Is it possible to "beat" a PES installment?

[MKC]

I was born in 1999, so I grew up with sports video games closer to how we know them today, despite micro transactions and online modes changing directions quite a lot, the core structure of them nowadays has been built upon what was established in the PS1/N64/Saturn era more than anything, but before that sports video games were already a thing, and they had been since... video games started out, with things like Tennis-For-Two and Pong, and they were quite different. I've been playing some 8-Bit and 16-Bit football video games over the last few years, due to loving this era of the hobby and this genre, I suppose I did it out of curiosity, but also out of a desire to find new things to play in a genre I don't expect much from in the current scene. It was quite different, sure you could play a match against the CPU, or against another player, these modes we all still play today were already a thing, but often they'd only include these modes... or a tournament mode, and this is the interesting thing. Back then, sports video games could actually be "beat" similar to any console or arcade title from the 80's and 90's, a lot of them were in the arcades too, like the popular SNK titles a lot of people here grew up with, and in a way it was a lot like Street Fighter and Mortal Kombat, but instead of M. Bison and Goro we had the Brazil national team to face off in the final boss fight.

How did you "beat" a football video game back then? You won the World Cup. How did you "beat" an American football video game back then? You won the Super Bowl. How did you "beat" a basketball video game back then? You won the NBA Playoffs. You get the idea... ever since the 5th (PS1/N64/Saturn) and especially the 6th (PS2/GC/XBOX/DC) console generations, this hasn't really been a thing, sports video games have so many modes nowadays, especially football, that unlike the major American sports, has so many relevant competitions going around at the same time. So... is it even possible to say you've "beat" a PES installment? Or any other modern sports video game for that matter? I don't know, a part of me thinks it isn't, especially now with them going in the GAAS direction, which is all about playing it infinitely without an actual ending, but at the same time I think many would consider a video game 100% beat when you get all of the Achievements/Trophies... so, how can you beat something 100% and not beat it any% too? I don't know, maybe I'm just overthinking, but suddenly I had this thought of "How do I beat PES?" and now it's in my head, do you consider it beat by winning the World Cup? By getting all of the Achievements/Trophies? By winning the league in Master League? By winning a treble in Master League? I really don't know.

 

[millossobek]

I´m sure answers will vary a lot, but in my mind, I don't think I can "beat" a football game.

I don't realy think of football games as other games, where you have different stages to beat, beat the bosses, go through the levels, explore the world and unlock stuff/secret areas. PES/FIFA doesn't really work that way for me. I think it really does depend on the story you're playing in your head.

For some, it's about achieving certain milestones, like winning the league, winning an international cup, etc..

But to me it's always been more about the story I have in my head, play and let the story take its own life. I don't really consider it a pass or fail type of deal, it's more like following a team in real life, no matter if they win or lose. I'll give you a couple of examples: In my Reggina story, I never won any silverware. I got promoted to second division after 2 seasons, then qualified to Europa League in the third, and played the EL semifinals against Milan in my fourth, losing against them 0-1 on aggregate. My most dear player, Gianluca Lapadula, retired soon after that. And I stopped there. It seemed like the story arc was complete.

In another story I'm playing with Werder Bremen, in PES 2009, I actually won Bundesliga in my second season, and I want to test my skills in the Champions League. But I don't plan to win it, I mean if it happens great, that's awesome, but if it doesn't it won't really feel like a lost sense of accomplishment, it's not like I will keep playing until I win the Champions League. I'll probably keep going and see through the story arc, whether I win or lose comes secondary to that. I just know in my heart when the story is complete. In football games, I think what matters most is what the journey feels like. It's about dealing with retiring players, getting new ones, finding things that will make you get immersed in the game, developing personalities, etc. In a nutshell, I've never felt the need to keep playing until I achieve a specific goal, it's more about setting up a long footballing tale in my head, and then the next one. That's what I love most about them, to me they are endless.

 

[*aLe]

Well, if you play career mode...
I'd say that you can consider the game "beaten" when you win everything that the team you're managing could win.
For example, if you start from League 2 you'd consider a FIFA beaten if you win the Premier League, the Champions League, the League Cup, the FA Cup and the Club World Cup (or its equivalent, if any... I never got to that stage).
Winning "lower tier" competition (like the Championship or, at continental level, the Europa League) can be considered "extra" side-quests as they're not the "top" trophies at national or continental level. Maybe you could add the UEFA Super Cup and the Community Shield to the "main" objectives, too.

But I see your point. It is difficult to draw a line and say "beyond this the game is beaten, otherwise it's not".

 

[clydecash]

I never thought about "beating the game", but I do get into scenarios in which I feel like "I've already beaten this campaign/save". I tend to play BAL exclusively lately, so winning the world cup plus major titles (Club World cup, Libertadores, UEFA/AFC Champions) gives me the feeling of "I've beaten this play-through". This is interesting because it can happen to anyone, IRL players included. It's not so uncommon for players to sorta "lose their drive" after winning a major title, sees to me like the case of "what's left for us to do now?"

 

[RTS]

Honestly it's most likely up to your interpretation on how you finally beat the game.
In my case, i "beat" the game once i unlocked every single trophy on the classic PES Gallery, i won every trophy and felt proud and accomplished, thus "beat the game"

Sad that Trophy Gallery are completely removed on post PES 2008 tough.... kinda removes the feeling of accomplishing something if the trophy isn't being displayed

 

[Joga]

Sad that Trophy Gallery are completely removed on post PES 2008 tough.... kinda removes the feeling of accomplishing something if the trophy isn't being displayed

Trophy cabinet was the way! Removing this & the stadium editor was a borderline criminal act

@MKC nice thread mate. Back in the day,if I recall correctly it was in year 8 English class, we had some sort of "instructional writing" assignment.
My paper was 'How to win the FIFA World Cup in ISS Pro Evo 2'
I was going on about "This game is realistic! You can't rush your passing, you must be patient & the goal will come!"
Cheers for the memories. Man what a game! .. Long live PES!

 

[millossobek]

My paper was 'How to win the FIFA World Cup in ISS Pro Evo 2'

That's an A+ paper man! Just based on the title I'd say "this kid has his head on right" and give you the best grade in your class!

 

[Kopite1990]

Honestly it's most likely up to your interpretation on how you finally beat the game.
In my case, i "beat" the game once i unlocked every single trophy on the classic PES Gallery, i won every trophy and felt proud and accomplished, thus "beat the game"

Sad that Trophy Gallery are completely removed on post PES 2008 tough.... kinda removes the feeling of accomplishing something if the trophy isn't being displayedView attachment 247300

Ah man this is such a nostalgic image - This took me back to 12 year old me proudly gazing my eyes over my trophy haul at the end of a long term ML save.

It was little things like this and the stadium creator, as mentioned above, that always gave PES a bit of an edge for me. I was always hooked with the gameplay and concept of Master League, but the little extras that Konami added just made the game feel really special.

Now we don’t even have an ML mode to enjoy 🙃

 

[steph_wheeler]

Here's hoping when eventually new modes dlc be announced, we get rolling credits upon completing successfully a league/cup campaign, since ML career mode may be no more (at least in name).