Inazuma Eleven: Victory Road Review – Simple and Satisfying

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I had a blast playing Inazuma Eleven: Victory Road – it’s just really well made, and honestly, delightfully goofy. I was walking along and this sweet old lady stopped me with a simple request. But, to help her out, my team had to challenge her to a game of rock-paper-scissors – they call it Focus Squabbles in the game, which is hilarious!

In the game, one student needed my help finding a kraken – a strange, ghost-like creature that would always run away when I got close, leading me on a chase around South Cirrus. The main story lets you play as Destin Billows, a boy who initially doesn’t like football. He actually chose to go to South Cirrus Junior High specifically because the school doesn’t have a football team, due to a past event that damaged its reputation.

Destin quickly gets involved with his classmates, and together they try to rebuild the school’s football club and make it popular again. It won’t be easy, and you’ll help the team manage its image in a story that’s fairly predictable, but still enjoyable and lighthearted.

The game’s presentation is really appealing. It has a fun, lighthearted feel, and the beautiful environments make the experience immersive. Combined with a great soundtrack, it’s easy and enjoyable to explore the school and interact with other characters. Although it would have been nice to have some graphical settings to adjust, the game generally runs very well.

I was really enjoying my time with the game on my PS5, but I did notice a few little things. Sometimes during cutscenes, the frames would drop or stutter just a bit, and with HDR turned on, I saw some strange shimmering around the shadows. Honestly, it didn’t ruin the experience at all, but I figured it was worth mentioning in case anyone else notices it too.

Despite a few small flaws, this game is visually impressive. My main complaint is that the Story Mode starts slowly – it takes a while before you actually get to play as Destin, Cedric, and Briar Bloomhurst. The beginning of the game mostly involves completing tasks, collecting items, and enjoying fun, rock-paper-scissors-style battles with students and townspeople.

The game has a cheerful and optimistic feel, and its beautifully designed worlds really draw you in.

Okay, so the game is really easy to learn, and honestly, winning felt pretty natural. I was a little worried that might make it boring after a while, but it totally didn’t! It’s just made with so much charm and is so straightforward that it just works. I found myself completely absorbed, and before I knew it, I was lost in the game even while just walking around. The number of things you can do isn’t huge, but it doesn’t really matter because it’s so engaging.

Every character feels well-developed with clear reasons for their actions, keeping them engaging throughout the story. The English voice acting is decent, but subtitles are recommended. The character designs are excellent, especially Briar, who has a captivating presence. You’ll likely find the main character, Destin, quite interesting – his passion for football drives him to help the sport even though he can’t play himself.

As you build your football club by recruiting players, you’ll unlock fun team-building activities. Finding and connecting with new talent is key to the game, and it highlights your role as a creative and resourceful manager. Successfully recruiting players will also open up unique training sessions – these sessions add interesting challenges to the existing training system or let you practice important gameplay skills in a simulated environment.

Honestly, the game has a pretty cool social system. It’s not super complex, but getting messages from friends pop up while you’re playing really adds to the feeling of being there. You can reply with a few quick options, and check everything through an in-game menu called Inacord whenever you want. It’s not going to change gaming, but it’s a nice touch that I appreciate.

The film is made with genuine emotion and straightforwardness, creating an instant connection with the audience without them even realizing how it happened.

Harper Evans is a key character, burdened by his father’s reputation even though he’s incredibly talented. The other characters aren’t particularly memorable, but they serve their purpose. I found myself spending most of my time in Story Mode, though anime fans might enjoy Chronicle Mode more. This mode focuses on collecting random character packs – with twelve characters in each – to build teams, and it offers a huge number of options.

While the additional game modes weren’t as captivating as the main Story Mode, dedicated fans will likely enjoy Chronicle Mode and its ability to revisit moments from the Inazuma Eleven world. I was curious about it, but I kept wanting to return to the ongoing story with Destin and his team. I didn’t spend much time in Kizuna Station, as the city-building felt a bit dull compared to the rest of the game, though I expect some players will still find it appealing.

You can play against the computer or other players online in competitive mode, and there are plenty of other features to keep you entertained. However, the core football gameplay is what will really attract players to Inazuma Eleven Victory Road.

The game generally performs well, though it has a few flaws. The controls feel a little clunky and don’t quite match the complexity of the gameplay. It took some practice to master the controls and succeed in key moments, like Focus Battles. Even then, pulling off advanced moves felt difficult, especially when playing quickly. The fast-paced nature of the game doesn’t give you much time to learn the controls without having to pause, which can interrupt the flow of play.

I didn’t spend much time in Kizuna Station mode because I thought the city-building aspect was quite dull compared to the other parts of the game.

Overall, this is a fantastic game. While there are a few small issues, they’re easily overshadowed by how thrilling and unpredictable every match is. It’s a challenging game where you really have to work to overcome your opponent, and the anime-inspired elements are cleverly integrated, adding unique and enjoyable twists to the gameplay.

The game features a fast-paced cycle of dodging opponents, passing to teammates, and using special abilities for both attack and defense – all clearly inspired by anime sports action. This creates a great balance between offense and defense, making each match a true test of skill, just like a high-energy football game brought to life in an anime setting.

Honestly, my biggest frustration was how slowly the story mode eased you into everything the game could do. I really felt like I had to finish a good chunk of the story before I could even think about trying out other modes – I didn’t want to jump in without knowing the controls! It took a while before the game finally gave me a proper tutorial, letting me learn not just the basics, but also some of the more advanced moves. It felt like a long wait to get to that point, but once I did, I was ready to really play!

Starting with a simpler tutorial, like the one in Chronicle Mode, might have been a better approach, and we could have introduced more complicated features later on. However, we’re past that now. Thankfully, once you’re actually playing, the game is enjoyable and offers a good challenge, with the AI providing a solid fight even on lower difficulty settings. Be prepared to replay some battles, though, as it can be tricky to meet all the requirements to move forward.

You’ll have to replay sections because you haven’t completed the goals needed to move forward.

Inazuma Eleven: Victory Road is a genuinely enjoyable game. It’s charming and well-made, making it easy to overlook any shortcomings. It offers plenty of content and is simple to recommend, especially if you’re looking for a fun football game to play during the holidays. LEVEL 5 has successfully captured the spirit of the original anime, and even fans of the series should find it impressive.

If you enjoy football, anime, or both, this is well worth the cost. Fans of the anime will especially love this new installment. It takes a little time to get going, but once it does, you’ll really enjoy it.

This game was reviewed on the PlayStation 5.

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2025-12-17 15:19