The new options and animations that this sequel had were key points to make it the best soccer game in the SNES era.
Back in the 1990s, when the SNES was winning the console war against its main opponent, the Sega Genesis, I was looking for a good soccer game, better than the game I considered the #1, Elite Soccer (GameTek). I couldn't find anything, until Konami released its own soccer game, International Superstar Soccer (Winning Eleven nowadays). I remember intense matches with a friend, where usually we ended 6-5 or something like that, though most of the times I won. Of course, that game had some flaws, but I enjoyed it a lot.
Some months later, Konami released International Superstar Soccer Deluxe. Honestly, I didn't think Konami could improve a lot compared with the first game, but pretty soon I realized I was wrong. The new options that ISSD had were simply awesome. Let's talk a little about them:
Open Game – Or exhibition game, just pick one team and play against the computer or with three friends. Yes, if you had the special accessory that allowed you to play multiplayer in games like Bomberman for SNES up to three friends, you could use it here too. As you can imagine, in those times these kind of options weren't so common as they are now, so stop saying "FIFA also has that option". In addition, you could organize a short league or tournament.
International – It would be like a "World Cup" option nowadays. Just choose your favorite team and lead it to the championship.
World Series – This mode is like a regular season in any country. Pick your team and play against the other 35 teams. Don't lose your password for any reason!
Scenario – You have 12 challenges in certain conditions. For example, there is only 1 minute and 54 seconds left of a match. Your team, England, is losing 1-3 against Brazil. Is up to you to lead England to a victory. Note: Draws don't count to complete these challenges.
Penalty Kick – Pretty obvious, don't you think? Choose a team and play against the computer or other friends in this intense mode!
Training – Another mode that doesn't really need any explanation. Here you can train your abilities to get ready to the big matches. There are a few challenges as well you may want to complete.
Password – When you are playing in any mode, you'll get a password after each match. It is a bit long, and sometimes you could not see very well the letters, but you will need it if you want to complete some modes. As I said before, don't lose your password!
Options – Here you can change some things like the difficulty of the game, the match's time, if you want stereo sound or mono sound, and also you can change some rules, like fouls (on/off) yellow cards (on/off), or even the referee!
Ok. Now you now about the options, but let's talk about the gameplay itself. If you've played the first ISS, then you won't have any problems getting used to play in bigger pitches (more detailed than the first game), that really help to improve the experience when playing ISSD. The controls are basic and easy to get used to. The game is fast and you'll have to be concentrated if you don't want to see yourself losing 0-3 or 0-4. There is something I didn't like very much: is very hard to score. The goalkeepers are smart and get the ball almost all the times. This detail is similar to the first game. You will have to find specific ways to score, and when you do (after a long time playing and trying to figure that out), the computer won't be a big challenge (I've found myself winning 8-0 or more even in the hardest difficulty). That is when your friends come into play. Obviously, if you have any friends that play very well, the matches will be intense, and incredible ultra-addictive. That's why I would recommend ISSD.
For its time, the graphics were great. The players were detailed a lot (you will notice it with the shadows). The graphics of the players and anything else are big (though I would have liked a far camera). The animations were the best of the best, offering animations for everything, from substitutions to get the ball to kick a corner kick. I consider the sound as average, except when you hear the commentary of "GOAL!!!" when you score (the emotion is contagious).
In conclusion, if you like soccer and have a SNES, I highly recommend buying ISSD. You won't regret it, I can assure that!