All translations in this blog are tentative. There is a possibility that they may change upon official release.

Let the Midfield Shine

We've been playing the game for extended periods of time to see what needs to be adjusted, and although we were initially satisfied with the systems already in place, we eventually realized that while activities such as acquiring desired players and strengthening the team are engaging, there was still something missing. For that reason, we've started considering implementing a system that would reward players for their hours of effort by including tons of surprises and discoveries in every match.

Our first area of concern was the midfield. The choices that the player could make here were few and fairly unimpactful. But in a game based on training your players, actually feeling how strong they've become is a crucial element—the players you assign to the midfield should have both presence and purpose. In the original system, however, midfielders hardly ever had a chance to shine, and the midfield became little more than a stopover on the way to the goal.

So we got to thinking about how to spice up midfield play, and we came up with the idea of Focus, a feature that lets midfielders display the full extent of their abilities as they contend with opposing players. We believe it strikes a good balance between action, character stats, and luck elements.

Making "Special Moves" Truly Special

The Inazuma Eleven series has always put a strong emphasis on using skills and special moves. But we've found it difficult to develop this new story around that mindset, so we want to change skills into specialized tools to use at just the right moments. Special moves should feel, well, special. That said, you'll still be firing them off way more often than in any other game!

The Tension Gauge adds depth and strategy to using special moves. Your entire team shares the same gauge to activate specials, and by efficiently switching back and forth between spending and accumulating Tension, players will be able to continue linking specials together. When we do our final balance checks, there is a high possibility that a cool-down element for individual special moves will also be added.

In the Zone: Making Inazuma Eleven Feel Like Soccer

We've implemented the "In the Zone" feature to make gameplay in front of the goal that much cooler. Time slows when you get close to the goal, giving you the perfect chance to input specific commands. When using the touch screen, for instance, you could direct two of your players to close in on the goal from either side, causing the goalkeeper to panic and opening up the opportunity to score. But this was a little hard to do when using pad controls, so we've added the ability to precisely direct the trajectory of the ball instead. We're hoping players can even impress themselves with the intricate commands they pull off.

Team Building: Play Together to Stay Together

Similar to hack-and-slash games, players in Inazuma Eleven come with passive skills. Building a balanced team with these in mind allows you to massively increase your team's performance power. Of course, some players might not want to focus as much on stats, opting to put together a roster of their favorite characters instead. That's why for some characters we've added separate versions that may have different passive skills. You can grind to find the perfect player with the exact skill you want, or you can just train whichever version of them you already have!

Up Next: Trailer Preview and Story Info

Thus far, we haven't revealed anything about the story, but we're very proud with what we've put together. The final act stays true to the Inazuma series and will make you laugh, cry, and jump out of your seat. And the plot doesn't rely heavily on past characters, making for a unique, standalone story. You'll get a taste of what lies in store when our third promotional video is released sometime mid-September. Don't miss it!