All-Star Battle
Jojo's Bizarre Adventure: All-Star Battle (ジョジョの奇妙な冒険 オールスターバトル") is the first fighting video game made for the PlayStation 3 based on JoJo's Bizarre Adventure . It was announced on July 5, 2012 to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the series. A two minute trailer featuring four characters was released as a promotion. The game contains characters ranging from Part I: Phantom Blood to Steel Ball Run. The game is in development by CyberConnect2 and will be released by Namco Bandai Games in 2013. A Demo that features Joseph, Wham, Jotaro, and Gyro Zeppeli was confirmed to be at TGS 2012.
Gameplay
The trailer shows a 2D fighting style with 3D cellshading characters, not unlike DBZ: Budokai. CyberConnect2 is known for making the Naruto: Ultimate Storm Ninja Series. Gameplay will be similar to JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Heritage for the Future.
- Each character has a Style button that defines how he fights. This is different from the BB Drive in that many characters share similar Styles. For example, Jotaro's Style summons Star Platinum, while Joseph's makes him use the Ripple. Basically, it's the same old Stand button from the previous game, just with a more universal name.
- The gauges are health (self-explanatory), guard (depletes while guarding attacks, causing guard crush when it's empty), and Heart Heat (the super gauge). Some characters also have unique gauges over the Heart Heat one: Joseph's makes his consecutive Ripple attacks stronger, similar to Akihiko from Persona 4: Arena.and Mista got a gauge that shows the amount of bullets he has at the moment.
- One stock of Heart Heat gauge can be used to perform a "Heart Heat Attack", while two can be used to perform a "Great Heat Attack".
- You can perform a Stylish Move: the character strikes one of his poses and dodges the attack completely. It costs some Guard Gauge, but gives you a great chance to counter-attack.
- Taunting the opponent depletes the enemy's Heart Heat gauge, and has some very flashy animations, especially after you win the round.
- The game has chain combos with Weak, Medium and Strong attacks, but there is also the "Easy Beat" option. Just press the Weak attack button with proper timing, and you will perform a combo with a HHA at the end.
- The game's RC mechanic is "Puttsun Cancel". By spending some of the Heart Heat gauge after performing a special move, you can freeze your opponent for a while, either giving you time to continue the combo or make your moves less punishable.
- Tandem Attacks are still in for the characters who have the Stand style. It also still consumes some of the Heart Heat gauge.
- There are stage gimmicks, though it's not clear whether you can turn them off or not.
- There won’t be quick timer events.
Confirmed Modes
- An "unconventional" Story Mode.
- Versus Mode
Confirmed Special Attacks
- Jotaro's HHA is "Oraoraoraora!", his signature flurry of punches, while his GHA is "You pissed me off", which turn the screen into a manga panel and freezes time before delivering even more punches.
- Giorno’s revaled moves are “Life… Arise…” (he grows a tree and climbs it, probably has unique follow-ups), “The sharp pains… They’re hitting me slowly!..” (HHA, a slow-mo punch of Gold Experience) and “Neverending End” (GHA, Gold Experience is transformed into Gold Experience Requiem, gaining new abilities).
- Mista's moves are “I’ll shoot the hell out of you!” (obviously shoots bullets, zoning the enemy) and “Now I’m serious” (GHA, Mista shoots a bullet that gets redirected by Sex Pistols multiple times).
- Kakyoin’s moves are “How about this!” (Hierophant Green unravels into strings), “I shall punish you” (HHA, a combo with Hierophant Green) and “20m Radius Emerald Splash” (GHA, shoots many emeralds all over the screen).
- Polnareff’s moves are “Prepare to be skewered!” (many fast stabs with Silver Chariot), “Can’t catch me when I take off the armor!” (HHA, removes Silver Chariot’s armor, making it faster, but lowering defense) and “Gives you chills, doesn’t it?” (GHA, a very fast attack with Silver Chariot’s afterimages).
Characters
Unconfirmed playable characters
- Rohan Kishibe: appeared in the opening of the trailer but his role as a playable character is not confirmed.
- Dio Brando: is not shown in the battles, but he appears in the trailer "breaking the glass" before a "to be continued" legend appears.
Gallery
References
- Official Site
- Famitsu with detailed info on the game
- SoWL who provided the translation for the Famitsu article
- A Famitsu article detailing the four initial characters and the Demo
Trivia
- After the announcement, Japanese fans and critics complained that the sound effects in the game’s reveal trailer were soft. The famitsu article states final version will have proper sound effects.