REVIEW: 'It's not a fighting game, it's aJoJo game,' said CyberConnect2 CEO, Hiroshi Maruyama, when the game was first announced. Ididn't know what to make of thatstatement when I first heard it, but at the time, I wasn't positive if I'd becontinuing coverage of the game on TFG. As it would turn out, Jojo's BizarreAdventure: All-Star Battleis mostly a fighting game. However, it might not be the type of game that some fighting game players oftoday might be expecting.

Based on Hirohiko Araki's iconic manga series, JJBA: ASB isobviously a huge fan service for anyone who hasfollowed the series over the years. Unlike some of the more 'mainstream'manga & anime out there, the JoJo's Bizarre Adventure seriesactuallyhasn't seen many video game adaptations. A true cult classic, Capcom's JoJo's Bizarre Adventure 2D fighter from back in 1998 was based solely on 'Part 3'ofthe series (Stardust Crusaders), and kick-started interest in the Jojoseries to a new fanbase. As the spiritual successor, All Star Battle offers a much more comprehensive roster(over 40 characters),spanning across the 8 story arcs of the series (1987-2011).
The stylized cel-shadedgraphics engine provides an unparalleled level of nostalgia for fans, and impressively manages to capture the manga's iconic art style. What makes All-StarBattle interesting is that itrips many iconic scenes straight from the manga, cleverly bringing them to lifeduring gameplay (in fact, here are some fan-made videosthat demonstrate this). While only hardcore fans will appreciate some of the references atfirst glance, it would seem that All Star Battle aims to bring newfans into the insanely imaginative universe, as well.

As a 'fan service' sortof game, the gameplay engine likely wasn't the top priority of thedev-team... unlike most tried-and-true fighting games of today. First of all, if you'relooking for a fighting game catered to hardcore Super Street Fighter 4 players whostudy frames and memorize 100's of different match-ups... you should probablyjust stick with SSF4. Clearly, the main goal of JJBA was not to become the next headliner atEVO; I'm pretty surethe creators couldn't care less, actually. However, it's also clear that thedev-team did put some significant thought and effort into the fighting mechanics.In fact, most of the infinites and character balance issues found earlyon were swiftly patched. While some overlying flaws still remain, the gameplaymanages to offer a unique and very aesthetically pleasing experience.

For the most part, All Star Battle plays like any familiar 2D fighting game. However, there's a 3D sidestepmechanic, allowing fighters to move a full 360 degrees around their opponent. Characters can quickly sidestep at any time - greatfor dodging projectiles and linear attacks. Furthermore, 'StylishMoves' are special dodges which stylishly slow down theaction when they occur (and they look pretty awesome, indeed). Stylish Moves are done by tapping 'back' as soon as anattack is blocked. They also deplete the Guard Gauge, which can result in a guardbreak when a player is being too defensive.
Characters have a standard amount of specials, alongwith flashy super moves (called Heart Heat Attacks), and mind-blowing 'level 2' supermoves (Great Heat Attacks). Interestingly,there are several different character 'types' in All Star Battle. Each fighter makes use of the universal 'Style' buttondifferently. Characters like Jonathan & Joseph Joestar can strike a pose and 'charge up' to fill their supergauge. Other fighters (most) have a 'stand' whom they can call out to fightalongside them and can perform a variety of unique moves. Lastly, Johnny Joestar and Gyro Zeppeli fight onhorseback (or on foot). Depending on which 'mode' the character is in, they will have different priority & special moves at theirdisposal. In addition, some characters, like Dio (withhis classic 'Za Warudo!' technique), can completely 'freeze' their opponent for a brief period of time,leaving them totally defenseless while they get knocked around. The diversity between the different types of fighters is pretty intriguing andfun to discover. Whilethere are tons of awesome-looking, exclusive attacks per character, I think mostcharacters could use a few moreoptions in terms of their play styles, overall.Similar to some old school 2D fighters, characters in JJBA: ASB have a limited amount ofpriority / basic moves, making their options pretty limited.
The combo system is definitely 'simplified' and a bit stiff when compared tomost fighters these days. The game features a basic chain combo system (Weak, Medium, Strong). Eachcharacter also has at least one basic command attack which can also be strunginto combos. Similar to Persona 4 Arena's auto-combo system, All StarBattle's 'Easy Beat' system allows beginner players to sequentially tap one button and pull off a full combo, complete with a supermove! It's certainly easy for a new player to jump in and start having fun. Formore advanced players, thereis also canceling system in place, enabling longer, more impressive-lookingcombos... Indeed, there are some badass combos in this game (some that eveninclude taunts, mind you)! I think an air combo system would've greatly improved the fun factor of All-StarBattle, but the combo system in place is easy to comprehend at least. While JJBA: ASB isn't nearly as deep or balanced as other fighters, it's certainlyfun to watch (possibly more fun to watchthan some mainstream 2D fighters right now, ifyou ask me).

To wrap up the gameplay details... All Star Battle also features'Stage Hazards' that go into effect when characters approach a specificarea of the background. These hazards can range from speeding cars, to falling chandeliers,to blue toads raining from the sky. In any case, hilarity will ensue! In addition, 'Situation Finishes' will occur on moststages when a character wins with a super move and, like everything else, are basedon actual events from the manga. (When specific characters are used on theirstory-oriented stage, Situation Finishes will faithfully recreate classic eventsfrom the manga!) Last but not least,'Rush Mode' is a clash system, requiring both players to mash buttons- thewinner being the player who mashes the fastest. Rush doesn't occur veryoften, but looks awesome when it does!

Thanks to the epic camera angles and unique style of animation, theoverall 'ouch factor' of the game is quite satisfying. The trademark'machine gun punch' barrages performed by many of the seriescharacters never looked better, and the intensity of the super movesrivals if not succeeds some of Street Fighter IV's. NormallyI would scoff at such long, drawn-out super moves (especially since they'reperformed and connected so easily by the player), but JJBA's supers areso damn intense, dramatic, and many are surprisingly entertaining to watch over and overagain.
One thing I really like about JJBA's animation is that nearly ALLanimation is exclusive to eachcharacter! I'm talking about walking animations, crouch animations, jumping animations (in all 3 directions),falling animations, and of course ALL their attacks. Speaking of theirattacks, there are so many ridiculously unique attacks in All StarBattle, that words can't even describe them. Each character even has twounique throws, which zoom in the camera (almost Tekken style) and lookexcellent. Amazingly fleshed-out character-specific details like these goa long way in my book, and really allow each of the characters to stand out fromone another. A ton of these subtle animations are also throwbacks to specificpanels from the manga. Again, the fan service is simply off the charts! The weirdly charismatic characters ofthe JoJo seriesbrilliantlyshine through the animation quality of All Star Battle.
If you're new to the series, and perhaps youthought King of Fighters had a lot of 'flamboyant' maledesigns, you haven't seen anything yet. While these types of character designs aren't for everybody, they're nonethelessoriginal in nearly every way imaginable, and naturally have translated very well as fighting gamecharacters.Jojo characters are simply a different breed, and you'd behard-pressed to find a single moment when they're not overflowing withpersonality during gameplay.

Other noteworthy visual aspects about the game: The epic 3/4th's angle when charactersbecome really far apart, and the slow-mo effect during K.O., which naturallyhighlights various details of theanimation (just like SF4). There's also a ton of 'manga style' eye candythat pops up all over the screen during gameplay, successfully blurring theline between comic and fighting game. The only major flaw is that the game'sframerate runs at around 30 frames per second (whereas most fighting games are 60FPS). What's worse, is when there's a lot on the screen at once (such as twofighters on horseback), the frame rate drops significantly and there's even someslowdown. If your TV has a 'motion enhance' option, it might actuallyhelp the frame rate in some minor instances, but it's really a shame ASB couldn'tperform better.
Besides the basic modes likeVersus & Online Versus, All-Star Battle features two main singleplayer modes: Campaignand Story.Campaign is an online-based mode, set up similar to many 'free-to-play'mobile games. To play this mode, players use credits from what looks like a battery gauge. This gauge refills by one bar every 5 minutes, but players canpurchase new credits (with real money) if they don't want to wait for it torefill. Players can also purchase various power-up cards to unlock stuff morequickly, but thankfully, these shameless micro-transactions aren't required toenjoy the game. (On the subject of micro-transactions, I'm sure some players also won't be happy about having to buy the additional DLC characters... but they're only $2-$3 each.) Finally, All-Star Battle features a Customize mode allowing players to customize character taunt and victory sequences.
Here's the scoop on Campaign: The mode has 4 options fromtop to bottom - Campaign, Medal List, Ranking & Support Items. 'MedalList' is a list of every medal you've collected for each character. Medalsrepresent all the customization items you have access to; poses, colors,dialogue lines, etc. In 'Ranking,' players can view other players andtheir rank online (along with their own). Finally, 'Support Items'links to the PSN store and players can buy various power-ups with realmoney. In Campaign, players eitherfight against 'boss'characters or ghost characters (called 'visions') based on other players. For bosses, you slowly drain their HP as you win battles against them.Players can also wager additional credits to take more life away from the bosses. Upon defeatingthem, you're awarded with alternate color palettes, new costumes, victory posesand/or new taunts. There are also some mini-games that pop up in Campaign,such as 'pick a card' and a 'rock, paper, scissors' game.
Lastly, Story Mode is a bit of a let down, especially whenconsidering the game visually resembles a comic book.Story is broken up into 8 parts (just like the manga), each part starringthe main protagonist of that series. Each chapter features a ton of text &spoken voiceovers, and the gameplay events involve respective heroes & villains battlingit out (sometimes, repeatedly). Eventhough these consecutive fights are canon in the storyline, it can get pretty monotonous for the player, and it doesn't help that all of the fights take place on the same stage. Aside from a few 'alternate gameplay situations' that I won't spoil,Story Mode is mostly a bore. On the bright side, Story does provide an unfoldingwritten 'summary' of each major part of the manga, which definitelyhelps to understand the story if you don't feel like reading all 8 mangas (However,beware of spoiler alerts!). On the bright side, your time spent in Story willearn you points used to unlock extras in the Gallery (complete with a cool 3DModel Viewer, Art Gallery, Sound Test & JoJo Glossary)... and it gives away some easytrophies! Forthe hardcore JJBA fan, there is a shipload of memorable dialogue to listento, but the awesome voice actors alone don't save the mode from feeling uninspired.

Page Updated: January 16th, 2021 Developer(s): CyberConnect2 Publisher(s): Namco Bandai Designer(s): Hiroshi Maruyama Platform(s): PlayStation 3 Release Date(s): Aug. 29th, 2013 Apr. 25th, 2014 Apr. 29th, 2014 Characters: Jotaro Kujo,Dio Brando, Jonathan Joestar, Dio (Phantom Blood),Young Joseph, Joseph Joestar, Kakyoin, Avdol,Polnareff, HolHorse, Wham, Josuke Higashikata, Okuyasu Nijimura, Giorno Giovanna, Guido Mista, Jolyne Kujo, Ermes Costello, Johnny Joestar, Gyro Zeppeli, Will Zeppeli, Yoshikage Kira, Caesar, Esidisi, Koichi Hirose, Akira Otoishi, Kars, Rohan Kishibe, Diavolo, Bruno Buccellati, Narancia, Enrico Pucci, Kosaku-Kira, Funny Valentine, Jojolion,Iggy, Shigekiyo Yangu,Iced, Fugo, Lisa Lisa, Anasui, Baoh Featured Video: Related Games: Jojo's Bizarre Adventure: Heritage for the Future, Persona 4 Arena, Persona 4: Ultimax Ultra Suplex Hold, Fate/Unlimited Codes, Sunday X Magazine, BlazBlue: Chrono Phantasma, Guilty Gear Xrd -SIGN-, Hokuto No Ken, SengokuBasara X, Tatsunoko VS Capcom, Injustice: Gods Among Us, Super Street Fighter 4: Arcade Edition, Ultra Street Fighter 4, Tekken Revolution, Yatagarasu, Xuan Dou Zhi Wang GameplayEngine 7.0 / 10 Story/ Theme 6.5 / 10 OverallGraphics 9.0 / 10 Animation 9.5 / 10 Music/ Sound Effects 8.0 / 10 Innovation 7.5 / 10 Art Direction 10 / 10 Customization 8.0 / 10 Options / Extras 7.5 / 10 Intro / Presentation 9.0 / 10 Replayability / Fun 6.5 / 10 'Ouch' Factor 9.0 / 10 Characters 8.5 / 10 BOTTOM LINE 8.0/10 Review based on Japanese version Final Words: After nearly 14 years of absence, it's a realtreat to seeJojo's Bizarre Adventure return to the fighting genre (and look so damngood)! Visually, Jojo'sBizarre Adventure: All-Star Battle quickly distinguishes itself from otherfighters. The cool cel-shaded graphics engine, shamelesslycharismatic animations, 'in-your-face' camera angles during supermoves, and manga-inspired touches give the game a very unique personality. To put it bluntly, you've never seen anything like JJBA: All-Star Battle.It's more than a worthy successor to the first JoJo fighting game andturned out to be a really unique fighting game on its own. Some hardcore fighting game playersmay scoff at thesimpler mechanics and the somewhat 'slow' gameplay speed, but there's a certain 'old school' mixed with'new school' charm that I like about the gameplay. JJBA: All Star Battle is definitely a 'casual' fighting game in mostareas... but it canalso be pretty fun once you learn the ropes. Considering this game was made for fans of the series(not ultra nitpicky FGC people), gameplay really isn't 'everything'in a game like this. Also worth mentioning is that many character movesets areactually deeper than they may seem at first (so give everyone a try)! There's a lot toenjoy from a fighting game fan's perspective, especially if you're one toappreciate 'art style' and pleasing aesthetics. The 40+ unique characters give players a ton to experiment with, and thecolorful, otherworldly backgrounds really set the vibe of the universe. The Japaneseversion isn't difficult to get into for English-speaking folks who import, butthings can get a bit confusing in the Campaign & Story Mode. Thankfully, AllStar Battle made its way to the West in 2014, complete with subtitles! English subtitles alone do enhance the overall enjoyment of the game,especially since there's a plethora of Japanese voiceovers throughout (even in the game'svarious menus, which feature tons of character cameos). CyberConnect2 clearly put a tonof heart into this game... something that shouldn't be overlooked. The fact thatAll Star Battle spans acrossthe entire series, from the first manga in 1987, all the way to part 8 in 2011, is an insaneaccomplishment in itself.Even if you're not very familiar with the JoJo series, All Star Battle is theperfect excuse to venture into this eccentric universe. ~TFG Webmaster Click Here for all box artwork / etc!