Game Review: Jojo's Bizarre Adventure: All Star Battle

Game: Jojo's Bizarre Adventure: All Star Battle
Console: Sony Playstation 3
Developer: CyberConnect2
Release Date: 29th April 2014

As far as new releases go, this is possibly the most up to date I'll get; Jojo's Bizarre Adventure: All Star Battle was released just over 2 months ago, to compliment the new anime series which has been running since 2013, though the manga series has been running since the late 1980s. As a fighting game, it features many of the main characters and antagonists from parts 1-8 of the anime/manga series fighting battles based on the plots of their respective parts, as well as online and arcade style battles.

The style of the game derives heavily from the style of the manga and anime, using a graphics shader system to give the appearance of battles straight out of the pages of a book, while keeping a high definition 3D look which is visually impressive. While 32 characters are unlockable and included on the game disk, there are another 9 which can be downloaded from PSN for £1.59 each, bringing the fighter total to 41.

There are 4 game modes (not including practice); Arcade, Story, Campaign and Versus. Arcade mode is only included in PAL versions of the game, and allows players to fight 8 random opponents with any fighter of their choosing, a little like arcade mode in most other fighting games. Story mode is separated out into each of the 8 parts of the manga series so far, with specific battles which outline the story of each section. There can be anywhere from 4-10 fights per part, opponents will often have special status effects, and once beaten, you can play as the opponents in each battle.

Campaign mode is played online and tasks players with searching for bosses, who once found will reappear for the next ten minutes. Bosses have a large overall health bar (between 1500 and 7000HP) which can be depleted by beating them in battle. Multipliers and other effects can be used to increase the amount of damage done, and once beaten, bosses unlock alternate costumes, taunts and victory animations for fighters. Versus mode allows players to play against a friend, the computer or other online players with any character.

Of course no fighting game is complete without the fighting itself, and All Star Battle has some of the best I've seen. Fighters come in various styles; Hamon (or Ripple) users strengthen their attacks via breathing techniques, Stand users have a persona which fights on their behalf and can perform special moves, and Horse riders are mounted at the beginning of battle, but can be knocked off their horse when attacked. There are also a handful of other styles used by single fighters due to the huge range of powers and abilities presented in the manga, which the game stays true to. While this can cause some imbalance between characters (there are definitely some that I have a hard time fighting as), I think that most of them can be mastered with enough work.

Regular moves available to players include grabs and single punches/kicks which can be performed with any of the light/heavy attack buttons; but the most effective moves to use are quarter turn moves (which are unique to each character, varying from ranged attacks to being able to place traps on the stage) or combos which can be performed with multiple taps of the light/heavy buttons. The Heart Heat meter at the bottom of the screen builds up as player gives or takes damage, and the number signifies the strength of special move which can be used, ranging between one and three, if a move is available. There's a score bonus for finishing with a Heart Heat move, and a cinematic cutscene plays once the move has landed.

Graphically the game is impressive both stylistically and in general with highly detailed characters, player models and cutscene style special attacks. There are pieces of concept art and original designs and models which can be unlocked with in-game credits too. The music and sound effects in the game are also of a high standard with voice clips and catchphrases faithfully performed by their original voice actors from the anime (up to part 3 at least), as well as fast paced and exciting musical accompaniment for battles. Voice clips and BGM can be unlocked for sound test style play with in-game credits.

Overall Jojo's Bizarre Adventure: All Star Battle is an excellent fighting game which will be best enjoyed by fans of the series, but can be enjoyed by fans of fighting games in general due to its high quality in visuals and gameplay. While some characters might not be as easy to play with as others, there's a good number of fighters with generally powerful and easy to master movesets. If I had to pick between this and Power Stone for my favourite fighting game, it'd be close, but I think All Star Battle just has the edge.

Rating: 90/100
Grade: A