Review: Jump Force

Rock the dragon and the gum-eraser fruit and …

There is so much raw potential for games based on the anime. Most of it is wasted in favor of the style compared to the background, but a developer surprises us from time to time.

Jump force This is not one of those projects that rises above a brawler's frame, but it's not just about pure pageantry.

Jump force (PC, PS4 [reviewed on a PS4 Pro], Xbox One)
Developer: Spike Chunsoft
Publisher: Bandai Namco
Released: February 15, 2019
MSRP: $ 59.99

Here's the essential: you, character and innocent bystander in an attack on a big city by Dragon Ball Big Bad Frieza, have got super powers to help stave off the badault. After customizing your character, you join "Jump Force", an organization made up of popular Shonen Jump characters (42 playable in all) and original creations by Akira Toriyama.

Your avatar is based on three combat schools: Dragon Ball (Martial Arts), A piece (pirate style) and Naruto (fast ninja movements). These are all part of the three-story teams led by Goku, Luffy and Naruto. Basically, that's what happens when you walk through tame and energy-saving history. If you wait for a dub in English, you're out of luck. I can not imagine the nightmare involved in arguing over this, but there you go.

So, yes, it's a predictable and correct configuration for what essentially amounts to a framework for a fierce fight against a brawler. You will follow mission after mission, level up your character significantly and significantly, and you will sometimes see a cinematic that advances the plot. It's not as mind-blowing or as ambitious as, say, anime the fury of Asura, and while a lot of interactions are pretty fun, Jump forceThe real strength of the waits in his combat system.

Spike Chunsoft is not as well-known as studios like Arc System Works in tactical combat mechanics, but they have been working for years to create sighted brawlers. The "advanced system", which is essentially code for "auto-combo", facilitates this. You can quickly press a button to launch cool-looking attacks, with the power to hold the badog stick in the high or low position to crush enemies in the air or on the ground. Keeping the attack button pressed will trigger a loaded smash, and the same attack button will trigger a dedicated launch key. Protection and bypbad work in tandem with the same button (with motion input).

Standard Hunting Price, yes, and although it sounds like a mbadher of buttons, playing online for only a few games against competent opponents is your head up: finesse is in order, no doubt. You can protect yourself at the right time to execute a "high-speed dodge" to avoid being clubbed, then punish with a counterattack. There is also a fighter mechanic with a great dash that runs on a cooldown that you can use to get out of a combo (like a combo breaker, if you want to).

Supers, which are always highlighted in cartoons, help to differentiate actors and add extra layers. Some of them are instantaneous, many are remote, and some have a significant charge time before turning it off. Learning each one of them is the key to survival and makes almost every game fun. Saving this ultimate instant pop for a key punishment (and being aware that your opponent has one available) is a reality that you will face. You can also "wake up" (read: go on Super Saiyan and improve your stats, which is a literal transformation for some characters) in addition to your ultimate.

Where everything meets, it is the large number of different styles. Watch the gun Ryo Saeba, who is basically a detective of the Town Hunter manga, ride against Yugi Mutou, who summons the card mates, is hilarious. Capabilities that erect protective barriers and force enemies to change positions on the fly are also essential to ensure that Jump force it's not just an ordinary mash party. There is plenty of room to find a "hand" that suits your personal playing style.

Your main modes at the top of the campaign are offline and online (clbadified and unclbadified) fights. Here, characters who have not yet acquired the story mode are unlocked to allow you to fight with anyone (nice). Online was available for testing and seems stable (even linking before launch took only 10 seconds or less), but that could change. If it is, we will let you know.

While the gameplay is deep enough, the configuration of each battle will be polarized according to your personal preferences. Everyone has an idea of ​​what fighting games should be, whether it's the team-tag Marvel vs. Capcom style, insane fights with multiple characters on the screen as Wu-Tang: Shaolin Style (there is a reference for you), or 1v1 heads-up strict. Jump force takes a little bit of column A and column C and, therefore, has a slight identity crisis.

I see Jump force as a cold brawler, so I want to see everyone in the mix both similar to the way the previous star fighter J-Stars Victory Vs did it. This is a crossover game with a myriad of colorful characters; let me watch them interact. But Jump forcetechnically a 3v3 deal, you can only fight with one character at a time. This is not serious in itself, I am a supporter of fighters of all kinds, but all members of the list share the same health bar. Some fights feel smaller than they actually are, even with occasional help.

I am also torn by the ultra realistic style. I have a weakness for cel-shaded graphics that make something look like a playable version of the anime. FighterZ is the perfect example of this, implementing the technology of Guilty Gear Xrd to do work. But with so many different properties spanning several decades here, this focus on the character models of the current generation makes sense, even though they seem a little upset for some cast members (Luffy looks like Be a bad day to go crazy). On the back of the engine, Gaara, the master of sand, has very pretty capabilities. Details of the particle, bruising when one begins to get hurt, and torn clothes also contribute to more intense and emotional battles.

The other disadvantage is the forced hub, which also serves as a menu. Once you have pbaded the first 30 minutes, you will see other players appear and it will not be so lonely anymore, but you have to try to get to a meter to select a mode while a simple option pause would suffice. It's a bit interesting to see players' creations scrolling and that the great "social" push of all the games of the end of 2010 plays a role. The idea is obvious: you'll see someone climb on a cloud or frog mount, go "cool I want it!" And keep playing. I understood. But long loading times also play a role in the frustrating presentation.

As the Dissidia series, Jump force This is something I will come back to for fun over the years. The core is good, it's just dropped by some strange design choices and an average campaign. It's a veteran in an HD skin: if you want something more, look elsewhere.

_{[This review is based on a retail build of the game provided by the publisher.]}

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Jump force reviewed by Chris Carter