Fighting Games Friday: An Bizarre Revival for JoJo All-Star Battle

Of all the fighting games that could possibly be remastered for modern platforms, JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: All-Star Battle was one of the last ones I expected, specifically in the form of JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: All-Star Battle R. As far as the JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure series goes, I figured Eyes of Heaven would suffice for Bandai Namco and developer CyberConnect2, a title currently playable on PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 and with a better reputation despite being criticized for its simplicity. Heck, I even figured another port of Capcom’s Heritage for the Future, previously rereleased on PlayStation Network for PlayStation 3 and Xbox Live Arcade in 2012 before going out of print two years later, had a better chance of resurfacing again.

This is because All-Star Battle gained a sordid reputation upon its release on PlayStation 3 in 2013, thanks to the, well, bizarre microtransaction scheme attached to the game’s campaign. Getting into campaign battles required using in-game energy, good for up to ten segments. One segment was required for each battle, but it took a number of minutes to replenish them. Replenishment required a ­20-minute wait when the game first launched, but was reduced to five minutes and finally two minutes following patches after deserved fan backlash.

The format made it a pain to play through the campaign to unlock new content, especially before the updates. That is, unless the player spent money to replenish energy instantly. The cost of this free-to-play game-style scheme on top of a full-priced product was too much, and it was tough to know what the developers and publishers were thinking if they figured for a second that fans wouldn’t erupt at this. The damage was done well before the patched fixes could arrive.

This is why bringing back ASB for modern platforms is a risk, but it seems Bandai Namco and CC2 feel it’s one worth taking. The JoJo environment has, in fairness, changed since the original game released, especially outside Japan.

It’s a partial bet on their parts that ASB can recapture the excitement the original version generated before its release. The fanbase was actively hoping for a new 3D JoJo fighting game that inherited the look of the manga and partially the anime (though only the first season of the latter had aired at the time), and ASB appeared to have inherited the style by including a system and color palette that looked inspired by Street Fighter IV’s. Bandai Namco also did a good job entrusting this to CC2, the company responsible for creating some of the best cel-shaded anime styles in the business at the time. (They have since been trounced by Arc System Works.) Even if it was unlikely to be a spiritual successor to Heritage for the Future, everything seemed great about the game… until it released.

Bandai Namco knows how much more popular the JoJo brand has become in 2022 compared to nine years ago, especially in territories outside of Japan. It’s why this game was first announced on a worldwide State of Play that advertised upcoming Japanese games. They also knew to lead by showing Stone Ocean protagonist Jolyne Kujo, considering the series is in the midst of slowly releasing in batches on Netflix. This is perhaps not the only plan they have to better advertise this for audiences outside Japan.

The R version of ASB will come with new features to change the game’s tempo a bit, including dashes, hit stops, and altered combos. These are ostensibly small alterations, but they’ll make a big difference as far as character balancing goes. Anyone who learned how to play the original game with certain characters will have to at least partially relearn them. (I’ll assume they’re not overselling the new features.) It will also have a new Support Attack tag-team battle system, which sounds inspired by Eyes of Heaven’s. Whether these new features will result in a deeper game remains to be seen. Additionally, most of the Japanese voice actors will be redubbed with their anime adaptation voices, old Joseph Joestar notwithstanding thanks to Unshou Ishizuka’s passing in 2018.

The current details interestingly don’t specify whether all the unlockable features from the original will be available from the start, though I’d be surprised if that wasn’t the case regardless of the state the PS3 version launched in. There are also no details about whether the “energy” recharge for the campaign system has been entirely abandoned, though again, I’d be surprised if it wasn’t. There’s also nothing suggesting the online play will have rollback, though I’m not confident that it will even if the developers want this game to be taken seriously by the fighting game community.

JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: All-Star Battle R is planned for release worldwide early this fall for all current platforms, including PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series, Xbox One, Switch, and PC. If this game performs well, perhaps both companies involved plan on making some kind of follow-up. It’s notably been over six years since Eyes of Heaven released, so we’re about due for a brand-new JoJo game from Bandai Namco and CC2.