J-Stars Victory VS

J-Stars Victory VS is a rare crossover fighting game that brings together characters from 32 different manga series published in the iconic Weekly Shōnen Jump magazine. Developed by Spike Chunsoft and published by Bandai Namco Games, J-Stars Victory VS was released in 2014 as an amazing tribute to the Shonen Jump universe, so let’s talk about it now!

Kamehameha Versus Gum Gum Pistol

The game’s main story mode, J-Adventure, allows players to embark on one of four themed campaigns as teams of three fighters. For example, the Jump Heroes story teams up good guys like Goku from Dragon Ball, Luffy from One Piece, and Naruto from Naruto. The campaigns have their own plots, but they mostly serve as framing devices for characters to meet, talk, and brawl. Outside the story, arcade-style mode Victory Road provides fights with certain conditions to clear, Free Battle allows custom matches, and Online Mode brings human competition.

The gameplay draws inspiration from games like Dragon Ball: Zenkai Battle Royale and the Ultimate Ninja Storm series of Naruto Games. Each fighter has light attacks, heavy attacks, ranged attacks, area-of-effect blasts, and flashy finishing moves. Support characters can also be summoned to assist, attack, or disrupt foes. The 12 stages pull from Jump manga settings, letting players destroy the Leaf Village from Naruto or the Red Ribbon Army Headquarters from Dragon Ball.

The Clash of Legends

J-Stars Victory VS brings together one of the wildest crossover rosters seen in gaming. With 39 playable fighters spanning decades of shōnen history and 13 support characters, many legendary manga heroes clash for the first time. The characters are divided Speed, Power, and Technique types that factor into gameplay strengths – nimble fighters like Ichigo from Bleach excel at combos, while tanky powerhouses like YuYu Hakusho’s Yusuke can plow through attacks. Notable series featured include JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure, Fist of the North Star, Rurouni Kenshin, and many more.

Despite the all-star cast, some roster choices are definitely unconventional. Characters like Arale from gag comedy Dr. Slump and Luckyman from comedy manga Tottemo! Luckyman seem out of place against the likes of Gon from Hunter × Hunter or Seiya from Saint Seiya. A few major Jump heroes like Kinnikuman also didn’t make launch roster. However, the range of characters speaks to Jump’s long history and diversity.

A Clash, Not Always an Epic One

J-Stars Victory VS was mostly well-received and sold over 500,000 copies, but criticisms kept the game from being considered a full knockout. Critics noted inconsistencies in graphics quality between characters, repetitive combat, and a general lack of gameplay balance. As a Arena fighter, the simplicity appeals more to manga fans than hardcore gamers. The diversity of characters also leads to odd tonal clashes at times – seeing the heroic Kenshin fighting alongside a serial killer like Light Yagami can be quite odd.

Nonetheless, J-Stars Victory VS deserves credit for its audacity and fanservice. There is undeniable joy seeing Jump characters clash, unlocking stylish movesets, and exploring manga worlds. Like many crossovers, it’s imperfect but appeals through shear enthusiasm and personality.

Review: 7/10

J-Stars Victory VS deserves praise for creating a fun battleground for Jump’s most legendary characters across eras and genres to interact. There’s incredible attention and care to representing all these series. However, the number of technical issues show this was trying to juggle more characters than its gameplay systems could handle at launch.

Pros:

• Massive crossover roster with characters across eras and genres
• Slick representations of characters with distinct fighting styles
• Destructible stages themed after famous manga settings

Cons:

• Repetitive combat lacks depth
• Gameplay balance issues
• Underwhelming story modes

J-Stars Victory Vs is a three-dimensional fighting game where characters from different Japanese cartoons gather in the same universe and start bloody battles between each other.

Fight!

The third-person fighter can move in all directions - this is the main feature of J-Stars Victory Vs. Build tactics based on the map - fight in the pit, among the rocks, in the arena, on the streets of Tokyo. Choose your favorite hero:

• Saski Uchiha
• Regular office worker
• Gon Fricks
• Kenshiro

The characters move super effectively, the artists have animated them beautifully.