International SuperStar Soccer 2 Strategy Guide
Version 1.0 Nicolás Mutis
[email protected]
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
