Play Inazuma Eleven (S) Online

Inazuma Eleven came out on the Nintendo DS in 2008, developed by Level-5. It was one of those games that felt perfectly suited to the handheld, using the touchscreen in a way that made sense and fit right in with the era of quirky, ambitious DS titles.

You control Mark Evans, the goalkeeper and captain of Raimon Middle School's soccer team, as you recruit new members and battle rival schools. The main goal is to rebuild your team and win the Football Frontier tournament. You explore the school and town screen by screen, talking to students to convince them to join, and engage in matches that blend traditional RPG turn based commands with actual soccer gameplay. You draw paths for passes and shots on the lower screen, and trigger special moves that play out in dramatic, anime style cutscenes. The pacing is brisk, with a constant sense of building your squad's strength before the next big match. It feels like managing a sports team and playing an RPG at the same time, which is a surprisingly satisfying combination.