Jump Force

Jump Force is all flash and little substance. Even with a roster of 40 beloved characters, it fails to stick the landing.

Jump Force provides strategic tag-team arena-based combat that's filled with fun references to Shonen Jump manga, but the game's story leaves much to be desired.

An epic clash between the some of manga's most famous characters shouldn't be this dull, frankly.

The Shonen Jump universe is full of color, life, and creativity. Jump Force brings its iconic characters to our universe, but it leaves everything else behind.

An ambitious brawler that suffers from something of an identity crisis, Jump Force will nevertheless delight anime fans – especially those of a vintage who knows the more obscure characters included here. A bit more finesse on the controls, making them less complex and more responsive, would have elevated the whole experience greatly, as would a more coherent and polished story mode, but it's a solid enough experience with more than enough spectacle and strategy to satisfy. If you're looking for a dedicated fighter that will both test your skills and prove more accessible though, Bandai Namco's own Tekken or SoulCalibur are far better examples of the genre.

Seeing characters from different franchises fight one another is exciting, but the overall presentation drags the whole experience down

Like the Dissidia series, Jump Force is something I'm going to be coming back to for random bits of fun throughout the years. The core is good, it's just let down by some odd design choices and an average campaign. This is an older brawler in an HD skin: if you want something more than that, look elsewhere.

Jump Force can be fun with friends when you're just looking for a quick and easy scrap, but as a celebration of all things Jump, it's a borderline embarrassment. Thanks to a truly egregious art style and comically bad story presentation, this is an accessible and often fun crossover brawler let down by its disappointingly shoddy packaging. Ultimately, it's difficult not to feel as though all of these classic manga and anime properties deserve much better than Jump Force.

What this game is really about is fan service and I must admit that it succeeds in offering folks up a hefty chunk in that department. Jump Force knows that it’s really for the Shonen Jump fans and if you are a fan there’s plenty to like here. One would probably be better off focusing on the core fighting game aspects though.

Jump Force has major problems, but it can actually be really fun. It feels tedious when playing missions, and repetitive at times in combat. But using your favourite characters' abilities in battle remains fun throughout. It's going to be an acquired taste, but anime fans will actually find a lot to enjoy here. Just stick to the online play, where you can remain blissfully ignorant of the awful cutscenes and animation.