The Retro FIFA Discussion Thread (All FIFA games by EA are welcome!)

Flipper the Priest said:
See, I've never been a PC gamer so I don't know what I'm missing. I think I - and my bank account - should keep it that way.

Although I have recently acquired FIFA 06 for the PC. I wanted to check it out as it was the debut of the Career/Manager Mode. Far better than I remembered. Of course, PES was superior - untouchable at that point and I was a massive fanboy. Even if I liked FIFA at the time I wouldn't have admitted it.

Honestly, (re)discovering old football games has been quite possibly the best aspect of lockdown for me. There are games like PES3 and PES5 that have never gotten old. There are all the PS2 FIFAs and PS3 PESes that I didn't play as I was on the other team. There are belters like FIFA 2014-16 where just enough time has passed for me to have forgotten them despite playing them remorselessly at the time.

It's a bit like the clamour for old, real life football during this period. There's a feeling that there's enough quality to reminisce about to make the current stuff redundant, or at least unimportant. With the archives, you can tap into what makes you happy and love football, guaranteed. I'll still embrace new games, real or computerised, but I like knowing that the past can keep me ticking forevermore.
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FIFA 2005 PC has also a quite enjoyalbe CM. It was my one and only FIFA , that i played all the 15-years until the end, with highlight last season , IIRC it was 2019-2020, the best players in the world were Djibril Cisse and Fernando Torres and both were playing for Real Madrid as ST duo!
2006 on PC i played a little bit, after i missed all the chain until i played again 2011 and 2010 after and finally i came back from FIFA 2017 on PS4 and onwards iplayed all FIFAs up to 2020. This year i finally got FIFA 2016 for PS4, so i keep covering the lost titles.

I was always trying FIFA too, despite i was more an ISS/PES fanboy also. I played 1995~1997 for Snes, 1998-1999-2000 for PC, 2004-2005-2006 for PC, 2010-2011 for PC and 2016-17-18-19-20 for PS4 and 2020 for Switch. Also i tried some PSP FIFA, which are all improved versions of 2006 PS2 version.

Thats why i cannot evaluate a FIFA title as best of the best, i played sporadically and missed important parts of the chain.
 
Wanted to give a try to 12 and 13 again, but man it's so damn hard to find this stuff for pc. Keys from all those kinda murky sites are the only things available I'm finding. Amazon france does sell Fifa 13 key but you can only buy it if you are a France resident and i'm a bit too paranoid to fall in the VPN/proxy hole stuff. I'll never understand this nonsense for digital stuff, but whatever. I also wouldn't have problems in playing them pirated, but it doesn't seem to work either.

What's your opinion about Kinguin, G2A and the such? Would they be fine for games so old?
 
Madmac79 said:
Wanted to give a try to 12 and 13 again, but man it's so damn hard to find this stuff for pc. Keys from all those kinda murky sites are the only things available I'm finding. Amazon france does sell Fifa 13 key but you can only buy it if you are a France resident and i'm a bit too paranoid to fall in the VPN/proxy hole stuff. I'll never understand this nonsense for digital stuff, but whatever. I also wouldn't have problems in playing them pirated, but it doesn't seem to work either.

What's your opinion about Kinguin, G2A and the such? Would they be fine for games so old?
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I wouldn't trust them especially for for a game that old - the keys could have been used/deactivated and trying to get a refund could be a hassle. You can always pay by credit card or PayPal and get a chargeback that way but they could ban your account (no bother if you're not going to use them again I suppose).

The developers/publishers get none of your money if you buy from those places anyway so I wouldn't feel any guilt pirating them in such a situation if there's no way to purchase legitimately. It's not like any of the online features are still available so there's no benefit from buying keys on dodgy sites over pirating any more.
Even for more recently released and available games, many developers outright say that they would rather you pirated their games than use sites like G2A.

I'm sure there would pirated versions which do work, but this is probably already crossing the line on forum warez rules so I won't go into detail.
 
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I had no idea this thread existed, what a shame! Nice @*aLe. The link for that article you wrote died when I changed the 'branding' of the site, it's now here for anyone interested:

https://liberomagazine.wordpress.com/2018/11/13/five-years-is-forever-a-fifa-14-review/

Regarding retro-FIFA, as I was revisiting the many retro-PES titles of the PS2 era, I also tried out my PS2 FIFAs as well: from 2003 to 09.
It's honestly unfair to compare anything with PS2 PES, but it's inevitable isn't it? If PES never existed, PS2 FIFA would be a very decent representation of football, considering the technology of that era. The thing is, PES was just on another galaxy of greatness, and yes, compared to Konami's game, contemporary FIFA was totally inferior.

A few things about PS2 FIFA impressed me though. The match commentary (and atmosphere) was much better than PES', by a mile, at least the Portuguese one which was the only one I ever heard. The keepers are at times (too) wonderful, yet they're so unnatural when they pull off those unbelievable saves that, unlike in PES, it's so unbelievable that you end up not believing at all that that save could be possible to pull off.
One of the things I enjoyed the most on FIFA07 was the shooting. Shooting from distance particularly felt really good, though I didn't come even close to scoring a single one. It had more power, weight, and trajectory variety than any retro-PES, except for PES2/3 probably.

Besides that, the whole experience from FIFA03 to 09 is underwhelming. Play it for the few interesting quirks, but it'll wear you out quickly.

PS3 FIFA is another story of its own...the whole game changed right there. FIFA08 was a huge leap forward (still remains very playable nowadays), but if I had to pick a favourite, undoubtedly it'd be the World Cup 2010 game, which if this thread acquires more popularity, should eventually become the equivalent of a PES3 or PES5 on the Retro-PES Corner (FIFA08 being ISS Pro Evolution...?). It's truly a classic not just for the gameplay, which definitely survived the test of time like classics do, but for its "ethos": the idea that a World Cup is the pinnacle of the world's greatest sport and for that reason undoubtedly deserves a stand-alone title dedicated to its memory, in the same way Picasso painted Guernica or Rembrandt's Storm on the Sea of Galilee, to immortalize the occasion; not just a shitty DLC with a couple of stadiums, some roster updates and there you go, you freaking pleb, now go and don't forget to consume more microtransactions, k? Sadly, we're not getting more FIFA World Cup 2010s, but with the spirit of retro we can still experience its greatness, while it also serves as a powerful reminder that there used to be a time where football gaming developers actually were trying to create something wonderful.
 
rojofa said:
I wouldn't trust them especially for for a game that old - the keys could have been used/deactivated and trying to get a refund could be a hassle. You can always pay by credit card or PayPal and get a chargeback that way but they could ban your account (no bother if you're not going to use them again I suppose).

The developers/publishers get none of your money if you buy from those places anyway so I wouldn't feel any guilt pirating them in such a situation if there's no way to purchase legitimately. It's not like any of the online features are still available so there's no benefit from buying keys on dodgy sites over pirating any more.
Even for more recently released and available games, many developers outright say that they would rather you pirated their games than use sites like G2A.

I'm sure there would pirated versions which do work, but this is probably already crossing the line on forum warez rules so I won't go into detail.
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Yeah, exactly. I've gladly bought Fifa 15 an year and half ago, I would have bought 12 and 13 as well if they were still in. But unfortunately the damn "play the absolutely last game out or get fucked" environment we currently live in regarding football games won't allow for that.

By the way, if you happen to had some easy suggestion I'd love a pm. If not don't worry, maybe I'll take the chance to go scouting the few pc shops still left around to see if I can find anything :) .
 
Madmac79 said:
Yeah, exactly. I've gladly bought Fifa 15 an year and half ago, I would have bought 12 and 13 as well if they were still in. But unfortunately the damn "play the absolutely last game out or get fucked" environment we currently live in regarding football games won't allow for that.

By the way, if you happen to had some easy suggestion I'd love a pm. If not don't worry, maybe I'll take the chance to go scouting the few pc shops still left around to see if I can find anything :) .
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If you do take the risk, go for 11 & 12. Better games than 13.

You needed some patience in 12 to break down a team, so in 13 they overdid it in the opposite direction and it's a bit too much about pace and counter attacking in an artificial way. But of course if you do want to eventually own all these oldies and you find a good deal you can get that too :)
 
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miguelfcp said:
PS3 FIFA is another story of its own...the whole game changed right there. FIFA08 was a huge leap forward (still remains very playable nowadays), but if I had to pick a favourite, undoubtedly it'd be the World Cup 2010 game
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There's a trend developing here. I'm on course for another lockdown rebuy, and I think this will have stood the test of time. Incidentally, much better than the 2010 WC itself, which was horse shit.

Madmac79 said:
"play the absolutely last game out or get fucked"
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I understand this is EA's mission statement.
 
Gave FIFA 11 some attention today,and I feel it plays pretty well,I'd say I prefer that game to most modern ones (at least 19-20)

I'm going to dig deeper and see if it holds up
 
Dusted off my xbox 360 and bought myself fifa world cup 2010 😊. Awesome game, absolutely loving playing the full world cup mode(qualifying and the world cup itself, if i qualify that is). Cannavaro in defense, pirlo in midfield and di natale banging in the goals. Good times.
 
I just went and bought 12 games from the PS2 FIFA collection. A whole generation of games I missed out on and with good reason - PES was too damn brilliant. But I'm bound to find a good few hours of enjoyment in there, even if it is just exploration!
 
Flipper the Priest said:
I just went and bought 12 games from the PS2 FIFA collection. A whole generation of games I missed out on and with good reason - PES was too damn brilliant. But I'm bound to find a good few hours of enjoyment in there, even if it is just exploration!
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What can I contribute here, at least among 2004-2005-2006 is 2005~2006>2004. If I had to choose, I would pick 2005 or 2006. 2004 I think is worse. Basically all of them suffer from details like stats don't be displayed in the pitch, players taking all set pieces with Right foot etc.
But even in the PES inferno, I found time to complete a 15years run in CM in FIFA 2005, while in 2004 I did not play more than 4-5 games. Something felt really off with 2004. The only good part, if I got it correct, was an off the ball command, where you pressed "Q", playing with keyboard, and a bullet path was drawing in the pitch, showing where you Com controlled teammates will make runs off the ball. Basically from a point and after, this was the only reason I was trying FIFA 04, not even the licenses. And of course having pes3 on the other side, was impossible to let more time in FIFA 04.

On 2006 I played couple of seasons. There was in PC, a connection between this FIFA and fifa manager 2006. At least this testifies the disk of fifa Manager I have with the manual booklet of FIFA 06 in the DVD case of fifa06.

PS: I accept any blame for the fifa manager DVD being a copy. I do not know what happened to the original. And why I kept the copy in 06 case. :P

Ps2: Second photo is the leftover of my fifa collection for PC now.
 

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I've played a bit of 2006 and it's not too bad I reckon. I think I've played 2003 but could be wrong. And, as far as the PS2 goes, I think that's it.

Turns out I bought 10 games. 2001 to 2008, inclusive, and the 2002 and 2006 WC editions. £19.46 in total. I'd spend that in an hour on four pints in the pub.
 
Flipper the Priest said:
I've played a bit of 2006 and it's not too bad I reckon. I think I've played 2003 but could be wrong. And, as far as the PS2 goes, I think that's it.

Turns out I bought 10 games. 2001 to 2008, inclusive, and the 2002 and 2006 WC editions. £19.46 in total. I'd spend that in an hour on four pints in the pub.
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I think as years progressed after 2006, fifa did bigger steps in improvement. The PS2 Era for me was bad, compared always to the other game.
Generally speaking, I would say that the most improved Era in FIFA retro, where you can find top notch titles,, or titles that aged in a good way for today's standards, is the PS3 Era of FIFA.
 
slamsoze said:
I think as years progressed after 2006, fifa did bigger steps in improvement. The PS2 Era for me was bad, compared always to the other game.
Generally speaking, I would say that the most improved Era in FIFA retro, where you can find top notch titles,, or titles that aged in a good way for today's standards, is the PS3 Era of FIFA.
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Yeah, I know my way about FIFA on the PS3. I was almost as into FIFA on the PS3 as I was PES on the PS2. Some truly outstanding games.

Having dug out my PS3 recently to play the PES I missed out on, and looking at my playing stats/trophies - wow. I sunk a lot of time into FIFA!
 
Nizpakes said:
Sorry, just realized this is a fifa thread 😳
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I think guys from the other retro topic, suggested play the PS2 games in classic TV, forgot the type name, CRT??? You know the one classic 4:3 and use a SCART cable.
All the other workaround do not work so good, possibly ps2 games are not optimized for HD. So I assume this is your best friend
2bd6f94ce5962edcbe0e18513b.jpg
 
I'm in the market for a 14" CRT, much to my girlfriend's despair...

That said, I'd also recommend good, old-fashioned perseverance. Having gone from PES 2020 to PES2 it wasn't a bit of a shock to the eyes but they've readjusted.
 
slamsoze said:
I think guys from the other retro topic, suggested play the PS2 games in classic TV, forgot the type name, CRT??? You know the one classic 4:3 and use a SCART cable.
All the other workaround do not work so good, possibly ps2 games are not optimized for HD. So I assume this is your best friend
2bd6f94ce5962edcbe0e18513b.jpg
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I think these games really look better on a crt and it's not just nostalgia. I think they may also play better. I remember that back then games synced to the crt refresh rate (which varied depending on the region tv standard!). This means that in europe at least you would get to play them at 50 frames per second which was the standard, so they were actually 1) Silky smooth 2) Slower. Now my memory ain't that great. Maybe we were already in the era of multisync crt monitors and what I'm talking about was an even older "thing"? Probably, but the console & game should still sync to whatever Hz the crt display can support as long as you use the right cable.

It should be much better than have it running on a typical 60Hz modern display and then trying to adjust the game speed with plugins, as is the case with classic pes games on modern pc hardware for example. In any case, lucky you, you are gonna try it out and find out! Sometimes I wish I still had an old crt around for some retro stuff.
 
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manmachine said:
I think these games really look better on a crt and it's not just nostalgia. I think they may also play better. I remember that back then games synced to the crt refresh rate (which varied depending on the region tv standard!). This means that in europe at least you would get to play them at 50 frames per second which was the standard, so they were actually 1) Silky smooth 2) Slower. Now my memory ain't that great. Maybe we were already in the era of multisync crt monitors and what I'm talking about was an even older "thing"? Probably, but the console & game should still sync to whatever Hz the crt display can support as long as you use the right cable.

It should be much better than have it running on a typical 60Hz modern display and then trying to adjust the game speed with plugins, as is the case with classic pes games on modern pc hardware for example. In any case, lucky you, you are gonna try it out and find out! Sometimes I wish I still had an old crt around for some retro stuff.
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Hahaha. Thanks pal, but there is a sad backstory about this TV. The image is from Google.
I do have this same model of TV, bought it back in 2004 when I went to university,, still working with its factory remote control, but it fell victim of Greek family affairs.

During a house move with my wife, I left it to my father-in-law house, until we set up to new place, and take it later.

The problem was, I did not mention I leave it there temporary, he did not mention anything if it is gift or not, so we ended up in a Ben Stiller scenario, where he thought I left it as garbage and he decided to install it in his guest room, in order our children to watch TV when we visit them.

When I went back and decided to take the TV back, I realized that he installed it on the wall, he had bought a wall-base equipment, nailed it in the wall, modified it with pieces of wood, tape and belts, to fit the old sized TV to the modern TV base equipment.

After witnessing all this effort he made and cause he is my wife's father and not mine, I realized that it would be huge shamme to ask the TV back, in order to play with old-consoles. And I can understand that it would look awkward for a 65 years old man, if his son-in-law asks him and old CRT, when he has 3 modern smart TVs. :)

So the conclusion is, I technically have an old TV CRT, but I can't use it!!! :) :D :P
 
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Been playing some PS2 World Cup 2006. It's not going to launch any ships but I'm enjoying it. Doing a 'road to the World Cup' with Italy. The Moldova keeper in a generous mood:


If that happens more often it won't last much longer...
 
Flipper the Priest said:
Been playing some PS2 World Cup 2006. It's not going to launch any ships but I'm enjoying it. Doing a 'road to the World Cup' with Italy. The Moldova keeper in a generous mood:


If that happens more often it won't last much longer...
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The sad thing is that this stuff still happens in football games 15 years and 2 generations later, and I don't have much hope they'll fix it completely on next-gen either...

 
Nizpakes said:
Dusted off my xbox 360 and bought myself fifa world cup 2010 😊. Awesome game, absolutely loving playing the full world cup mode(qualifying and the world cup itself, if i qualify that is). Cannavaro in defense, pirlo in midfield and di natale banging in the goals. Good times.
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Gotta get that,I've been more than happy with playing old FIFA games on my newly bought 360,didn't play them then
 
Flipper the Priest said:
I'm in the market for a 14" CRT, much to my girlfriend's despair...

That said, I'd also recommend good, old-fashioned perseverance. Having gone from PES 2020 to PES2 it wasn't a bit of a shock to the eyes but they've readjusted.
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Yeah that's a great idea,buying retro TVs,guess my gf is going to love that too...
 
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rockstrongo said:
Gotta get that,I've been more than happy with playing old FIFA games on my newly bought 360,didn't play them then
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For sure!
There are some very good games among them, but the World Cup games which were never released for PC (slightly related: I don't know why but I also tend to prefer the 2010 World Cup one to the 2014 one) are almost a must-have.
Looking at how things are progressing lately with competition licenses almost only being used to milk people with special FUT cards, special MyClub events and such, I guess we're lucky that we have seen some of them released as standalone games after all. I never thought I'd say this one day.
 
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