Inazuma Eleven: Victory Road was a fascinating demo that told me absolutely nothing about it as an RPG

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Even in ideal situations, getting a good impression of a game at a trade show is tough – it’s rare a game can really show what it’s made of in a 15-20 minute demo, especially when that demo also has to quickly teach you how to play. But sometimes you get a game like Inazuma Eleven: Victory Road – it’s not a *bad* game, not at all, but it’s hard to discuss it as an RPG or even focus on the story. The demo felt like a long tutorial, simply explaining how to play what is clearly a complex Football Simulation game.

I only have a basic understanding of how RPG mechanics work. Essentially, characters have stats that determine how well they attack and defend, and your skills affect those stats. Winning a match isn’t just about how skillfully you control your units; it depends just as much on those stats. The tutorial demonstrates this by pitting you against a much stronger team. No matter how well you play, there’s a clear limit – the stats of your starting team simply aren’t enough to overcome that initial disadvantage.

It’s clear that improving your characters – boosting their stats and teaching them new skills – will be the most important part of the game. Once you understand what your team does well and where they struggle, everything else will start to make sense. I really enjoyed the demo I played, and I found the systems for breaking down the opponent’s defense, creating safe passing lanes, and even aiming shots once you get into the Zone to be quite fun. Of course, that also includes setting up a strong defense to stop them! Even without fully understanding how the progression system works – which will ultimately tie everything together – the basic gameplay feels really solid. I just wish I’d had a few more hours to get a better idea of how all the different elements will combine in the final game.

Let’s talk about how the game looks. We were able to play it on the Switch 2, and it ran and looked fantastic – not a surprise, given Level 5’s previous game, Fantasy Life i: The Girl Who Steals Time, also performed well on the system. Level 5 claims the game aims for 4k60 while docked, but I’m a little skeptical of that specific number. However, considering the game’s PC requirements and how good it actually looked on the Switch 2, I don’t think there’s much to criticize. It looked great while docked, and the performance was consistently smooth – we didn’t notice any slowdowns or issues.

Also, it sounds like the game’s translation is moving along quickly. The previous delay was because they needed more time to translate the game into all the different languages it supports – and even though only Japanese and English voiceovers will be available, that’s still a significant amount of work, given how large the game is. Interestingly, when I chose my language for the demo, I could switch back to the original Japanese character names. However, this option doesn’t apply to the English dub, which uses the translated names. I’m confident this won’t be an issue if you use the Japanese audio track – in fact, that’s probably why the option is there. But I thought it was still worth mentioning. It’s a nice detail, even if it’s a small one.

I’m really hoping that the game finally comes out next month, as planned! Everything seems technically sound right now, which is a great sign. I’d mentioned before that Level 5 was sticking to the release date they showed at Tokyo Game Show 2025, but honestly, I’ve gotten so used to their last-minute delays that I didn’t even *notice* when Professor Layton’s release window shifted to 2026! I’m crossing my fingers that was the last of them – if Inazuma Eleven: Victory Road does actually launch this time around. We’ll have a full review for you later this year, so stay tuned!

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2025-10-03 16:56