International SuperStar Soccer 2 Strategy Guide Version 1.0 Nicolás Mutis nick_mutis@hotmail.com Copyright All content (c)opyright 2002, Nicolás Mutis unless noted otherwise. This guide can be modified, exerpted and distributed without my consent as long as proper credit is given. If you wish to include this guide as a whole in any form of written media, please contact me beforehand. Profits from this guide are also strictly forbidden. Version History 1.0 (15/07/2002) - Initial release. Todo History 1.0 (15/07/2002) - Figure out the "One, Two" move. Resources GameFAQs (http://www.gamefaqs.com) Hosting the latest ISS2 Strategy Guide, not to mention THE ultimate source for information, strategy and more for your favorite games. ISS2 Dump (http://www.geocities.com/iss2dump) You can also download the latest ISS2 Strategy Guide there, plus some examples of the goal techniques mentioned, filmed in the ZSNES SNES emulator (refer to the URL for further information). Contents 1. Introduction 2. Controls 2.1 Without The Ball 2.2 With The Ball 2.3 Ball In The Air 2.4 Notes 3. Push To Win 3.1 Shots 3.2 Passes 3.3 Headers 4. Ball Tricks 4.1 Fake 180 Degree Turn 4.2 Psyche-Out 4.3 Flick Over Head 4.4 Air Ball 5. Trick Shots 5.1 The Lob 5.2 The Bicycle Kick & Volley 6. Scoring Goals 6.1 Centering Pass 6.2 Hit And Run 6.3 Parallel Shot 6.4 45 Degrees 6.5 Limit Lob Shot 6.6 Corner kicks 6.61 Forcing Corner Kicks 6.62 The Goal 6.621 Mid-Center 6.622 Post 6.63 Notes 7. Stopping The Ball 7.1 Taking Charge 7.2 Foot Charge 7.3 Slide Tackle 7.4 Body Tackle 7.5 Notes 8. The AI 8.1 Offensive 8.12 Centering Pass 8.13 The Wall 8.14 Other Schemes 8.2 Defensive 1. Introduction This guide focuses playing strategy in detail. It covers all of the important aspects such as making goals, defending, AI behaviour and winning. If you have any questions, comments, suggestions, etc. after reading this guide, don't hesitate to drop me an email. Most of the plays feature specific field positioning; if you cannot orient yourself, please refer to the field map also provided with the ISS2 Strategy Guide. When vertical and horizontal limits are referred to, consider them as the imaginary sidelines of certain areas such as the wings, goalie's area, etc. For the horizontal limit try to imagine it as line that limits you from running any more up or down (usually referred to as "Towards the goal"). As for the vertical limit try to imagine it as a line that limits you from moving left or right (als usually referred to as "Towards the goal"). 2. Controls This whole guide has been written and based on the default controls. This implies that the goalie will be automatic mode. 2.1 Without Ball (Ball On Ground) Foot Tackle B Button Slide Tackle X Button + (Left, Right, Up or Down) Body Tackle/Shove X + A Button + (Left, Right, Up or Down) Run Y Button + (Left, Right, Up or Down) Change Player R Button Change Tactic L + (A, B, X, or Y Button) 2.2 With Ball (Ball On Ground) Lob A Button + (Left, Right, Up or Down) Pass B Button + (Left, Right, Up or Down) Shot X Button + (Left, Right, Up or Down) Run Y Button + (Left, Right, Up or Down) Change Tactic L + (A, B, X, or Y Button) 2.3 Ball In The Air Long Header Pass A Button + (Left, Right, Up or Down) Short Header Pass B Button + (Left, Right, Up or Down) Head Shot X Button + (Left, Right, Up or Down) 2.4 Notes Since the playing field and view has been made at an isometric angle, this means that that going diagonal through the field is done by using a combination of Up+Right or Up+Left, and vice versa for going down. Making a shot or a lob with any of the four directionals will cause the ball to curl towards the selected direction. 3. Push To Win All shots, passes and headers are pressure sensitive meaning that the longer that you hold down a button, the harder that certain move will be. Since ISS2 doesn't have a shot power meter, you'll have to guess. 3.1 Shots Tap X slightly and your player will execute a quick mid-air or ground shot. Hold and release X after half a second and your player will execute a moderate-power air shot. Hold X until your player kicks the ball and he will execute a powerful air shot. 3.2 Passes Tap A or hold and release A for half a second and your player will execute a short lob. Hold A until your player kicks the ball and he will execute a long lob. Tapping or holding and releasing B won't make any difference: It'll still end up being a normal ground pass. 3.3 Headers Header shots and header passes are executed in the same way as the previous two. The less that you hold a button, the shorter it will turn out to be. Tapping A with any of the four directions will turn out in a short lob. Holding and releasing A for half a second or holding A indefinitely with any of the four directions will cause your player to pass the ball to a nearby teammate. Sometimes when there's a short lob and if you're inside the opposing goalie's are, pressing Left+X Button (if the goal is towards the left) will result in a diving header. This is an event move (i.e. only happens in a specific situation). 4. Ball Tricks Getting to the goal sometimes requires a little bit more of an effort and technique than simply running in a straight line. Fortunately for you, ISS2 comes packed with some button combinations for to you pass pesky defenders. 4.1 Fake 180 Degree Turn While running forward with Y, tap back (being Right or Left, depending on which way you're going), then forward again, still holding Y. It will seem that your player is about to go backwards when he rotates, but bluffs instead. This can be used to psyche-out any defenders by leaving them behind. 4.2 Psyche-Out Pressing Y repeatedly will cause your player to try to psyche- out any other in front of him by moving his legs around the ball. You can combine this by holding Y and any of the four directions after your player finishes to immediately start running and possibly change direction. As a side note, when this is done, the announcer will shout out "Nice Dummy." 4.3 Flick Over Head While running with Y, release Y and just before you stop running press and hold A or B. This will cause your player make a lob to himself, from behind his back and right over his head landing right in front of him. It's tricky to perform, but it is extremely useful. 4.4 Air Ball While one of your players has the ball and is not moving, simply press B (or A) to lift the ball and keep it in the air by kicking and kneeing it constantly. You can later press A to head it constantly, then combine B and viceversa. To stop, make a header pass to any of the four directions, a head shot, or stop pressing either A or B. 5. Trick Shots When you finally reach the goal you have to make sure that your shots count by either turning into a goal or into a corner kick. Running while kicking increases your chance of increasing the shot power. 5.1 The Lob Shot While running with Y, press back and X at the same time. This causes the shot to go high up in the air, hoping to go over the goalie (more information available in 6.5 The Limit Lob Shot). As a side note, doing this will cause the announcer to shout out "Incredible Control!." 5.2 The Bicycle Kick & Volley Both are mainly famous for being show-off and hard to control kicks, but if a goal results of it then that's what's important. They are the trickiest kicks to perform and you can't execute them at will (like the diving header in 3.3 Headers, they too are event moves): Chances increase as you make short lobs such as a centering pass (see 6.1). As a side note, doing one of these kicks will cause the announcer to shout out "Amazing Kick!" or "On The Volley." 6. Scoring Goals This is, after all, the whole objective of soccer. In ISS2 there are many ways to make them, using also the techniques mentioned in "Ball Tricks" and "Shot Tricks." While I know that there are MANY ways to make goals, the following are the "easiest" and most successful techniques. 6.1 Centering Pass Centering a pass is a classic way to make a goal, sometimes harder than it sounds. Run in the midlle of either of the two wings towards the goal. Try to get as close as you can towards the wing's vertical limit closest to the goal and the field's horizontal limit and make a lob (holding and releasing X after half a second) to the center (or as close as you can to the goal without luring the goalie out of the goal to take possesion of the ball) of the goalie's area where (hopefully) one of your teamates will be to perform either a jumping head shot (most likely), bicycle kick, or volley. 6.2 Hit And Run When you leave behind all of the defenders and you're only against the goalie (when the announcer shouts "It's One On One!"), run towards the goalie and shoot to either of the two directions and the goalie should throw himself and make a save, leaving a possible rebound in your path. Gain possesion of the ball and shoot to where the goalie isn't. You can also do this with a slight variation: Without actually leaving any (or all) defenders behind, walk into the goalie's area and shoot to one side, wait for the save and rebound, then shoot to the other side. While it might be a tad bit trickier, you can also do the following: When you're one on one and the goalie is around one foot away from you, tap X to make a mid-air shot to either side. This means that if you're running towards the left, you'll make a mid-air shot with an up-left or down-left direction. 6.3 Parallel Shot Once again, run forward, up to the center lower part of the goalie's area, then run (supposing that forward is left) up and as soon as you're about to pass the goal's limits shoot to the goal. Basically what you're doing is displacing yourself faster than to the upper part of the field than the goalie, thus leaving little chance for him to stop the ball hitting the net. 6.4 45 Degrees Like the Centering Pass in 6.1, run in either of the two wings while being as close as possible to the top or bottom until you reach the team's goalie's area (the vertical limit [you can take one or two more strides]) and press and hold X with the direction towards the goal (i.e. if you're on the lower part of the field, hold up) to make a hard shot towards the goal. What should result is a shot that will go over the goalie and hit the net without the goalie ever touching the ball. Sometimes it even hits the crossbar and sometimes the goalie will jump up to punch the ball, failing unfortunately. 6.5 Limit Lob Shot Just like the Centering Pass in 6.1, run in either of the two wings while being as close as you can to the vertical limit of the wing closest to the goalie's area and run as close as you can to the field's horizontal limit and simply perform a lob as seen in The Lob in 5.1. What will result is a high shot that will sail right above the limit line and will drop down in front of the goalie and bounce into the goal. 6.6 Corner kicks Corner kicks, unlike free kicks, offer a better chance for you to make a goal. While it might be similar like a centering pass, there are some differences. One is that all of the players have stopped running, thus each player has somebody covering them. 6.61 Forcing Corner Kicks The easiest way to actually take a corner kick is simply by forcing it. Make a hard shot by holding X from the horizontal limit of the midfield. This will cause the goalie to jump and punch it out of the playing field. The ball can also hit the crossbar and then be punched out. In this case the announcer will shout out "It's A Big Kick!." 6.62 The Goal Your best chance to make a goal is by a header shot towards either of the sides where the goalie isn't. To do so you must make a pass to one of your players either in the mid- center of the goalie's area or to the post opposite to where the corner kick is taken. 6.621 Mid-Center Move the alignment of the corner kick a bit closer to the vertical sideline, but NOT on the sideline. Hold and release X for half a second to take the corner kick. Curl the ball slightly towards the goal, just within the goalie's grasp. One of your players should be close to the smaller rectangle in the goalie's area. Hold X and either Up or Down and if your player anticipates the header, he'll head it into the goal. 6.622 Post First press R to change your kicking side. Align the kick the most that you can towards the vertical sideline and hold and release X after half a second, then the corner kick will be taken. One of your players should be close to the post furthest away from the corner kick. Like 6.621, hold X and either Up or Down and if he anticipates the header, he'll head it into the goal. 6.63 Notes Sometimes the goalie can make a save: He'll either punch it out or fumble it (the announcer will shout out "Keeper Fumbles!"). Try to gain control of the rebound and shoot to a possibly open net. 7. Stopping The Ball Defense, while it doesn't seem as big part of soccer as offense, is an important part. In some cases it can be the turning point for big plays. There are four ways to gain control of the ball, each being different 7.1 Taking Charge Usually you run faster without the ball than with the ball. This means that you should be running somewhat faster than your opponent with the ball. When you're beside (i.e. below) him, simply walk up and your'll see how your opponent will move up too, getting to a point which he'll leave the ball to you. In other words you did a safe and harmless slow body check. This works best for easier teams as their players are less skilled and can best be done in the midfield. 7.2 Foot Charge Once again, if you're running beside one of your opponents who happens to have the ball, try to run a slight bit more to be in front of him and press the B Button. You'll stick your foot out, as if you were to trip him but catching the ball instead. If you succeed he'll stumble and you'll gain control of the ball. If otherwise, you'll stop and he'll leave you behind. It's advised to use this safe tackle when your opponent is inside your goalie's area because this is where there are many players lumped together and any foul commited there will result in a penalty kick. 7.3 Slide Tackle This one is both useful and sometimes dangerous. Try to use it when you're clear out of your goalie's area. It works best when you press the X Button (and sometimes B Button) and when you're opponent with the ball is in front of (or beside) you. Never (or hardly ever) execute a slide tackle from behind as it'll result in a Yellow Card. 7.4 Body Tackle/Shove You can also call this tackle a "Body Check" (just like in Hockey) because that's basically what you do. It's very dangerous and very cheap as you'll push your opponent to the ground, sometimes even causing injuries. If the Referee isn't nearby, you'll get away with it. If not the Referee will call it and give you an automatic card. DON'T even try it in your goalie's area as it'll obviously result in a penalty kick. To execute it simply press X+A together. 7.5 Notes While it might sound quite unsportsmanlike, sometimes it's actually a good idea to foul your opponent: Since it's much easier to make a goal when the ball is in play, forcing a free kick is actually playing on the safe side. 8. The AI ISS2 has a varible skill level, from one to five, three being the default. While it's obvious that the higher the number, the harder the difficulty, but as far as gameplay, it remains the same. The AI doesn't have one particular scheme (and fortunately won't try goals such as the ones mentioned in 6.3, 6.4 and 6.5) but plays well enough to take seriously, especially the higher-ranked teams such as Brasil, Italy, etc. At times it might seem that the AI has better ball control, but that doesn't mean that its game is as good. 8.1 Offensive The AI basically tries two plays: The Centering Pass (as Mentioned in 6.1) and the Hit And Run (as mentioned in 6.2), sometiems with a few variations. 8.12 Centering Pass It'll either be a lob to the middle of the goalie's area, or a long lob with curl away from the goal to the vertical limit furthest away from the player of the goalie's area. While both are extremely dangerous and can present themselves as a key scoring chance, the second one is trickier to defend from because the goalie will be lured out of the goal to try grab the ball in the air, but by then a potentially unmarked player will head it in. 8.13 The Wall The AI uses this unique method to penetrate into the goalie's area: The wall (the announcer will shout out "One, Two"). This is basically a pass to another player which returns the pass to the original player which is slightly ahead of him, hopefully unmarked this time. Once inside, the AI will shoot to either side with incredible and unbelievable (at times even frustrating) precision. 8.14 Other Schemes Corner Kicks and Free Kicks are not to be welcomed as the AI can make the most out of these situations. Corner kicks can be fended off easier as you should be able to anticipate the ball from your opponent and head it off to safety. The same can be said for free kicks as it's nearly impossible to make a goal from a free kick shot, but that doesn't mean that the AI can't do a pass. 8.2 Defensive At times the AI can be very cheap, especially when it comes to the defensive part: The body tackle is at times the tackle of choice, with no negative reprecutions meaning that the Referee won't call a foul. Sometimes even, it seems as if the AI is constantly pressing B because there are ball control battles. Defense is usually quite tight when you're in the opposing goalie's area no matter the skill level. EOF