Level 5's popular soccer-based RPG Inazuma Eleven has finally made its way to North American shores.
Kick-off took place immediately after the end of the North American Nintendo Direct presentation, with the game now being available to download for $19.99. The game is also available in Europe (although no pricing information was given), but oddly enough this doesn't include the UK. This particular downloadable title appears to be an updated version of the DS original that was originally released in Japan in 2008 and hit Europe later on, in 2011.
The game features a blend of RPG and action gameplay elements, as shown in the trailer below. In keeping with the sport on which it is based, players will also get to play actual football matches, which are controlled using the stylus. For a better idea of what the game offers, be sure to check our in-depth review of the original DS game.
Comments (35)
Any ideas about why it hasn't come to the U.K?
I might have to pick this up.
Odd it has no UK release. Don't we Brits love our Footie the most? 0.o
No physical release? No buy.
I think I might want this but I can't decide.
It's not coming to the UK ever by the looks of things, sauce:
http://level5ia.com/inazumaeleven/uk/
Thank you for your interest in INAZUMA ELEVEN. We regret to inform you that LEVEL-5 International America, Inc. has no plans to release the Nintendo 3DS™ eShop version of INAZUMA ELEVEN in the UK regions. While this was a challenging decision, it was deemed unsuitable to release a game with American English voice acting in a territory in which the franchise has been so firmly established with the British English voice cast and downloadable game size constraints prevented us from including both English voice options. While we understand your disappointment, please know that this does not set a precedent for future releases. We at LEVEL-5 International America want to release our games to as wide an audience as possible and we continue to strive towards that goal.
We are truly sorry for the inconvenience and we thank you for your continued support.
— The LEVEL-5 IA Team
I was excepting a physical release, but I guess not. I'll check it out one of these days to see what the GOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAALLLLLLLLL of this game is about.
@AcridSkull first off i'm an american. this is a stupid stupid reason and you uk chaps should complian alot.
I guess that's another point for localization, never thought I'll see this in the US. I'm not into sports but Japan have a way to make everything so interesting, even board games and chores.
With the price and gameplay, I may give it a try. Plus it's nice they have the first 3 episodes to view in the eshop.
This seems interesting, but I'm not sure how much I'll like it.
@faint Yeah it's pretty ridiculous, but thankfully anyone who really want's to play it can pick up the DS version for around £7 - it looks as though the only difference is they've extended the top screen so it doesn't have the borders you'd get playing the DS game on 3DS.
Sweet! It's only $23.40 on the Aussie eShop. I feel sorry for those that have tied their 3DS to a UK NNID & hence can't just download it from a different region. Though you can always just buy a DS copy of it I guess.
Finally in NA too, glad to hear the Inazuma serie eventually got there!
I really highly raccomend it, it's a very fun RPG game with a huge influence of anime nonsense XD
Side note, I'm not a fan of real soccer, so liking the sport is definitly not required for love the game XP
Is there not 3 (Or certainly two) games in this franchise already available (At higher cost) for the 3DS in the UK.
Why wait for a physical release when it's $20 anyway?
Meh, I picked up a complete physical copy for only £5 from CEX anyway. But extremely strange that it's not on the UK E-Shop and Level 5's official statement on the matter is flimsy at best. Why do we have to have a different bunch of voice actors for UK/US versions that are all spoken in English language anyway? Absolutely absurd, a complete waste of time and money and creates stupid barriers like this. Of course, Inazuma Eleven isn't the only series Level 5 do that with, it's happened with the Layton games as well so if the earlier DS games are every made available for download we might never see those on the UK E-Shop either despite how UK-centric the Layton games are, lol.
@Blast
Yeah man, you should totally do that. Your stance on saying "No!" to downloadable digital gaming comment, is without a doubt, as a gamer, more important than playing a possibly great game.
#really?
lol, this is so funny, not releasing it in the uk because of the voices when its available across the pond here in Ireland for €17.99, I've enjoyed the 3 games and I'am sure they were all pal uk carts, crazy. Good games though
@Samurai-Kinopio >.> I'm running outta space on my 3DS... Sheesh. I will get a bigger SD card one day but not anytime soon.
I really hate the english names...it's set in JAPAN for pete's sake! (not to mention they are ******* stupid. "Mark Evans"? "Jack Blaze"?).
If Ninty's planning on capitalize on the series' success in south america, they failed horribly...but I'm guessing they're not...which is even stupider.
To give you a better idea of how outrageous the names are: Translating Mamoru Endou/h's name as "Mark Evans" is like naming Goku "Dennis Orange" outside of japan...
so this is straight up the DS game, not the 3DS one that was released in Europe
@ferthepoet It's the very first game in the Inazuma Eleven series, but this eShop version has some minor enhancements.
To those who are upset about the lack of a physical release: I doubt this particular game will ever see a physical release here in NA, so just buy this if you want to play it. You can bet your bottom they will judge any future Inazuma releases on how well this sells, so support it if you want/can.
So the US people are complaining they don't have a physical release and UK people are complaining they don't get the digital release.
I highly recommend this game. It's brilliant, and I'm pretty sure you can enjoy it without liking the sport as the actual football parts play nothing like real football.
WTF $20 in america in EU $50
Serious just let me bend over so you can screw me properly. Bloody disgrace
Finally!
I actually prefer the digital release rather than the physical copy (mostly because of the price and availability.
I played a bit on my friends R4 and it seemed awesome.
Its a must buy for me
@AcridSkull What I think about regarding the level 5 statment is. Downloadable size constraints? This isn't WiiWare, there are 4 gigabyte games on the eShop.
I wonder if the truth is they don't have the UK dub rights but don't want to release it without (its possible) so made something up to make it sound like more of a technical issue.
@Anguspuss Its €18 in Ireland. Mainland Europe is getting ripped off.
To be honest, even though it's football I would prefer American voice actors on this occasion. The current voices are horrible and just do not seem to fit the characters.
@Starwolf_UK I don't think it's a matter of they can't release the game due to file size, they'd just rather not, since the amount of voice acting in these games is massive, and sounds like that take up a lot of space.
@Starwolf_UK
bloody hell serious. Cheaper in Ireland. Heres a question do you have your own Nintendo shop where you can buy a code. shame they dont have like steam where you can gift a game.
Download only for $20? Really Nintendo? Interest gone.
@C-Olimar I think it is more likely they would rather have the UK buying the later more expensive ones. (It is not as if the Japanese voices are in stuff released outside Japan). The 3DS Guide: Louvre has 5 separate versions.
i want it but not sure if its worth risking the 20 i would like it ..
would been day 1 buy at 10
i want it but not sure if its worth risking the 20 i would like it ..
would been day 1 buy at 10
I am so mad right now! I imported this game two years ago and only NOW they decided to localize it!!! I COULD HAVE SAVED $70 ; A ;
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