Inazuma Eleven GO review: Light & Shadow

Welcome the Fifth Sector.

3DS tested version.

Inazuma Eleven GO: Light & Shadow are the new video game couple, inspired by the animated series of the same name, coming to Nintendo 3DS on June 4, 2014. These new chapters take place 10 years after the events that occurred at Football Frontier International seen in the trilogy of Inazuma Eleven 3: Lightning Flash, Explosive Fire (you can find our review HERE) ed Ogre to Attack (review HERE).

A new institution is formed after the successes of Inazuma Japan, dictating the law on the entire football world, including schools and academies. There Raimon will be no exception.

A different football

Arion Sherwind is the name of the protagonist of this new football adventure Level-5: our hero is ready to make his entrance to the Raimon Jr. High and can't wait to join the football club! To complicate the audition, however, we think the difficulties of the school, which ended up under the lens of Fifth Sector, the global body that now controls the football world. By sending the phenomenal official Victor Blade, the Fifth Sector will succeed to dismantle a large part of the team, but Arion's great fortitude will allow the team and the coach to find new hope in him.

The plot continues just like in an anime, with numerous interludes well-made filmed. The idea of ​​a football controlled by rules other than those of fair play and sporting values ​​is very topical: it will be so interesting to discover the various background that brought this sport to the brink and, even if we are not faced with a plot of the highest level, the various chapters of the story mode will keep us busy for many hours of gameplay.

Never change a winning team

No, the new team from Raimon Jr. High does not see any glory of the past appear, except in secondary and supporting roles (Mark Evans, for example, will make his comeback in a whole new guise). Let's talk about the gameplay of Inazuma Eleven which has, over the years, implemented a very small number of changes, always maintaining a winning formula.

As in the previous episodes of the series, the control of the players will take place via touch-screen and it will be possible to decide their movements, passes, shots and much more. Also note the introduction of a new summoning mechanic, which will allow some specific characters to take advantage of spirits warriors that their statistics will increase and that they will make it possible to use new special techniques; missions are also introduced to be carried out during certain games and which will decree the temporary suspension of the race timer to allow us to reach a certain area of ​​the field or the area around an opponent, all this to ensure that the plot can go on without hindrance of any kind, also interspersed with numerous cut-scenes in CG.

Unchanged is then the system of growth of the characters which, as we are now used to, will see us acquire experience points and increase in level, improve statistics. Also present are the now classic training points which, in exchange for Points Carisma, will allow us to improve a certain feature after a minigame that will see us struggling with a sort of slot machine.

What has been changed for the better, however, is the system of recruiting new players within the team; if in Inazuma Eleven 3 this took place exclusively at the end of a challenge or with the help of distributors, in Inazuma Eleven Go there will be particular characters assigned to this specific task who, after having satisfied certain requirements and having paid a certain sum in Charisma Points, will allow us to acquire new talents. The requirements to be achieved, however, will not always be simple: it will in fact be necessary to defeat a certain team, photograph a certain object within the game, via the camera that will be provided to us, or be in possession of a particular piece of equipment to be able to make the player join our team.

As usual, the game phases will include exploration phases in which it will be possible to venture into different scenarios where to find chests (often hidden and discoverable only by careful rotation of the camera) and clash phases. The matches, however, will no longer be random and the matches can be chosen among the various opponents scattered within the game scenarios.

Although the changes in Inazuma Eleven Go: Light are really small, the title still maintains a very high quality standard now at the base of the saga, also significantly improving many aspects relating to the control of the characters on the playing field, especially as regards the reactivity of the commands and the precision with which the touches are now register, ensuring a significant improvement in the gaming experience.

We also take note of the will of Level-5 to make the title more competitive; Inazuma Eleven Go: Light in fact it is much more difficult than the previous episodes and we will often run into defeats even in less important matches.

Connectivity and content

Inazuma Eleven Go: Light & Shadow will allow from the day of release the connection to the internet servers of the title which will contain from time to time new players, special techniques and warrior spirits that will be distributed according to the will of Nintendo. There will also be modalities such as StreetPass Challenge that will allow us to record the training data of a friend and be able to face his team at any time we want; it will also be possible to compete in challenges up to a maximum of four players in order to be able to decide who really is the strongest of all.

No changes to game modes multiplayer, the new title in the Inazuma Eleven series directed on Nintendo 3DS does not disappoint and also this time maintains a very high quality standard that will delight many fans of the saga.

Born for 3DS!

Contrary to the other chapters in the series they have achieved, the new Inazuma Eleven it is the first real chapter to have been natively developed on Nintendo 3DS (Japanese release in 2011), where the previous episodes were all the fruits of a port from the original version released on Nintendo DS several years earlier. The difference is visible from the very first moments of the game: the graphic quality of the title shows a big gap compared to Inazuma Eleven 3 and boasts better use of the 3D as well as better animations and textures, all seasoned with a brand new graphic style that did not disappoint.

The sound remains mostly unchanged, guaranteeing a very high level of quality in the in phases CG and allowing us to enjoy some of the most important conversations with a dubbing made as a work of art; there colonna sonora it will not surprise, but it will let itself be enjoyed during our intense phases of the game, whether it is aimed at exploration, at the growth of the characters or at the continuation of the plot. Inazuma Eleven it has therefore reached a new evolutionary stage and is not afraid to get involved by showing its claws.

Final comment

Inazuma Eleven Go: Light & Shadow are by far the two best chapters of the saga, a must-have for all fans and an excellent opportunity for those who have never played any chapter of the series. Simple but deep game mechanics and a high profile graphic and sound style will allow anyone to enjoy games whose quality guarantees Level-5.

The changes made in this new chapter are notable: while keeping the fundamental mechanics unchanged, the new features make the franchise more exciting. That the saga is finally ready to land on Wii U in high definition?