"Jump up, jump up and get down!"

There are import games that can be enjoyed by just guessing which menu option is Play, for once you actually start playing, knowing Japanese becomes a moot point. While some of that rings true for Jump Ultimate Stars, this game relies heavily on the ability to read Japanese. Getting the most out of it may mean always playing in front of a computer so you can read a strategy guide, but even then, you feel like you're missing a lot. You've been warned.

One thing is immediately apparent, however: Jump Ultimate Stars is a fighting game starring characters from several different manga. There are easily recognizable names like Naruto and Dragon Ball Z, but since this is primarily a Japanese game, most of the characters you will have never heard of. The game plays favorites, too, trying to appeal to what's currently popular by making more playable characters in some manga than others. There are quite a few from One Piece and only one from Ultimate M.U.S.C.L.E. In fact, there are a few represented manga that have no playable characters at all. The characters in these manga get relegated to being helper and support characters only.

Whoa, things are already getting complicated! Jump Ultimate Stars is about making a deck of battle, helper, and support characters. But a deck isn't a collection of cards. Rather, it's a grid where you try to cram as many character pieces in as possible. Battle characters take up more spaces; helper characters take up the least. Battle characters are the playable ones, and you can have as many as 3-4 at a time. But sticking all battle characters into your deck isn't such a good strategy (nor is it even allowed). Helper characters give stat boosts to your battle characters, and support characters make cameo appearances during battle to dish out special attacks.

There's a lot of thought involved in crafting the ultimate deck, and it's fun to experiment with different combinations. Maybe you'd like to create an all-girls team, a Shaman King themed deck, or a one-man band. Fortunately, you can keep several decks at once and choose before each round which one you want to use. You'll find yourself going back again and again, tweaking the decks every time you've unlocked or evolved a new character. All characters start out as helpers, but with the help of gems won and collected during fights, they can be evolved into support and battle characters and stronger variations of the two. This doesn't mean they can no longer act as helpers, though. You never actually replace a character; you just create more versions of them at your disposal. So if a level 6 Luffy won't fit into your deck, you can fall back on level 5.

As for the actual fighting, it is quite similar to Super Smash Bros. Four players duke it out on a 2D landscape with moving platforms, fire spigots, booby traps, and Bomberman-like power-ups and downs. One of my favorite levels has a bridge that disappears when a sign is hit, temporarily opening a hole to kick somebody through. Levels are encased in a box, but enough punching and kicking will tear through the wall, creating an easy access to a knock out. This isn't the only way to beat your opponent, though. You can also just womp on them enough that they eventually die. Jump Ultimate Stars is fast and frantic, but strategy is required to know when to block, counter attack, switch characters, and call on supports.

In the single-player mode, you progress through different galaxies, beating enough levels in each manga world to advance to the next. While the main goal in each level may typically be to have the most points at timer's end, there are 4-5 additional goals that are a bit harder. Sometimes, you are asked to KO at least two characters with special attacks, not use special attacks at all, finish with a full health bar, or use a certain character's Y+Up move on everybody else, which is why it's hard to know what's going on for non-Japanese-speaking players. However, the variety of goals is refreshing and challenging, and when you start to get the hang of things, you'll be hooked until every last character and level is open (of which there are many).

And it wouldn't be a true fighting game without some kind of multiplayer support. Jump fairs best when played against others who also own the game, because you can show off your favorite decks and see what other people have done with theirs. Since this is a rare game in some territories, though, you can play a watered-down single-card version. This randomly selects your deck and forces you to play on the same level every time, but it's still a lot of fun. Online, the game is a little more difficult to enjoy. Matches seem to start faster than in Mario Kart, and, while most of your opponents will be in Japan, the connection is pretty strong. The downside is that you face off against players who actually know how to play Jump Ultimate Stars and who will kick your butt in no time. The popular mode is to play by lives, not points, so you end up dying in the first ten seconds, then get to sit there and watch the others fight for the next 50.

Fortunately for you, it's very cool to see all these different manga characters interacting with each other. They are drawn true to their original work and have a handful of fitting and amusing battle animations. A cool touch is that characters will start to fade as their health lowers. You know when someone is about to die, because they are pure black and white. Jump Ultimate Stars gets carried away with the special effects, however, and that hurts the frame rate. When four players are present, and the special attacks start flying, the frame rate chokes. It's a sad blemish to an otherwise fantastic handheld fighter.

Final Comments:
The likelihood of Jump Ultimate Stars ever getting localized in America is very, very slim. And that's a shame, because not knowing Japanese makes this game more confusing and frustrating than it should be. If you do know Japanese, however, or are at least willing to put up with the language barrier, get this game now. Do it. Go. Jump Ultimate Stars is the closet you will get to a handheld Super Smash Bros., but don't just draw parallels to that game. Jump manages to be a long and entertaining single and multiplayer experience in its own universe. In fact, it's possibly better. You don't have to be a manga/anime fan to appreciate it, either, though that certainly sweetens the deal.

Score: 9.5 ~ Worth owning

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 08/01/07