CyberConnect2 took the sprawling world of JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure and packed it into a single fighting game. JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: All Star Battle puts 40 characters across eight story arcs into one arena, with a guest fighter from a separate Araki manga thrown in. The result is a dense, visually striking package that mostly delivers on the promise of its source material.
Trailer, via BANDAI NAMCO Europe.
The Cast
The roster is the headline act. Players pick from characters spanning the first eight story arcs, plus a guest fighter from Hirohiko Araki’s earlier work. That mix means you get a wide range of characters across the series.
Not every character ships on day one. The base game disc holds 32 playable fighters, with 14 available from the start. Nine additional characters arrive as DLC, eventually pushing the total to 41. The remaster, All Star Battle R, adds ten more characters, bringing the count to 51 at launch.
Two season passes and two free DLC rounds keep adding after that. The sheer volume of names on offer is the game’s biggest selling point.
The Fighting System
The core loop is simple to explain and complex to master. Players strike with light, medium and heavy attacks, dodge, and press a Style button to activate one of five categories: Hamon, Vampirism, Mode, Stand and Mounted. Character-exclusive Styles, like Baoh Armed Phenomenon and Ogre Street, add further depth.
Each category alters how the Style button behaves. Hamon users draw on Sendo’s power to boost attack strength. Stand users summon their Stand, gaining new moves but exposing themselves to danger in return. The system rewards players who learn which category suits which fighter.
Attacks and damage fill a Heart Heat Gauge, which triggers Heart Heat Attacks or Great Heat Attacks depending on how full it gets. These are the big moments that define a match.
Presentation
The graphics lean heavily on CyberConnect2’s proprietary shader tech, aiming to capture the vivid, colorful look of the manga. Character models are expressive, and the camera angles are dynamic enough to catch every highlight of a fight. It is a striking visual package, even if the animation quality varies across the roster.
Dialogue is drawn directly from the original manga and related works, including light novels. Voice work comes from the first season of the anime series, with the remaster expanding it to cover the first five seasons.
Modes and Multiplayer
Single-player content includes Story Mode, where players face computer opponents across the story arcs. Multiplayer lets human players fight each other online. Both modes share the same combat systems, so the experience feels consistent across solo play and matches.
The stamina gauge replaces HP in most modes, though some variants use HP instead. Matches end when a player drains all of their opponent’s stamina, or when one player has more stamina left when time runs out.
What Holds It Back
Not every character feels balanced. Some fighters clearly outshine others, which can frustrate players who want a deep, competitive multiplayer scene. The sheer density of the roster also means the learning curve is steep, especially for newcomers to the series.
The game’s ambitions sometimes outpace its execution. The mix of genres, story arcs and fighting styles is so broad that it can feel unfocused at times, particularly in Story Mode where pacing suffers.
How It Compares
| Feature | All Star Battle | All Star Battle R |
|---|---|---|
| Platforms | PlayStation 3 | Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, Windows via Steam |
| Characters at launch | 41 | 51 |
| New characters added | DLC: 9 | Remaster: 10, plus two season passes and two free DLC rounds |
| Release date | August 29, 2013 (Japan); late April 2014 internationally | September 2, 2022 |
The remaster adds new fighters and more content, but it also splits the audience. Players who bought the original may find themselves playing against fewer people online, since the remaster runs on entirely different platforms.
The Verdict
JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: All Star Battle is a love letter to fans of the source material, packed with enough characters to satisfy anyone who has followed the series closely. The fighting system is solid, if occasionally uneven, and the presentation is sharp. It is not a perfect game, but it is a confident one.
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