In this version of the game, the story focuses not only on the events of Inazuma Japan, but also on the events of Hector Helio, goalkeeper and captain of the Little Giants team, of the fictional African nation Cotarl.
Inside the game there are numerous CG scenes and an exceptional dubbing for the most important dialogues, from this point of view the game has pleasantly surprised us, but we don't want to tell you more, keep reading!
New friends and new enemies
Although the story is directly connected to the previous chapter, the new Inazuma Eleven distorts the patterns as only a good Japanese manga can do, giving us the ability to recruit, within our team, some characters who until recently were very determined enemies. ready to defeat us. In fact, from the beginning of the story, we will find ourselves facing ex-enemies, who will be ready to support us to the best of their ability.
The roster of usable and recruitable characters is really large and leaves free rein to our needs, making the game even more special and unique in a mix of extravagance that until now has only been possible to find in Holly and Benji, the same sport, but video games. processed in a different way, especially for what concerns the RPG part of the newcomer, which we will discuss in the next chapter.
Role Playing Football
Inazuma Eleven blends a sport like football with role-playing elements like equipment. A very appropriate fusion. Although belonging to conceptually different genres, the combination is a winner and one wonders why no one has thought of it before: if not sport, what other discipline allows us to improve and improve even more with hard training? Playing games allows us to gain experience, to improve our skills, to level up as in a classic RPG and like this, it is essential to use the right equipment: no potions or armor in this case but sports equipment. Although it does not revolutionize the genre, especially due to rather uncomfortable commands (which we will discuss in the next paragraph), Inazuma Eleven uses a very superficial but quite effective RPG system, capable of giving us fun for many hours, without ever getting tired.
Movements… uncomfortable
Anyone who has played sports video games will by now be accustomed to a very comfortable and balanced traditional control system; Inazuma Eleven instead wants to differentiate itself in everything, so much so that here the commands are given with strokes of the stylus. It will be possible to make our characters move by selecting them and dragging the stylus to the desired point, touch a point to pass the ball or the net to attempt a shot. The game system can be easily compared to that of an RTS, so much so that there is even a button in the shape of a hand that will allow us to pause the action and calmly decide how to make our players move by planning in the best way. the action.
However, the control system will prove to be fun, but often frustrating. It will be difficult to correctly give orders to our characters when we should control many of them all at the same time and especially when they will move autonomously towards the opponent's net, with the ball in our possession, or towards our net, in case of possession of the ball by the players. opponents.
A good "battle system" to improve, which can really give satisfaction with the necessary improvements.
There will obviously be consumable items that can be used during matches to recover the stamina consumed.
Not just football ...
Although Inazuma Eleven 3 - Explosive Fire has pleasantly surprised us, it is also true that we would have expected many more retouched and improved features than in previous chapters. Some of the functions already tested work great, others instead could have been modified or improved.
We are talking about functions such as touch screen control, fun but imprecise and difficult and a map that is not very careful and precise: it is difficult to understand which buildings it is possible to enter, or if crossing the road beyond the screen we will continue towards a further exploration point or if we will be asked to return to the main map, most of the time forcing us to a forced exploration to be able to understand if there are other possible possibilities of movement besides what is visible on the map shown on the upper screen.
As for the story we have no particular reflections to make, it runs smoothly and is surrounded by some small sub-quests and phases of free exploration in which we can decide whether to spend our time facing random encounters, in search of coffers, or chatting with the local population.
Final comment
Inazuma Eleven 3 - Explosive Fire is the direct successor of Inazuma Eleven 2 and it shows: the game mechanics have remained almost unchanged, on the other hand we are talking about an episode of the series that in the Japanese territory was released on Nintendo DS, while on the our territory has been readapted to the 3DS, without major changes, except for what concerns the 3D part.
The graphic and sound parts have been well done even if far from excellence, a good mix of potential that could give life to a new episode clearly superior to the one in question, if finished in the correct way.
It was enjoyable to play and gave us several hours of fun, a must buy for those who are fans of the series, much less for those hoping to find a traditional sports game; all in all a further good gaming experience that is added to the ranks of the 3DS library, really vast and varied.
Votes
Playability 70
Graphics 75
Sound 65
Longevity 70
Overall 70
For
- A good mix of RPG elements and football game
- Endless possibilities with hundreds of characters who can join our team
Cons
- "Battle System" very capable, but too rough and uncomfortable
- Unsatisfying and often frustrating game system
The title is available from September 27 on 3DS.
