jforce


Jump Force (ジャンプフォース Janpu Fōsu) is a Japanese crossover fighting game developed by Spike Chunsoft[1] and published by Bandai Namco Entertainment[2] featuring characters from various manga series featured in Shueisha's[3][4] Weekly Shōnen Jump anthology in celebration of the magazine's 50th anniversary. The game was released on February 14th, 2019 in Japan for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, and the following day worldwide in addition to Windows, and a Nintendo Switch port of the Deluxe Edition was released worldwide on August 28th, 2020. The game was made with Unreal Engine 4.[5]

The game received mixed reviews from critics, with criticism being directed towards its story, gameplay, and failure to deliver its promises upon launch. Bandai Namco announced the discontinuation of Jump Force on November 10th, 2021, due to the disappointing sales during it's release and following two years.

Jump Force and all of its DLCs were removed from all digital stores on February 8th, 2022, making the game inaccessible for newer players. The Online Lobby and Ranked Matches were shutdown on August 24th, 2022. Unranked Online Matches remain active on all platforms.

Announcement

Jump Force was first officially announced on June 11th, 2018, at Microsoft's E3 conference.[6] The trailer for the game showing various locations from Jump mangas, where Frieza is shown destroying the metropolis of New York, but suddenly Naruto Uzumaki, Monkey D. Luffy and Son Goku, who transforms into Super Saiyan, arrive to confront him.

The trailer also showed Goku's fighting mechanics and finally a cinematic showing a combined attack between the three Main Characters. After showing the name of the game, Jump Force, Light Yagami and Ryuk could also be seen watching the fight from a skyscraper.

The game was presented as the "definitive title of the Weekly Shōnen Jump", made to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the magazine.

The title was announced to be released for Windows, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. In light of the doubts about a possible release for Nintendo Switch as well, it was confirmed that no work was being done on such a version due to "technical limitations" of the console.[7]

Development

Pre-Release

After E3's original announcement and over the next few days, Bandai Namco Entertainment also showed three gameplay videos[8][9][10], and another featuring the characters from Death Note.[11] On July 3rd, the three confirmed Bleach characters were officially introduced: Ichigo Kurosaki, Rukia Kuchiki, and Sosuke Aizen, along with some stages. Finally, a trailer was released on July 30th showing these Bleach characters.[12]

On August 21st, 2018, at gamescom, the addition of the characters Gon Freecss, Hisoka Morow, Sanji, Sabo, Marshall D. Teach, and Vegeta was confirmed. This was accompanied by a new trailer, the Namek stage, and features of its online mode.[13] On September 14th, the addition of Yugi Muto from the Yu-Gi-Oh! series was also confirmed.[14] On September 20th, at the Tokyo Game Show, it was announced that Jump Force's release date would be within the month of February, 2019. It was also announced the incorporation of Yusuke Urameshi, Toguro (Younger Brother), Killua and Kurapika[15] alongside the four original ones created by Akira Toriyama;[16] along with the location of the Himeji Castle and details about its season pass, collector's edition and closed beta.[17]

On October 2nd, Bandai Namco published the trailer dedicated to Yugi Muto.[18] On the 11th, the expansion of the character roster was confirmed, with the incorporation of Pegasus Seiya and Dragon Shiryu and the Mexico stage.[19] On October 25th, Ryo Saeba and Kenshiro were also confirmed, in addition to the Paris stage, the official covers and the final world wide release date of February 15th, 2019.[20] On November 12th, more details were shown about the final transformations of Goku, Vegeta and Frieza.[21] On November 27th, the roster was expanded with Kenshin Himura, Makoto Shishio, Cell and Piccolo.[22][23] On December 19th, during Story Mode trailer Trunks, Asta and Boa Hancock are revealed.[24] More details about Trunks, Boa Hancock and Renji were also shown after the trailer.[25] On December 22nd Izuku Midoriya (Deku) was revealed, alongside new Asta info.[26]

On January 10th, 2019, a new open beta of Jump Force was confirmed for the 18 to the 20th of January.[27] On January 23rd Boruto Uzumaki, Kakashi Hatake, Gaara and Kaguya were revealed, in addition to the Konoha stage.[28] On January 25th, during the Taipei Game Show 2019, Bandai Namco released a new story trailer for Jump Force.[29] On January 28th, Dai was revealed, alongside new Boruto info.[30] On February 2nd, Gaara and Kaguya gameplay was revealed.[31] Finally, on February 6th, the character roster was finalized with the reveal of Jotaro Kujo and Dio Brando.[32] On February 11, the launch trailer for Jump Force was released, with its release scheduled for the 14th in Japan, and the 15th worldwide.[33]

Post-Release

On March 29th, 2019, Bandai revealed the first Character Pass Character in Seto Kaiba.[34][35]

On April 11th, 2019, Bandai revealed All Might on Twitter,[36] and released his trailer on April 19th,[37] alongside the whole Character Pass Lineup.[38]

On May 23rd, 2019, Bandai released Biscuit Krueger Trailer.[39]

On May 28th, all 3 Seto Kaiba, All Might and Biscuit Krueger were added to the game.

On July 9th, 2019, Bandai released Katsuki Bakugo's Trailer.[40]

On August 8th, 2019, Bandai released Majin Buu's Trailer.[41]

On August 27th, 2019, both Buu and Bakugo were added to the game.

On October 3rd, 2019, Bandai released Madara Uchiha's Trailer.[42]

On October 31st, 2019, Bandai released Toshiro Hitsugaya's Trailer.[43]

On November 19th, 2019, both Madara Uchiha and Toshiro Hitsugaya were added to the game.

On December 12th, 2019, Bandai released a Trailer of both Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez and Trafalgar Law.[44]

On December 17th, 2019, both Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez and Trafalgar Law were added to the game.

On April 16th, 2020, Baidai announced both a Nintendo Switch Port[45] and the Characters Pass 2,[46] alongside Shoto Todoroki's Trailer.[47] It was also revealed that the 2nd Character Pass would only contain 5 characters, and from what series those characters would be from, in order. The 2nd Character would be from Hunter x Hunter, the 3rd from Yu Yu Hakusho, the 4th from Bleach, and the 5th and last from JoJo's Bizzare Adventure.

On May 26th, 2020, Todoroki was added to the game.

On August 28th, 2020, the Nintendo Switch version was released worldwide, titled Jump Force Deluxe Edition, it includes the downloadable content from the first Character Pass.[48]

On September 17th, 2020, Bandai released Meruem's Trailer.[49]

On September 28th, 2020, Bandai released Hiei's Trailer.[50]

On October 27th, 2020, both Meruem and Hiei were added to the game.

On December 21st, 2020, Bandai released Yoruichi Shihōin's Trailer.[51] Another Trailer was released on January 27th, 2021.[52]

On February 2nd, 2021, Yoruichi Shihōin was added to the game.

On April 7th, 2021, Bandai released Giorno Giovanna's Trailer.[53]

On April 9th, 2021, Giorno Giovanna was added to the game.

On November 10th, 2021, Bandai announced the discontinuation of the game, for unknown reasons.[54]

On February 7th, 2022, at 5pm PST, Jump Force and it's DLC were removed from digital stores.[55]

On August 24th, 2022, at 10pm PDT, Online Services (Online Lobbies and Ranked Matches) were shutdown.[55]

Gameplay

Jump Force is a 1-v-1 fighting game where the player controls a team of three characters from a selection of various [1]manga series featured in the Weekly Shōnen Jump magazine. Players control one character at a time while the others are used as support, with players able to switch between them during battle. Combat functions similarly to the previous Jump fighting game, such as J-Stars Victory VS, Dragon Ball Xenoverse sub-series, Naruto: Ultimate Ninja Storm sub-series and One Piece: Burning Blood, with players moving around a 3D space and utilizing various combos and special moves to attack their opponents. The match ends when one team depletes the other's health bar.

Premise

When the real world collides with many of the Shōnen Jump universes, humanity is invaded by the Venoms, an army of mind-controlled villains led by Kane and Galena. In order to fight back, many heroes are recruited to join the Jump Force under the leadership of Director Glover and his AI partner Navigator. Though, a suspicious figure is using both the Jump Force and the Venoms as an attempt to gain a mysterious artifact and merge all worlds into one.

Story

Frieza attacks New York City with an army of Venoms, being confronted by Goku; however, a stray laser blast from Frieza fatally wounds a civilian in the war zone. Trunks revives the civilian with a cybernetic device called an umbras cube, giving them the potential to be a hero like them. Frieza withdraws, allowing Goku and Trunks to take the civilian back to their HQ, where they are greeted by Director Glover. Glover explains that the manga worlds from "Jump" have somehow begun merging with the real world and using their own umbras cubes to turn evil-hearted humans into Venoms, forcing him to create the Jump Force to quell the threat; the organization consists of heroes from the "Jump" worlds, along with other people saved through the cubes.

The group is divided into Alpha, Beta and Gamma teams; Son Goku leads Alpha to fight off the invading Venoms, Luffy leads Beta to reclaim the territory from the Venoms, while Naruto leads Gamma for stealthy reconnaissance. The new hero, who serves as the game's player character, is asked to join one of the divisions to help repel the invasion. Light Yagami, whose Death Note lost its powers by the merging of worlds has also joined, secretly intent on restoring it.

The Jump Force discover other heroes being mind-controlled by umbras cubes charged with evil energy. They free the heroes and recruit them, taking the cubes for inspection. Duplicates of the Jump villains made of the dark umbras cubes also appear, along with the real ones, adding to the confusion.

After an amnesiac girl named Angela is rescued, several members of the Jump Force suddenly become possessed by evil auras during missions, leading them to suspect a traitor is among them. While Sanji is initially blamed, the culprit is revealed to be Angela, who is a disguise for the evil Galena. She steals the collected umbras cubes and gives them to her "master" Kane, a man seeking to wipe out humanity in revenge for the deaths of his family. The player pursues and defeats Kane, but Glover reveals himself as Prometheus, the true mastermind behind the merging of the worlds and Galena's true master, having used Kane to sow chaos across the worlds. Having outlived his usefulness, Galena seemingly kills Kane and proceeds to stall the heroes to allow Prometheus to continue his plans. The heroes defeat Galena, only for Prometheus to absorb her afterward.

The heroes confront Prometheus, who reveals himself to be a "keyman" charged with showing the real world the stories of "Jump", but grew tired of humanity's vices and attempts to merge the real and the Jump worlds together in order to guide humanity in the right direction. He steals the player's cube for its good energy, planning to use it to balance the evil energy he collected from the villains to become a god. The villains form a temporary truce with the heroes, while a holding-to-life Kane uses the last of his strength to give his cube to the player, and Goku empowers them further with the energy from all of the Jump Force, allowing them to destroy Prometheus.

However, Prometheus's death does not separate the realities, leaving Earth still under threat from the Jump villains. At Trunks' suggestion, the player character becomes the new Jump Force director and continues to protect humanity. Meanwhile, Light finds an umbras cube left behind by Prometheus, planning to use its dark energy to re-power his Death Note.

Characters

The game's launch roster features 40 playable characters from 16 series, with 14 additional characters available as DLC via Character Passes and three added as part of free updates (Kane, Galena & Prometheus) for a total of 57 characters. In addition, players are allowed to create their own unique playable character, customizing them with abilities, outfits and accessories earned through gameplay, or buying them from the Shop and Premium Shop.

Nakajima confirmed in an interview with Bahamut via Siliconera that Ryuk (Light) wouldn't be a playable character because he would be too strong.[56][57]

However, Nakajima pointed out that in the video game, the Jump Worlds and the "Real World" had merged, so the heroes had to try to avoid this situation. One element closely related to this story is the Death Note, which makes Light Yagami one of the main characters.

(For more information on the characters see Playable Characters and Created Character)

Battle Stages

Special Editions

The game has a total of five different editions. Along with the basic/standard edition, there are the Deluxe, Ultimate, Premium and Collector's editions have also been released.[58][59]

Deluxe Edition

Ultimate Edition

Premium Edition

Premium Edition

Collector's Edition

Collectors Edition

Pre-order Bonus and Character Pass

Players who pre-ordered the game of any version will also received a new vehicle for the lobby, as well as three exclusive avatar outfits.[60]

The game features 2 Seasons of Character Passes that add nine and five more characters to the roster respectively. These can also be purchased separately.

Betas

Jump Force had two beta testing periods, one closed and one open. The closed beta was announced in September 2018.[17] It took place between October 12 and 14 on Xbox One and PlayStation 4. It had limited places, which were only accessible to Ep!c Rewards Club[61] members, with the registration period ending on October 7.

On the other hand, the open beta was announced in January 2019.[27] It took place on January 18, 19 and 20, with a division of four sessions for Xbox One and PlayStation 4.

Reception

The game received "mixed or average reviews" according to review aggregator Metacritic.[62][63]

Sales

In Japan, approximately 76,894 physical units for PS4 were sold during its launch week, becoming the top-selling game that week.[64] As of 17 March 2019, the PS4 version has sold 190,214 physical units in Japan.[65] The Nintendo Switch version sold 15,588 retail copies during its first week on sale in Japan, making it the seventh bestselling game of the week in the country.[66]

In North America, the game debuted at number two on NPD's monthly sales chart for February 2019, behind only Anthem. Jump Force is North America's fourth best-selling game of 2019 (behind only Kingdom Hearts III, Anthem, and Resident Evil 2), and had the third highest launch month sales for a Bandai Namco game in the territory.[67]

In Europe, Jump Force debuted at number four on the weekly UK charts, with the PS4 version accounting for 74% of launch sales.[68] It debuted at number one on the weekly Italian charts,[69] and at number three on the weekly Switzerland charts, behind the other two new releases of the week, Metro Exodus and Far Cry New Dawn.[70]

Steam Spy estimates that the PC version sold between 50,000 and 100,000 units worldwide on the Steam platform, as of 23 March 2019.[71] And between 200,000 and 500,000 units as of 22 December 2020.[72]

Awards

Year Award Category Result Reference
2018 Game Critics Awards Best Fighting Game Nominated [73]
2019 The Game Awards 2019 Nominated [74]
2020 23rd Annual D.I.C.E. Awards Fighting Game of the Year Nominated [75]
NAVGTR Awards Game, Franchise Fighting Nominated [76]

Reviews

Trivia

References

  1. ↑ Spike Chunsoft's Wikipedia page for more info
  2. ↑ Bandai's Wikipedia page for more info
  3. ↑ Mangaplus by Shueisha, read manga online!
  4. ↑ Shueisha's Wikipedia page for more info
  5. ↑ Unreal Engine 4's Wikipedia page for more info
  6. ↑ E3 Jump Force Announcement Trailer (Unite To Fight) - June 11th, 2018
  7. ↑ Games Historian Liam Robertson Tweet paraphrasing Bandai's quote about it during E3.
  8. ↑ Gameplay Session #1 (Goku, Naruto, Luffy VS Frieza) - (June 11th, 1018)
  9. ↑ Gameplay Session #2 (Zoro VS Sasuke) - Zoro POV (June 13th, 2018)
  10. ↑ Gameplay Session #3 (Sasuke VS Zoro) - Sasuke POV (June 13th, 2019)
  11. ↑ Let there be Light?? Jump Force Trailer E3 2018
  12. ↑ Bleach Gameplay Trailer
  13. ↑ Gamescom Tailer
  14. ↑ Bandai's announcement post on Yugi Moto, September 14th, 2018.
  15. ↑ Killua, Kurapika, Yusuke and Toguro Trailer
  16. ↑ Akira Toriyama Characters Trailer
  17. ↑ 17.0 17.1 Bandai's post and schedule for the closed beta, September 20th, 2018.
  18. ↑ Yugi Gameplay Trailer
  19. ↑ Seiya and Shiryu Gameplay Trailer
  20. ↑ Ken and Ryo defend Paris Gameplay Trailer
  21. ↑ Super Saiyan Blue and Golden Frieza Gameplay Trailer
  22. ↑ Kenshin & Shishio Gameplay Trailer
  23. ↑ Spanish Blogpost on the Español Jump Force Wiki with Cell and Piccolo's images and information.
  24. ↑ Join the Jump Force (Story Mode Trailer) December 19th, 2018
  25. ↑ Spanish Blogpost on the Español Jump Force Wiki with Trunks', Boa's and Renji's images and information.
  26. ↑ Deku & Asta Gameplay Trailer
  27. ↑ 27.0 27.1 Bandai's post and schedule for the open beta, January 10th, 2019.
  28. ↑ Spanish Blogpost on the Español Jump Force Wiki with information on the new Naruto Characters. (January 23rd)
  29. ↑ Story Mode Trailer (January 25th, 2019)
  30. ↑ Boruto & Dai (Gameplay Trailer)
  31. ↑ Gaara vs Kaguya Gameplay
  32. ↑ Jotaro & Dio Gameplay Trailer
  33. ↑ Jump Force Launch Trailer
  34. ↑ Bandai's post on Seto Kaiba.
  35. ↑ Seto Kaiba DLC Trailer
  36. ↑ Bandai Twitter post on All Might
  37. ↑ All Might DLC Trailer
  38. ↑ Bandai's post on All Might and the Pass' Lineup.
  39. ↑ Biscuit Krueger DLC Trailer
  40. ↑ Bakugo DLC Trailer
  41. ↑ Buu DLC Trailer
  42. ↑ Madara DLC Trailer
  43. ↑ Toshiro DLC Trailer
  44. ↑ Grimmjow & Law DLC Trailer
  45. ↑ Nintendo Switch Jump Force Port Announcement
  46. ↑ Character Pass 2 Announcement
  47. ↑ Todoroki DLC Trailer
  48. ↑ JUMP FORCE - Deluxe Edition - Launch Trailer - Nintendo Switch
  49. ↑ Meruem DLC Trailer
  50. ↑ Hiei DLC Trailer
  51. ↑ Yoruichi DLC Trailer
  52. ↑ Yoruichi DLC Launch Trailer
  53. ↑ Giorno DLC Trailer
  54. ↑ Bandai's announcement on the end of Jump Force
  55. ↑ 55.0 55.1 Bandai's post on the end of sales and online services
  56. ↑ Interview with the makers of Jump Force
  57. ↑ "Ryuk from Death Note isn’t a playable character, because if he writes names into the Death Note, people die, right? He’d be too strong." IGN - June 19, 2018
  58. ↑ Jump Force Website
  59. ↑ Premium Edition
  60. ↑ Spanish Blogpost on the Español Jump Force Wiki with information on the Pre-Order Bonus.
  61. ↑ Club on Bandai's Website
  62. ↑ Base Jump Force scores.
  63. ↑ Deluxe Edition on Nintendo Switch scores.
  64. ↑ Romano, Sal (20 February 2019). Media Create Sales: 2/11/19 – 2/17/19.
  65. ↑ Software Sales Top 50 (March 11, 2019 - March 17, 2019).
  66. ↑ Romano, Sal (September 3, 2020). Famitsu Sales: 8/23/20 – 8/30/20. Gematsu.
  67. ↑ Grubb, Jeff (19 March 2019). February 2019 NPD: Anthem and Jump Force top software sales.
  68. ↑ Dring, Christopher (17 February 2019). UK Charts: Far Cry New Dawn is No.1, but Metro Exodus is the real winner. GamesIndustry.biz.
  69. ↑ D'Angelo, William (26 February 2019). Jump Force Leaps to the Top of the Italian Charts - Sales. VGChartz.
  70. ↑ PLATTFORMÜBERGREIFEND. GameChartz.ch.
  71. ↑ JUMP FORCE.
  72. ↑ JUMP FORCE.
  73. ↑ Watts, Steve (5 July 2018). Resident Evil 2 Wins Top Honor In E3 Game Critics Awards.
  74. ↑ Winslow, Jeremy (19 November 2019). The Game Awards 2019 Nominees Full List.
  75. ↑ Chalk, Andy, 13 January 2020, Control and Death Stranding get 8 nominations each for the 2020 DICE Awards, PC Gamer.
  76. ↑ 2019 Nominees (13 January 2020).
  77. ↑ Jump Force PC Reviews
  78. ↑ Jump Force PS4 Reviews
  79. ↑ Jump Force Xbox One Reviews
  80. ↑ Jump Force Nintendo Switch Reviews
  81. ↑ Saltzman, Mitchell (February 13, 2019). "Jump Force Review". IGN. Archived from the original on 24 November 2020.
  82. ↑ "Análisis de Jump Force para PS4, Xbox One y PC". IGN España . IGN. 14 February 2019. Archived from the original on 24 March 2019.
  83. ↑ Carter, Chris (February 17, 2019). "Review: Jump Force". Destructoid. Archived from the original on 28 October 2020.
  84. ↑ "Jump Force review". EGM. 14 February 2019.
  85. ↑ Hilliard, Kyle (February 15, 2019). "Jump Force Review – Super Smash Blunders - Game Informer". Game Informer.
  86. ↑ Cherdchupan, Michael (14 February 2019). "Jump Force im Test - Zusammenstoß der Anime-Giganten" (in de).
  87. ↑ Ramée, Jordan (February 15, 2019). "Jump Force Review - Shonen Through And Through". GameSpot. Archived from the original on 25 October 2020.
  88. ↑ Kamen, Matt (2019-02-15). "Jump Force review: "An ambitious brawler that suffers from something of an identity crisis"". GamesRadar+. Archived from the original on 18 January 2021.
  89. ↑ Quesada, Daniel (15 February 2019). "Análisis de Jump Force, el juego de lucha de Shonen Jump". Hobby Consolas. Archived from the original on 24 March 2019.
  90. ↑ "Jump Force review: Fan service fantasy". Shacknews. February 13, 2019. Archived from the original on 24 March 2019.
  91. ↑ Nechita, Teodor (18 March 2019). "Jump Force Review (PC)". Softpedia. Archived from the original on 24 March 2019.

External links