JUMP FORCE - Deluxe Edition (Nintendo Switch) Review

The base version for JUMP FORCE is the deluxe version, most likely to compensate for the long wait to Nintendo Switch. This includes the first Character Pass alongside the base game, although it would have been great to include everything on show. There is a huge roster of characters to choose from, but not including the five extra characters available in Character Pass 2 doesn't make it feel very "deluxe." The character roster includes characters from the aforementioned franchises, but throw in My Hero Academia, Yu-Gi-Oh, Jo-Jo's Bizarre Adventure, Bleach, and more. The main story mode is played with a created character who is introduced to the massive roster of fighters, each of which are pretty stiff, lifeless versions of their anime counterparts.

The art style is rather like Marmite, you either hate it or love it. Some prefer the authenticity of characters in more traditional anime fighters, such as with cel-shading, but JUMP FORCE leans into a more realistic character design, which just leaves the fighters looking slightly off or creepy looking. The downfalls of JUMP FORCE are largely due to the relatively poor performance on Nintendo Switch. Whether it be in docked or handheld it just looked like a blurry mess met with a poor frame rate.

JUMP FORCE, like other anime arena fighters, has an easy to learn control scheme, with no real complicated combos or button presses. Newcomers will feel very much at ease, and also feel a sense of accomplishment by pulling off spectacular signature specials at the touch of a button. The fighting consists of 1-on-1 battles, each with three characters in their team, allowing for any team member to be swapped in.

All characters share the same HP bar, meaning that swapping out your main character doesn't mean that you get a fresh lease on life when doing so. Rather so, there is one singular life bar that needs to be kept a keen eye on, which can be hard to do when the action is so fast paced and intense. Timing of attacks and dodges, as well as using the more powerful attacks, and tagging in support characters are all pivotal to victory. For some, being able to execute large flashy moves from the start can feel fun and invigorating, but for others the lack of challenge in learning combos and having a rather simplistic fighting style may leave a few players thinking that they have experienced everything on show before.