The basic gameplay mechanics are those of a standard fighting game: one-on-one battles consisting of two or three time-limited rounds, in which the goal is to deplete the adversary's Vitality Gauge using regular attacks and character-specific special and super moves. Special and super moves require the input of button combinations and/or accumulated energy, which is displayed in a Super Combo Gauge that increases every time damage is dealt or taken.
The game uses a simplified four-button control scheme, consisting of three attack buttons (light, medium, and heavy) and a Stand button, which switches the character's Stand Mode on or off. Pressing all three attack buttons triggers a invulnerable forward dodge; pressing the three buttons while blocking pushes the opponent back a set distance. Depending on which button is used to select a character, a different color palette will be used for that character.
Two single-player modes are available: Story Mode, which traces a character's path through a predefined series of battles and cutscenes, and Challenge Mode, which sees the player take on a series of ten battles while having to choose between health recovery and extra energy after each battle. The game's three unlockable characters can either be unlocked via time release or the game's service menu in the original arcade version; in the Dreamcast rerelease, they can be obtained by clearing Story Mode as certain characters. None of the new characters have AI, so they cannot be fought in Story or Challenge Mode.
Stand Mode
Fighting with Stand Mode on enhances a character's offensive and defensive abilities; these improvements heavily depend on the character and Stand, but the most common benefits are double jumping, absorbing residual damage when blocking special attacks, and more powerful special moves.
Stands themselves are physical extensions of their users, and thus damage and attack effects inflicted upon one carries over to its user. Like avatar/puppet-based characters in other fighting games, Stands are able to act independently of their users, allowing for several offensive gimmicks.
Most of the game's unique mechanics derive from the introduced Stand Mode. Many special moves and attacks send a combatant's Stand away from its user, making it more difficult to protect both at the same time; each character's orientation is based on their position towards their opponent, and not necessarily the opponent's Stand. If a character is damaged while their Stand is far away, the damage received is doubled. On top of the Vitality Gauge and Super Combo Gauge, there is a third gauge, the Stand Gauge, which decreases when a character's Stand is damaged and refills when Stand Mode is switched off. If this gauge is depleted, a Stand Crash occurs, leaving the character paralyzed and open to attack for a moment.
Another feature of Stands is Tandem Attack, which can be executed once a character has one stock of the Super Combo Gauge to expend. During the extended startup flash, inputs can be provided for the character's Stand; the Stand will then perform these button inputs on their own as a Program Attack, leaving the user free to do as they please and attack simultaneously. Controlling the Stand directly by performing a special move will cancel the Stand's predetermined onslaught early, however. Weapon Stand users such as Hol Horse and Joseph Joestar, who are unable to separate their Stand from themselves, can instead perform a Real Time Attack, in which most of their moves can be chained into one another until the stock is emptied.
Some characters lack the ability to enter Stand Mode, such as Mariah and Evil Incarnation Dio; these Passive Stand Users introduce their own complex and specific mechanics into the game. The two nonplayable characters that appear in the game's single-player mode (Death Thirteen and N'Doul) are either present in Stand form only or move completely independently of their Stand.
The mechanics of each Stand create strong differences between the game's characters, and force different offensive approaches for each one. This "character-dependent gameplay" style would inspire several subsequent fighting games, such as the latter entries of the Guilty Gear series (which, interestingly enough, also contains rock and pop music references).
Clashing
If certain attacks of the same strength and intensity occur at the same time and collide, clashing occurs. This only happens with characters with an Active Stand. It is hard to see this system in action as it happens very infrequently. This mechanic would later be incorporated into future JoJo games, such as All Star Battle
In some cases, when two certain opposing special moves are performed at the very same time, a Blazing Fists Match can occur. When this happens, both combatants are prompted to rapidly tap the attack buttons to win the duel and decide who will receive damage, a feature first seen in Samurai Shodown. This feature has since been adopted and expanded in All Star Battle.
Bonus Stages and Special Battles
In some battles, special rules are applied in order to reenact certain chapters of the original manga that were unable to be adapted into the normal circumstances of the 1v1 battles.
- N'Doul is not fought directly; instead, the player character finds himself on a corridor level and must reach N'Doul at the end of the level. Throughout the stage, Geb will attack, and the player must avoid the Stand's attacks by jumping or dashing.
- Mannish Boy (or rather, Death Thirteen) can only be fought in single-player mode if the player clears the first five stages without using continues and while playing as one of the heroes. His attacks exploit the dream-like nature of his stage, as well as the absence of his user. Whether the player wins or loses against Death Thirteen, they are allowed to continue the single-player mode.
Changes in Heritage for the Future
Every starting character from [JoJo's Venture] is available from the get-go, along with DIO and five new characters: Hol Horse, Anubis Dual-Wielded Polnareff, Mariah, Pet Shop, and a newly-playable Vanilla Ice. In addition, four additional hidden characters have been added, these being Rubber Soul, Khan, Hol Horse & Boingo, and Fearless Kakyoin. Furthermore, several of the returning characters from JoJo's Venture have new moves, such as Jotaro's new Blazing Strike variations or Polnareff's Chariot Requiem super move. Additional palettes for each character have also been added to be used with the Stand button. Less significantly, Vanilla Ice's boss AI has been toned down, and Proud Lineage Joseph now wears his tank top from Battle Tendency.
Venture\'s menu systems have been entirely redesigned, and its Survival Mode has been replaced by a variation named Challenge Mode. Sound effects throughout the game have been added or changed, and the startup animations for super moves and Tandem Attacks have been altered. The Super Combo Gauge now resets to one stock after every round, unlike in Venture where it would keep energy between rounds. The input to perform a Guard Cancel was also slightly changed, now resembling the method seen in the Darkstalkers series.
The HD rereleases of the game support online play, including the ability to filter opponents by location and connection speed in a similar manner to newer Capcom fighting games such as Super Street Fighter IV and Marvel vs. Capcom 3. The online mode also introduces a new eight-player multiplayer mode, where players can compete for a chance to battle in the final showdown.
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