Jojo's Bizarre Adventure

"A unique entry into the 2D fighting arena"

Years ago when visiting a nearby gaming store we stumbled on a game called ''Jojo's Bizarre Adventure''. Not being familiar with the Manga or Anime, and not being impressed with the cover art depicting some guy in a hat that would make a member of the ''Village People'' proud, we walked right past it. Some time later when visiting a gaming forum we finally saw screenshots of a game we left lying on a shelf. A game we consider a definite hit that we overlooked.

''Jojo's Bizarre Adventure'' is a 2D fighting game made by Capcom (one of the kings of 2D fighting). The game is based on the Manga of the same name. The game focuses on the 3rd season of the Jojo's manga series and anime. The storyline begins with the return of a vampire named Dio. Dio had previously beheaded and now uses the body of Joseph Jostar's grandfather as his own.
Dio also causes complications on Joseph's daughter, who has only 30 days to save her from death, by defeating Dio and his henchmen.
Alongside with Avadol, and 2 of Dio's ex-henchmen, Kakyoin and Polnareff, and later Iggy the dog, they fight Dio and loses some friends along the way, which you will experience in the Story mode itself.

In a sea of hand or weapon-based fighters, ''Jojo's Bizarre Adventure'' introduces the use of 'stands' into the fighting formula. A 'stand' can be either a spirit form that fights alongside your character, or an animated object or weapon. Each 'stand' adds more moves and specials to each characters standard arsenal. Damage to a stand also effects the fighter, and too much damage can force you to lose your 'stand' temporarily (similar to a 'guard crush' in most 2D fighters). This makes fighting in ''JoJo'' somewhat unique.

Graphically ''Jojo's Bizarre Adventure'' does well. The 2D character sprites are colorful, unique and animate very well. Capcom’ s use of color and flash during specials and supers never show hint of slowdown. Capcom also added artwork and galleries from the original manga and anime during loading screens, and all throughout the game itself. With so much care taken on the characters, Capcom neglected to put as much effort in the backgrounds. They fit each setting, but are dull and unimaginative in comparison to other Capcom works.

''Jojo's Bizarre Adventure'' does well in terms of sound. Each grunt and punch are in tune with the action. Capcom also added occasional character voiceovers and kept the original Japanese audio narration (something that we feel works well in most cases). Each voice fits the character and lends to their personality. The only letdown in the sound category is the in game music. The music becomes dull and repetitive as the game progresses.

Gameplay and replay value is where ''Jojo's Bizarre Adventure'' excels. You begin the game with the choice of Training, VS, Arcade, and Story modes. Arcade mode is your standard fare that allows you to select any character, whether hero or nemesis, to make your way through the ranks to reach that characters final ending. Story mode however is the game’s bread and butter. In Story mode you take control of Jotaro, and his father Joseph. Along the way you proceed through the manga storyline and meet new playable characters to help you. Your adventures are not limited to one on one fighting however. You will also find yourself making your way through puzzles, shooters, and ''Dragons Lair'' type (hit the right direction when prompted) games. Making your way through Story Mode unlocks new characters, games, artwork galleries, and more. The loads of extras gives the player more incentive to keep playing.

''Jojo's Bizarre Adventure'' turned out to be an enjoyable game. The innovative combat system, 22 total unique characters, and extra games that were enjoyable by themselves (We found ourselves playing one of the shooting games more then fighting) kept the game fresh. The artwork and storyline peaked our interest in both the Manga and Anime. This game is a must for 2D fighting fans as well as fans of Anime / Manga.

– Dark Watcher

PROS
Unique Fighters
Innovative fighting
Great replay value

CONS
Music was Dull & Repetitive
Boring Backgrounds

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 06/19/03, Updated 06/19/03