Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure is a huge hit in the anime and manga community. The 30-year old battle series has seen many changes throughout the years. From its beginnings in 1987 with Phantom Blood, to the ongoing Jojolion, this series shows no signs of stopping. Over the series’ 30 year history, there have been a few games based off of various parts of the series. Some good, and some are repetitive Famicom RPGs. The most iconic of these games, however, is the 1998 Capcom fighting game, Jojo’s Venture, later dubbed Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure: Heritage for the Future.
Jojo’s Venture is a 2D fighting game published by Capcom and distributed in Arcades in 1998. It would be ported to the PlayStation and Sega Dreamcast in 1999, and it received an HD Remaster on the PlayStation 3 in 2012. It’s a 1v1 fighter which takes influences from the Jojo series, specifically Part 3: Stardust Crusaders.
The game makes use of the series’ iconic stands, with almost every character using their own character specific abilities. Each fighter has a fair amount of abilities and options. From the long-ranged attacks from Noriaki Kakyoin and his Hierophant Green, to the ever frustrating Hol Horse, and his controllable bullets, every fighter has some unique playstyle to them. This game is a cult classic, and is iconic in the FGC. Yet, it never got a true sequel. There is 2013’s All Star Battle, but that game is a far cry from Jojo’s Venture.
Courtesy of The Cutting Room Floor
Part of the issue is that fact that the source series (Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure) has only recently gotten worldwide appeal from anime fans. Outside of Japan, the series has always struggled with becoming mainstream in the West, leading to very little in terms of video games. This is also why other series like Dragon Ball see games almost every other year.
The other part is also the legal issues. This is a smaller issue, but the rights to Jojo games no longer belong to Capcom, as they currently belong to Bandai Namco. So in terms of a true sequel, the ball is in that company’s court.
Courtesy of VG Museum
Hypothetically, what would make a good new Jojo fighter? Well for one, it should incorporate all 8 parts of Jojo for its roster. The previous two console Jojo games do this well, with each character and their Stands (or Hamon abilities) properly represented. Speaking of which, outside of the roster, it shouldn’t play like the last two games.
Eyes of Heaven is an arena fighter, much like Dragon Ball Xenoverse, where All Star Battle, while still a good game, is basically a slower Tekken. Both games see the player mindlessly massing buttons to either fill a meter, or deplete health. There isn’t any real strategy or planning involved with either game. It’s really bad in All Star Battle, since oftentimes this spamming can lead to a massive amount of damage being dished out.
Right now would be the perfect time for a new Jojo fighter. With the adaptation on Part 5: Golden Wind coming to a close, there is no better time than now (or whenever Part 7 is animated). Dragon Ball FighterZ shows that anime fighters have potential. The next Jojo fighter should take note of what FighterZ was able to pull off.
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