This review contains spoilers, click expand to view.
As DS to 3DS sequels go, most games range from acceptable to outright infuriating, regarding the overall gameplay experience. Even with strong line up of titles on the previous console, with a little 3DS game developer magic, players can't help but notice something off-putting. And even while replaying through one of my favorite video game series of all time, I can't deny that theory. Inazuma 11 GO is one of those games I feel really bad for. On the surface, its seems to have an excellent presentation. But a few fatal missteps on the overall design really ruined this game's chances of getting a higher score. Even with excellent graphics, fantastic music, and great characters...the actual gameplay really dampens my spirits. I'll get to my reasoning in a moment, because I know a lot of people really enjoy this series, and I want mention the strong points first. 10 years later after Inazuma National won the world tournament, the popularity of soccer in Japan skyrocketed! But it became too popular. Any schools lacking a decent soccer club were shut down while schools with mighty soccer clubs thrived. To resolve this issue the soccer cult "5th Sector" was formed. Using there "powers of persuasion"...they ordered match fixes to stop schools from being shut down. Forcing even the most elite players to purposely lose matches. So it's up to Arion and the resistance to defeat there elite teams and save the soccer they love. I'm glad that we've got a much more interesting plot in comparison to Inazuma 11 3, which had some pretty lackluster villains. I liked the the villains in the post game, but the main game villains like Garsheild were pretty underwhelming in general. This time we have we have former heroes like Axel Blaze choosing to side with 5th Sector for mysterious reasons. I really like the mystery of why Axel chose to side with opposing force instead of helping Raimon take it down. I'll give credit where its due, this story telling is really well done, and just gets better with the excellent animation. If I can count on Level-5 to do anything, its that they really know how to make a game look gorgeous. Arion Sherwind is just bursting with energy in the opening cutscenes! And after passing Victor's challenge in order to save the school, we have...another challenge! Yeah get used to that. 5th Sector is full of lying scumbags. You're dealing with professional cheaters around these parts. I must say when the actual gameplay starts, it reminds me of Pokemon Sun and Moon. Lots of handholding. But instead of being designated to just the first few levels of the game, it's found throughout the entire game. "Move Arion to this circle!", "Pass the ball 4 times!", "score!" During all the main game matches, players will need to complete these match missions in order to defeat the opposition. While you are given unlimited time and an invincible goal keeper during these moments, it makes the gameplay feel restrictive. It's feel like I'm not given the freedom to use my own strategies in order to win like the previous games. The other games did this too but it part of the challenge. "Cut through the enemies defenses and breakthrough the goalie's defense with a brand new special move". Simple enough, but whether you complete the task at the start of the match or the end you still have the freedom play how you want to play. But here, there were multiple opportunities where I could easily break through the enemies defensive line, but the in-game cutscenes say otherwise. The worst of this gameplay style was in the Royal Academy match. These guys have a lot of strong special moves despite being halfway though the game, including powerful long shots! Not only that but the new special moves learnt in the story are pretty useless here. JP's Jumping Jack makes Tod Ironside's original move set look incredible and the Thunderbolt Tactic is the last thing you want to use against these guys! During use, 3 opposing defenders will be stunned and the right forward will be teleported to the goal area. But if it doesn't affect Dragon Yale, his fighting spirt's "Dragon Force" technique will shut down anyone who stands in his way. The worst part is after the the match missions are complete, you've got 20 minutes of game time to finish off Royal, that's equivalent to about 4 real life minutes. 4 MINUTES, you've have to score in 4 MINUTES. If you don't have a perfect strategy ready, you're most likely going to lose against these guys on the first try. This is perhaps the most unfair level in the entire Inazuma 11 series. This is rubbish! If you somehow have the patience to sit through a freaking long story and endless tutorials...the post game is pretty enjoyable. There's no handholding in the extra competition matches, there's tons of excellent customization options, and plenty of hidden treasure to discover. It's a big step backwards for the developers to forget what makes these games entertaining in the first place.… Expand