JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure It is much more than a phenomenon within the manganime fever: it’s an obsession. The work of Hirohiko araki he has transcended the role through his extravagant adventures and plots full of pure passion and surrealism. So what Jotaro, Giorno, Josuke or own Polnareff star a custom made battle royale makes his fans prepare for the best, for the worst, and for the totally unexpected.
Released exclusively in the arcades of Nipponese -at least, for now- the video game JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Last Survivor brings the spirit and aesthetics of David Production’s well-known anime to a arcade furniture adapted to the occasion: The classic lever and button layout gives way to a traditionally domestic control system divided into two lever-shaped brackets. Of course, the strangest thing about the game is not its furniture, but what is manifested on the screen.
JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Last Survivor It does not seek to reinvent the battle royale formula popularized by PUBG and Fortnite, but take it to your land until you make it your own. From the outset, breaking head-on with a basic principle within the subgenre: instead of having all players enter the game under the same conditions, each character in play has unique characteristics and an ability that makes them completely different from each other: the ability to use the Stands.
For practical purposes, and for the game, a Stand is a supernatural power exclusive to each character. In the manganime it is a physical manifestation of the will and soul of its users, granting them unusual abilities such as, for example, executing bursts of punches with mind-blowing precision and speed, and even the ability to turn inorganic objects into living organisms.
Logically, the level the dangerous Each Stand depends on how each carrier uses it, so seemingly harmless abilities can give a lot of play in combat. Specially in a battle royale with up to 20 players per game. A figure that might seem modest, of course, but that is more and better understood by looking at the way in which the overall gaming experience is designed.
Three generations of JoJos unleash chaos in the town of Morioh
Stands usually look really quirky.. Sometimes they take on a humanoid or animal form, and other times they are quite twisted versions of more or less common objects. However, these only manifest themselves to those who are also carriers. In Araki’s work there is constant reference to the fact that those who possess this power are destined to meet. A premise that in JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Last Survivor it is fulfilled in each game.
Bandai Namco’s arcade is inspired by bows Stardust Crusaders, Diamond is Unbreakable and Golden wind from JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure, taking the various protagonists and antagonists of the manga and anime to a huge relatively deserted urban map. In fact, there are currently two scenarios: a scale recreation of the village of Morioh and an urban area of Egypt. In both cases, and as is usual, they gradually close their playing area as the game progresses.
The goal of the player? Continuing with the premise of the Battle Royale style Fortnite, the great plan It consists of making our character the last one standing at the end of the game. However, the way of introducing the constant tension and uncertainty in the face of the unexpected from the original anime is what ends up giving to Last survivor a character of its own within the genre.
Something that manifests itself from the first bars of the game through rules adapted to the universe devised by Araki. What’s more, although the deployment of the character and the starting location are chosen by the player himself, where he really breaks with the clichés at the controls: JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Last Survivor offers a very interesting combination of two playable experiences that, without being different, are curious to see in the same game:
- To begin with, our foray into Morioh or Egypt is based on advancing in search of other characters while we search the addresses and locations that come our way. The action is in the third person, and stealth is essential, so that if we run or perform noisy actions our location will be vaguely revealed on the map through katakanas.
- On the other hand, in combat they manifest Classic Arena Fighters battle mechanics like JUMP Force with different types of attacks and unique special techniques based on the powers of the Stands. What’s more, each character possesses unique attributes and qualities in battle that are complemented by their stand.
- Finally, skills with the stand end up being something fundamental in the game. We can use them to camouflage ourselves or go through the map and the walls, in a completely offensive way -including combat- or having all kinds of advantages. What’s more, some can hardly be separated from our characters, while others have a long range of action.
These three factors are complemented by a very rare system to see in Battle Royale and more typical of MOBAs: the ability to level up throughout the game and improve the actions of our stands. Although, we will not be able to collect weapons or crafting pieces in Morioh or the map of Egypt, we will see some Poker chips distributed by the different districts of the stage that will empower our character. The other way to get these tokens is, logically, by eliminating other players.
Of course, the game’s aesthetic constantly recreates the original anime quirkiness with character designs, poses and abilities that flatly refuse to go unnoticed. The choice of colors and setting is completely in tune with the animated series, of course, but the finish of each of the heroes and villains accurately replicates the strokes and style of master Araki and, by extension, his brilliantly absurd abilities.
At the content level, it can be said that the news reaches JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Last Survivor with the same periodicity of the DLCs of the fighting games. Since its premiere in the Japanese arcades, a new map (Egypt) and numerous characters from the last three story arcs of the current anime series have been added.
After all, this is all three seasons of JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure that revolve around the use of the Stands. Although it is not ruled out that, taking advantage of the imminent arrival of Jolyne Cujoh to Netflix, there is room to see news related to Stone Ocean. Which opens up a question for us. By when will a version of JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Last Survivor on consoles? And the truth is that the subject is complicated, but not impossible.
What options do we have to see JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Last Survivor beyond recreational?
Let us see JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Last Survivor on desktop systems it is relatively complicated. Not because of a playable issue, licenses or the impossibility of bringing the furniture control systems to homes, as is the case with other arcade games, but because of its peculiar model of arcade tiles and the way to embrace the multiplayer experience.
Being a battle royale, Bandai Namco designed a system that was as fair as possible to arcade players. That is to say, that would prevent early removal from being a huge frustrationFor both novice players and those who already have lots of accumulated games. Not because it is part of the nature of the game, but because of the fact that entering each game costs money.
A) Yes, JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Last Survivor employs a Play Points system, so that we can acquire starting points and use about 100 Play Points to practice or use up to 400 Play Points to launch directly into a game against the machine or competitively online. Both individually and in small teams.
The interesting thing here is that the price of the game are up to 400 Play Points maximum, that is to say: every second that passes in the game we consume a Play Point, so that if we are quickly eliminated we will not have used up all our game credit. And, logically, if we last more than 400 seconds alive, no more starting points will be discounted.
In addition to training and game modes there are tons of alternatives to spend your Play Points, including a Gacha system. And, as often happens in the Japanese Bandai Namco arcade, we can save our progress and unlockables on a BANAPASSPORT Card. Something that is very rare or practically non-existent on this side of the world.
Since practically its launch, all kinds of requests have been made (including a Change.org) to bring this battle royale based on the successful manganime to consoles. The reality is that, at least for now, Bandai Namco seems to have its hands full. And it is not for less: it has not stopped launching internationally acclaimed animes. And although the Play Points system is a great obstacle, it is not entirely out of the question that we end up playing JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Last Survivor at home.
Tekken 7 and Pokkén Tournament were originally exclusive arcade games that, after several years – and with a lot of content released – Bandai Namco itself relaunched on consoles worldwide. What’s more, something very similar happened with Square Enix’s DISSIDIA Final Fantasy NT and its own progression system and unlockable content. Although, of course, the popularity of JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure it is a matter that must be considered before launching an international launch.
You will have to cross your fingers, but seeing the noise that the announcement of the premiere of Stone ocean on Netflix and that Hirohiko Araki is already working on the ninth part of JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure (or, at least, in the story that will come after Jojolion) there are reasons to be a little more optimistic than the account.