FIFA 98 : Road to World Cup

FIFA 98: Road to World Cup for Sega Genesis/Mega Drive is EA Sports’ 1997 football game, created as the 16-bit edition of the series’ run-up to the 1998 FIFA World Cup in France. It brings the FIFA name, international teams and club football to Sega’s long-serving console in a top-down isometric style rather than the polygonal presentation used by the contemporary PlayStation, Saturn, Nintendo 64 and PC releases. In Europe it arrived simply as FIFA: Road to World Cup 98, placing its new qualification campaign at the centre of the package.

The match action retains the quick, angled view familiar from the earlier Mega Drive FIFA games. Players move the ball by passing, crossing and shooting, while the defending side can challenge for possession and position itself to block an attack. The camera gives a broad view of the pitch, making through balls, wide play and the timing of a final pass important parts of building a chance. Whether playing alone against the computer or against another player, a fixture can be set up as a direct contest with teams selected before kick-off.

Road to World Cup 98 gives the game its defining theme. Instead of beginning only with the finals, it lets a chosen national side attempt the route through the qualifying process towards France ’98. The competition follows the idea of regional qualification groups, so success depends on sustaining results over a sequence of international matches rather than winning one exhibition. The mode gives the season’s World Cup build-up a campaign structure and makes national-team selection more than a cosmetic option.

Club football is represented through League play, with a large selection of sides and leagues for a cartridge-era football game. That provides an alternative to the international focus, letting players choose a club and work through domestic fixtures. Team and player editing options add room to tailor the available squads, while the game’s licensed football identity and roster-based presentation aim to distinguish the competing sides. The result is a package built around choosing a team, setting a match or season context, and taking control on the pitch rather than a single fixed tournament path.

FIFA 98: Road to World Cup is notable in the FIFA series as the final entry released for the Sega Mega Drive/Genesis. Its 16-bit version should not be confused with the 3D editions on newer hardware: those versions used different technology and included features shaped by their platforms. On Mega Drive, the game serves as a late continuation of EA Sports’ isometric FIFA formula, updated for the World Cup qualifying theme at the end of the console’s commercial life. For players exploring Sega’s football catalogue, it stands as the last FIFA stop on the system and a period snapshot of international football on the road to 1998.