Soccer RPG in Development For DS

Level 5 is well known as the developer of the recent critical success Rogue Galaxy and the ever-popular Dragon Quest series. But they’re now shifting their efforts in a different direction, or at least one with a unique twist – their newest title, called Inazuma Eleven, which was unveiled yesterday at a press conference in Tokyo, will follow the adventures of you and your high school football (hey, let’s acknowledge what the rest of the world calls it) team as you lead them to the top. You’ll travel around your school and local town to scout out new players for your team, with Level 5 estimating that there will be in the neighborhood of 1,000 players to recruit, all with varying difficulties.

As Eurogamer describes it:

“You’ll have complete control of the action throughout, issuing orders to your team on the isometric view on the bottom screen. Drawing arrows will command runs from your players, and tapping on various bits and bobs will place shots and passes.

When you bump into other players on the field, options will pop up asking what you want to do. If you’re defending you’ll choose to block or slide, whereas attackers will decide whether to jump or evade challenges. Some shot opportunities will also bring up options, like heading or volleying.

The top screen will show close ups of the action when dramatic things happen, like player-specific special moves selectable from the pop up options when you run into others or are through on goal. You’ll also be treated to cinematic sequences along the way.”

Don’t expect a release anytime soon in the US – if at all. Seeing as the sport isn’t what you’d call a craze in this country, there might not be much of a market for an RPG based on it. But, the fact that it’s on the DS gives it some hope. Oh, and just to be clear, that isn’t a screenshot from the game you see above.

via Eurogamer