Anime and manga series are excellent properties to turn into Fighting Games, with titles like Dragon Ball FighterZ and Naruto Ultimate Ninja Storm creating exciting action from popular IPs. However, one of the best adaptations of a series was created as it was regaining popularity, creating a underrated title that has been updated multiple times years after its release. With stylish animation and plenty of references, there are few fighting games that provide experiences so close to their source material.
Too often, fighting games inspired from various anime IPs are “arena fighters,” or games with 3D movement and basic controls without as much complexity as others in the genre. Unlike Dragon Ball FighterZ‘s 3v3 2D style, games like Jujutsu Kaisen: Cursed Clash, My Heroe’s One Justice, or Jump Force have gained much criticism for being bare bones interpretations of beloved properties. Within a traditional fighting game with more mechanics, each character has a greater chance to shine, creating unique combat styles that players can master.
Released globally in April 2014 for the PS3, Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure: All-Star Battle isn’t the first game to adapt the legendary manga works of Hirohiko Araki, but it does do so during when the series was first gaining popularity. With the release of David Productions’ Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure: Phantom Blood and Battle Tendency in Japan in 2012 and 2013 respectively, the series received a revival of sorts, adopting the first two parts of the manga to high praise.
As the third, and arguably most popular, part of the series began its anime adaptation through Stardust Crusaders, All-Star Battle came out to match the new direction the series was going. Long before Dragon Ball FighterZ would create a fighting game that matched its manga/anime aesthetics incredibly well, Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure: All-Star Battle emulated the style of Araki’s work wonderfully. Each attack, pose, voice line, and power of every character had a fluid depiction, not only feeling fluid to control, but also having a high quality of polish that led to cool moments that captured iconic moments.
All-Star Battle combined many different fighting game ideas into one package, making a game similar in scope to Tekken or Street Fighter. Most of the time, players fought each other on a 2D plane, much like a “traditional” game in the genre like Mortal Kombat or Street Fighter. However, some mechanics allowed players to sidestep enemy attacks through a 3D plane, using logic from Virtua Fighter or Tekken depending on the situation. Thankfully, movement restrictions emphasized mastery of a character’s move sets to blend these styles together, rather than the absurd amount of chaotic freedom to mobility seen in “arena” fighters.
When first released, much of the newer anime for Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure had not adapted parts of the original manga, instead interpreting scenes and characters from it for the first time. In many ways, this created the first animated forms of several characters, such as Giorno Giovanna, the protagonist of the fifth part of the series, Golden Wind. In fact, characters from up until the eight part of the series were included in All-Star Battle‘s roster, showing off characters that were being created and written at the time of the game’s release.
While this was surprising on its own, what’s even more unexpected is how All-Star Battle has received continuous support through updates and DLC as recently as 2023 and 2024, nearly a decade after its initial release. These updates included changed voice actors for certain characters, with voice actors from the anime reprising their roles as new parts from the series were adapted. These retroactive adjustments also came with completely new characters in DLC expansions, adding fan-favorites to the roster.
Figures like Risotto Nero and his stand Metallica, and the elusive Wonder of U stand from Part 8 (Jojolion), were created as part of the game’s remaster into Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure: All-Star Battle R, which came out for modern consoles in 2022. Gameplay modifications, updated character designs, and refined graphics made the game resemble the series’ unique art style even more, enhancing the visuals to new heights. Through consistent refinement, All-Star Battle has a level of polish that few fighting games manage to get in the years following their first reception.
One of the best fighting games ever released for arcades was another interpretation of Araki’s series, in Capcom’s Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure: Heritage for the Future. This pixel-art driven title was similar in scale to Darkstalkers or the Street Fighter 3: Third Strike games, with impeccable visuals that drew many characters from the Stardust Crusaders chapter of the series in motion for the very first time. Long considered a classic, Heritage for the Future and All-Star Battle are similar in gameplay in a variety of ways, creating a comparison that shows both titles’ merits.
Calling out your Stand in All-Star Battle or Heritage for the Future adds a layer to combat that most fighting games don’t have, creating a synergy between Stand and user that manifests into flashy combos and fast-paced sequences. Every character in both games are deep fighters to explore, with their own strengths and advantages. Mastering the techniques tied to a character’s power leads to fun discoveries, with many moves calling back to that fighter’s best moments from the anime or manga.
Even after several years, All-Star Battle likely has the best overall roster of characters from every Part of Araki’s series, which has only grown more popular as new parts are animated. Right now, the anime adaptation of Part 7, Steel Ball Run, has fans incredibly eager for more content from the series, giving this fighting game an evergreen quality for having playable characters from that part of the story. All in all, Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure: All-Star Battle and its remaster are excellent titles to try, especially as the anime’s mainstream status continues to grow.
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