JoJo's Bizarre Adventure

About JoJo's Bizarre Adventure

JoJo's Bizarre Adventure (1998), JOJO's Venture outside Japan, is Capcom's CP System III fighting game of Hirohiko Araki's manga, made by the Street Fighter III team, whose fighters summon guardian spirits called Stands.

JoJo's Bizarre Adventure in Depth

Two fighters trade attacks and special moves, with a super meter that fills as they deal and take damage. The twist is the Stand, each fighter's own projection of energy. Most characters have an active Stand they bring in and out with a dedicated button: while it is out, attacks are stronger, new techniques and abilities such as double jumps open up, and the Stand can attack separately. But hits on a Stand hurt its user, doubly so if it is far away, and a Stand Gauge that drains under attack leads to a stunning "Stand Crash" if emptied. Clashing Stands start button-mashing "Blazing Fists" contests, and Stands can be programmed with attack sequences for long combos. Some characters have passive Stands built into their moves, and Young Joseph has none, fighting with Hamon.

Based on the Stardust Crusaders arc, the story follows Jotaro Kujo, who learns from his grandfather Joseph Joestar that his new Stand comes from the influence of the vampire Dio, and sets out to destroy Dio to save his mother. Story Mode loosely follows the manga with special stages, such as a side-scrolling hunt for the assassin N'Doul while dodging his water Stand.

Making JoJo's Bizarre Adventure

Capcom's Street Fighter III team developed the game, combining the anime-style art of Darkstalkers with Araki's characters for a highly stylised look. It was released in Japanese arcades in December 1998 and in North America in February 1999, and Heritage for the Future added eight more characters in September 1999. Game Machine named it Japan's most successful arcade game of January 1999, and it was the country's third highest-grossing arcade software of 1999. The PlayStation and Dreamcast versions sold more than 300,000 copies in Japan by March 2000.

The Dreamcast version received favourable reviews and the PlayStation one mixed ones. The Electric Playground called them "the most advanced (and strangest) of Capcom's 2D fighting games, but by no means the most addictive", GamePro said the PlayStation version was "best taken as an entertaining change of pace", and AllGame felt it lacked the fine-tuning to last. Famitsu gave both 31 out of 40. An HD version followed in 2012.