Best Nintendo Switch Football Games

You forgot the best one: Nintendo World Cup. I think it's part of a japanese collection.

AH HA HA RONALDINHO SOCCERRR

We need an ice hockey game on Switch.

@RupeeClock They sure did! 😀

Loved the FIFA games in the first 2 years of Switch. I've since found other ways to play the full version games portably so I've jumped ship though.

How strange that they removed Super Sidekicks 2 and 3, but kept the first one available.

This does make me realize there is a real lack of American Football games on Switch though. In general, really, Madden is the only one that comes to mind, and from what I hear that's gone downhill hard.

I wish we could have a version of pro evo. Don't even care what it looked like as long as it played properly.

@NoLife I've been wanting a legit hockey game as well.

I'd recommend FIFA 18 over 19 as it comes with the decent World Cup dlc. Although knowing EA that likely can't be downloaded any more.

which NEO GEO soccer game is actually the best?

super sidekicks?
neo geo cup 98?
the ultimate 11?

which one should i buy?

@NoLife well, we do have ice hockey on nso, and there is super blood hockey.... but i wouldn't object to NHL on Switch

Might as well add an honourable mention for SoccerDie - not QUITE a football game in the traditional sense, but it's explicitly football-themed, it takes place on a football field, it has you kick the ball towards the goal for scoring... scratch "not quite", it IS a football game. So what if you're literally the only player (by default) and opposed by literal land mines and rocket launchers rather than tackles and blocks?

I still haven't tried Rocket League (even after procrastinating long enough that I missed my chance to get the retail version despite all the discounts - maybe I'll just invest in the equivalent content as a premium pack, assuming they offer one), but it keeps sending my thoughts back to... a racing game. Seriously, the 16 bit Street Racer (fun overall despite being at odds with its own title as a kart game with Road Rash-esque brawl elements and little to resemble an actual street among its environments) had a couple extra modes and one of them was car sports. Not just autoball either - there were ice hockey and basketball versions from what I recall! Would be swell to see it joining SNES app or just ported to Switch overall (perhaps with the later 32 bit port enhancements)... especially seeing as Ubisoft hasn't been above dusting off some other classics of the era.

Closer to the topic, I have yet to get Captain Tsubasa, but I might grab Behold the Kickmen soon, it's currently on sale, so even more of a steal with what it promises for the price.

What about Alpaca Ball?

I really recommend Football Drama. It's a mix between a visual novel and a light management game with cool story, cool characters, and unique design. The football game for those who don't like playing football!

@nhSnork Rocket league is great - Free to Play now too, so no reason no to give it a try. It also has Hockey and Basketball modes in the game as well as the default "Soccar" mode.

@nhSnork Rocket League is great, and you can't beat the price. I encourage you to play in the practice mode for awhile before jumping on line.

Rocket League is by far the best soccer game ever made.
It's the only one i'm aware of where there is nothing like a "pass" button, or switching/playing multiple/different players, etc etc.
Everybody just controls their own character (car) and everything is just physics based. The levels of skill growth are mindboggling.
Quite frankly, it's THE best sports game ever made.
That said, unfortunately the Switch version is the worst version due to input lag.

Tsubasa not famous in the West? Maybe in English speaking countries but in some other European countries, it was all the rage in the late eighties/early nineties. (I am from France btw.)

@dmcc0 @dugan well, the file size managed to deter me even at the time the game did go freemium, but seeing as I've been recently trying similar cases in my lib by rotating them through internal memory, chances are I might do that with Rocket League as well.

So it's "soccar" now, even here in the Britnet? Guess few people associate "auto" with "automobile" nowadays.😆

@ludotaku who knows how famous it could have been in the Anglophone countries by now if its first awesome 8-bit football RPG (the second one plain didn't get localized at all) hadn't been stripped of pretty much ANY Captain Tsubasa elements over there. Up there with "Krion Conquest" among the strongest facepalm catalysts of Gen 4 localisation.

Might check some of these out, but, for me, Lucio Ball on Overwatch is the best.

I would love an NFL game on the Switch. American Football on the go would be awesome,.

@nhSnork Unfortunately, no matter how popular the anime was, we didn't get a proper localized version of the earlier Tsubasa games either. Bandai localized some "anime games" in French as Dragon Ball and Saint Seiya were already popular but Tecmo decided otherwise for its Tsubasa games and released Tecmo Cup instead for all westerners whereas it would have been a huge success in France, Spain, Italy and probably some other countries... Like you, I am sure that a good game could have introduced the licence to countries where the anime was not on TV.
However, localisation would have been difficult as all countries tempered with the names of the characters.

Hoping Mario Strikers will be the Mario sport game next year since they can push it during the World Cup

@nhSnork Yeah. Street Racer has a football game with cars, it's like a distant predecessor of Rocket League.
Though it's quite abysmal on Mega Drive. I heard the SNES version is way better.

@ophone so did I, but the Mega Drive version was all I had back then. Just as with Cadash whose SMD port lacked half the characters - but was still an exciting discovery for me (a full-fledged 2D sidescroller JRPG with local co-op?!) nonetheless.

@ludotaku Captain Tsubasa aka Olive et Tom was one of the rare reasons for me to tune in to the Club Dorothée. Otherwise I wasn't a fan of that French children program.
(Coucou du Luxembourg!)

⚽️I was hoping you'd mention either 'Super Arcade Soccer'or 'Super Arcade Soccer 2021'...

@ludotaku Over here in Mexico (and I think the whole of Latin America) we know Captain Tsubasa as "Super champions". While not as popular as something like Dragon Ball, it's one of those series people know about when they see it even if they haven't seen an episode from the anime or read the manga.

It also helps that in the Latin dub of the original anime one character says Tsubasa/Oliver Atom was saved by "Guadalupe's virgin".

Edit/On-topic: I don't play many soccer games, in fact I think the only ones I played to completion are the Mario Strikers games. That series needs to do a comeback, especially now that Next Level Games is officially part of Nintendo.

No matter what anyone tells me, I'm not touching Fifa, though.

I know it´s not soccer, but Rocket League is the best game here for sure. Amazing game, one of the best multiplayer games there are in the Switch.

Btw, don´t forget the soccer minigame in Rayman Legends XD. I bet it´s funnier than some of the games in that list.

We need sensible soccer / seos

Apparantly socialble soccer is coming from one if its creaters but not that fun on the phone

There are some sensible clones on the eshop though which i am missing here

@nhSnork You beat me to it! Soccer Die is an absolute riot! The president commands you to save Earth from alien destruction by playing game "soccer"!

Just downloaded mario super strikers for the Wii looks like it will be fun

Fun fact: I have no interest in the business that is fooball ("soccer"), or any major league sport actually, but Behold the Kickmen had me interested from the first time I read about it. Haven't gotten it yet though. But since I used to make fun of my ex-colleagues at work who were constantly talking about football, I think this game will be just the right kind of humour for me. A new Mario Strikers would be welcome as well. I'm even interested in a GOLF game because of that frantic Mario twist. A GOLF game, of all things unholy in this world.

@the_beaver Kung Foot is an absolute blast, and given that it's apparently a quickly made mini game to celebrate the completion of one of the greatest modern 2D platformers I know and got included in that game just for fun, makes it all the better.

Active Soccer 2019 should be on the very meagre list. It's a nice little Sensi clone, has its flaws but what doesn't on this list!

The Switch is crying out for a decent football game that isn't a FIFA game. Pro Evo would be awesome, Sociable Soccer would be fantastic, SWOS would be a dream come true

No I'm pretty sure you mean football

Super Soccer Blast is a great arcade football game, it's barebones in terms of teams etc. but its gameplay is spot on.

No Pro Evo is a disgrace from Konami. I had Pro Evo on my Wii and 3DS for god's sake.

@lovesushi As far as I'm aware, Neo Geo World Cup 98 is basically Super Sidekicks 3 with the teams that qualified for France 98. It may have slightly different animations between goals but the gameplay is exactly the same. I own Super Sidekicks 1,2 and 3 and they're all good,although much the same. Ultimate 11 is Super Sidekicks 2.5.

Go for Neo Geo Cup 98. You can't go wrong.

Meh, American football is better, soccer is boring (why don't Americans call soccer football again? Soccer actually involves your feet, American football has little to do with the players' feet). Super Mario Strikers though, has the action and excitement RL soccer lacks. We could really use a Strikers game on Switch.

The association football (soccer in USA), or the American Football all came from the same origins of the primitive football. That is why both are football, just different set of rules. Wikipedia has a very nice article about this if you are interested in the subject.

@thor27 And Rugby is more similar to original football than either soccer or gridiron.

@Bolt_Strike Soccer was an english term originally, coming from asSOCiation football, to differentiate it from traditional football (which was closer to modern rugby). It spread to America, then soccer overtook traditional football in popularity in England and they just started calling it football, though it's still technically called association football. In fact, FIFA stands for 'Fédération Internationale de Football Association' which is 'International Federation of Association Football' in English.

In other words, the Switch is rubbish for football games. Rocket League isn't even one, and that it's included shows the dire need to prop up an ordinary list. I tried the Captain Tsubasa demo and didn't like it. I'm tempted by Golzao and Super Sidekicks, especially the latter. Disappointing to read its sequels are off the eshop now, so I might boycott the series altogether in protest.

No Super Kickers League Ultimate?

@Rainbowjames Wish they would just port over pro evo 6 think I would be in heaven

Hello beautiful people.
I'd like to rectify something.

"in the West? [Captain Tsubasa is] Not so much [popular]"

The series is not popular in the Anglo-Saxon world, like many other things that are popular in Europe.

However, in Italy it's a LEGEND! My generation grew up watching C.Tsubasa in the late 80s.
The series is very popular in many other European countries, but I don't want to talk about things I don't fully know.

Cheers!

And all of a sudden, all the Neo Geo football games seem to be unavailable on the eShop. What’s going on?

You know, for the FIFA 22 game, if that is yet another legacy game, you guys should either just post a link to the FIFA 21 review in the FIFA 22 review, add 'Look, we can do it too, EA!', and call it a day.

Also had no idea Captain Tsubasa was that big over in Japan. (And in Italy, according to n_malo). I've had my eye on the game for a little while, it looks decent. I might get that for my soccer fix. Been waiting for Mario Strikers but that one is probably very unlikely to make a return unfortunately.

No love for Super Soccer!

Hoping Kick and Run or Hat Trick Hero get released by Hamster at some point. And Mario Strikers / Sega Soccer Slam would be nice too.

Rocket League is the best soccer game ever made. It comes down to gameplay. Its all physics based with no pass button or shoot button or anything of the sort. The room for skill growth is crazy, and the team play is like nothing else.
The switch port however, is crap. Entirely due to input lag that they refuse to address.

@konbinilife runs beautifully on my switch with no more lag or issues than PS4.

For me the best football game ever not on a switch system Is the Sega game Virtua Striker 2

Me clicking and being a dumb American. For NFL

I think FIFA probably stopped being good after FIFA 10 or even 08. Even though I am a huge real football fan I am not really into football video games any more. Football Manager has been interesting for me in the past but I never feel compelled to get any following year iterations when they were released.

Inazuma XI curiously grabbed my attention most back in the DS days.

Isn't Legendary Eleven pretty good?!?

Would love to try nintendo pocket football club. As i've never played it before i only heard good things about it and it looks kind of fun. Hopefully one day it comes to switch.

I cannot believe we haven't gotten Mario Strikers yet.

Whilst Tennis and Golf are mainstream sports Football is the most popular globally.

You missed Mario strik- oh wait...

@nhSnork "Krion Conquest" was probably just Vic Tokai wanting to rush the game out the door with their last interest in publishing NES games. They had at least one more game planned in both regions that was announced but never released.
(aside from the Golgo 13 part 3, which I don't know if it was even announced for America, before it was developed and then canceled)

I've noticed that with other consoles, they at some point quickly drop interest in a console/market and run. Their last SNES games as well were planned for release together: Shien's Revenge (seemed like a nice crosshair shooter, after I got a SFC copy) and Lost Mission (an unreleased localization of an RPG called Odysselya, which I presume was finished since Nintendo Power rated it, though they claimed the localization was bad).

Captain Tsubasa is just not popular in America,but its huge in Europe,especially Italy.

Mario Strikers on switch would be great. Hopefully that can be a late cycle game on the console.

The FIFA Series on Switch is rubbish. I got the 2019 version for a massive discount and it's just poorly done to be honest. Would tell people to avoid unless they don't really care about glitchy graphics and barely-even-trying commentary repeating over and over.

EA knows they have perfected the format and need to focus on the graphics and online mechanics, and Switch doesn't have the power for the former or any sort of sports gamer market for the latter to really make an effort. They need an install base and they just won't get it for FIFA to justify a massive investment in another platform each year.

@NoLife there is one it's called super blood hockey.

Oh good, I almost sued you for misleading.

Obligatory political rant about why saying soccer is wrong

Super Monkey Ball Soccer's coming soon!!

The last two FIFA games on Switch were utter embarrassments while PES still isn't on Switch, so there really aren't any notable standard football/soccer games on Switch.

A new Mario Strikers title would fill that role nicely - it just depends if Next Level Games is willing to revisit that franchise.

@ThomasBW84 Maybe next year after Switch gets some more 3DS ports you can add Federation Force to the list. 😂

Not a fan of soccer and/or football games except Mario Strikers Charged, but Soccer Slam looks like a fun little diversion game for the kids. I have some gold coins expiring so I'll see what it costs.

Edit: 4 yr old game that got a 6 says wait for a 80% off sale, I don't have that many gold points, and I only paid $5 more for Witcher 3.

We need a new Mario Strikers.

P.S. it's coming home

@TheJGG these jokers in England don't realise that lots of us in England don't care about this nonsense.

I still play Pro Evolution Soccer 2013 on my 3DS and it's brilliant.

England should win the final in front of their home fans, but they needed help from the ref to get past a B-level team in London last Wednesday, so they might actually make fools of themselves tomorrow.

@Poodlestargenerica
I'm American and I agree with Europeans who say that American football sucks. My friends and relatives have forced me countless times to watch the Superbowl year after year, and I still can't stay pay attention long enough to even figure out the obtuse rules.

We need a actual football game on switch. Hopefully 2k puts the new game they are working on to the switch. Only actual football games are mutant football league and football heroes which they both suck.

Mega Man Soccer port when?

Frack FIFA you shouldn’t even give them the honor of listing that fracking game. If you list it it should be under illegal gambling programs.

I just really want Inazuma eleven on Switch but the game has been delayed for so long that I'm terrified it's going to be bad.

@AnnoyingFrenzy Mutant Football league.

Where is the other football game: Madden?

I would be all over Football Manager is there were a physical edition. I am much more interested in the simulation/management aspects of the game than the game itself.

I still buy the FIFA games but at a discount for the latter two (I bought 18, 19 on day one though).

The amount of Switch consoles sold in Europe and not one decent football game. I played FIFA 19 and believe me when I say that it is not the missing modes that let that game down... it's tied as the worst football game I have played alongside FIFA 64 on the Nintendo 64 and all the Playstation Vita FIFA games. You can see the algorithms playing out- same animations, same scenarios, same commentary, if I shoot from here like this it always hits the post... the game is borderline unplayable.

@ThomasBW84

As a fellow Welsh man this made me laugh - although I'm not sure I feel as strongly as you about it:

'Some in our team would be tempted to make a comment on the return of the sport to its motherland, but as this humble scribe is Welsh he'd rather dip his head into a bucket of tarantulas.'

Really, really surprised not to see Super Arcade Football on this list.

Sure, it's basically a Sensi clone, but since Sensi is one of the greatest football games ever made, even being an approximation of the original is enough to merit a place on this list, and Super Arcade Football gets pretty close to the feel of the classic series.It's also got a lot of options and different ways to play.

I can only assume no one at Nintendo Life Towers has played it as I'm sure it would be on here if anybody knew about it.

Also, fully agree with the choice of Behold the Kickmen. Really funny, but also a pretty fun and solid game to play as well.

Behind the Stickmen is one of my fave Switch games. I play it all the time. An absolute gem and for less than 2 quid now it’s a must have IMO

@riccyjay Totally with you on Super Arcade Soccer. Closest thing to Sensi there is and it’s great. Also 16 bit soccer is a decent one to check out for pennies

Rocket League is still king. It's for me, the best sports game ever made.

@riccyjay I'm going to buy that, nice one.

Rocket League is the best soccer game BY FAR.

All of other options on Switch are really reaaly bad.

In fact, good football is very very rare.

Is there really no Inazuma Eleven game on the switch?

Switch Sports Soccer is the best Soccer game there is, on Switch or not. Online 4 v 4 is fantastic, the rollback netcode makes the game never laggy. The controls are great, and only going to get better when they add the leg strap update, and unlike some sports, games are quick, never boring and with only 4 players per team and a stamina bar, it's easy to find a position your team needs. I never really cared for team based games because I thought it was weird to be controlling a whole team at once, changing players constantly, but controlling 1 player with a team of 3 against 4 other players is the kind of game I always wanted to play. I mean Rocket League has that, and it's fun for a while, but 8 way movement beats forward and back any day.

I wish for nintendo pocket football club to come to switch, I've never got to play the original and after finding out about it's existence i'd love to one day play it.

@PhatToad Pocket Football Club was cool but I wish there was an option to speed match gameplay because they could drag and make the experience pretty boring after a while.

@konbinilife what a save!
What a save!
What a save!

@HeeHo i see, hopefully if it ever comes to switch it has some new features like to be able to speed matches up etc.

Ah yes, one of the few versions of football that requires using the foot on the ball!

@Aurumonado I believe an Inazuma Eleven games has been in production for several years, but it keeps getting delayed.

Rocket League is one of the handful of games I play on the PS4. I have it on the Switch too. I haven't touched it in months though.

Mario Strikers stands out here. Captain Tsubasha I have in my backlog. I only bought it because it was on a 50% discount and my youngest was getting into Inazuma XI at the time.

I played one Footy Manager game on the Switch for a while which suited the portable.

Besides that the beautiful game seems poorly represented on the Switch despite my respect for the retro offerings

@infernogott "You forgot the best one: Nintendo World Cup. I think it's part of a japanese collection."

It's in the Double Dragon & Kunio-kun: Retro Brawler Bundle under the name:
Nekketsu High School Dodgeball Club - Soccer Story

@AnnoyingFrenzy A Mario take on American Football would be super cool in my opinion, but considering the sport isn’t really popular anywhere but here in the US, I’m not holding my breath lol.

@TheWingedAvenger If you don’t even understand the rules, how can you expect to enjoy it? I’m not saying you’re wrong for disliking the sport, but I used to be in the same boat as you until I finally learned more about the game.

@antisumo Yeah Active Soccer is definitely better than the average games in this list. The new version that is coming seems promising!

@BitmaniaK there's possibly a new one coming out? Ooooh thanks for letting us know

Yes, check on fb or discord..there are some new videos.

This is .com not .uk so football is football here. Just saying lol

Well, sadly there is not a single good realistic modern take on the switch. Therefore one has to settle with a fun-oriented version. And of those for sure the best one is the NES-Kunio-Kun game bundled together with all the other Kunio-Kun and Double Dragon bundle WHICH YOU FAILED TO MENTION!!!! facepalm

Yes it’s my fault for not reading reviews. But Mario strikers is super disappointing. Definitely does not feel complete. For those who don’t play online, it’s a complete waste of money. Here’s hoping future updates add more single player options.

Glenn Hoddle is having a goal!

@Jayenkai shoutouts to Monkey Soccer fr, pretty solid minigame

Football Manager Touch 2023 came out recently and is meant to be a big improvement, any chance of a review of it please Nintendo Life?

I've had some fun with the manager modes in the FIFA games.

I would have bought the Football Manager games by SEGA, but not without a physical release, and especially not at that price.

Said it before, will say it again...
Switch Sports Soccer with the leg strap is the best gaming experience I've had playing this year. It's crazy fun and rewarding online to kick in goals, and it replicates that feeling of 'wow, that was so fun' that I haven't felt since the original Wii sports all those years ago.

If you're overlooking Switch Sports, or bought it, but haven't tried the leg strap, you are seriously missing out!

I've been playing it for weeks now and while Soccer was ok before I discovered the leg strap it is an amazing revelation with it. That feeling of kicking in a last second goal or overtime goal to win the game does not get old.

Captain Tsubasa as an anime series have been extremely popular and influential in the West, perhaps just not in the Anglo-Saxon regions, as others here have already noted. Top stars like Mbappe, Neymar, Benzema, Iniesta, and countless others have gone on record stating that watching the show served as an inspiration for them growing up and becoming footballers.

So to say that the series is "not so popular" outside of Japan is quite wide of the mark.

I would love to play the old Megadrive EA Sports games. Hockey and Madden were so much fun to play.

worst Mario Strikers Battle League

That "other" football is called American Rugby

@Dman10 Scott Wozniak has them all...

Ah yes, the version of football that predominantly actually requires use of feet

I've really been enjoying Super Arcade Soccer.

Has a real touch of Sensi about it, bags of charm and lots of fun.

Don't be put off by the basic name and cover/icon. It's really good.

How do they not have Pixel Cup listed? Especially given how they list Soccer Story, which is nowhere near as good.

@JayJ I think it should be there too, it's almost certainly because they haven't reviewed it. I've only played the demo but I enjoyed it quite a bit. I see it's now on sale so I may have to pick it up.

@WrongChops Others said the same above. I also agree. Aside from the absolutely incredible Rocket League, Super Arcade Soccer is my favorite football/soccer game on Switch!

If you gonna list Rocket League, so you need to list the football game from Switch Sports.

That thing is incredible fun.

Still no nintendo pocket football club, i want to play this one so bad 😞

The user ratings of most of these games is quite low considering this is a 'Best Football Games' list! Doesn't say much for Super Soccer Blast and its extremely minor update that was sold as a whole new (ball)game that it couldn't even get on here! I bought the original when it came out and while it was a little fun at first, I got bored of it very quickly.

@NoLife Super Blood Hockey is a gold time.