Inazuma Eleven Strikers (Wii) Review

To start with, anyone expecting to find something of the same quality as FIFA or Pro Evolution Soccer will be sorely disappointed, after all just because of the cartoon subject matter it does not mean the gameplay should be sacrificed. Whilst the basis is certainly reminiscent of the big football hitters, the fluidity and special manoeuvres are sadly absent. In their place, though, are the crazy moves that have become famous in the RPG versions on the Nintendo DS. Therefore, rather than being faced with the chance to do slinky moves and fancy through-balls, in their place are super moves that try to make up for the loss with devastating effect. Shadow past defenders, shoot with great ferocity, and pull off miraculous saves, all within reason as there are limited amounts of energy on that front in order to prevent matches simply coming down to who can use the most insane abilities the quickest.

Options-wise, there is Exhibition (single matches against the computer or up to four players), Club Room (create and train your own team), Minigame (of which the five will be mentioned later), and Tournament (play with up to four players). At the time of writing there have been two releases of Inazuma Eleven Strikers, with the second being a slightly improved version, and a third one on the near horizon. The one Europeans are getting now is the very original, without any added improvements despite the delay in localisation. Despite that, what is here is still fun...for a while. However, there are several elements that make for a lesser experience than might be imagined after the quality of both Inazuma Eleven and the duo of Inazuma Eleven 2: FireStorm / Blizzard.

For instance, the commentator sounds like Harry Hill, which is hilarious at first, but swiftly becomes tiresome due to the incessant over-the-top nature. Throwing in the crazy special moves from the RPG matches makes for a slower paced game, but still just about works nicely. Sadly, as mentioned earlier, most people looking at this will either be disappointed by the lack of an RPG adventure side (fans of the original DS games) or frustrated that there is no lofted through balls here, slinky one-two moves, and so on (those hoping for an alternative to PES or FIFA). Items such as rice balls and noodles to increase TP (the energy for special moves) or ones that heighten the Inazuma and Tension gauges can be used before matches to boost players, but once more the novelty wears off faster than desired. The same goes for the plentiful supply of stadia to choose from, such as Old Raimom, Royal Academy, Zeus, Alius, and the many others that can be unlocked. With a good-but-not-spectacular core, only the multiplayer antics will drive longevity.

Minigames! They are sure to save the day, right? In this case, no, not at all, unless you love hitting buttons repeatedly without much thought, of course. Look at the evidence: Bus Pull -- tap the A button extremely quickly to pull the bus as far as possible, trying to keep the energy bar at the same level as the computer (or friend) assisting. Special Sync boosts occur when both bars are filled completely. Tyre Punch -- bash the A button to set a tyre on a rope swinging and hold A to power up before letting go at the right moment to bash it as it swings towards the chosen character. Rinse and repeat until lots of tyres have been punched off the rope! Volley -- run around a small square box and tap any button when the ball comes near to head or volley it against a tree, stepping in ahead of the opponent to prevent them from returning so as to get a higher score. Tyre Dash -- keep tapping A to drag a tyre towards the finish line, aiming to beat the opponent racer, but not overdoing the tapping so as to tire (*groan*) the character out. Finally there is Bungee Shoot -- blast in as many goals as possible, trying to hit multiple ones at once, whilst every time B is tapped to strike the ball your footing is lost and the bungee rope pulls you backwards. As well as being repetitive, all of them have extremely annoying voice snippets that repeat constantly. Inazuma Eleven Strikers is by no means a total disaster, but it really does not manage to strike the right chord with either market it tries to aim for.