World Soccer GB

World Soccer GB for Game Boy is Konami's 1998 handheld football game, released in Japan on June 4, 1998. Developed by Konami Computer Entertainment Nagoya, it later reached North America as International Superstar Soccer, placing this monochrome-cartridge entry within Konami's long-running international football series. It is a distinct Game Boy adaptation rather than a conversion of the same year's home-console releases.

The game centres on national-team football and allows the player to select from 36 teams for an International Cup. Matches are viewed from a third-person overhead angle, with direct control shifting to the active player on the field. On attack, the essential decisions are whether to move the ball with a pass or attempt a shot; when defending, the player can switch control and use a sliding challenge to stop the opposition.

Before kickoff, World Soccer GB lets players shape a side through formations and tactical stances, then make further player changes before a match and at half-time. Individual footballers have regular attributes as well as a current condition, so selection is not merely cosmetic: form can affect how well a player performs. These choices give the tournament a management layer alongside the real-time match play.

Match rules can be adjusted to suit a quick session or a longer contest. Available lengths are three, five, or seven minutes, while difficulty can be set to different levels. Fouls may be enabled or disabled, and overtime can be resolved by a golden-goal finish or by playing extended time, allowing the player to tailor the rhythm and stakes of a cup match.

World Soccer GB was the Japanese regional name for International Superstar Soccer on Game Boy, not the later Game Boy Color titles World Soccer GB2 and World Soccer GB 2000. Konami published the Japanese cartridge as World Soccer GB and the US edition as International Superstar Soccer in August 1998; a European release followed in 1998. The Game Boy version is a single-player football game, making its team selection, tactics, configurable rules, and International Cup its central features for solo play.