It was part of Konami's Hyper Sports series which included Hyper Olympic (Track & Field outside of Japan), its sequel Hyper Sports and Hyper Athlete. The game was only released in Japan and Europe. As the controller of a NES game console has only two buttons, the gameplay is understandably simple, on the ball, one button for pass and slide tackle, that can be also used for volley, and one for lob and for headers while off the ball.

The game allows two players, either against each other or both against the computer in either a single match or a tournament. There are twenty-four playable international teams, Germany, the Netherlands, Italy, Argentina, France, Spain, England, Brazil, Poland, Uruguay, Hungary, USSR (now defunct), Sweden, Czechoslovakia, Cameroon, Ireland, Japan, Korea (corresponds to South Korea rather than North Korea), United States, Mexico, Australia, Scotland, Colombia and Yugoslavia. Before the game, the player can choose the formation of their team as well as number of overall attributes, including offense and defense, as well as luck. Unlike other similar games at the time, Hyper Soccer featured more advanced moves such as bicycle kicks, flying headers and volleys. The game features a scrolling view of the pitch and 2-Dimensional sprites for the players, one of two background music tracks can be chosen to play during the match.

Unusual for a sports game, there is no on-screen display of the game's score or the time remaining.