Inazuma Eleven (video game)

Last updated

Inazuma Eleven
Inazuma Eleven.jpg
European cover art
Developer(s) Level-5
Publisher(s) Level-5
Director(s) Takehiro Fujii
Producer(s) Akihiro Hino
Composer(s) Yasunori Mitsuda
Series Inazuma Eleven
Platform(s) Nintendo DS
Nintendo 3DS
Release
  • JP: August 22, 2008
  • EU: January 28, 2011 [1]
  • UK: August 26, 2011
  • USA: February 13, 2014 (3DS) [2]
Genre(s) Role-playing, sports
Mode(s) Single-player, multiplayer

Inazuma Eleven [a] is a 2008 role-playing sports video game developed and published by Level-5 for the Nintendo DS. It was released in Japan in August 2008, and was localized in English in 2011. A Nintendo 3DS port was released in the Western world on February 13, 2014, as a downloadable game via the Nintendo eShop, including updated graphics and visuals, [2] [3] and is the first and only game in the series available in North America. The game was also included in an compilation for the Nintendo 3DS, Inazuma Eleven 1-2-3: Endou Mamoru's Legend, which released in Japan in December 2012.

Contents

The game has spawned a franchise, with numerous sequels and other media. The direct sequel for this game is Inazuma Eleven 2 . An Inazuma Eleven manga based on the games began serialization in CoroCoro Comic in May 2008, while an anime based on the games started airing in October 2008. Mitsui has also created a collectible card game tie-in. [4] [5] A remake is in development. [6]

Plot

The main character, Mark Evans (円堂 守, Endō Mamoru) , is a very talented goalkeeper and the grandson of the late David Evans (円堂 大介, Endō Daisuke) , one of the strongest goalkeepers in Japan and coach of the legendary football team, the Inazuma Eleven (though Endou is unaware of this). He is captain of his school's (Raimon Jr. High) football team, and dreams of competing in the Football Frontier tournament one day. The club is on the verge of disbanding, as the other members seem uninterested in training.

One day, a mysterious forward named Axel Blaze (豪炎寺 修也, Gōenji Shūya) moves to Mark's school. Axel used to be the top striker at his old school, and has gained the attention of Royal Academy (led by team captain Jude Sharp and coach Ray Dark), the most prestigious school in the area. They come to Raimon and challenge them to a football match, despite Axel refusing to join Raimon's team. They are much more powerful than anticipated, and Raimon's out-of-practice players take a horrible beating. Axel decides to join the team to help them out, and his sudden appearance surprises Royal, which he uses as an opportunity to score a goal. As the first goal scored against Royal Academy in years, Jude counts it as a win for Raimon and leaves with his team.

The victory gets Raimon a lot of attention, allowing them access into the Football Frontier tournament, which they gladly accept. They prove themselves as a force-to-be reckoned-with, winning all of their matches and reaching the finals. Before the match, Dark uses the team's coach to spy on them, and orders him to kill them by draining the brake fluid from their bus. His plan is foiled by Nelly Raimon the school counsellor's daughter, who promptly gets the teacher fired. At the match, Dark tries to kill them again by crushing them with girders. They survive thanks to a warning from Jude, and Dark is promptly arrested by Detective Gregory Smith. The match goes on, and after a long battle, Raimon emerges victorious.

The team then move onto the Football Frontier nationals, but learn they will be unable to compete without a coach. Detective Smith points Mark in the direction of a man named Seymour Hillman, who used to be part of Raimon's team from forty years ago, the Inazuma Eleven. He explains that the team was coached by Mark's grandfather David, and that they were an unstoppable soccer team. This excites Mark, until Hillman tells him about how their run was ended when their bus crashed on the way to their last Football Frontier match, injuring the players and preventing them from competing.

Despite his past, Hillman agrees to be the team's coach, and also gets the team training with the now-elderly members of the Inazuma Eleven. This training helps them win their next few matches, along with the assistance of Jude, who joins them after Royal is crushed by Zeus Junior High, who, unbeknownst to them, is being led by Dark. Zeus also continue to win all their games, each time leaving their opponents unable to continue. This means the final will be Raimon versus Zeus.

When Raimon arrive at the stadium for the finals (which is a floating palace in the sky), they see the members of Zeus drinking a so-called 'ambrosia', which turns out to be filled with drugs to improve their abilities. The first half begins, and Zeus begin winning instantly thanks to the ambrosia; benching most of the players and scoring goal after goal. As the first half ends, Nelly realises that the drinks are spiked, and goes to switch the drinks with regular water. Her plan succeeds, and Zeus are forced to play through the remainder of the game as a normal team, allowing Raimon to seize victory and win the Football Frontier.

Gameplay

By talking to Celia inside the team's clubroom, players can scout out other members of the school they want to add to their team, either by name/criteria, or by a 'connection map', which grows bigger the more players obtained from it. They can then locate them on the overworld and challenge them to a battle, which, if won, adds them to their party. Also, by talking to Natsumi in the clubroom, players can recruit people from the various teams they have beaten in the main story. There are nearly 1000 playable characters to collect, each with their own unique design, stats and abilities, but only 100 can be contained in a player's party at once.

The other part of the game is the football matches themselves. [7] Players control their team with the stylus, moving players and passing between teammates. Running into an opponent initiates a command duel, where the player can do things like dodge an opponent's attempt at a tackle, slide-tackle to take the ball away, or attempt to score a goal. The result of any of their players' actions in a duel are determined by their form, which is decided by their stats (Kick, Body, Control, Guard, Speed, Stamina, and Guts), the player's element (either Wood, Air, Earth or Fire, which work in a 'rock-paper-scissors'-like fashion), and the total number of players participating in an action.

Matches either take the form of the aforementioned 4-a-side kickabouts against members of the school, or a full-scale 11-a-side game against one of the other teams competing in the tournaments. In full-size games, players can have up to five substitutes ready to switch in during a time-out. Before a match begins, players can change their team's formation using cards they've obtained by beating other teams and looking in chests. Winning matches grants teams experience points (which level up their players), prestige points (which are used to buy items in shops and to recover FP and TP), and friendship points (which are spent when scouting and recruiting new players), as well as recovery items, equipment, and formation cards.

Instead of making standard movements in duels like dodging or shooting, players can also use special abilities, called "hissatsus", to learn either by leveling up or using an unusual move manually. They are typically more powerful and effective than their regular counterparts and can typically only be stopped by other moves, but cost TP (Technical Points) to use. They are divided into four categories: Shoot hissatsus are used to score goals; Dribble hissatsus allow the player to get past an opponent; Block hissatsus take the ball away from the opponent; and Catch hissatsus are able to stop shots that catching normally wouldn't achieve. These abilities include summoning a dragon to shoot the ball or creating a giant hand of energy to save a shot. Special moves also have elements, which give them a boost when used by a player of the same element.

Sometimes, the victor of a duel can receive a foul, resulting in a free kick (or penalty). Other mid-match abilities include: time-outs, where the player can pause the match to plan movements or switch in subs and then initiate them after un-pausing; charges, where the player taps on a team-member rapidly to give them a speed boost (at the cost of Fitness Points, or FP); and firing-up, which boosts a team's overall performance.

Reception

The game received generally favorable reviews according to review aggregator Metacritic. [8] The Japanese magazine Famitsu gave the game a total score of 36 out of 40, with two reviewers giving it a 9 out of 10, one giving it a full 10, and another giving it an 8. [11] The Dutch reviewer Gamer.nl gave the game a score of 8 out of 10, while the Spanish reviewers 3D Juegos, Vandal Online and VicioJuegos gave it scores of 8.0 out of 10, 8.2 out of 10, and 83 out of 100, respectively. [16] Official Nintendo Magazine dedicated a six-page spread to Inazuma Eleven and showcased the game on their front cover, awarding an 89% score.

Fragland gave the game a score of 84%, praising its "original combat system, beautiful and cute graphics, good sound and a very tight and deep gameplay and finishing." [18] Nintendo Life gave it 8 stars out of 10, concluding that it is a "refreshing take on" the RPG genre and that "the compelling storyline, overall charm and well-structured fantasy style football system" will create "an experience that RPG lovers will come to cherish." [14]

It was the first best-selling game in Japan the week of its release at 41,000 copies. [19] The game sold 29,000 copies in its second week and 14,000 copies in its third week. [20] [21]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yasunori Mitsuda</span> Japanese composer (born 1972)

Yasunori Mitsuda is a Japanese composer and musician. He is best known for his work in video games, primarily for the Chrono, Xeno, Shadow Hearts, and Inazuma Eleven franchises, among various others. Mitsuda began composing music for his own games in high school, later attending a music college in Tokyo. While still a student, he was granted an intern position at the game development studio Wolf Team.

<i>Pokémon</i> (video game series) Japanese video game series

Pokémon is a Japanese series of video games developed by Game Freak and published by Nintendo and The Pokémon Company under the Pokémon franchise. It was created by Satoshi Tajiri with assistance from Ken Sugimori. The first games, Pocket Monsters Red and Green, were released in 1996 in Japan for the Game Boy, later released outside of Japan as Pokémon Red Version and Blue Version. The main series of role-playing video games (RPGs), referred as the "core series" by their developers, has continued on each generation of Nintendo's handhelds. The most recently released core series games, Pokémon Scarlet and Violet, were released on November 18, 2022, for the Nintendo Switch.

Super Smash Bros. is a crossover platform fighting game series published by Nintendo. The series was created by Masahiro Sakurai, who has directed every game in the series. The series is known for its unique gameplay objective which differs from that of traditional fighters, in that the aim is to increase damage counters and knock opponents off the stage instead of depleting life bars.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Level-5 (company)</span> Japanese video game developer

Level-5 Inc. is a Japanese video game developer and publisher based in Fukuoka. The company was founded in October 1998 by Akihiro Hino after he departed from Riverhillsoft. Early in its history, the company enjoyed a close relationship with Sony Computer Entertainment, with many of its games then funded by and produced in conjunction with them. Level-5 began self-publishing its games in Japan by the late 2000s, with other companies such as Nintendo handling publishing worldwide. The company is best known for their Dark Cloud, Professor Layton, Inazuma Eleven, Ni no Kuni, Yo-kai Watch, and Snack World franchises.

<i>Inazuma Eleven 2</i> 2009 video game

Inazuma Eleven 2 is a 2009 role-playing and sports video game for the Nintendo DS by Level-5. It was released on 1 October 2009, in Japan, and was released on 16 March 2012, in Europe. It's the sequel to Inazuma Eleven. There are two versions of the game, Firestorm and Blizzard.

<i>Super Street Fighter IV: 3D Edition</i> 2011 video game

Super Street Fighter IV: 3D Edition is a 2011 fighting video game developed and published by Capcom for the Nintendo 3DS handheld game console. Released as a launch title in all regions, it is a port of the console game Super Street Fighter IV; the '3D' in its name refers to the 3DS hardware stereoscopic capibilities rather than a change to the in-game graphics or gameplay style. The game has sold 1.3 million units worldwide for 3DS.

<i>Inazuma Eleven</i> (manga) Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Tenya Yabuno

Inazuma Eleven is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Tenya Yabuno based on a series of video games created by Level-5. The manga has been published by Shogakukan in CoroCoro Comic since the June 2008 issue. The manga series won the 2010 Kodansha Manga Award and 2011 Shogakukan Manga Award in the Children's Manga category.

<i>Radiant Historia</i> 2010 video game

Radiant Historia is a role-playing video game co-developed by Atlus and Headlock for the Nintendo DS. It was released in Japan in 2010 by Atlus, and in North America in 2011 by their subsidiary Atlus USA. An expanded remake for the Nintendo 3DS, titled Radiant Historia: Perfect Chronology, was released in 2017 in Japan and released in North America and PAL territories the following year, with the latter version being published by Deep Silver.

T-Pistonz+KMC was a Japanese pop group that formerly operated under the "FRAME" label; a joint venture between Level-5, with the Avex Group and formerly with the Up-Front Group. They actually debuted on UFG imprint "hachama".

<i>Inazuma Eleven GO</i> (video game) 2011 video game

Inazuma Eleven GO is a 2011 role-playing video game and sports video game for the Nintendo 3DS by Level-5. It was released on December 15, 2011 in Japan and Europe on June 13, 2014 and released on July 18, 2015 in Australia and New Zealand. There are two versions of the game, Shine and Dark, which was released in Europe as Light and Shadow. An Inazuma Eleven GO manga based on the game began serialization in CoroCoro Comic, while an anime TV season based on the game produced by OLM started airing on May 4, 2011.

<i>Inazuma Eleven 3</i> 2010 video game

Inazuma Eleven 3 is a 2010 role-playing video game and sports video game for the Nintendo DS by Level-5. It's the sequel to Inazuma Eleven 2. There are 3 versions of the game: Spark and Bomber, released on July 1, 2010 in Japan, followed on December 16, 2010 by The Ogre.

<i>Inazuma Eleven GO</i> (manga) 2011 manga and anime

Inazuma Eleven GO is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Tenya Yabuno. It is based on the Level-5 video game of the same title. The manga has been published by Shogakukan in CoroCoro Comic.

<i>Inazuma Eleven GO: Kyūkyoku no Kizuna Gurifon</i> 2011 film

Inazuma Eleven GO: Kyūkyoku no Kizuna Griffon is a 2011 anime film. It is the 2nd film based on the popular manga and anime series Inazuma Eleven series. The film premiered on December 23, 2011 in Japan. The movie was shown in both traditional 2D and stereoscopic 3D.

<i>Inazuma Eleven GO 2: Chrono Stone</i> 2012 video game

Inazuma Eleven GO 2: Chrono Stone, or Inazuma Eleven GO Chrono Stones in Europe, is a 2012 role-playing and sports video game for the Nintendo 3DS by Level-5. It was released on December 13, 2012 in Japan and in Europe on March 27, 2015. It's the sequel to Inazuma Eleven GO There are two versions of the game, Neppuu, Wildfire in Europe, and Raimei ("Thunderclap"), Thunderflash in Europe. An Inazuma Eleven GO manga based on the game began serialization in CoroCoro Comic, while an anime TV season based on the game produced by OLM started airing on April 18, 2012. The story follows star Arion Sherwind, his team, Raimon, and mysterious friendly allies who have come from the future, as they use a time machine to journey across history and attempt to prevent mysterious organisation from the future's plans to erase soccer from history. A sequel, Inazuma Eleven GO: Galaxy, released in 2013.

<i>Inazuma Eleven</i> season 1 Season of television series

The first season of Inazuma Eleven aired on TV Tokyo from October 5, 2008 to March 29, 2009. The season is based on Level-5's video game of the same name. The season was produced by OLM under the direction of Katsuhito Akiyama and consists of 26 episodes.

<i>Inazuma Eleven GO: Galaxy</i> (TV series) Season of television series

Inazuma Eleven GO: Galaxy is the third and final season of the Japanese anime television series Inazuma Eleven GO. It is based on Level-5's video game of the same name. The season consists of 43 episodes. The season aired on the TV Tokyo network from May 8, 2013 to March 19, 2014. The season was produced by Level-5 in conjunction with TV Tokyo, Dentsu, and OLM.

<i>Kirby Battle Royale</i> 2017 video game

Kirby Battle Royale is a brawler multiplayer video game in the Kirby series. Developed by HAL Laboratory and published by Nintendo, the game was released on the Nintendo 3DS handheld game console in Europe and Japan in November 2017, and in North America in January 2018.

<i>Inazuma Eleven: Ares</i> Season of television series

Inazuma Eleven: Ares is a 2018 Japanese television anime television series produced by OLM. Part of the Inazuma Eleven franchise. It's a sequel to the special Inazuma Eleven: Reloaded. A sequel Inazuma Eleven: Orion no Kokuin started airing on October 5, 2018. An English dub of the series produced by SDI Media began airing on Disney XD on April 13, 2019, replacing Yo-kai Watch, another anime based on a Level-5 video game series by the same dubbing company. This is the third Inazuma Eleven series to receive an English dub after the original series and Inazuma Eleven GO.

<i>Inazuma Eleven GO: Galaxy</i> 2013 video game

Inazuma Eleven GO: Galaxy is a 2013 role-playing video game and sports video game for the Nintendo 3DS developed and published by Level-5. It's the sequel to Inazuma Eleven GO: Chrono Stones It was released in Japan on December 5, 2013. There are two versions of the game, Big Bang and Supernova. An Inazuma Eleven GO manga based on the game began serialization in Corocoro Comic, while an anime TV season based on the game produced by OLM was aired from May 2013 to March 2014 in Japan.

Mario & Luigi is a series of role-playing video games published by Nintendo and originally developed by AlphaDream prior to their bankruptcy. The series is a spin-off from Nintendo's trademark Super Mario series and stars the titular characters Mario and Luigi. The games' stories typically follow the two exploring locales unique to the series on a quest to defeat an antagonist, most of the time original. It began in 2003 on the Game Boy Advance with Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga, with the latest original installment being Mario & Luigi: Brothership, which released for the Nintendo Switch on November 7, 2024. Two titles in the series, Superstar Saga and Bowser's Inside Story, were remade for the Nintendo 3DS with extra content, with the latter being the final game in the series developed by AlphaDream before they declared bankruptcy in 2019.

References

  1. ↑ Dutton, Fred (23 November 2010). "Inazuma Eleven heading to Europe". Eurogamer . Retrieved 26 November 2023.
  2. 1 2 Loveridge, Lynzee (6 January 2014). "Nintendo Lists Inazuma Eleven 3DS Game in N. America". Anime News Network . Retrieved 6 January 2020.
  3. ↑ Luster, Joseph (6 January 2014). "Nintendo.com Lists 'Inazuma Eleven' Game for North American Release". Crunchyroll . Retrieved 6 January 2020.
  4. ↑ Loo, Egan (14 May 2008). "Manga, Anime, Cards Announced for Inazuma 11 Videogame". Anime News Network . Retrieved 6 January 2018.
  5. ↑ Tanaka, John (14 May 2008). "Level-5 Announces Console Title". IGN . News Corporation . Retrieved 6 January 2018.
  6. ↑ Hagues, Alana (24 September 2024). "Inazuma Eleven: Victory Road Finally Launches June 2025, DS Game Getting Remake". Nintendo Life. Retrieved 24 September 2024.
  7. ↑ Liebl, Lance (13 February 2014). "Soccer RPG Inazuma Eleven available on 3DS eShop today". GameZone. Retrieved 6 January 2018.
  8. 1 2 "Inazuma Eleven". Metacritic . CBS Interactive. Retrieved 6 January 2018.
  9. ↑ Ruscher, Wesley (20 February 2014). "Review: Inazuma Eleven". Destructoid . Archived from the original on 7 November 2018. Retrieved 6 January 2018.
  10. ↑ Stanton, Rich (25 August 2011). "Inazuma Eleven Review • Page 1 •". Eurogamer . Retrieved 6 January 2018.
  11. 1 2 Riley, Adam (6 August 2008). "Level-5's New Nintendo DS RPG Highly Rated by Famitsu". Cubed3. Retrieved 6 January 2018.
  12. ↑ Raze, Ashton (2 September 2011). "Inazuma Eleven Review". GameSpot . CBS Interactive. Retrieved 6 January 2018.
  13. ↑ Krupa, Daniel (19 January 2012). "Inazuma Eleven Review". IGN. News Corporation. Archived from the original on 18 March 2012. Retrieved 9 November 2011.
  14. 1 2 Wild, Kim (6 March 2011). "Inazuma Eleven (DS)". Nintendo Life. Retrieved 6 January 2018.
  15. ↑ Parkin, Simon (25 September 2011). "Inazuma Eleven review". Official Nintendo Magazine. Archived from the original on 24 September 2011. Retrieved 31 January 2021.
  16. 1 2 3 4 "Inazuma Eleven". GameStats. Archived from the original on 11 November 2011. Retrieved 8 April 2011.
  17. ↑ Riley, Adam (16 August 2011). "Inazuma Eleven (DS)". Cubed3. Retrieved 6 January 2018.
  18. 1 2 Nelson, Anna (5 March 2011). "Inazuma Eleven (Nintendo DS)". Fragland. Retrieved 6 January 2018.
  19. ↑ Jenkins, David (28 August 2008). "Japanese Charts: Soccer Releases Dominate In Slow Week". Gamasutra . Archived from the original on 15 June 2019. Retrieved 5 January 2018.
  20. ↑ Jenkins, David (4 February 2008). "Japanese Charts: Nintendo Back In Number One Rhythm". Gamasutra. Archived from the original on 21 December 2008. Retrieved 6 January 2018.
  21. ↑ Jenkins, David (11 September 2008). "Japanese Charts: Rhythm Slows To A Crawl In Sluggish Week". Gamasutra. Archived from the original on 21 December 2008. Retrieved 6 January 2018.

Notes

  1. ↑ イナズマイレブン (Inazuma Irebun) in Japan
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.