Ice Hockey (Japan)

Getting Started

When you boot up Ice Hockey on the Famicom Disk System, you'll see a title screen followed by a menu to select game mode. The Japanese menus are simple enough to navigate: the top option is usually one-player mode, the next is two-player versus. Use the arrow keys to highlight your choice and press X (A button) to confirm.

The core objective is to score more goals than your opponent within the time limit. You control a skater with the D-pad to move around the rink, press B (S key) to pass or shoot the puck, and press A (X key) to switch control to the player closest to the puck. The puck physics are basic but require timing to intercept passes and aim shots at the net. Each team has five players including a goalie, who moves automatically but can be manually controlled when you're close to your own net.

Matches are short and fast-paced, with no complex rules like offside or icing. The game offers a choice between three different team types (strong/slow, balanced, fast/weak) before the match begins. As a Japanese FDS release, there's no language barrier beyond the menus, and the gameplay is intuitive once you get used to the two-button controls.