In terms of graphics, FIFA and Super Soccer Showdown are on the same level.
After all, they both use the same game engine, and the consoles they run on don't differ that much in performance, so there's no massive gap between them.
However, when it comes to gameplay experience beyond graphics, the difference between the two becomes immediately obvious.
Starting with FIFA—
Its development team clearly put in a lot of effort to enhance immersion: more dynamic crowd reactions, more realistic player animations, extra pre-game cutscenes, and so on.
All of these things really do help make the experience more immersive.
At least for most players trying a soccer game for the first time, FIFA would absolutely feel like a very solid, well-made game.
But once Super Soccer Showdown is brought into the comparison, the contrast becomes crystal clear.
The two games might look similar on the surface—but Super Soccer Showdown just feels better.
That's because of the incredible level of polish in every little detail, especially the fine-tuning of player animations and control responsiveness.
This kind of mechanical balancing takes the most effort. In some cases, total realism isn't the best choice.
For gameplay purposes, you sometimes have to deviate from reality.
From the moment Carson picked up the controller, his first thought was how much more naturally the players moved.
Every action he tried got an instant response, and the flow was silky smooth.
To make that happen, Takayuki even put development on Monster Hunter on hold for a month so its professional animation team could assist the soccer devs—bringing their motion design expertise to help with fluidity and realism.
And the result? Stunning. The animations felt amazing.
It wasn't just the character control either—there was the roaring crowd, the ultra-immersive commentary—it all felt like an entirely new kind of experience.
Up until now, almost no game had full voiceovers.
Most developers thought it wasn't worth the effort, that it didn't add much to the gameplay, and even saw it as unnecessary fluff.
Which makes Super Soccer Showdown possibly the first fully voice-acted game in this world.
Not with voiced characters, per se—but with live-style commentary throughout the entire match.
To localize it properly, Takayuki's team even hired professional broadcast-level commentators from multiple countries to provide localized commentary tracks.
And even though that cost was small compared to the total dev budget, the impact on experience was huge.
In the future, game voice acting would become just as important as character design—but right now, the world hadn't caught up yet.
Takayuki knew they eventually would.
Outside of the voiceovers and player animation, another standout feature was the live match sync—once the console is connected to the internet, the game automatically links up with real-world fixtures.
If there's a live match happening that day, Super Soccer Showdown will recommend that match as a quick play option, so players can "join" the action.
The stadiums even change based on location—each country's style is reflected in the stadium design.
Some of the most iconic stadiums were fully recreated in-game, and Carson himself had actually visited one of them before—he remembered almost getting caught up in a soccer hooligan brawl during a match there.
All of these things are just minor details in the development.
Each one on its own might not leave much of an impression.
But when combined, they make the game feel alive, like it has a soul.
That kind of magic is incredibly rare. Even the pickiest players would be stunned by the level of detail in Super Soccer Showdown.
Carson couldn't even remember the last time he pulled an all-nighter. Maybe once, when he and his buddies got drunk and partied until sunrise.
He was wrecked the next day—tired and groggy.
But last night, he stayed up all night at the bar with the young bartender, playing match after match—and he still felt full of energy.
He even wanted to keep playing.
FIFA had him hooked, sure. It was fun, fresh, addictive.
But Super Soccer Showdown? That was pure digital dopamine. One taste, and he couldn't go back.
What's FIFA? Oh, right… that's the name of the World Cup, isn't it?
Because as a soccer game, FIFA didn't even register anymore. It was irrelevant now.
You can't compare FIFA to Super Soccer Showdown. One was like the final project of a talented college student. The other was like a max-level boss stomping through the beginner zone.
There might not be a "God of Games" in Europe yet—but if someone ever told Carson that the creator of Super Soccer Showdown was the Game God, he would believe it in a heartbeat.
"Whew... I haven't been this hooked in a long time," the young bartender said, still wide awake.
They had unknowingly played through the entire night, dozens of matches back-to-back, recreating real games from that week, each one with new surprises.
Super Soccer Showdown was endlessly entertaining.
"I could keep going," Carson said, still full of energy.
"I can't. I've got work. But let's play again tonight."
"You got it!"
Carson stood up, getting ready to leave.
"Wait—aren't you taking your console with you?" the bartender asked, pointing to the GS1 they'd been playing on.
But Carson shook his head casually. "I'll be back soon anyway. I'd rather play with people than alone. And honestly? I want everyone to get a shot at playing this game. It's way more fun than that FIFA thing."
The young bartender was left speechless.
He hadn't expected Carson to be so generous.
If it were him, he would've locked up his GS1 in a safe. No way would he let anyone else touch it—he'd be too scared someone would break it.
The Sury console? That was disposable, a backup.
But the GS1? That was something else entirely.