Captain Tsubasa: Rise of New Champions free update and paid DLC adds new mode, characters, and more

Bandai Namco’s anime soccer game Captain Tsubasa: Rise of New Champions is receiving two free new updates that add a new game mode and story content, as well as paid DLC that brings nine new characters to the game (three initially). The free content has been added today, March 30, while the DLC is available to buy and install from March 31.

Thanks to the free 1.40 and 1.41 updates, the Hirado MS route has been added to Captain Tsubasa: Rise of New Champions. The free-to-play Hirado MS route has been added to Episode: New Hero and tells a new story focused on Mitsuru Sano and Hiroshi Jito. The other free DLC is a new “Freestyle Match” mode. Freestyle Match takes the soccer action to a digital stage where you use items to defeat your opponent.

The paid DLC, meanwhile, adds Episode: Rising Stars to the game. This brings “IF” stories to purchased DLC characters, of which there will be nine in total, three as of March 31. Each character comes bundled with a short story comprising three missions. The first three DLC characters included in Episode: Rising Stars are Taro Misaki (Japan), Hikaru Matsuyama (Japan), and Karl Heinz Schneider (Germany). Watch the trailer for the free story missions and paid DLC characters below:

There’s a lot of new content being added to Captain Tsubasa: Rise of New Champions. Fans of the game will be pleased with Bandai Namco’s continued support and you can read the complete list of 1.40 and 1.41 update patch notes below for full details of what’s being added (thanks Gematsu).

Captain Tsubasa: Rise of New Champions 1.40 and 1.41 update patch notes

Version 1.41

• Stability improvements have been made.

Version 1.40

• The new Hirado MS Route has been added to “Episode: New Hero.”
• You can now play Freestyle Matches, a new mode where the pitch goes digital and items offer a whole new level of strategy.
• Downloadable content “Episode: Rising Stars” has been added.
  • By completing the downloadable content’s story, you gain access to a player with different skills for each story.
  • Downloadable content must be purchased separately and downloaded to use.
• Play Assistance, a feature that provides support with the user interface as well as controls for actions during matches has been added.
• A “Shop” option has been added to the Main Menu.
• Items associated with Freestyle Matches have been added to the “PP Shop” and “CC Shop.”
• A delay system for actions during online matches has been added and the communication system has been updated.
• To improve connectivity, the animation for Critical Defense for all tackle moves have been changed.
• An antenna showing the strength of the network connection with your opponent has been added to the online pre-match screen.
• During online matchmaking, you will no longer be matched with an opponent whose network connection is extremely poor.
• In Division Matches, the maximum number of usable Custom Players can now change.
• In Division Matches, player skills and moves are now unlocked for customization from the start.
• Some Shot Moves were coming out a distance away from where they were activated. They will now be shot from where they were activated.
• The range of detection for all Block Moves at the time of activation has been changed from a cone to a circle.
• The descriptions and effects of some Moves / Skills have been adjusted.
• Stability improvements have been made.