Inazuma Eleven Victory Road finally released on November 13, 2025, ending a seven-year development saga that saw countless delays and a complete restart. The soccer RPG from Level-5 was supposed to launch in 2018 alongside its anime series. Instead, it became one of gaming’s most delayed projects, with the final postponement in July 2025 specifically citing English voice recording and multilingual localization as reasons. Now that it’s here, the English version is delivering a rough experience that makes those delays feel even more frustrating.
The Crash Problem
Shortly after launch, Level-5 issued an official bug notice acknowledging a game-breaking problem in Chronicle Mode. Players who set their text language to French, German, Spanish, or Portuguese encountered crashes during the event following the match against Wild in the node called The Inazuma Drop. The crash prevents progression entirely, forcing players to either restart or switch their language settings to Japanese to advance.
The workaround is absurd. Players must navigate to the main menu, find settings in Japanese, switch the game text to Japanese, complete the problematic section, then switch back to their preferred language. Some players on Reddit reported the language option completely disappearing when set to Japanese, with the settings menu showing only 7 options instead of the 10 visible in English. This created a situation where players got stuck in Japanese with no clear path back to their native language.
The fact that such a fundamental bug made it past quality testing raises serious questions about Level-5’s localization process. The July delay was specifically meant to address voice recording and multilingual localization. Four months later, multiple language versions still ship with progression-blocking crashes. What exactly was being polished during that delay?
The English Dub Controversy
Beyond the crashes, the English voice acting has become a source of community ridicule. Steam forums and Reddit threads are filled with players calling the English VAs an embarrassment. The performances apparently lack the energy and emotion that defined the Japanese version, creating a disconnect between the game’s intense sports anime aesthetic and the flat delivery of localized dialogue.
PC Gamer noted that after seven years of delays, players say the game was worth the wait. But that assessment comes primarily from Japanese players or those playing with Japanese audio. The English dub seems to have missed the mark entirely, which is particularly damaging for a series that struggled to gain traction outside Japan in the first place.
The Localization Name Problem
Inazuma Eleven has always had a controversial relationship with character names in English releases. The original games changed Japanese names to English equivalents. Endou Mamoru became Mark Evans. Gouenji Shuuya turned into Axel Blaze. These changes frustrated fans who watched the subtitled anime and knew characters by their original names.
Victory Road allows players to toggle between original Japanese names and localized English names, which should solve the problem. However, the implementation creates awkwardness when playing with Japanese audio and English text, or vice versa. Players report the written names not matching what characters say aloud, breaking immersion during story sequences.
This matters because a significant portion of Inazuma Eleven’s Western fanbase prefers Japanese audio. The anime built the franchise’s international following through subtitled episodes, not the English dub. Many players want to experience the game the way Japanese audiences do, which means Japanese voices with English subtitles. When the subtitle names don’t match the spoken names, it creates constant cognitive dissonance.
Seven Years for This?
| Year | Status | Details |
|---|---|---|
| 2016-2018 | Inazuma Eleven Ares | Original version, planned with anime |
| 2019 | Delayed to 2020 | First major postponement |
| 2020 | Development Restart | Rebranded to Victory Road |
| 2021-2023 | Multiple Delays | Pushed from 2021 to 2023 to 2024 |
| 2024 | Announced June 2025 | New target date revealed |
| April 2025 | Delayed to August | Two months before June release |
| July 2025 | Delayed to November | Cited voice acting and localization |
| November 13, 2025 | Finally Released | With bugs and quality issues |
The timeline makes Victory Road’s localization problems even harder to swallow. Level-5 explicitly delayed the game from August to November 2025 to polish English voice recording and multilingual localization. The company announced they were bringing in 250 voice actors to properly localize the experience. They wanted to add accessibility options including the ability to toggle between original and translated character names.
Four months later, multiple language versions crash the game at the same story beat. The English voice acting draws widespread criticism. The name toggle system creates awkward mismatches between audio and text. These aren’t minor nitpicks. They’re fundamental localization failures in areas the developers specifically claimed to be addressing.
What Went Wrong
The development restart in 2020 provides context for Victory Road’s troubled launch. The project began as Inazuma Eleven Ares, timed to release alongside the 2018 anime series of the same name. The anime aired. The game didn’t materialize. After multiple delays, Level-5 completely restarted development under a new director with a new vision.
According to reports, the new team wanted to incorporate all fan feedback, leading to massive scope expansion. Features kept getting added, overwhelming the development team. The base game elements could have been released with plans to add ambitious features as free or paid updates later. Instead, everything went into the initial release, creating a bloated project that struggled to ship.
The iOS and Android versions were canceled entirely during development, suggesting resource constraints. The game went digital-only across all platforms, another cost-cutting measure. These decisions point to a project that exceeded its budget and timeline, forcing compromises that ultimately hurt the final product’s quality.
The Core Game Is Good
Despite localization woes, the actual game underneath is reportedly excellent. Players who successfully navigate the language bugs and either tolerate or switch off the English dub consistently praise Victory Road’s soccer RPG gameplay. The customization options are deep, allowing players to create unique teams and strategies. The story mode delivers the over-the-top sports anime drama fans expect from Inazuma Eleven.
Cross-play and cross-save functionality work across all platforms including Nintendo Switch, Nintendo Switch 2, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC. The game supports Mouse Mode and GameChat for online interactions. These features represent genuine technical achievements that required significant development resources.
For Japanese players or those comfortable with Japanese audio, Victory Road apparently delivers on seven years of anticipation. The problem is that a significant portion of the potential audience needs English support to play, and that support is currently broken or subpar.
Level-5’s Pattern
Victory Road isn’t Level-5’s first localization struggle. The studio has a complicated history with Western releases. Several Professor Layton games took years to leave Japan. The Yo-kai Watch franchise, despite initial success, never reached its full potential outside Japan partly due to delayed and incomplete localizations. Fantasy Life i faced similar development issues with key staff departures forcing restarts.
The company seems to consistently underestimate the time, resources, and expertise required for proper multilingual support. They announce international releases with optimistic timelines, then delay when the reality of localization complexity hits. The resulting rushed or incomplete translations damage the franchises they’re trying to promote globally.
What makes Victory Road particularly frustrating is that Level-5 had time to get it right. Seven years of development. A specific four-month delay for voice recording and localization. There’s no excuse for shipping language versions that crash the game at the same story beat. That’s not a minor bug that slipped through testing. It’s evidence of inadequate QA or rushed implementation despite abundant development time.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I play Inazuma Eleven Victory Road in English?
Yes, but with caveats. The game supports English text and English voice acting across all platforms. However, several European language versions have a game-breaking bug that crashes Chronicle Mode. The English voice acting quality has also received widespread criticism from players who call it embarrassing compared to the Japanese original.
How do I fix the Victory Road crash bug?
The official workaround is to switch your text language to Japanese before the Wild match event in Chronicle Mode. Complete that section in Japanese, then switch back to your preferred language. Some players report difficulty switching back to English after changing to Japanese, so proceed carefully and make backup saves.
Can I use Japanese voices with English subtitles?
Yes. The game allows you to independently select voice language and text language. However, character names will differ between what you hear and what you read if you mix Japanese audio with English text, which can be immersion-breaking during story sequences.
Why was Victory Road delayed so many times?
The game underwent a complete development restart in 2020, changing from Inazuma Eleven Ares to Victory Road with a new director. The scope expanded massively as the team tried to incorporate fan feedback and add features. The final delay from August to November 2025 specifically cited voice recording and multilingual localization issues.
Is Victory Road worth playing despite the issues?
If you’re willing to play with Japanese audio or can navigate the language bugs, players report the core soccer RPG gameplay is excellent. The customization is deep, the story delivers classic Inazuma Eleven drama, and the technical features like cross-play work well. Just be prepared for localization rough edges.
What platforms is Victory Road available on?
The game is available digitally on Nintendo Switch, Nintendo Switch 2, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC through Steam. The iOS and Android versions were canceled during development. There is no physical release on any platform.
Did Level-5 acknowledge the localization problems?
Yes. The company issued an official bug notice about the crash affecting French, German, Spanish, and Portuguese versions. They provided the workaround of switching to Japanese text for the problematic section. However, they haven’t publicly addressed complaints about English voice acting quality.
Will these issues be patched?
Level-5 has not announced a timeline for fixing the language crash bugs or addressing voice acting concerns. Given the game just launched and the bugs affect progression, a patch is likely but not officially confirmed. Players should check the official Inazuma Eleven website for updates.
The Bottom Line
Inazuma Eleven Victory Road joins the unfortunate category of games that work beautifully in their original language but stumble during localization. After seven years of development and multiple delays specifically citing multilingual support, shipping with progression-blocking bugs in European languages is inexcusable. The English voice acting controversy, while subjective, suggests rushed or inadequate casting and direction.
For dedicated fans willing to play in Japanese or work around the bugs, Victory Road apparently delivers the soccer RPG experience they’ve been waiting for since 2018. For casual players who need proper English support to enjoy the game, the current state is disappointing. Level-5 had ample time to nail the localization. Instead, they’ve delivered a functional Japanese game wrapped in a problematic international release that feels rushed despite years of delays. The core game deserves better, and so do the fans who waited patiently for it.