is a fighting game developed by CyberConnect2 and published by Bandai Namco Entertainment for PlayStation 3. Based on Hirohiko Araki's long-running manga series JoJo' s Bizarre Adventure, the game allows players to compete against each other using 40 characters taken from the first eight story arcs, as well as one guest character from another manga also created by Araki. The game was released in Japan on August 29, 2013, and was released internationally in late April 2014.
A remaster featuring additional content, titled was released for Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, and Microsoft Windows via Steam on September 2, 2022.
Gameplay
JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: All Star Battle is a 3D fighting game in which players can fight against each other using characters taken from the first eight story arcs of Hirohiko Araki's JoJo's Bizarre Adventure manga series (and one from a prior work by Araki), fighting in various locations taken from the manga. Like most fighting games, the aim is to defeat your opponent by draining their stamina gauge (HP is used in a certain game mode) with various attacks and special techniques. The player wins a round by draining all of their opponent's stamina, or by possessing more stamina than their opponent when time runs out. Gameplay uses five main buttons; light, medium, and heavy attacks, a dodge button, and a "Style" button. Along with the ability to use various special attacks and techniques with different directional inputs, each character possesses a Battle Style, allowing them to utilize additional moves with the "Style" button. Styles have five main categories, consisting of Hamon, Vampirism, Mode, Stand and Mounted, in addition to character exclusive Styles such as Baoh Armed Phenomenon and Ogre Street, each utilizing different abilities when the Style button is pressed. For example, Hamon users can use the power of Sendo to augment the strength of their attacks, whilst Stand users can summon out their Stand, giving them additional move types whilst also making themselves more vulnerable.
Attacking and receiving damage fills up a player's which, when filled to either one or two levels, allows players to perform powerful or , depending on how much their gauge is filled and which multiple button input is chosen. Players can decrease their opponent's Heart Heat Gauge by using taunts when they are knocked down. Players can also use Flash Cancels to deplete their own Heart Heat Gauge to cancel their current combo attack and chain into a new one. The Heart Heat Gauge is also used in some Battle Styles and certain special techniques. , similar to the "Blazing Fists Match" system of Capcom's 1998 fighting game based on the series, occurs when two "Rush" attacks collide with each other, beginning a button mashing minigame. When a character's Stamina is low, the character enters one of two modes to turn the tide of the match: , which increases the character's attack strength and Heart Heat Gauge restoration, and , which in addition to the bonuses from Rumble Mode adds a temporary invincible armor as well. Novice players can use the system, which allows them to more easily string together combos and techniques by using only a single button. Along with the stamina gauge, players also have a which depletes when they block attacks, causing them to become vulnerable if it is completely drained in a . The Guard Gauge is also depleted by Stylish Evades, special dodges that when executed properly make the character perform one of their iconic poses from the manga. The remaster adds three new mechanics; Assist Attacks, in which players can summon another character for an attack, Air Dash, which lets fighters dash in the air, and Stylish Guard, which lets players dodge attacks at the last second.
Each of the game's stages, based on locations from the manga, feature battleground gimmicks which trigger when a character is knocked down onto a certain area, causing hazards such as a speeding chariot to run characters down or a rain of poison dart frogs to induce a poison status. There are also Dramatic Finishes, which trigger when a player is defeated by a super move in a certain area, replicating scenes from the manga.
Game modes
All Star Battle features many different game modes. Story Mode is a single player option that allows players to go through an original story inspired by the first eight parts of the manga, with the eighth part featuring the protagonists of all eight parts in a series of original "what-if" battles. Players control the protagonists of the series, partly reenacting various scenes from the manga. After completing a Part's Story Mode once, a new option known as Another Battle opens up, allowing the player to play as the opposite character in the Story Mode matches, taking on the role of the series' antagonists. It is only through Story Mode that additional on-disc characters are unlocked through play.
Campaign Mode is an online mode where players can unlock items known as Customize Medals which allow them to change the preset appearance and mannerisms of their unlocked characters. Campaign Mode also features several random events that can assist the player in either Vision or Boss matches, such as Rudol von Stroheim depleting the opponent's health bar, Cioccolata increasing the rate at which Boss HP is depleted when more Energy is used, or Ken Oyanagi offering the player a game of rock-paper-scissors to confirm that the next match will be a Boss match of the player's choice. The player can receive Energy as a result of a random event, or it can be purchased via microtransactions.
Versus Mode features both local offline play and online play in either free battles or ranked matches which affect a player's Battle Score. The Western version of the game adds an Arcade Mode, in which the player faces up against eight computer-controlled opponents.
In the remaster, the Story and Campaign Modes are replaced by All Star Battle Mode, which consists of over 100 individual battles, each with their own conditions and special missions for rewards. These include reenactments of battles from the original story and original "what-if" battles. Each page also features an unlockable boss battle reenacting a major battle in the original story. In addition, Versus Mode now features 3-on-3 team battles and a tournament function.
Battle Styles Characters each possess one of five main , reflecting the origins of their own abilities from the manga's continuity, although some characters may possess aspects of the other Battle Styles. : Hamon users can use Hamon breathing to recharge their Heart Heat Gauge or utilize the Hamon in stronger versions of their special attacks. Such attacks will impart unrecoverable damage to a Vampire or Pillar Man's stamina. : Vampires can use their powers with draining attacks to restore their stamina and Heart Heat Gauge. When a vampire takes damage, a percentage of the damage is displayed in silver. This portion of the damage will heal over time, unless subsequent damage is taken, resetting the restorable health. Special attacks from Hamon users bypass this system, dealing only unrecoverable damage. : The Pillar Men can activate their respective Modes, which increase their power but drain their Heart Heat Gauge; they are left vulnerable when their Heart Heat Gauge runs out. They each also possess a more powerful form of their Mode which increases their power further, at the cost of increasing the time they are vulnerable after running out of Heart Heat Gauge. Like Vampires, Pillar Men also receive healable silver damage unless they are struck by Hamon attacks. : Stand users can bring out their respective Stand at will, offering different movesets and special attacks. They also possess a unique ability that allows them to unsync with the Stand mid combo to begin a new combo. Some characters possess Stands that are always active and have different play styles than other Stand using characters. For example, Jotaro Kujo's Star Platinum is toggled on or off by the player while Hol Horse's Emperor is always active. : Characters Mounted on horseback have the ability to call their horse at will, offering up different movesets on or off their horses. These characters also possess Stands, but they are only seen during certain moves. : As he is in a symbiotic relationship with a parasite known as Baoh, Ikuro Hashizawa possesses a unique Battle Style that makes his body transform to suit his needs. Every 25% of his health gauge he loses activates a new benefit: gradual stamina recovery, increased attack strength, and a combination of the Rumbling and Resolve Modes of other characters. If his opponent is using a move that increases their strength temporarily (such as Ermes's Kiss Stickers or Giorno's Gold Experience Requiem), Baoh gains the ability to dodge more easily. : A style unique to All Star Battle R, used exclusively by new character Speedwagon. His playstyle allows him to summon his two allies from Ogre Street, Tattoo and an unnamed Kempo Master, who can perform ranged attacks that can be chained into combos. : A style unique to All Star Battle R, used exclusively by new character Prosciutto. His playstyle allows him to switch between executing combo attacks with his partner, Pesci, and attacking with his Stand Grateful Dead directly. : A style unique to All Star Battle R, used exclusively by new character Stroheim. His playstyle allows him to use his cybernetic enhancements in various ways, such as attacking with a machine gun in his torso or launching his prosthetic hand. Most notably, Stroheim can equip and unequip the UV lasers attached to his shoulders at any time, allowing him to deal rapid damage until the lasers run out of energy.
Both Vampires and the Pillar Men are limited to nighttime or indoor stages until certain qualifications are met in Story Mode. They also all possess a unique animation for the Dramatic Finish on Part 3's Dio's Mansion stage.
Several characters possess unique additional status bars or icons. These include Guido Mista's available ammunition and members of Sex Pistols, Enrico Pucci's 14 Words to switch between Whitesnake and C-Moon, or Gyro's Steel Balls and Rotation energy. Characters from Part 7 Steel Ball Run have a shared unique status bar which represents how many parts of the they possess; for example, one piece allows Gyro to use the Scan move, two pieces allow Johnny to automatically restore his fingernail bullets (otherwise requiring a special move to activate), while all three pieces enable Valentine to use D4C -Love Train- which makes him immune to projectile attacks, particularly those from Johnny and Gyro.
Characters
There are a total of 32 playable characters available on the game disc, with 14 available from the start. Nine additional characters were made available as DLC, eventually bringing the total number of characters to 41. One of these downloadable characters, Ikuro Hashizawa, makes a guest appearance from Hirohiko Araki's earlier manga series, Baoh.
Ten additional characters were added for the remastered release, bringing the total to 51 initial characters. Most of these newcomers in All Star Battle R originate from CyberConnect2's subsequent JoJo game, Eyes of Heaven. Seven additional characters were added to the remaster as post-launch downloadable content via two season passes, with two others added as free DLC.
Part 1 Phantom Blood Jonathan Joestar (voice: Kazuyuki Okitsu), Hamon Will A. Zeppeli (voice: Yoku Shioya), Hamon Robert E. O. Speedwagon (voice: Yoji Ueda), Ogre Street Dio Brando (voice: Takehito Koyasu), Vampirism Part 2 Battle Tendency Joseph Joestar (voice: Tomokazu Sugita), Hamon Caesar Anthonio Zeppeli (voice: Takuya Satō), Hamon Lisa Lisa (voice: Atsuko Tanaka), Hamon Rudol von Stroheim (voice: Atsushi Imaruoka), Best Science in the World Esidisi (voice: Keiji Fujiwara), Heat Mode