Coming to Captain Tsubasa as a fan of football, but knowing nothing of the anime and manga, I had no idea what to expect from this game, but I was more than impressed. Tamsoft, a company better know for little skirts-and-panties games like Senran Kagura, spinoff Hyperdimension Neptunia titles, Onechanbara and School Girl/Zombie Hunter was up against it with this game. After all, how do you compete with the might of EA and Konami without going so far into the realm of arcade experiences that the game is no longer recognisable as the sport? Tamsoft genuinely managed to figure it out. Captain Tsubasa is a back-to-basics football game with excellent pace and considerable verve. It's not just for existing fans of the anime or manga; this game is perfect for anyone who wants to enjoy clean, entertaining football action with their friends without having to first send them off to a college degree to learn how to play.

Captain Tsubasa: Rise of New Champions offers a great mix of competition, action, and story, with beautiful visuals throughout.

With a little more sensitive controls and adjustments when it comes to scoring goals, Captain Tsubasa: Rise of New Heroes would even have hit anime characters.

For over-the-top soccer action, few will surpass Captain Tsubasa: Rise of New Champions, which captures the feel of the influential anime's bombastic style of soccer. Fans of the show have also been catered to, with full rosters, voice acting, and the ability to create a team of your favorites. The core gameplay, however, is a little lacking, particularly for those looking for a faithful recreation of the world's most popular sport with some early warning signs for this year's FIFA not boding well.

Even with some of its mechanical and story-telling shortcomings Rise of New Champions is a fun time that shows why this is a beloved series. There’s a lot of joy to be had in following Tsubasa’s story and creating your own and the flashy football action has some shining moments. With some more tuning and gameplay focus, there’s a really bright future for Nankatsu’s football star.

Authentic anime soccer with plenty of story dialogue. On the pitch it is rather average, though, and doesn’t give you enough options in front of the goal.

Captain Tusbasa can be fun when you grab some of your mates for an all out brawl on the pitch if the scoring mechanic wasn't so dumb. It takes away all of the tension of a match. Skip this one unless you're really keen to experience the so-so campaign for yourself.