Title Change

The title has changed from Great Road of Heroes to Victory Road of Heroes. The story became one not about strong players, but about training and working hard one step at a time to achieve victory. So “Victory Road” ended up being a more appropriate title.

The change was also to not have new protagonist Unmei Sasanami round up characters from past Inazuma Eleven games, as previously planned, but to build a proper original story, then implement elements in which the player can round up past characters on top of that.

“Story Mode” will tell the story of Unmei Sasanami, while “Chronicle Mode” will allow players to round up characters from the entire history of Inazuma Eleven, killing two birds with one stone.

Match System

The most difficult and time-consuming part of development has been trying to achieve the intuitive pen-touch controls of previous Inazuma Eleven titles on current hardware—without a pen.

The demos LEVEL-5 created up until now did not have a good enough control feel, and gameplay would end up becoming that of a standard soccer game, which would be difficult for users who are not good at soccer games.

After much trial-and-error, the “Free Soccer Interface” was born, allowing players to switch between their preferred playstyle at any time during the match.

However, even when using the “soccer game-like” controls with a controller, the series’ unique, simple operation remains in tact. The pen-touch controls of past games can also be used through finger-touch. LEVEL-5 is also considering releasing a special pen for players who would prefer to use a pen.

—Switch Version: In handheld mode, you can position the console either horizontally or vertically and use line draw (touch controls) or the controller to play. In table mode, you can position the console vertically and use the controller. And in TV mode, you can play horizontally in either horizontal or vertical views of the field using the controller.

Story Visuals

Unlike previous Inazuma Eleven games, the protagonist of Inazuma Eleven: Victory Road of Heroes loves soccer, but cannot play, and instead acts as a coach who scouts players and builds a team.

While details on the story are currently under wraps, it is not about Raimon Junior High School, but is instead the story of a new school in Nagasaki, Kyushu, Japan. The name of the school, like protagonist Unmei Sasanami’s name, has the kanji for “cloud” (雲) in it. “Cloud” is a keyword this time as “inazuma” (lightning) is born from clouds, and LEVEL-5 hopes to evoke a feeling of clouds swelling up to create lightning.

The New Protagonist’s New Story

One change to the story is that Unmei Sasanami’s story is no longer set in a parallel world directly connected to the characters of past Inazuma Eleven games—its setting and characters are now completely original.

The story of the protagonist, unable to play soccer, and his friends carving a path on the road to victory will be one of considerable passion. The time it takes to complete your soccer team will be the longest in the series yet. However, the “soccer battles” before your team is able to play a match will be more enjoyable and strategic than ever before, making the lead-up to a full-scale match even more exciting.

Chronicle Mode

“Chronicle Mode” is a new mode that allows users to team up with characters from past Inazuma Eleven games. This is a heroes legacy mode in which you team up with your favorite characters from the past, create your own team, and take on the worst, strongest, and most fearsome opposing teams. As you clear in-game achievements, you will unlock more characters to team up with and teams to face, and more will be added through updates.

According to the its newly relaunched teaser website, Inazuma Eleven: Victory Road of Heroes is still planned for release across PlayStation 4, Switch, iOS, and Android, and more information will be announced this winter.

View a new set of screenshots at the gallery.