The absence of free-roaming arena fighters is a puzzling blight upon the modern fighting game scene. In the late 90’s, when more traditional fighters bearing the names of Mortal Kombat and Street Fighter began to fade, the likes of Ehrgeiz, Power Stone, Destrega, and Psychic Force 2012 sought to instill the panic and calamity of a 3D brawler into the traditional fighting game mold.
For one reason or another, few of these games managed any sort of enduring appreciation. Ehrgeiz’ roster was poisoned by the inclusion of half the cast of Final Fantasy VII, and its combat mechanics translated into a chunky mess with uncomfortable, error-prone movement. Destrega allowed for the greatest physical range and playable space of the group, but its shallow move-set and general imbalance lacked any sort of depth. Psychic Force 2012 overt complexity alienated newcomers and Psychic Force fans alike. Power Stone (and its even crazier sequel) became something of a cult hit and remains fondly remembered, but hasn’t made an appearance since a PlayStation Portable compilation in 2006. For all intents and purposes, the dream of an open, fully-3D fighting game died over a decade ago.
As it turns out, the dream of the late 90’s is alive in J-Stars Victory VS+. Packing a serious cachet of diverse characters and employing the style behind the arcade-only Dragon Ball: Zenkai Battle Royale, J-Stars Victory VS+ seeks to reinvigorate the eternally absorbing but perpetually elusive idea of a free-roaming fighter.
What you do in J-Stars Victory VS+ isn’t as arresting as who’s a part of it. The anime equivalent of Bandai Namco’s own Project X Zone, it boasts 52 different characters from 31 unique Shonen Jump. Not all are directly playable, but just 13 are relegated to support duties, making for an astounding cast of 38 available to the player. Dragon Ball favorites like Goku and Vegeta are expected, as are Fist of the North Star’s Kenshiro, Naruto and Sasuke from Naruto, and JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure’s Johnathan and Joseph Joestar. Also included are favorites from Bleach, Saint Seiya, and Hunter × Hunter, among others.
Actually playing J-Stars Victory VS+, amidst its surrounding fanfare and chaos, was a bewildering experience. Two-on-two battles are powered by strong and weak attacks, both merged into brutal combos. Opponents typically fly across the screen in glorious fashion, often initiating the collapse of whatever building they happened to have been slammed into. I wrecked an entire village in one battle, and not for lack of trying. Win conditions involve defeating your opponent three times, though not consecutively. A Win Meter fills up slowly, letting you know how much progress you made.
What’s difficult to relate is how utterly insane J-Stars Victory VS+ felt. Beelzebub’s Baby Beel is a ridiculous character, anchored to reality only by the fact that he appears vaguely human. Watching a half-naked infant go toe-to-toe with Goku is an appreciated visual spectacle, as is are special attacks that include a random cat mauling and pushing back any available opponent. Some form of team attacks were also on the bill, although I wasn’t especially clear how they were initiated.
All J-Stars Victory VS+ has to do is pull off its fighting mechanics competently. It need to allow room for individualization (no easy task with its large roster) and bits of strategy peppered in-between its specific team combos. With such a popular cast of characters I can’t expect it to churn out anything too complex, but wielding a nuanced application of its mechanics, regardless of approach, is essential for eking out any semblance of depth. Basically, it’s poison to be too easy, and it’s poison to be too hard.
In any case, we’ll know more on June 30th, when J-Stars Victory VS+ makes its North American debut on PlayStation 4, PlayStation 3, and PlayStation Vita.
