The J-Stars Victory VS+ release date is June 30, 2015 in America & June 30th in Europe. A Collector’s Edition will also be available for those who pre-order the game from select retailers, which will come with an Artbook called the “J-Stars VS+ Compendium” that includes over 52 pieces of character artwork! The game itself will be released in hardcopy form on PlayStation 4 & PlayStation 3 but digital-only for the PS Vita version.
Check out this trailer for J-Stars Victory Vs+!
Developed by Spike Chunsoft, this game marks the first time that Western gamers will be able to play this compilation series which takes many anime & manga characters, from the likes of Dragon Ball Z, One Piece, Naruto, Bleach, and more, and allows them to fight each other! If this game is successful, more anime crossover titles could also be released in the West!
Additional details have also been revealed.
J-Stars Victory Vs+ will only include Japanese voiceovers on all versions (PS4, PS3, PS Vita), and will not include English voices.
True anime fans will probably be happy about this, as they typically prefer to watch the subtitled versions instead of the English dubs anyway, so you can see why Namco would opt to save money & just have Japanese voices. But this is certainly going to be a disappointment for fans of the English casts of these shows.
Here’s the J-Stars Victory Vs+ image gallery.
Click on any of these image thumbnails to see the full-size photos:
It’s also been confirmed that the roster of playable characters will remain exactly the same as in the Japanese version, and will not include any new characters for the Western release.
Although the Western release does contain new content over the Japanese version, including a new Arcade Mode (whch is why the version is called “Plus”) as well as balancing tweaks and the addition of the PS4 version.
“We understand Western gamers expect to have more replay value, which is why we added Arcade mode exclusively for the West,” producer Koji Nakajima told Siliconera. “There are many difficulty levels for this and what’s unique is depending on the difficulty level there are conditions such as only picking characters on your team who were from the ’80s or ’90s.” – producer Koji Nakajima to Siliconera.
Sadly, it is very unlikely that the Western versions will get anime theme songs that were available via the Limited Edition version in Japan, due to licensing issues (naturally).
Lastly, the PS4 version will feature textures that are essentially the same as on the PS3, and will also maintain only a 30 framers per second framerate despite being on more powerful hardware. The developers say this is due to the game being written to work in 30fps, so it would’ve been too monumental a task to increase it even on PS4.
Speaking to Siliconera, “It’s been one year since we released the game in Japan and we implemented some balance changes after getting fan feedback,” producer Koji Nakajima discussed. “The revisions are pretty specific such as changing the combo sequence and how much knockback there is when characters get hit. We didn’t make many major changes compared to the Japanese version.”
Synopsis:
Celebrating the 45th anniversary of the “Shonen JUMP” magazine and the 20th anniversary of the “V JUMP” magazine in Japan, a never before seen fighting game has been developed!
J-STARS Victory Vs+ invites fans and gamers to play with their favorite manga/anime characters and progress in the JUMP World through different environments recalling NARUTO, DRAGON BALL Z, ONE PIECE and other memorable moments. For every Manga and Anime fan, J-STARS Victory Vs+ is jam packed with long hours of intense and amazing battles and a must-have addition to their videogame collection!
Key J-Stars Victory Vs+ Features:
* 1st Time outside Japan – A unique game combining licenses in the famous JUMP magazines is releasing for the first time outside of Japan!
* Incredible Roster – A huge choice of characters coming from the most famous mangas/animes issued in the JUMP Magazine.
* JUMP World – The world where the adventure takes place offers 4 different scenarios in which players can travel in memorable places like “Planet Namek”, “Alabasta” and “Hidden Leaf Village”.
* Epic Battles – With the 2 vs. 2 team battle system, fights are going to be tough, strategic and exciting. Each character possesses his own specifications and attacks coming from the manga/anime. The game also adds special moves called “Combination Attack” and “V-Voltage System” – making battles even more aggressive.
* Arcade Mode – An Arcade Mode has been added to the game in the same vein as other fighting games.
* Stunning Graphics – A PlayStation 4 version of the game is releasing for the first time, offering the best possible experiences and plunging players into the Manga/Anime world.
How excited are you about J-Stars Victory VS+? Will you be buying it to support more crossover anime games getting released outside of Japan?