Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure: All-Star Battle (PlayStation 3) Review

The original Manga is a gargantuan series now. Araki Hirohiko's magnum opus has spanned over 25 years, with eight distinct stories and thousands of pages; all part of All-Star Battle in one way or another. The amount of story content is, sadly, quite sparse but at least there is a massive roster for the fans, and the prospect of stand users taking on the stone men or different generations of the Jostar family throwing down is a great draw in itself.

All-Star Battle comes with the usual gameplay modes of a fighter: A Story, Campaign, Versus, and Practice mode, as well as the classic Arcade. Along with the expected modes to show off some of the games assets, this Gallery mode comes with model viewer, sound test, art viewer and a glossary of the series terms. There's plenty to unlock and play with in these extra modes.

Each of the standard game modes are as expected. Versus allows quick matches between players online or offline, as well as against the computer, or to just sit back and watch the AI battle it out in computer vs. computer. Practice mode can be used either to train against an enemy whose behaviour can be customised, or on screen prompts can guide the execution of each move, and, finally, Arcade mode gives a the signature series of 8 consecutive battles. Where All-Star Battle does things differently is in Story and Campaign Mode.

The Story mode allows each of the arcs of the series (or episodes) to be selected, and each gives a ridiculously brief overview of the plot. It's a real shame just how butchered the story is here. Each plotline comes with a handful of stages, and, before each, there is a brief text exposition overview of the story, which skips out massive essential parts, and even some of the very best battles…

This is possibly the biggest issue here; the prospect of being able to play through the best moments of the story again, is one of the biggest draw of anime tie-in games, but when those moments are just reading through a highly simplified synopsis… it's not much fun. There's not even an FMV to start and end an episode, just a splash image.

The story mode is quite short and can be cleared in just a few hours, but, thankfully, there are additional features to expand its lifespan somewhat, since each episode has secret missions that can be unlocked, and each stage has a set of hidden objectives that fit in with the actions in the manga counterparts, and, upon completion of these objectives, secret missions are unlocked for each episode. Finally, there are also "Another Battle" stages to unlock; the same stages from the episode, but from the point of view of the enemy character.

The Campaign mode is… just plain odd. It is online, and seems to incorporate the sort of mechanics usually seen in mobile games. There are five campaigns to choose from, and each has different rewards. A phone battery energy bar is utilised for actions which refills over time (one energy cell per two minutes), and this energy can be used to search within a specific campaign. Searching can either result in finding an Avatar (an AI controlled version of another player's character), or a boss character to fight. Boss characters require numerous battles to completely defeat, with each battle chipping away at their significantly big health bar. Finally, defeating them unlocks a bunch of customisations like poses and outfits that can be used to customize your avatar. This weird mode makes for some strangely compelling play that drags completionists back.

Whichever the mode, the core combat of the game is very hit-and-miss, many characters are imbalanced, and, at points, everything just feels sluggish. The AI is awful too, easy to abuse and defeat even on harder stages. The dynamic poses, big moves, and crazy animation, almost makes up for it for fans, but if there was ever a game that could be thought of as style over substance, this is it.

Jojo's Bizarre Adventure: All-Star Battle really captures the eccentric soul of the source material. On the menu screens random characters from the series will pop up to comment on the selections made, and confirmation screens don't have "Yes" and "No," but instead have Jojo's emphatic "YES! YES! YES!" from his battle with Darby and Rohan Kishibe's "Like Hell I Will!" This overall design, along with some superb vocal talents, and a stunning cel-shaded look, all combine to result in a faithful, and fabulous adaptation of the style of Hirohiko-sensei.