It seems like only yesterday I was talking about my undying love of anime. The over the top action. The occasionally insulting fan service. The plots that don’t give two red cents if you understand them or not. I’m a fan of all of it because, most of the time, anime doesn’t care about pulling its punches. Sometimes literally, when you get into the Shonen style animes that are the subject of upcoming fighting game J-Stars Victory VS+. Which, if you shout it loud enough, sounds like an attack from some animes so it is oddly appropriate.

If you’re like me and you grew up with characters like Son Goku, Yuskue Urameshi, or Kenshin Himura, then this is a game that is making its way to European and North American shores this summer that you really shouldn’t miss. Even if those names mean nothing to you but you have enjoyed the latest outing of Super Smash Brothers, then this will likely be something to look forward to. Bringing together characters from over thirty of the most famous shows in the genre, it is a game that received fantastic reviews when it was released in Japan last March (this kind of delay isn’t uncommon, unfortunately) and I am hopeful that it is the start of us getting more and more high quality imports from Japan. In that spirit, I’ve put together the top reasons why you should be as excited as me about this summer 2015 release.

 

3D Open World Battles

The obvious inspiration for this game was Nintendo’s Super Smash Brothers series, which remains one of the most highly anticipated game every console generation. Putting together characters from multiple series to beat the snot out of each other is something we’ve been seeing since the N64. However, this is much less of a direct clone as you might think. Where SSB’s fights take place in a 2D platform, J-Stars’ battles take place in a 3D field, with varying terrain and with each location working both for and against certain characters. Getting a feel for the area and using it to your advantage will be key to victory in the four player chaos that is sure to ensue.

A huge stable of characters

There are a total of fifty-two characters in total in the Japanese release of the game, with thirty-nine of them being directly playable and another thirteen being available to summon during battle for support. With each one reportedly having a unique playing style, with strengths and weaknesses that reflect those of their anime origins, a lot of work went into making this not just about fan service for fans of anime or about cashing in on the excitement surrounding Shonen Jump’s (the magazine that original published the manga from which these characters spawned) forty-fifth anniversary. While the final US and European release roster hasn’t been finalised yet, it is safe to assume that we’ll be getting a comparable roster to our Japanese friends.

Four Player Split Screen

Do you remember the days when you’d bring your friends round and you’d all huddle around a tiny CRT TV that had been divided up into four sections as you all either played against or alongside each other, depending on the game and how long it took for someone to realise its funnier to just be a troll to his friends? Isn’t it ironic that, now that we finally have TVs capable of showing split screen games without each quarter of the screen being reduced to the size of your hand, there has been such a strong move away from the local co-op games? Well, fret no longer, because local, split screen co-op is a central part of J-Stars Victory VS+. Bring your friends around and be prepared to both hate them as you languish in defeat and celebrate together as you come out on top in the afore mentioned anime battles. Its gaming the way it was meant to be.

An Updated Game

Like all good Americans, I’m an inpatient son of a bitch, but even I know that, sometimes, waiting is a good thing. Don’t buy a game from Steam in July until the infamous Summer Sale starts. Don’t pick up that brand new shiny console: It’ll be cheaper and have better games for it in a year (which is the argument my wife has made against getting a PS4 yet…). Patience can reap rewards for you and, in the case of J-Stars Victory VS, we’ll be getting a game that has been rebalanced in combat, had some of the initial bugs removed, and that has a shiny new single-player arcade mode. Considering that a big issue that the original release had (and a complaint I had about the 3DS release of Super Smash Brothers) was the lack of the single-player experience, this could go a long way to making it the most complete version of the game.

J-Stars Victory VS+ is scheduled for a Summer 2015 release in North America and Europe for the PS4, PS3, and PS Vita. Are you excited at the prospect of giving yourself and your friends the gift of anime this summer? Let us know in the comments below!

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