without having to engage in a match.^[1][4] The player is capable of saving season and tournament progress, as well as compiling statistics for their team.^[5]

Development and release – Pele II World Tournament Soccer

In the years preceding the 1994 FIFA World Cup, which would be hosted in the United States, interest in the sport within the country had increased.^[6] In April 1993, Accolade announced that it had signed exclusive licensing agreements with former Brazilian footballer Pelé and American ice hockey player Brett Hull to endorse and help design sports games for the SNES, Sega Genesis, and MS-DOS.^[7] 

To this end, Pelé worked alongside Canadian game developer Radical Entertainment and Accolade project manager Robert Daly. Many of Pelé’s playing strategies were incorporated by Radical into the gameplay’s logic.^[6] Alan Price programmed the game, while Philip Bat Tse and Edgar Bridwell served as lead artists. The sound effects and music were respectively created by Paul Wilkinson and Marc Baril.^[8] 

As none of the teams featured in the game provided endorsement, generic names were given to the game’s teams, and only the players’ surnames are included.^[1]

Pelé! was demonstrated at the 1993 Summer Consumer Electronics Show.^[9] It was released in North America in December 1993,^[5] and in Europe in January 1994.^[1] A version for the SNES was slated for a March 1994 release and reviewed by Diehard GameFan, but was not released.^[10] The game’s Australian release was slated for the same date,^[11] but Sega Ozisoft was reportedly unimpressed by the game’s quality and elected not to publish it in the region.^[12]