Well, I finally got a hold of this elusive Level 5 Silver Demo. It is a rom with both a demo of Inazuma Eleven and Professor Layton 2. It's hard to form a complete opinion on a very short 5mb demo, much less a japanese language demo. But I have to say, I am even more excited now about the Inazuma Eleven release. This has been described as RPG/Sports hybrid, so I'll break it up into these two genres:
As far as the RPG-side of this game, it looks solid. Not fantastic, but solid. It looks like a more mature, upgraded version of the story of Custom Robo Arena. You start off at school. As you are inside talking to your buddies in the hallway, some random noise outside draws your attention. You and your teammates look out the window, only to find a army of angry soccer players is invading your town. And, of course, the only place to settle this dispute is on the pitch (aka soccer field). So, you go around the school rounding up the rest of your team. Once assembled, you take it to the field.(Again, I don't speak Japanese, so some of the story details are lost in translation, but this is the jist of the story)
But, as solid as the story looks, it is the soccer portion that really shines. It is clear they have a long way to go before this game is ready for store shelves, but the soccer-play is truly innovative and fun. It is all stylus-based, which definitely takes some getting used to. But once mastered, the play gives you the ability to create goal-scoring plays and great defensive saves that you could never make on FIFA 2008 or Pro Evolution Soccer. Using the stylus allows you to control several players at the same time. So, if your left midfielder has the ball, you draw a jagged line for him to follow around his current defender and up the field. Then, you draw a straight line for your striker to follow towards the goal. Once he is in position, a quick tap and arching line crosses the ball from your midfielder to striker. You draw a quick 90 degree line to dribble around the goalie and then a stylus tap-tap, GOAL!!!!!!!!!!! This stylus-control systems allows you to orchestrate offensive and defensive plays that involves 3, 4, or even 5 players, all simultaneously.
Let me be clear, this 5mb demo is in no way ready for consumers. The story mechanics need to be enhanced and there are many parts of the soccer-play that need to be fine-tuned. The one part of this game, though, that doen't need any enhancement are the in-match cut scenes. And believe me, I am usually the first person to fly past cut scenes, but these are true works of art. Whether it's an offensive player splitting into 3 people as they run circles around a defender, or a goalie's hand growing to 20 feet in diameter as he utilizes the "Hand of God", you really begin to anticipate and look forward to the next eye-popping scene. They are true big-budget, movie-quality masterpieces.
It's obvious that the developers at Level 5 are willing to take some creative risks, which I find refreshing. And soon, that risk-taking creativity will all pay off in a wonderfully fun and inventive rpg/sports experience. If these demos are meant to whet our appetites, well then, mission accomplished!!!