Jojo's Bizarre Adventure

"A 2007 perspective for a game released almost a decade ago..."

So you might be asking me, "Why the heck are you writing a review in 2007 for a game that came out in 1999?" For one, I never even knew this game existed until a couple of months ago, and being a 2D fighting game enthusiast that I am, I owed it to myself to check it out while I'm living in Japan where it still has a cult following. Moreover, all the other reviews here are at least 5-6 years old, and while most of them are very informative and I will not repeat those insights too much here, I feel that having a slightly more recent perspective might be useful -- especially for people looking to check out 2D fighting games for the first time or those who want a little variety in their collection.

VIDEO/AUDIO:

Honestly, there is not much to say here. It's a Playstation game that came out in the last millennium, so it really doesn't do it much justice to compare the A/V quality to that of this generation. Everything from character sprites to artwork is drawn manga-style, primarily for the purpose of staying true to its manga roots. Audio quotes seem a bit muffled, and the BGM is pretty forgettable but not really distracting and annoying (like *cough*MvC2*cough*CvS2*cough*). It's nothing earth-shattering, but adequate.

GAMEPLAY:

Capcom deviates from its traditional 6-button layout and halves the number of attack buttons to three (Light, Medium, Heavy) with no distinction between kicks and punches, which is sort of like Melty Blood: Act Cadenza. Joystick commands for special moves are of your typical Capcom-style variety, and the super combos are relatively easier to pull off than in the Street Fighter Zero series. (You simply perform a single QCF motion and press two attack buttons, for instance, although for a few characters you have elaborate inputs similar to what Gouki and Morrigan do.) There is a fourth button to (de)activate what's called a "stand" (which is a supernatural "assistant," per se).

Speaking of "stands," this is what really sets this game apart. Every character has either an active or a passive stand to use in battle, and how effectively these stands are used will usually determine who wins the battle. It seems a bit awkward at first to have to control essentially two characters at the same time, but thanks in part to the simplicity of the move lists, most fighting game veterans will have little trouble getting used to the concept in a short period of time.

The AI is not all that difficult IMO. After I went through the Arcade Mode once on Level 2 difficulty, I bumped up the difficulty all the way up to Level 8, and although the difference was noticeable, I still found the AI manageable. Vanilla Ice, the penultimate boss, seems to suffer from a slight case of the SNK Boss Syndrome, however.

PRESENTATION:

The word "bizarre" truly fits the description of the game. For starters, some of the super combos make even the ones from the Vampire series look ordinary in comparison. For example, you can have the ground swallow you up and then chew you to pieces with a giant mouth, which can be followed by a set of cars emerging from below the ground to pummel you in succession... and that's just from one character. As for the story itself...

That segues into the Super Story Mode. You go through 35 different scenes (with four additional scenes that can be unlocked) which pretty much takes you through the manga storyline. In each scene you will fight with different characters (all but one scene with a protagonist) against all kinds of opponents in various situations.

My biggest beef with this game is that, for each character, there is only one set of opponents available in the Arcade Mode (more or less in line with the manga storyline, again). For example, every time I select Jotaro, my first opponent is always Avdol, followed by Kakyoin without exception, and so on... all the way to Vanilla Ice and Dio to finish the game. So as a result, certain pairings (e.g. all-protagonist battles like Jotaro vs. Joseph) can only materialize in the Vs. Mode between human players. And it's hard to find another 2D fighting game enthusiast to play against these days, especially for an old game like this that no longer features regularly in arcades. If there is already a Super Story Mode in the game so that fans of the manga can faithfully follow the canonical storyline while getting their battle fix, this kind of arrangement for the Arcade Mode is completely redundant and unnecessary. Needless to say, this problem absolutely butchers the game's replay value.

EXTRAS:

This game has extras galore (even by today's fighting game standards), with not just your standard art gallery and such, but a handful of strange mini-games (shooting games, poker, scrolling beat-'em-ups, you name it) that can be unlocked. There are six unlockable characters, some of whom are alter egos of "existing" characters, to bring the total number of playable characters to 22. I could do without some of those extras, however, if a more sophisticated AI and more random sets of arcade opponents were implemented instead to enhance the game's replay value.

SUMMARY OF POSITIVES/NEGATIVES:

+ Relatively easy controls
+ Tons of extras
+ Unique manga-style presentation
- Fixed set of opponents for every character in Arcade Mode
- AI appears to be a little too easy, save for one penultimate boss
- Very little replay value

OVERALL:

The creators of this game obviously catered to the fanbase of the original manga, and everything else became secondary to the "authenticity" with respect to Araki Hirohiko's works. I guess that's what they had to do to get Araki's signature which you see at the beginning of the game.

But despite the limitations of the game, I would still recommend it to:

* Fans of the original manga who want another medium to relive the stories through,

* 2D fighting-game newcomers looking for something relatively easier to get started with, and

* Fighting game veterans who need a little change of pace from SF/Vampire/GG/KOF for something unique and truly bizarre.

I need to finish by adding one warning: DO NOT DO A MARATHON SESSION, ESPECIALLY IF YOU'RE PLAYING BY YOURSELF. Because of the game's limited replay value, you'll get bored of this game really fast if you're just playing against the CPU all the time.

Reviewer's Score: 6/10, Originally Posted: 01/23/07