Reviews// Inazuma Eleven GO: Light and Shadow

Thankfully the environments you run around in are lovely to look at. Each area feels unique and although it takes a while for the game to open up, once it does it creates a memorable world.

When you’re not running around you get to play football and it’s approach to the sport is like nothing you’ve experienced before. Everything is done with use of the stylus. Dragging players into positions and tapping them to pass. If you get close enough to the goal or an opposing player the game stops and you’ll have action choices.

You can block or try a sliding tackle, charge at a defender or try and skilfully skip past them. The problem with this mechanic is that it’s not clear if there is a right or wrong way of approaching each situation. The outcome is based on stats and numbers and it feels as though either both will work or fail rendering each choice you make pointless.

There doesn’t seem to be any real strategy behind the gameplay and that makes sense when you consider that matches make up a huge portion of the game’s plot and as such have to follow the script. Because of this there are times where you’ll be unable to score, despite playing out of your skin.

This isn’t always the case though and you can have the odd satisfying game. Most noticeable of these are when you challenge people around the town to a five-a-side match. The matches have objectives and if you achieve them you’ll be rewarded with experience points across your team.

However even these training games begin get old before the game is finished and unlike usual random encounters in RPGs, they’re activated by talking to selected NPCs. You don’t have to do them so after asking everyone for a game for the first four hours or so you’ll spend the rest of the game running past them.

The most fun you’ll have with Inazuma Eleven Go is found within team building. Each member of your team is genuinely unique and you’ll love some and hate others. However the game lets you replace those you don’t like with ones you do and there are no lack of players to choose from.

As your players build into a team you’ll start to pick out your favourites and as a result of your connection with each player, you’ll enjoy the matches a hell of a lot more. It’s a great feeling when a defender you’ve spent time levelling up makes a last ditch challenge to keep you ahead in the game.

Inazuma Eleven Go is an enjoyable experience but falls short of being an essential one.

If you’re into Japanese RPGs you might find that it’s too simplistic to really scratch your itch, however if you’re happy to go along with the ride then Inzuma Eleven Go is a fun enough game to justify our purchase.


Pro:
+ Looks wonderful
+ Team building is fun
+ Endearing story line and characters

Cons:
- No real challenge
- Too many fetch quests

SPOnG Score: 3/5