Hirohiko Araki’s JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure has captivated fans for 35 years with its unique blend of generational storytelling, stylistic visuals, and over-the-top action. The franchise has spawned numerous anime adaptations, video games, and a dedicated global fanbase. JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: All-Star Battle R, a remaster of the 2013 fighting game, aims to celebrate this legacy with a revamped roster and updated mechanics. While it succeeds in capturing the visual flair of the source material, some gameplay shortcomings prevent it from reaching its full potential.
JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: All-Star Battle R key art showcasing various characters.
All-Star Battle R boasts several improvements over its predecessor. Beyond the expected visual enhancements, the game adds ten new characters, ported from JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Eyes of Heaven, seamlessly integrating them into the existing roster of over 50 fighters. New stages, like the “Everglades” from Stone Ocean, further expand the game’s content. The most significant changes, however, lie in the refined combat system. Simplified combos, including an “Easy Beat” option, make executing flashy moves more accessible. Picking up and playing as your favorite JoJo character is remarkably easy.
Jolyne Cujoh from Stone Ocean in All-Star Battle R.
The game condenses the original’s Story and Challenge modes into a new “All-Star Battle” mode. This mode presents key battles from the manga, such as Jotaro vs. Dio, alongside hypothetical matchups like Bruno Bucciarati vs. Funny Valentine. While visually appealing, with manga-style panel transitions, the mode lacks the narrative context of the original game’s story mode. This omission makes it difficult for newcomers to appreciate the significance of these encounters, especially the non-canonical ones.
All-Star Battle Mode grid in JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: All-Star Battle R.
This lack of depth extends to other single-player offerings. The training mode, while functional, lacks advanced features found in modern fighting games, like programmable opponent behavior. This makes mastering the nuances of the combat system more challenging. While the online mode offers further fighting opportunities, performance issues, including significant slowdown, mar the experience. These technical hiccups detract from the otherwise stylish and personality-driven combat.
Despite its flaws, All-Star Battle R is a treat for established JoJo fans. The game faithfully recreates the visual style and over-the-top action of the series, and the expanded roster provides ample opportunity to experiment with different characters and playstyles. However, the shallow single-player content and online performance issues limit its appeal to a broader audience. The game captures the “bizarre” aspect of JoJo, but falls short on the “adventure.”
Rating: 3 out of 5
JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: All-Star Battle R is available on PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, Nintendo Switch, and PC. This review was conducted on a PlayStation 5 review copy provided by the publisher.
