History YMMV / FIFASoccer

* SugarWiki/HeartwarmingMoments: The special [[http://www.futhead.com/15/players/44467/elio-castro/ 95 rated Hero Elio Castro]], given to [[Website/{{Twitch}} Twitch]] streamer [=Castro1021=] for [[SugarWiki/MomentOfAwesome raising $80,000 for cancer charities during a 50 hour charity stream.]] ManlyTears [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cufp4I2Oq5Q were shed that day.]]

* SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic: Imagine qualifying for, and winning the World Cup, to the sound of "[[Music/{{Blur}} Song 2]]". You can do it in ''98''.

* GoodBadBugs: Possibly the most famous bug in the series: in the original game, it was possible to stand in front of the opposing goalkeeper when he was about to take a goal kick, causing the kick to ricochet off you and backwards into the net for an easy goal. This was understandably patched out starting with ''95'', although it creeped back in during the 7th generation console era.
*** Still existed in a fashion in '96; shooting the instant the keeper was to kick the ball (out of hand only, else you aren't allowed close enough to do it off a goal kick) would result in a diving header/scorpion kick and the ball would end up in the net.

* ScrappyMechanic: ''FIFA 12'''s tackling system has its fair share of detractors, a common complaint being that slide tackling in the game favours the AI. Not to mention it's also seen as more difficult to perform tackles in the game than in real life. Though in fairness, tackling is always divisive in soccer games.

* SongAssociation: Most of the soundtracks. The opening themes in particular ("[[Music/{{Blur}} Song 2]]"[[note]]From ''FIFA 98''[[/note]], "[[Music/{{Chumbawamba}} Tubthumping]]"[[note]]''World Cup 98''[[/note]], "[[Music/FatboySlim The Rockafella Skank]]"[[note]]''99''[[/note]], "[[Music/{{Moby}} Bodyrock]]"[[note]]''2001''[[/note]]...). Others like Lionrock's "Rude Boy Rock"[[note]]also ''99''[[/note]] and "[[Music/{{CHVRCHES}} We Sink]]"[[note]]''FIFA 14''[[/note]] are hard to dissociate from the games.

** Until ''19'' came around and took the "throne" from ''2000'', thanks to the generally downgraded gameplay, mainly imprecise shooting mechanics, AI that can work both against and ''for'' the player thanks to RandomNumberGod being in full effect, and inconsistent physics, leading to the general feel that EA has let a gold-foil package (€50 price tag and the UEFA Champions League license as a selling point) hide the pudding by focusing more on microtransactions via FUT than actually tweaking the core gameplay. Not for nothing it has one of the largest gaps between reviewer and user scores on Metacritic: 84/100 and '''1.7/10''', respectively (this in particular might be chalked up to review-bombing from disgruntled players, but still)!!! Things then went FromBadToWorse with ''20'', which launched in a [[ObviousBeta borderline broken state]] with an extremely minimal number of upgrades over ''19'' -- and that's before you get to the Switch port, which really did have no changes whosoever from ''19'' other than new teams and kits.

* EarWorm: That said, some of the songs become so heavily associated with the games that it's hard to unhear them. Case in point, Lionrock's "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5dF0RldDSn0 Rude Boy Rock]]", included in the ''99'' soundtrack.

* ComplacentGamingSyndrome: Combined with SmallReferencePools, players picking the most famous\successful UsefulNotes/EuroFooty teams (Barcelona, Real Madrid, Manchester United, Milan, Juventus, Bayern Munich) are really common.

* AscendedFanon: The inclusion of the Liga I from Romania in ''FIFA 20''; prior, it was one of the most frequent additions of modders to the game. Compounded by the fact that the game was developed by EA Romania.

* {{Sequelitis}}: ''2000'' was generally agreed to be the worst game in the series (or at least the worst one with 3D graphics) due to the glitchy AI, inconsistent difficulty and screwy controls, as well as a generally whitewashed feel (players only had nine attributes rated 1-7, and there was no option to adjust team management or choose a stadium before a match as could be done in prior games or in ''06'' and later). The following three outings got things back on track, but then the series hit a lean patch from ''2004'' to ''07'', with the games not getting any worse, but not really improving. Since then however, things have generally been on the up...
** Until ''19'' came around and took the "throne" from ''2000'', thanks to the generally downgraded gameplay, mainly imprecise shooting mechanics, AI that can work both against and ''for'' the player thanks to RandomNumberGod being in full effect, and inconsistent physics, leading to the general feel that EA has let a gold-foil package (€50 price tag and the UEFA Champions League license as a selling point) hide the pudding by focusing more on microtransactions via FUT than actually tweaking the core gameplay. Not for nothing it has one of the largest gaps between reviewer and user scores on Metacritic: 84/100 and '''1.7/10''', respectively (this in particular might be chalked up to review-bombing from disgruntled players, but still)!!!

* ItsTheSameNowItSucks: EA took this to [[UpToEleven new heights]] with the Wii version of ''FIFA 13'', which was essentially ''FIFA 12'' with the name swapped out. ''This is not an exaggeration''. It's the same game in almost every aspect but with new players and team kits. They were quite justifiably slammed by players and critics for this.

* InternetBackdraft:
** EA's introduction of price ranges in ''FIFA Ultimate Team'', which is meant to kill off illegitimate coin transfers online, has the ''FIFA'' community raging mad. Critics say that it's yet another attempt by the publisher to make money from players with microtransactions for legitimate ''FUT'' coin purchases, among other complaints.
** A more humorous example would be when in ''15'', Zlatan Ibrahimovic, a skilled player known for his tricks, got his skills downgraded from 5 stars to 4. As that bars him from performing the best skill moves in the game, and skill moves can't be changed by in-form cards...
** The UsefulNotes/NintendoSwitch release of ''17''. After a promo trailer revealed it was not running on the [=PS4=]/X1/PC Frostbite engine, Nintendo fans were immediately livid over the idea of EA releasing a gimped version of the game on the Switch. Much mockery of EA's 'historic partnership' commenced. This died down a bit after it was shown that the game wasn't nearly as gimped as expected, though what gimping is present still inspires anger from Nintendo fans who are already sensitive to bad ports after the Wii and Wii U eras.

** Until ''19'' came around and took the "throne" from ''2000'', thanks to the generally downgraded gameplay, mainly imprecise shooting mechanics, AI that can work both against and ''for'' the player thanks to RandomNumberGod being in full effect, and inconsistent physics, leading to the general feel that EA has let a gold-foil package (€50 price tag and the UEFA Champions League license as a selling point) hide the pudding by focusing more on microtransactions via FUT than actually tweaking the core gameplay. Not for nothing it has one of the largest gaps between reviewer and user scores on Metacritic: 84/100 and '''1.7/10''', respectively!!!

* ScrappyMechanic: ''FIFA 12'''s tackling system has its fair share of detractors, a common complaint being that slide tackling in the game favours the AI. Not to mention it's also seen as more difficult to perform tackles in the game than in real life. Though in fairness, tackling is always a BaseBreaker in soccer games.

* BaseBreaker: TOTY David Luiz in ''15''. He had a less-than stellar 2014, capped off with the infamous 7-1 loss against Germany during UsefulNotes/TheWorldCup. This caused him to be the least liked player on reference site Futhead, with over 8000 downvotes. Despite this, he is still used and quite a good player.

** The original game also allowed you to run away from the referee when he came over to book you, causing the match to grind to a halt while the referee chases you relentlessly across the pitch. Naturally, someone on YouTube [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7w1crw8MCEc has set it to "Yakety Sax"]].

* SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic: Imagine qualifying to, and winning the World Cup, to the sound of "[[Music/{{Blur}} Song 2]]". You can do it in ''98''.

** Women's football for FIFA 16. Is it a cool new game mode [[SlidingScaleOfGenderInequality increasing the representation of women in sports games?]] Or is it a [[DancingBear redundant mode that hardly anyone will use?]]

** EarWorm: That said, some of the songs become so heavily associated with the games that it's hard to unhear them. Case in point, Lionrock's "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5dF0RldDSn0 Rude Boy Rock]]", included in the ''99'' soundtrack.

** A more humorous example would be when in ''15'', Zlatan Ibrahimovic, a skilled player known for his tricks, got his skills downgraded from 5 stars to 4. As that bars him from performing he best skill moves in the game, and skill moves can't be changed by in-form cards...
** The UsefulNotes/NintendoSwitch release of ''17''. After a promo trailer revealed it was not running on the [=PS4=]/X1/PC Frostbite engine, Nintendo fans were immediately livid over the idea of E.A releasing a gimped version of the game on the Switch. Much mockery of EA's 'historic partnership' commenced. This died down a bit after it was shown that the game wasn't nearly as gimped as expected, though what gimping is present still inspires anger from Nintendo fans who are already sensitive to bad ports after the Wii and Wii U eras.

* RubberBandAI: The games (especially FIFA 12 onwards) were very cruel with the rubberband. You can lose the game after leading 3-0 in the first half when suddenly all opposition players got turbo on their legs in Legendary against computer, and some 10-year-old can own you via two 35-yard goals in the last quarter. They try to fix it in FIFA 14, and succeeded in the normal gameplay (if you can ignore the fact that the upped ability [[OhCrap happens all the time]] now instead of scripted events). However, the Ultimate Team mode got EVEN MORE elastic rubber bands, and Career mode still suffered from it. The referee also became very picky to you, capable of throwing cards for tame, simply mistimed tackles. YMMV because this rarely got talked with casual players, but was mentioned a lot in forums.
* TheProblemWithLicensedGames: Mostly averted with the main games but UsefulNotes/TheWorldCup and UsefulNotes/EuropeanChampionship games tend to suffer from this up until the ''Euro 2008'' game. FIFA 2000 is notable among the main series for being the worst, especially considering the titles prior to it's release were well liked.
* ScrappyMechanic: FIFA 12's tackling system has its fair share of detractors. A common complaint being that slide tackling in the game favours the AI. Not to mention it's also seen as more difficult to perform tackles in the game than in real life. Though in fairness tackling is always a BaseBreaker in soccer games.
** ''FIFA 15'' has received much criticism and flak for its "price range" system, which constricts players selling footballers to only a minimum and maximum amount of coins. This has effectively ruined the Ultimate Team mode in general. To add insult to injury, the price ranges axed off coin sponsors, which is how many ''FIFA'' Youtubers can get money so they can afford coins and make more ''FIFA'' videos.
* {{Sequelitis}}: ''2000'' was generally agreed to be the worst game in the series (or at least the worst one with 3D graphics) due to the glitchy AI, inconsistent difficulty and screwy controls, as well as a generally whitewashed feel (players only had nine attributes rated 1-7, and there was no option to adjust team management or choose a stadium before a match as could be done in prior games or in ''06'' and later). The following three outings got things back on track, but then the series hit a lean patch from ''2004'' to ''07'', with the games not getting any worse, but not really improving. Since then however, things have generally been on the up... Until ''19'' came around and took the "throne" from ''2000'', thanks to the generally downgraded gameplay, mainly imprecise shooting mechanics, AI that can work both against and ''for'' the player thanks to RandomNumberGod being in full effect, and inconsistent physics, leading to the general feel that EA has let a gold-foil package (€50 price tag and the UEFA Champions League license as a selling point) hide the pudding by focusing more on microtransactions via FUT than actually tweaking the core gameplay. Not for nothing it has one of the largest gaps between reviewer and user scores on Metacritic: 84/100 and '''1.7/10''', respectively!!!

* UnexpectedCharacter: Not ''one'' character, but the inclusion of J. League (the top-flight pro football league in Japan) in ''FIFA 17'' can be seen as this, after so many years being exclusive to Konami's ''Winning Eleven'' series (the Japanese version of ''PES''), and especially considering that ''FIFA'' hasn't even had a Japanese football team since ''2003'' thanks to the Japanese Football Association not allowing Western developers from depicting their football (earlier restricted to the Blue Samurai) in video games. On top of that, this is also the first official appearance ''ever'' of the league in a game for the international market (earlier games were [[NoExportForYou sold only in Japan]], including the ''Winning Eleven'' series).[[note]]Technically speaking, the J-League had already appeared before in the ''Championship Manager'' series, but not in its SpiritualSuccessor, ''VideoGame/FootballManager''. It also appeared in ''Sensible World of Soccer'', but the names of the teams were changed.[[/note]]

* {{Sequelitis}}: ''2000'' was generally agreed to be the worst game in the series (or at least the worst one with 3D graphics) due to the glitchy AI, inconsistent difficulty and screwy controls, as well as a generally whitewashed feel (players only had nine attributes rated 1-7, and there was no option to adjust team management or choose a stadium before a match as could be done in prior games or in ''06'' and later). The following three outings got things back on track, but then the series hit a lean patch from ''2004'' to ''07'', with the games not getting any worse, but not really improving. Since then however, things have generally been on the up... Until ''19'' came around and took the "throne" from ''2000'', thanks to the generally downgraded gameplay, mainly imprecise shooting mechanics, AI that can work both against and ''for'' the player, and RandomNumberGod being in full effect, leading to the general feel that EA is letting a gold-foil package (at a €50 price tag) hide the pudding by focusing more on microtransactions via FUT than actually tweaking the core gameplay. Not for nothing it has one of the largest gaps between reviewer and user scores on Metacritic: 84/100 and '''1.7/10''', respectively!!!

* {{Sequelitis}}: ''2000'' was generally agreed to be the worst game in the series (or at least the worst one with 3D graphics) due to the glitchy AI, inconsistent difficulty and screwy controls, as well as a generally whitewashed feel (players only had nine attributes rated 1-7, and there was no option to adjust team management or choose a stadium before a match as could be done in prior games or in ''06'' and later). The following three outings got things back on track, but then the series hit a lean patch from ''2004'' to ''07'', with the games not getting any worse, but not really improving. Since then however, things have generally been on the up... Until ''19'' came around and took the "throne" from ''2000'', thanks to the generally downgraded gameplay, mainly imprecise shooting mechanics, and AI that seems to be always faster than human-controlled players, leading to the general feel that EA is letting a gold-foil package (at a €50 price tag) hide the pudding by focusing more on microtransactions via FUT than actually tweaking the core gameplay. Not for nothing it has one of the largest gaps between reviewer and user scores on Metacritic: 84/100 and '''1.7/10''', respectively!!!

* {{Sequelitis}}: ''2000'' is generally agreed to be the worst game in the series (or at least the worst one with 3D graphics) due to the glitchy AI, inconsistent difficulty and screwy controls, as well as a generally whitewashed feel (players only had nine attributes rated 1-7, and there was no option to adjust team management or choose a stadium before a match as could be done in prior games or in ''06'' and later). The following three outings got things back on track, but then the series hit a lean patch from ''2004'' to ''07'', with the games not getting any worse, but not really improving. Since then however, things have generally been on the up.

* UnexpectedCharacter: Not ''one'' character, but the inclusion of J. League (the top-flight pro football league in Japan) in ''FIFA 17'' can be seen as this, after so many years being exclusive to Konami's ''Winning Eleven'' series (the Japanese version of ''PES''), and especially considering that ''FIFA'' hasn't even had a Japanese football team since ''2003'' thanks to the Japanese Football Association not allowing Western developers from depicting their football (earlier restricted to the Blue Samurai) in video games. On top of that, this is also the first official appearance ''ever'' of the league in a game for the international market (earlier games were [[NoExportForYou sold only in Japan]], including the ''Winning Eleven'' series).

** FIFA 17's ''UsefulNotes/NintendoSwitch'' release. After a promo trailer revealed it was not running on the [=PS4=]/X1/PC Frostbite engine, Nintendo fans were immediately livid over the idea of E.A releasing a gimped version of the game on the Switch. Much mockery of EA's 'historic partnership' commenced. This died down a bit after it was shown that the game wasn't nearly as gimped as expected, though what gimping is present still inspires anger from Nintendo fans who are already sensitive to bad ports after the Wii and Wii U eras.

** The PC ports really went downhill as the [=2000s=] progressed, showing few improvements over the console versions (mainly because, until ''10'', they still based themselves off the ''[=PS2=] version'') and being prone to major glitches.

* ScrappyMechanic: FIFA 12's tackling system has its fair share of detractors. A common complaint being that slide tackling in the game favour's the AI. Not to mention it's also seen as more difficult to perform tackles in the game than in real life. Though in fairness tackling is always a BaseBreaker in soccer games.

* CrowningMusicOfAwesome: Imagine qualifying to, and winning the World Cup, to the sound of "[[Music/{{Blur}} Song 2]]". You can do it in ''98''.
** ''FIFA'' is pretty much this every year, thanks to its large and eclectic worldwide soundtrack.
** It also transcends beyond the in-game soundtracks. Take a look at the [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AfeDwkIaHNY trailer]] for ''16'' and see how amazingly well Etta James' "At Last" fits with the images.

* CrowningMomentOfHeartwarming: The special [[http://www.futhead.com/15/players/44467/elio-castro/ 95 rated Hero Elio Castro]], given to [[Website/{{Twitch}} Twitch]] streamer [=Castro1021=] for [[CrowningMomentOfAwesome raising $80,000 for cancer charities during a 50 hour charity stream.]] ManlyTears [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cufp4I2Oq5Q were shed that day.]]

** [[LightningBruiser Lightning Bruisers]] Emmanuel Emenike, Romelu Lukaku, and Team of the Season Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.

* UnexpectedCharacter: Not ''one'' character, but the inclusion of J. League (the top-flight pro football league in Japan) in ''FIFA 17'' can be seen as this, after so many years being exclusive to Konami's ''Winning Eleven'' series (the Japanese version of ''PES''), and especially considering that ''FIFA'' hasn't even had a Japanese football team since ''2003'' thanks to the Japanese Football Association cock-blocking Western developers from depicting their football (earlier restricted to the Blue Samurai) in video games. On top of that, this is also the first official appearance ''ever'' of the league in a game for the international market (earlier games were [[NoExportForYou sold only in Japan]], including the ''Winning Eleven'' series).

* UnexpectedCharacter: Not ''one'' character, but the inclusion of J. League (the top-flight pro football league in Japan) in ''FIFA 17'' can be seen as this, after so many years being exclusive to Konami's ''Winning Eleven'' series (the Japanese version of ''PES''), and especially considering that ''FIFA'' hasn't even had a Japanese football team since ''2003'' thanks to the JFA cock-blocking Western developers from depicting their football (earlier restricted to the Blue Samurai) in video games. On top of that, this is also the first official appearance ''ever'' of the league in a game for the international market (earlier games were [[NoExportForYou sold only in Japan]], including the ''Winning Eleven'' series).

** ''FIFA 15'' has received much criticism and flak for its "price range" system, which constricts players selling footballers to only a minimum and maximum amount of coins. This has effectively [[RuinedForever ruined the Ultimate Team mode in general]]. To add insult to injury, the price ranges axed off coin sponsors, which is how many ''FIFA'' Youtubers can get money so they can afford coins and make more ''FIFA'' videos.

** FIFA 17's ''UsefulNotes/NintendoSwitch'' release. After a promo trailer revealed it was not running on the PS4/X1/PC Frostbite engine, Nintendo fans were immediately livid over the idea of E.A releasing a gimped version of the game on the Switch. Much mockery of EA's 'historic partnership' commenced. This died down a bit after it was shown that the game wasn't nearly as gimped as expected, though what gimping is present still inspires anger from Nintendo fans who are already sensitive to bad ports after the Wii and Wii U eras.