"A great OVA series made into a less than perfect fighting game"

Jo Jo's Venture is the new offering from Capcom with a whole new twist on fighting. Based off the exciting anime/manga series, “Jo Jo's Bizarre Adventure”, it showcases the characters, plot and moves from the OVA. Instead of just fighting with your hands, feet or fireballs, you have a spirit connected to you which is referred to as a “Stand”. Stands can be of different elements, such as sand, water, shadow, junk, or even flesh.

This way of fighting is a very cool way to play. Your Stand can be brought in to fight with the touch of a button, and together you can unite to unleash devastating moves against your opponent. Your Stand also has its own Health bar right below yours, which acts similar to the weapon break bar in Soul Edge; when it is empty, your Stand disappears for a short while to charge up and you are left acing the enemy with your bare hands.

This could have been the perfect game if it weren't for a few flaws. First, for those who have not read the manga or seen the anime, the game doesn't really explain the plot well, or explain what a “Stand” really is. The story line is written horribly to the effect that a character will jump out and your fighter will say “A ha! I must fight you now!” for no good reason. I know it's a fighting game, but at least if they were going to try to put a plot in it would have been nice to spend some time on the dialogue.

Another stickler is for anyone who has not seen the anime, they don't really introduce any of the characters or give them any depth. One of the neatest parts of the game is the “Game Over” screen (don't laugh) where the gambler sits with his Stand. While one of the best episodes of the series, those who haven't seen it will wonder what the heck is going on when his Stand turns you into a poker chip!

Second, the moves are unfortunately just like every other Capcom game ever made. Just walking up for the first time to this game and I could do specials and combo moves without even thinking. Its as if Capcom just redraws the characters and doesn't bother to program anything anymore, and the joy I get from learning moves was taken away. How fun can a game be when you can beat several guys in a row using just specials over and over?

To summarize, I really am beginning to believe that Capcom is just going to turn out game after game with no real new moves. Jo Jo's Bizarre Venture could have been a ground breaking game with the idea of a “tag team” like spirit and the many colorful and interesting characters abundant in the series, but instead just chose to downplay the whole point of paying homage to a good series by making it into another Street Fighter clone.

Reviewer's Score: 6/10, Originally Posted: 11/01/99, Updated 11/01/99