Just 10 years ago, Bandai Namco Games and GANBARION delivered a Jump Super Stars that had found a good balance between good fighting game and fanservice. The choice of the platform, the DS at the time, and its realization in 2D, had succeeded in capsizing the hearts of fanboys and fans of versus fighting, who were entitled to a sequel the following year, even more complete. Since then, nothing. But at the dawn of Jump's 45th anniversary, the desire to bring all these heroes back into the ring germinated again and it was the Spike Chunsoft studio that inherited this heavy task. Inevitably, with millions of readers around the world, the pressure on the shoulders of the young studio (whose merger was effective in 2012) is more than important, but you should know that the latter does not leave without the slightest experience . Because before becoming a single entity, Spike Chunsoft worked for many flagship titles, especially on the side of Spike, responsible for a good gaggle of DBZ games, the best of the PS2 era. A time long gone, especially when you get your hands on J-Stars Victory VS+ whose first visual contact is hardly positive...
DREAM MATCH CANCEL
In addition to a fairly unremarkable chara-design that has been debated since the announcement of the game, it is the overall realization that is disappointing. Tested on PS4, J-Stars Victory VS+ obviously does not have the aura of a next gen game that we are entitled to expect on this eighth generation of consoles. Also available on PS3 and PS Vita, the title has clearly been the victim of multi-media development, based on Sony's previous console. But no matter, even on PS3, J-Stars Victory Versus + is a disappointment, whether it's the ultra cheap modeling of the characters, its empty sets with cubic buildings and textures from another time, its mechanical animations with chopped movements and its staging at the level of the daisies. Like the Dimps studio, Spike Chunsoft is stuck in archaic development processes where everything is still done by hand, while others have been using motion capture for over 10 years. Even the game design choices are hardly relevant and this obsession with wanting to offer clashes in open arenas at all costs seems to be a purely Japanese problem. Certainly CyberConnect2 is doing perfectly well with the Naruto Ultimate Ninja Storm series, but the Fukuoka-based studio is the exception that proves the rule. Not only did the firm headed by Hiroshi Matsuyama understand the importance of visual impact and dynamic staging, but it also uses cel-shading with intelligence and finesse, certainly the best technology to pay homage to cartoons from our childhood.
But no matter, even on PS3, J-Stars Victory Versus + is a disappointment, whether it's the ultra cheap modeling of the characters, its empty sets with cubic buildings and textures from another time, its mechanical animations with chopped movements and its staging at the level of the daisies.
Visually weak, J-Stars Victory VS+ does not shine by its gameplay either. Far from being catastrophic, the latter is in pure classicism with clashes in closed arenas where you spend most of your time running behind your opponent. On paper, you have to manage to chain 3 KOs to emerge victorious from a match, with the added help of an assist character, just to double the attacks and increase the damage. The idea is therefore to succeed in trapping it somewhere and then hammering it with blows as quickly as possible. Only here, by mixing so many different characters in the same game, the developers had to opt for a balanced gameplay and remove options for certain fighters. Do not try to fly away with the characters of DBZ or teleport you in the back with those of Naruto, only your legs will be your assets. So of course, by holding the R2 button, it is possible to sprint to rush more quickly towards the opponent, but the latter is so limited and the arenas are very large that you have to try several times to try to beat them. to approach his antagonist. It's all the more painful when the opponent in front plays the clock after having taken the ascendancy and does nothing but chain the dodges to win a match like an old coward.
USELESS VICTORY
Similarly, faced with the large number of fighters, it would have been welcome to offer a Training mode, the basis for any good self-respecting fighting game. What chi! To be able to detect the – some – gameplay subtleties of J-Stars Victory VS+, you will have to launch the "Versus" mode and adapt to test the different combinations and other possible and absurd priorities, such as those that make anyone invincible. which person to the survey. Delirium. Similarly, the use of Assists also has its variants and the choice to call on this or that striker would also have required a few hours of training. But in J-Stars Victory VS+, we manage in a B-system way, which denotes a certain lack of seriousness in the development of the title. Everything is cluttered, from the selection screens to the gameplay to the game modes, including the online game, we have the feeling of going back 10 years back, to the beginnings of the service. Nevertheless, in this anthology of listed defects, J-Stars Victory VS+ at least has the merit of offering easy-to-access gameplay. Clearly developed for the general public and young players, the title of Spike Chunsoft is even easier to access than a Naruto Ultimate Ninja Storm, with key combinations of childlike simplicity. But where CyberConnect2's game is more technical by going further into the gameplay, Spike Chunsoft's game stops there, frustrating fans of versus fighting fed to Street Fighter, KOF and others that we are. We are aware that the target is not the same and that J-Stars Victory VS+ is not made for them, but we would have liked more subtle combos than tapping the same key 36 times.
Because very quickly, the camera will bring you back to the harsh reality, the one where in 2015, at some studios, we still haven't found how to tame the action in an open area.
Of course, the supreme grail of this kind of game is being able to trigger the ultimate attacks of each of these great heroes. Genkidama for Goku, Rasengan for Naruto, Pegasus Meteors for Seiya, the nostalgic fiber is indeed present, even if in the end, it still lacks variety. To do this, you are asked to identify the gauge located at the top of the screen and that each team shares. The more a team will chain the attacks recorded, the more it will gain the upper hand over its opponents. Once full, this gauge allows you to launch the ultimate attack, the famous "Victory Burst", which allows our heroes to combine their attacks, regardless of their origins. It's the little candy offered by the developers, and that we don't hesitate to crack in the tooth instead of sucking it to enjoy it over the length, so the qualities are rare. Because very quickly, the camera will bring you back to the harsh reality, the one where in 2015, at some studios, we still haven't found how to tame the action in an open area. However, at CyberConnect2, to quote them once again, this hasn't been a problem for a long time... There is certainly an option to target your opponent, but you very often have to think about refocusing it so as not to find yourself in the wrong direction and thus be vulnerable without knowing it.
WITHOUT HONORS
The other great quality of J-Stars Victory VS+ is its generous roster. With no less than 52 characters on the counter, there is plenty to have fun. However, before being able to enjoy them, even in Versus mode, it is mandatory to go through the "J-Adventure" box which is none other than the single player mode to be able to unlock them. A classic of the Japanese fighting game that forces us to stuff ourselves with these endless discussion sequences between characters during fixed sketches. The words of our favorite heroes are also so insignificant, and the scenario bordering on the most total indifference that it is not disabling to skip them. Better, you will save time because as everyone knows, the goal is to chain the missions to fight this or that character so that the latter comes to join our ranks. As for the rest of the adventure, it will take place on the international waters of the Jump universe, capable of unifying the Karine Tower of DBZ, the Greece of Saint Seiya with the jungle of Toriko. We sail from point to point with a certain heaviness in order to complete the missions that pop up as we progress. Between main missions to advance the story and side quests, the solo adventure will occupy your time for several hours. We won't hide from you that we didn't go beyond 4 hours, but one thing is certain, the narrative structure remains the same, with well-known and quite boring mechanics. At the controls of a boat, we go from island to island to recover the partners, but also to discuss with them, to face them etc. Of course, fanservice obliges, J-Stars Victory VS+ is full of items to recover, just to artificially inflate the lifespan. But that's inherent in a lot of other games, especially open-world ones. The reason why we don't care.
