Play FIFA - Road to World Cup 98 - World Cup e no Michi (Japan) Nintendo 64 Game Online
Game details for FIFA - Road to World Cup 98 - World Cup e no Michi (Japan)
FIFA: Road to World Cup 98 – World Cup e no Michi is the Japanese release of EA Canada’s ambitious 1997 football game. Electronic Arts brought this edition to Japan in April 1998, shortly before the World Cup finals began in France. Its subtitle translates as “The Road to the World Cup,” which neatly describes the game’s main attraction: choosing a national side and guiding it through qualification rather than beginning at the final tournament. That broad scope separates it from the later World Cup 98, which concentrates on the 32 teams and venues of the finals themselves.
The scale was striking for a late-1990s sports cartridge. The international selection extends far beyond the famous European and South American powers, allowing players to represent football nations that rarely appeared in console games at the time. A qualifying campaign therefore feels different depending on the team. Taking Brazil or Germany creates immediate expectations, while choosing a smaller nation turns each point into a meaningful achievement. Domestic clubs are also included, so a session does not have to revolve around national-team football. Friendly matches and league or tournament options make it easy to move from a quick kickabout to a longer competition.
On the pitch, FIFA 98 uses a broadcast-style side view and fully polygonal players. Passing is accessible, but successful attacks depend on more than repeatedly pushing toward goal. Through balls can release a runner into space, crosses create chances in the penalty area, and different shot strengths reward a measured button press. Defending asks the player to switch control quickly, close passing lanes, and decide when a sliding challenge is worth the risk. The Nintendo 64 analogue stick gives movement a fluid quality, particularly when dribbling at an angle or turning away from a marker.
Set pieces add another tactical layer. Corners, free kicks, throw-ins, and penalties interrupt the open play without feeling detached from it, while formation and strategy choices let a team sit back or commit more players forward. Matches can become scrappy in midfield, especially against a strong opponent, yet a well-timed pass can change the tempo instantly. The game also carries much of the presentation that made this era of FIFA memorable: licensed teams and player names, energetic menus, stadium atmosphere, commentary, replays, and the instantly recognizable late-1990s EA Sports style.
This Japanese cartridge is primarily interesting as a regional version rather than a completely different football simulation. Menu language and presentation make it distinct, but the heart of the game remains the enormous journey through international qualification. Players approaching it today should expect rosters tied to the 1997–98 season, not a perfect record of the squads that eventually travelled to France. That historical snapshot is part of its charm. Familiar stars appear alongside players, kits, and lineups that capture the sport just before the 1998 tournament reshaped football memories around the world.
Road to World Cup 98 works especially well when treated as a campaign rather than a single exhibition. Pick a country outside the usual favourites, learn which players have the pace or passing range to build attacks, and allow the qualifying table to create its own story. A draw away from home may be valuable; a careless defeat may make the return fixture essential. For anyone browsing the full game collection, this is an inviting piece of football history: broad, upbeat, and more concerned with the long route to France than with recreating only the tournament’s final month.