Original Series
- The Occult team in the first game. They show up really early, they're an obnoxious difficulty spike in a generally easy game, they automatically score a goal and end the first half, to score against them in the second half you need to dance around a bunch of event flags (which is also disruptive to the game's atmosphere), and drawing against them is an automatic loss and gameover(!). They're a lot easier if you realize you should fire up and score a quick goal in the first half, but then they seem to demand a sudden knowledge of mechanics and flags very early in the game.
- Inazuma Eleven 2 cranks the in-match scripted events up. The worst offender: Shin Teikoku. Sakuma shoots every ten minutes on the second, no matter which side has control of the ball or where it is on the field, effectively pulling the ball as far away from the goal as possible every ten minute, making victory basically impossible the first time around. You can retry the match after losing the first time and do it without events, but that should never have to be a requirement to proceed.
- Inazuma Eleven 3 isn't nearly as bad with the scripted events (at least compared to its previous game), however that only really applies if you're playing Spark or Bomber, The Ogre version throws a screwball at you before you play against Orpheus, where you have to play against The Ogre. In general, they would not only overlevel you at that point, but they would also have some of the best stats (even without overleveling themselves) and the best moves in the game.
- If you're going against them after you've beaten the game, it crosses into The Computer Is a Cheating Bastard territory. The Ogre will have infinite TP when you play against them, plus all the facts stated before. Good luck with that...
- Inazuma Eleven GO while not as bad as the previous examples there is Dragonlink they do not qualify as this in story mode but when ever you play them afterwards. Their entire team is composed of avatar users which is not only intimidating, but they can appear faster then the game allows you to use your own avatars. Also they have a hissatsu technique that puts them right in the line of fire for goals without having much ability to defend against them.
- Earlier, Gassan Kunimitsu/Lunar Sea Military Academy falls stand out as a brutal introduction to how much of a Difficulty Spike the Saint's Way Nationals are going to be compared to the regionals. Firstly, they introduce field obstacles here, in this case whirlwinds that have an annoying tendancy to appear right on you while you have the ball. Made worse by the fact that Tenma uses one of his Hissatsu to get past them in a cutscene and you can't do this in-game. Speaking of scripted events, the opposing team have a special tactic that can't be broken until after the first half for plot reasons. Thir goalkeeper has an Avatar, and a pretty strong one at that, so you can't expect auto-goals from your own Avatar users anymore. Even after his Avatar is exausted, he still has a powerful blocking move. And to top it all off their team's ace striker is none other than Minamisawa Atsushi, who's probably the strongest non-Summoner striker you've faced at that point, he's scripted to get the ball on several occasions and he gets a scripted Heroic Second Wind towards the end of the match! Hope you've drained his TP by then!
- Hakuren/Alpine High afterwards are even worse. You know Atsushi above? Well immagine an even better version of him... who actually has an Avatar. And he scores an automatic goal early on. Nearly everyone on the team has a high-level dribbling or blocking skill, making it a pain to get past them or get the ball off them. Thankfully the team after them is a breather.
- Chrono Stone's story mode is pretty easy, then you get to the post-story content and face Inazuma Legend Japan. Their members may not have Keshins, but even without one; they can destroy yours (sometimes even if you Mixi-Maxed) efortlessly. Their raw power isn't even their only issue here, they pass really well; and sometimes they'll even try to pass endlessly to stall you if they're in the lead. Winning this one requires you to be smart, and understand how to efficiently use your Keshins and Mixi-Maxes.
- Tsukigami no Ichijou (Nepuu) or Vamp Time (Raimei) takes the match with Inazuma Legend Japan to sadistic levels. Remember Inazuma Legend Japan's insane raw power? Now give them all a Keshin and their captain a Mixi-Max, we wish we're joking. You probably have to grind two Taisen Routes just so you could hope to win, even then that's a very shaky maybe. At this point you're either crying because you can't get in that one goal to win, or you've become masochistic enough to enjoy this.
- Inazuma Eleven GO Galaxy has the Raitoiniik Eleven as one of the most irritating matches in the series. Even though you confront them late into the game, they represent a huge difficulty spike from the rest of the game. To start off, most of the team has Forest type players and shoots, meaning that even if you use Ibuki's soul, they may still get past unless you are overleveled, thus forcing players to use either Shinsuke (who has weaker techs and stats) or a substitute goalkeeper they may have recruited from Kidou's backup players. Second, the Goalkeeper is by far the toughest so far, using his soul constantly and using an individually strong tech. The midfielders are also a pain, but by far the worst part is the stadium itself: Galaxy has gravity gimmicks due to it being a game set in space, and for the most part they work well: the first stadium to use this has the ball unable to bounce, the second stadium makes the ball unable to be lobbed into the air and instead encourages swift ground passes, and the third stadium, instead of the usual effects, has the ball unable to leave the bounds due to pressured steam comming out from the edges. This match? It has the ball bounce erratically making it frustrating to even pass the ball. If you are lucky, you will end up in the middle of 3 defenders. If not, then congratulations, you just passed the ball to the star striker of the enemy team.
- That's not even the worst part. At least you can actually be overleveled against Raitoniik Eleven, now imagine this stage's gimmick for a Level 99 route, using their weakest move; they can easily dribble and block you even if your moves have reached their ultimate stage (神note , ∞, or GO). The only thing you would be missing from not S-ranking this route is a free The Earth ∞ manual, which at this point you can get as a drop from Chrono Storm at Goujou's route, but completionists will find endless frustration here.
