Jujutsu Kaisen is one of the hotter animes on the planet right now, so it was only a matter of time before Bandai Namco licensed the series and adapted it for consoles, like PS5 and PS4. Unfortunately, the result is pretty predictable: this is yet another arena-based brawler, with a combat system you’ve seen dozens of times before.
In this latest character trailer, developer Byking has shown off characters Maki Zenin, Toge Inumaki, and Panda. This follows a previous reveal featuring Yuji Itadori, Megumi Fushiguro, Nobara Kugisaki, Satoru Gojo, and Ryomen Sukuna. We’d expect most of the popular characters from the series to make the cut, and there’ll likely be a post-release DLC plan, too.
The game certainly doesn’t look bad, and there seems to be plenty of variety between the fighting styles of the various selectable heroes. We just hope there are a few surprises in the final game, because despite the Jujutsu Kaisen skin, this gameplay format has become overly familiar in the past few years, hasn’t it?
[source youtube.com]
Comments 10
It really has become too familiar, to the point I block these releases from my mind because there’s nothing particularly interesting to them. Anime is hot fire though.
@ShadowofSparta Yeah they’re all just cookie cutter arena fighters.
We've almost certainly not seen the combat system before 'dozens of times'. That's like saying every fps game is the same. Byking games tend to be quite unique. The My Hero One's Justice games don't quite feel like anything else.
@Toilet_Goat Maybe not literally dozens of times, but it certainly feels formulaic and annoying to some degree if you're an anime fan. And because a lot of popular anime feel like they get maybe one good game franchise before they fall out of relevance (Unless they're massive like The Big Three), it feels like wasted opportunity. It begs the question these days, why an arena fighter and not something like One Piece Odyssey which was a gorgeous turn-based RPG (which utilized a unique combat system in being able to jump in and out of groups during combat) with an original story and a new area to explore? or the Attack on Titan games which had you swinging around slaying the Titans?
They've even done 3D arena fighters when it doesn't make sense which adds to the fatigue. Like Demon Slayer? The anime about slaying demons made a 3D arena fighting game instead of making a game about, you know, slaying demons. And it would have been so easy to translate the anime to an RPG. Make the sword styles part of a skill tree, have Tanjiro or other characters be able to get new swords with stats and/or abilities. But it's all more effort than just making an arena brawler so it's frustrating to witness. My Hero makes sense because the anime is about fighting, but why not do something more creative like Xenoverse where you create your own hero? That's why it feels like "dozens of times"; it feels like game devs phoning it in. If they saved it for games where it made sense, it'd probably feel a lot less exhausting.
I've got enough self-control not to sink money into these derivative arena fighter games, but man does stuff like playable Maki test that self-control. She's so cool.
@Brydontk Well, apart from a 2d fighting game, there's really not anything else that one can use to adapt JJK into video game form. There are too many 3d fighters for properties that shouldn't have them, of course, but that's because they sell the best. But just because other games that shouldn't be 3d (or 2d) fighters are, doesn't mean that it's this game's fault for being what it is.
My point is basically just that it's unfair to lump this game in with other games from vastly inferior development teams. I don't think any of the other teams in the genre compare to CC2 or Byking.
Bonito flakes! Salmon!
It would be great if Namco made some of these games story-focused games rather than arena-fighting (even if beat em up with powers true to the source). The manga/ anime is quite lit with a modern take on Shonen. Anyone is not safe and can die in this story.
@Brydontk I can see so many possibilities. Fromsoft berserk, ATlus jojo bizarre adventure, team ninja demon slayer, Platinumgames kill la kill, tango gameworks panty and stocking. Gintama from the yakuza studio. But nah its just arena fighter after arena fighter
I really like the anime, but arena fighters are not fun for me, too much repetition and weak combat. The anime is dark and I would rather wish for a survival horror or a dark action RPG.
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