JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Stardust Shooters

As a long running part of Bandai Namco’s range of mobile games, JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Stardust Shooters was a favourite. Though it is set to close down entirely in April 2021, the game itself was well-loved for the years that it was active. What was the script with JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Stardust Shooters, though? What was the point of this interesting mobile game?

And will it be missed? After a seven year run, the game will be shut down and the popular game of the well-loved manga series will be put out to pasture.

An interesting take on a unique manga

As you might have noticed, JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Stardust Shooters is a game that is based around one of the most popular manga series of the 1980s.

It was created by Hirohiko Araki, and became one of the mist bizarre yet loveable manga of its era. The game has a massive impact on culture, and it actually has a lot of pop culture references in both Japanese media and western media.

The biggest challenge for players outside of Japan trying to play JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Stardust Shooters, though, is the language. The game is almost entirely in Japanese, and this means that non-Japanese speakers will essentially be guessing their way through the storyline and the wider game itself.

However, with bright and explosive visuals, this game gives you a range of interesting missions to take on that are described in the form of manga panels. The gameplay is pretty simple – you get coins and use the coins in conjunction with characters from the JoJo series. These are then used to shoot around the screen, destroying as many enemies as you can.

Tactical thinking in an interesting design

The thing about the combat is that you are more or less just bouncing coins around the screen, trying to use coins with an attribute that is strong against the enemies on the screen. You can use various abilities, too, to try and hit multiple foes at once, or to get extra shots, or even freeze time itself. So, the gameplay is simple enough to get used to, and each level more or less plays out the same when you are taking part.

However, the gameplay is simple enough to be highly addictive. Also, a good thing about JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Stardust Shooters is that it isn’t quite as loaded with microtransactions as most mobile games. Instead, you get to build up your own coins simply by playing the game – you shouldn’t have to put your hand into your pocket if you wish to play this game.

As a quick note, too, if you like this game then you might wish to check out other games in the series. For example, games such as JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Eyes of Heaven or JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Diamond Records might offer a pretty good place for you to start. The series has grown to achieve a pretty hefty cult following, and other games within the series are absolutely worth checking out.

Pros:

• Excellent colours and designs, fits in with the manga
• Addictive gameplay loop that is fun, simple, and easy to engage with
• Satisfying gameplay without having to dip into microtransactions

Cons:

• A little basic for some – might lack the invention to keep you around
• Game is not available in any language other than Japanese