The nineties were a wonderful time to be alive. Napster was revolutionizing the way we listened to music before iTunes had even been conceived in the minds of Steve Jobs. AOL instant messenger was changing the way we interacted well before the likes of Facebook and WhatsApp. And Sony, with their revolutionary PlayStation, took gaming from your local arcade into your living room.
The 90s were also a fantastic time to be a sports fan. The 1998 FIFA World Cup in France was one of the highlights of the decade, with the drama surrounding Ronaldo in the Paris showpiece still one of the biggest mysteries in the history of sports. Next month, the World Cup returns in Qatar, and Oddschecker, which provides free offers on football, has made Les Bleus the favorites to win the trophy, just as they did 24 years ago on home turf.
In honor of that, let’s take a look at the two best football games available for the old faithful PS1…
FIFA Road To The World Cup 98
The 1998 installment of EA Sports’ FIFA franchise is considered perhaps the greatest edition of the series even now, more than two decades on. With the 1998 World Cup looming on the horizon, the game allowed you to play as either international or club teams. FIFA Road To The World Cup 98 also allowed you to play 5 vs 5 in an indoor stadium, giving you the ultimate arcade-like experience. It still remains the only installment in the franchise to have such a game mode.
FIFA 98 also featured all 172 national teams that took part in qualification for the Word Cup, as well as 189 domestic clubs from 11 leagues, and was the first FIFA game to feature a team and player editor mode for total customization.
LMA Manager
Long before Football Manager was destroying relationships, LMA Manager was paving the way for management sims that would follow in generations to come. These days, there are management simulations for just about every walk of life, but that wouldn’t have been the case if it wasn’t for LMA Manager.
The iconic game allowed you to take control of any of Europe’s elite clubs and manage them to glory, both domestically and in European competition. The game was well ahead of its time, focusing on graphics and a 3D engine, in contrast to the beloved Championship Manager which is available on PC.
Another cool feature of LMA manager was that it allowed you to upgrade your stadium which you could even design yourself. This is something that Football Manager doesn’t have even now, in 2022.
