Cheat Index - Jojo's Bizarre Adventure Dreamcast Review

The Bottom Line
JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure is another rock solid 2-D fighter from Capcom. The cast of characters may be a tad smallish, but the numerous tweaks to the standard Street Fighter formula make this Adventure a worthy trip for any fighting freak. The Dreamcast version holds the edge on graphics and sound, but the PlayStation’s Super Story mode (complete with exclusive mini-games, quests and characters) makes up nicely for it’s second place presentation. If you don’t enjoy 2D fighters, or more precisely Capcom’s brand of 2D fighters, then JoJo may not be for you.

A Closer Look
JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure is not your typical fighting game. Inspired by a Japanese manga, the only word for this game truly is “bizarre.” The PlayStation and Dreamcast versions of JoJo’s both contain the original arcade game JoJo’s Venture (which did see release here in the States), and it’s relatively minor upgrade, JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure (which was even stranger than its predecessor and never saw the light of day over here). As for what makes this game so strange, it’s pretty much everything. The characters are quite odd. The protagonist dresses as a Civil War soldier for no good reason. One villain wears little more than star-shaped pasties and a sentient bikini bottom (very strange, not very erotic). Also, each character has a spiritual totem of sorts called a Stand. During each battle, the fighter can call out his or her Stand to amplify attack strength, access more special attacks, and prevent block damage. These totems range from hulking armored demons to swords possessed by evil spirits, and they could not be more central to the gameplay.

When called out, each Stand gets a power meter. Every time you block with your Stand out, you avoid taking block damage to your character, but the Stand’s power meter will drain. When the meter is empty, your Stand breaks and you are momentarily stunned and vulnerable. You can always call your Stand back out later in the battle, as the power meter will refill quite quickly when your Stand is off-screen. Mastering your own Stand and learning how best to break your opponent’s is critical to becoming a skilled JoJo’s player.

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