Inazuma Eleven: Cross is hosting a limited Closed Beta in Japan

If you are based in Japan and are a fan of football, then boy, are you in luck. Level-5 and Aiming have announced a closed beta for their upcoming sports sim, Inazuma Eleven: Cross. There are only 20,000 users, so head to the official website and act fast. For the rest of us, here is what this latest instalment has in store.

Cross places you into the shoes of a brand new protagonist, who is a child who somehow becomes the coach of a football team. I have seen some bad coaches in my time, but none I would replace with a high-school student. 

Either way, the developers make it clear that this new character has a much different personality from the series's previous protagonist, Sasanami Unmei. I think this will be a nice change. They make Unmei a little too dramatic for a casual football game. I would love a character who is just a golden retriever, basically, who loves the game. 

In Cross, you will not be controlling your team directly. Instead, you will just be the coach, setting the team composition and making tactical decisions throughout the game. Like Digimon World on the PS1, but sadly with less Gabumon. Matches can also be played automatically, although if you are playing a tactical game, then that feels a bit silly to skip the decision-making.

Now, Inazuma Eleven is a fun series, no doubt, but I just adore seeing anything Level-5 related. They have made some fantastic games with Dark Cloud, Ni no Kuni, Rogue Galaxy, and perhaps my personal favourite, White Knight Chronicles. I am still upset that the online servers are closed for that in the Western world. 

We now come to some mixed news for fans of Inazuma Eleven: Victory Road. Your player data will not be compatible with Cross; however, it will be with a future Victory Road sequel. A sequel that Akihiro Hino, Level-5 CEO and president, has stated that he is already writing the script for. Inazuma fans are being well looked after.