| Inazuma Eleven Victory Road | |||
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| Release Date | Gameplay & Story | Pre-Order & DLC | Review |
Inazuma Eleven Victory Road Review Overview
What is Inazuma Eleven Victory Road?
Inazuma Eleven: Victory Road is a sports simulation RPG based on the titular football manga and game series, Inazuma Eleven. The game features a brand-new storyline, starring a new protagonist: Unmei Sasanami (Destin Billows in the dub), who reignites his passion for football after recovering from a rare heart condition.
The game features JRPG elements in the main story, where battles are conducted in an ATB-style rock-paper-scissors combat system. Additionally, it also has mini-games that are considered Special Training for experience points to level the various characters in the story.
However, the main highlight of the game is the arcade-style football simulation, where players compete in either 5v5 or 11v11 football matches. It also features several progression mechanics and skills for the characters so that they can use various abilities while on the pitch. Lastly, the game also has a Chronicle Mode, where players can experience a summarized version of the franchise’s many storylines and collect several characters that have appeared throughout the games and anime.
Inazuma Eleven Victory Road features:
⚫︎ Sports JRPG Hybrid Story Mode
⚫︎ Arcade Football With Easy-to-Understand Mechanics
⚫︎ Over 5200 Characters to Collect
⚫︎ Various Minigames
⚫︎ Brand New INAZUMA Storyline
⚫︎ Replay Past Matches in Chronicle Mode
For more gameplay details, read everything we know about Inazuma Eleven Victory Road’s gameplay and story.
| Digital Storefronts | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Steam |
 PlayStation |
 Xbox |
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 Switch |
 Switch 2 |
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| $69.99 | |||||
Inazuma Eleven Victory Road Pros & Cons
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
 Engaging Arcade Football Surprisingly Deep Mechanics Over the Top Visuals Insane Amount of Content |
RPG Feels Out of Place English Voice Acting Isn’t Great Needs More Tutorials |
Inazuma Eleven Victory Road Story - 9/10
The narrative is as cheesy and as inspiring as it gets, especially if you already know what to expect from an INAZUMA title. While the overall plot is as expected, the way it shines a spotlight on each character makes it special and memorable. It also delves surprisingly deep into the different motivations, psyches, and philosophies as the characters develop, resulting in relatable storylines despite the over-the-top presentation.
Inazuma Eleven Victory Road Gameplay - 8/10
The gameplay as a whole can feel overloaded, as certain mechanics don’t really need to be there. The JRPG elements included in the Story Mode are out of place, as they get relegated to side content early on and don’t feel rewarding when engaging with them. Additionally, the game has several bugs, nothing extremely game-breaking, but enough to annoy you from time to time. However, all of those still pale in comparison with its arcade football gameplay, as it’s a great mix of simplicity and depth and remains to be the main highlight of the game.
Inazuma Eleven Victory Road Visuals - 9/10
The overall visuals of the game are amazing, which is to be expected given how they go overboard with the special effects and animations with the special moves. The vibrant colors also make the various character designs pop and stand out from each other. The separate animated cutscenes are also worth highlighting, as the job done by MAPPA can be considered movie quality.
Inazuma Eleven Victory Road Audio - 8/10
One of the highlights of INAZUMA media has been its soundtrack, and it’s no different here. The music heightens the vibe of the game during gameplay. While all the other aspects are decent enough, the spotty voice acting is a big problem. The voice acting of certain characters either sounds flat in their delivery, or the lines were cut up and edited with no real care. If anything, the voice acting severely anchors the game a lot, especially since there’s voice acting for almost every line.
Inazuma Eleven Victory Road Value for Money - 10/10
Priced at $69.99, Inazuma Eleven Victory Road has content that will keep you busy for days, weeks, and maybe even months, depending on your pace. The Story Mode alone will keep you playing the game for upwards of 40 hours, along with the variety of content that it brings. Additionally, Chronicle Mode is also a potentially infinite trove of content, as you’ll be busy finishing older INAZUMA storylines and recruiting and grinding for characters to add to your team.
Inazuma Eleven Victory Road Overall - 88/100
Inazuma Eleven Victory Road is a triumph, one that I’m glad finally came out of development hell. The over-the-top and stylized visuals and the iconic soundtrack are the highlights of the game, alongside the arcade-style football that’s fun for anyone, regardless of their knowledge of the sport or the series. It has a few issues here and there regarding gameplay and voice acting, but it’s a game that deserves the hype that’s been brewing for almost a decade.
Inazuma Eleven Victory Road Review: The Road Was Worth the Wait
Who doesn’t love a good sports drama?
The depiction of passion through sports and competitive spirit has always been captivating for me. If anything, I would say it hits even harder if you’re an athlete, a fan, or if you just have that competitive mentality. The complexity of the drama can vary, but one thing’s for sure: what makes a good sports drama compelling is how it explores its characters and how they find their passions.
Truth be told, I’m not as big a fan of the Inazuma Eleven franchise as I should be, especially since I’m a fan of both video games and sports in general. My exposure to the series was mostly limited to the anime’s first season and a few of its games, but I never got to experience it in its entirety.
That being said, I was keeping an eye on the franchise’s upcoming game, Inazuma Eleven Victory Road. I’ve been wanting to see a completely new take on the game now that it’s been more than half a decade since the last anime. Announced all the way back in 2019, Inazuma Eleven Victory Road has undergone multiple delays and even changes to its narrative, characters, and even gameplay.
With the game finally released, does Victory Road have enough to sate the longtime fans who’ve been waiting for so long? Let’s find out.
Welcome to South Cirrus Academy
One of the big reasons why the game was so highly anticipated was because of its completely new narrative. The Story Mode follows Destin Billows (Unmei Sasanami), whose journey as a high school football player was cut short due to a heart condition. While he tries his hardest to hate the very sport that he can’t experience anymore, he can’t bring himself to hate it, and a fateful encounter with delinquent student Briar Bloomhurst (Sakurazaki Jouji) reawakens his passion for football.
To put the icing on the cake, the whole journey leads up to a showdown with Haru Endo (Harper Evans), the son of longtime protagonist and Raimon legend, Mamoru Endo (Mark Evans). I won’t go too far into the story, as I believe it’s one of the best aspects of experiencing the series.
But to put it simply, it’s your typical shonen anime narrative, but with very interesting characters and even resolutions. Even Haru had his own character arc, which was a welcome addition to the story of exploring the burden of being at the summit of competition for such a long time. Truth be told, I was shocked by how engaged I was in the story, as this isn’t my first foray into sports anime.
The whole journey of gathering the team, restoring the football club, training each character, and even having each character have their own respective character arcs was compelling, even if it was predictable at certain times. Yet, it never felt boring, outside of the first chapter, as the entirety was a beautiful blend of comedy, intensity, and emotional moments, one that was a treat to watch and play through.
Speaking of, MAPPA did an amazing job of animating the other cutscenes. That’s not to say the in-game rendered cutscenes didn’t look good, though, as they were also a work of art. If anything, the visuals and graphics of the game guarantee that the story will eventually be a full-on animated series or a movie.
If the story mode wasn’t enough, the Chronicle Mode lets you play through the series’ football matches. This was something I really appreciated and enjoyed playing through, as it gave me more context and more details about the thousands of different characters and scenarios that were in the series. This is also where the whole team-building aspect goes into play, which we’ll get into later.
It’s More Than Football
So, to circle back to the Story Mode, one of the big reasons why the Story Mode wasn’t very enjoyable at the start was because of its initial RPG gameplay. To be completely honest with you, it’s not great. To the point where, as soon as I didn’t need to do any of the RPG mechanics, I skipped it altogether. If anything, I was certainly glad that it wasn’t forced after the first few chapters, since this was definitely the weakest part of the gameplay.
Imagine Final Fantasy’s Active Time Battle system, where you and your party have a choice between rock-paper-scissors to deal "damage" against your enemies. The main difference is, you can see the enemy’s choice of attack as clear as day, and you only need to look at how the enemies are dancing or simply look at the icon right below their health bars.
There’s no depth to it; it was more of an additional gameplay mechanic that padded the RPG aspect of the game. I would even say that the Story Mode would probably benefit from not having it at all. If it resolved a lot faster, then maybe I can see the appeal, but the whole process of the battle and its pace is just way too slow.
However, the whole theme of the RPG battles aligns thematically, since it’s portrayed as a way for Destin and his team to avoid social interactions. I will admit that it’s shown in a way that’s unique, and I applaud them for that.
On the other hand, the mini-games, which are labeled as Special Training regiments, are fun. Some of these mini-games range from simple timed button presses to actual rhythm games, which add to the variety of the things you can do in Story Mode.
This made the grind to level up the players of South Cirrus quite enjoyable, where there were even times when I would maximize the EXP bonus outside of playing the actual football games. It’s also a huge bonus that the whole team benefits from the training, meaning you don’t really need to repetitively do the mini-games again and again.
Total Football By The Numbers
So how about the actual football game? Well, it’s not as difficult as regular football, that’s for sure. It’s more of a casual arcade-style football game, where the mechanics are fairly simple to grasp and easy to execute.
The interactions in the game are a numbers game, where the higher number will win the interaction. There are a couple of things that influence these, however, like the character’s element, equipment, stats, and, most importantly, Special Moves, but in the grand scheme of things, the higher number always wins. For example, if a shot’s power is higher than the goalkeeper’s KP (Keeper Power), then the shot will go through and you will be able to score a goal.
Focus Battles are when two opposing players are locked in a "duel" when they get into range of one another. The attacking player will have to break through the defensive player’s line of defense by dashing through the side that’s not defended. A player can also forego the duel entirely by passing the ball or through the use of Special Moves or "Hissatsu Techniques, " but we’ll get into that later.
When a player with the ball gets near the box, they will be able to get into the "Zone," which is a mechanic that slows down time, and both sides can do a variety of different things to help their side. The offensive player can choose to pass or cross the ball to another player that’s in range, which will greatly increase the power of their shot due to the Direct bonus, adding points to the shot when receiving a pass. The defense, on the other hand, can assign defenders to create walls to attempt to weaken or block the shot’s power so that the goalkeeper’s KP (Keeper Power) can be conserved.
Character Elements aren't as deep as a mechanic as how Pokemon does weaknesses, but having an advantageous element can give you a considerable increase to your attack or defense value, depending on the action you're doing. Similarly, Special Moves are used to enhance an action on the field at the cost of Tension, which is a resource gauge that you need to be able to use Special Moves. These are a variety of moves that have to be done in certain conditions, like Zone Areas and Focus Battles, that add up to the numerical value of that player’s power.
For example, if the opposing goalkeeper’s KP is still high enough that you can’t score a goal with a normal kick, you can use a Special Move to increase the power of your shot and hopefully score a goal. Take note, though, that a goalkeeper will also more than likely have a Special Move up their sleeve as well, so you’ll have to take into account the enemy’s Tension as well as yours. While it may all seem like the gameplay is just having the higher number win, the management of resources like Tension and Special Move cooldowns becomes important when two teams of equal skill face off.
This is because Focus Battles and Zone interactions will boil down to making correct reads and proper positioning, respectively. If anything, Special Moves should be a last ditch effort or a buffer for you to salvage a play, especially since you might want to conserve some tension for your goalkeeper's Special Move when things don't go as planned. Of course, having a stronger team is a massive handicap, but that's why you settle skill differences on the game's versus mode: BB Stadium (Battle Bay Stadium) to have matches on equal footing.
Build Your Dream Team
If you’re a longtime fan of the series, then Chronicle Mode will be the mode where you’ll be spending the most time. As explained earlier, you can relive and play through the past matches in the series.
The reward of playing through the Chronicle Mode matches is that you can collect the many characters to add to your team. And if you must know, there are more than 5000 players to collect, which will most definitely keep you busy.
The only issues that I have with Chronicle Mode are that things can become repetitive quickly and that you’ll have to play the entirety of the matches from the start of the series to the end. On the repetitive side, you’ll need to play each match at least three times to unlock Hero Battle, which is where the Hero Rank characters start to reveal themselves.
Then, afterwards, you’ll need to repeat the same match as a Hero Battle if you’re trying to snipe a particular character. Though the chance of getting a Hero Rank character isn’t particularly high, Hero Battles will always drop currency to cash into Hero Rank characters anyway. The grind isn’t insanely long like an MMO or a gacha game, but it is long enough that it can dissuade you from trying to get a specific character.
There’s also the Player Universe function, which is basically the game’s gacha pulling method of obtaining characters, but trust me, it’s way faster to actually repeat Hero Battles than gamble on the roll.
On the topic of the chronological matches, the game lacks an option of having a chapter select, especially since players might want a character that’s from a more recent series rather than the first few ones. There’s also the matter of having to go through the entirety of the massive narratives of the whole franchise, which is already a tall task to rewatch or replay.
Is Inazuma Eleven Victory Road Worth It?
Absolutely. The Definitive Inazuma Eleven Game Out There!
Despite the many delays and massive wait, Inazuma Eleven: Victory Road is absolutely worth the wait and worth the purchase for longtime fans and anyone who’s interested in getting into the series. There are a couple of things that might put you off, like the delivery on the English Dub or some of the bugs that could make you lose progress, but the pros heavily outweigh the cons.
With the inclusion of Chronicle Mode, it might very well be the definitive game of the series, one that could be considered as the series’s best and easiest entry point. I would easily recommend this game to those who are even just remotely interested in the franchise, and I know for a fact that longtime fans have already been playing early with the Deluxe Edition.
The over-the-top visuals, compelling narrative, and engaging gameplay should be enough to coax you into trying it out. Truth be told, the sheer amount of content that’s available for the player is of massive value and is also a great way to showcase what the franchise is all about. It’s definitely worth the $70, and if anyone disagrees with me, we may as well take it to the pitch while I’m still trying to find my Hero Rank Zeus.
| Digital Storefronts | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Steam |
PlayStation |
Xbox |
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| Switch |
Switch 2 |
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| $69.99 | |||||
Inazuma Eleven Victory Road FAQ
How Do I Recruit Specific Characters to My Team in Inazuma Eleven Victory Road?
To recruit specific characters, you’ll first need to find where that character’s SPIRIT drops in Chronicle Mode. Afterwards, play through and win the HERO Battles. During the match, win as many Focus Battles as you can to maximize the number of times that you can get a SPIRIT to drop.
Does Inazuma Eleven Victory Road Have an Option to Display the Japanese Names and English Names?
Yes, it does. To change this, go to Options > Game Settings > Japanese Name Toggle to display either the English Dub names or the original Japanese names.
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Inazuma Eleven Victory Road Product Information
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| Title | Inazuma Eleven: VICTORY ROAD |
|---|---|
| Release Date | November 14, 2025 |
| Developer | LEVEL5 Inc. |
| Publisher | LEVEL5 Inc. |
| Supported Platforms | PC (Steam, Epic Games), PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch, Nintendo Switch 2 |
| Genre | Sports, Simulation, RPG |
| Number of Players | 1 |
| ESRB Rating | T |
| Official Website | Inazuma Eleven Victory Road Official Website |
