Inazuma Eleven is one of those weird, awesome DS games that somehow turns soccer into an RPG—and it totally works. You start off as this scrappy kid trying to revive your school’s dead soccer team, and before long, you’re recruiting random students (some of them weirdly overpowered) and teaching them ridiculous special moves like fire tornado shots. The matches play out in this fast, arcade-y style where you tap and swipe to dribble, pass, and unleash those over-the-top super shots.

At first, I thought the whole "soccer but with anime powers" thing would feel gimmicky, but the strategy actually runs deep. Picking the right team combo matters, and some of those late-game matches get brutal if you don’t grind a little. Also, the Italian version has some extra content, like bonus characters and a few tweaks to the story. If you’re into sports games but wish they had more personality (or just really miss that DS-era charm), this one’s a blast.