Inazuma Eleven is a role-playing sports video game for the Nintendo DS developed and published by Level-5. It was released in Japan in August 2008, and was localized in English in 2011. A Nintendo 3DS port was released in the Western world on February 13, 2014, as a downloadable game via the Nintendo eShop, including updated graphics and visuals, and is the first and only game in the series available in North America. The game was also included in an compilation for the Nintendo 3DS, Inazuma Eleven 1-2-3: Endou Mamoru's Legend, which released in Japan in December 2012.
The game has spawned a franchise, with numerous sequels and other media. An Inazuma Eleven manga based on the games began serialization in CoroCoro Comic in May 2008, while an anime based on the games aired in October 2008. Mitsui has also created a collectible card game tie-in.
Plot
The main character, , is a very talented goalkeeper and the grandson of the late , one of the strongest goalkeepers in Japan and coach of the legendary football team, the Inazuma Eleven (though Endou is unaware of this). He is captain of his school's (Raimon Jr. High) football team, and dreams of competing in the Football Frontier tournament one day. The club is on the verge of disbanding, as the other members seem uninterested in training.
One day, a mysterious forward named moves to Mark's school. Axel used to be the top striker at his old school, and has gained the attention of Royal Academy (led by team captain Jude Sharp and principal Ray Dark), the most prestigious school in the area. They come to Raimon and challenge them to a football match, despite Axel refusing to join Raimon's team. They are much more powerful than anticipated, and Raimon's out-of-practice players take a horrible beating. Axel decides to join the team to help them out, and his sudden appearance surprises Royal, which he uses as an opportunity to score a goal. As the first goal scored against Royall Academy in years, Jude counts it as a win for Raimon and leaves with his team.
The victory gets Raimon a lot of attention, allowing them access into the Football Frontier tournament, which they gladly accept. They prove themselves as a force-to-be reckoned-with, winning all of their matches and reaching the finals. Before the match, Dark uses the team's coach to spy on them, and orders him to kill them by draining the brake fluid from their bus. His plan is foiled by Nelly Raimon the school counsellor's daughter, who promptly gets the teacher fired. At the match, Dark tries to kill them again by crushing them with girders. They survive thanks to a warning from Jude, and Dark is promptly arrested by Detective Smith. The match goes on, and after a long battle, Raimon emerges victorious.
The team then move onto the Football Frontier nationals, but learn they will be unable to compete without a coach. Detective Smith points Endou in the direction of a man named Seymour Hillman, who used to be part of Raimon's team from forty years ago, the Inazuma Eleven. He explains that the team was coached by Mark's grandfather David, and that they were an unstoppable soccer team. This excites Mark, until Hillman tells him about how their run was ended when their bus crashed on the way to their last Football Frontier match, injuring the players and preventing them from competing.
Despite his past, Hillman agrees to be the team's coach, and also gets the team training with the now-elderly members of the Inazuma Eleven. This training helps them win their next few matches, along with the assistance of Jude, who joins them after Royal is crushed by Zeus Junior High, who, unbeknownst to them, is being led by Dark. Zeus also continue to win all their games, each time leaving their opponents unable to continue. This means the final will be Raimon versus Zeus.
When Raimon arrive at the stadium for the finals (which is a floating palace in the sky), they see the members of Zeus drinking a so-called 'ambrosia', which turns out to be filled with drugs to improve their abilities. The first half begins, and Zeus begin winning instantly thanks to the ambrosia; benching most of the players and scoring goal after goal. As the first half ends, Nelly realises that the drinks are spiked, and goes to switch the drinks with regular water. Her plan succeeds, and Zeus are forced to play through the remainder of the game as a normal team, allowing Raimon to seize victory and win the Football Frontier.
