''Jump Force'' is a Japanese crossover

fighting game The fighting game video game genre, genre involves combat between multiple characters, often (but not limited to) one-on-one battles. Fighting game combat often features mechanics such as Blocking (martial arts), blocking, grappling, counter- ...

developed by

Spike Chunsoft is a Japanese video game development and video game localization, localization company specializing in role-playing video games, visual novels and adventure games. The company was founded in 1984 as Chunsoft Co., Ltd. and merged with Spike (compa ...

and published by

Bandai Namco Entertainment is a Japanese multinational corporation, multinational video game video game publisher, publisher, and the video game branch of the wider Bandai Namco Holdings group. Founded in 2006 as it is the successor to Namco's home and arcade video game ...

, featuring characters from various

manga are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long history in earlier Japanese art. The term is used in Japan to refer to both comics ...

series featured in

Shueisha is a Japanese publishing company headquartered in Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan. Shueisha is the largest publishing company in Japan. It was established in 1925 as the entertainment-related publishing division of Japanese publisher Shogakukan. The ...

's ''

Weekly Shōnen Jump is a weekly Shōnen manga, ''shōnen'' manga anthology published in Japan by Shueisha under the ''Jump (magazine line), Jump'' line of magazines. The manga series within the magazine consist of many Action (fiction), action scenes and a fair ...

'' anthology in celebration of the magazine's 50th anniversary. The game was released on February 14, 2019 in Japan for

PlayStation 4 The PlayStation 4 (PS4) is a home video game console developed by Sony Interactive Entertainment. Announced as the successor to the PlayStation 3 in February 2013, it was launched on November 15, 2013, in North America, November 29, 2013, in ...

and

Xbox One The Xbox One is a home video game console developed by Microsoft. Announced in May 2013, it is the successor to Xbox 360 and the third console in the Xbox#Consoles, Xbox series. It was first released in North America, parts of Europe, Austra ...

, and the following day worldwide in addition to

Windows Windows is a Product lining, product line of Proprietary software, proprietary graphical user interface, graphical operating systems developed and marketed by Microsoft. It is grouped into families and subfamilies that cater to particular sec ...

. A

Nintendo Switch The is a video game console developed by Nintendo and released worldwide in most regions on March 3, 2017. Released in the middle of the Eighth generation of video game consoles, eighth generation of home consoles, the Switch succeeded the ...

port was released worldwide on August 28, 2020. The game received mixed reviews from critics, with criticism being directed towards its story, gameplay, and failure to deliver its promises upon launch. Due to the disappointing sales upon release, the game was delisted from all digital storefronts on February 8, 2022, with its online services shutting down on August 24, 2022, making the game inaccessible for newer players.

Gameplay

''Jump Force'' is a 1-v-1 fighting game where the player controls a team of three characters from a selection of various

series featured in the ''

'' 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.

Plot

Frieza attacks

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

with an army of Venoms, being confronted by Son 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 (along with

Piccolo The piccolo ( ; ) is a smaller version of the western concert flute and a member of the woodwind family of musical instruments. Sometimes referred to as a "baby flute" or piccolo flute, the modern piccolo has the same type of fingerings as the ...

, Zoro and Gaara) to fight off the invading Venoms,

Luffy , also known as is a fictional character and the protagonist in the Japanese manga series ''One Piece'' created by Eiichiro Oda. Luffy made his debut as a young boy who acquires the properties of rubber after accidentally eating one of the On ...

leads Beta (along with Boa Hancock, Sanji,

Boruto is a Japanese manga series written by Ukyō Kodachi and Masashi Kishimoto, and illustrated by Mikio Ikemoto. It is a spin-off and a sequel to the manga series ''Naruto'' by Kishimoto, and follows the exploits of Naruto Uzumaki's son ...

and later

Vegeta ( ), fully referred to as , is a fictional character in the Japanese franchise ''Dragon Ball'' created by Akira Toriyama. Vegeta made his appearance in chapter #204 "Sayonara, Son Goku", published in ''Weekly Shōnen Jump'' magazine on January ...

) to reclaim the territory from the Venoms, while

Naruto ''Naruto'' is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Masashi Kishimoto. It tells the story of Naruto Uzumaki, a young ninja who seeks recognition from his peers and dreams of becoming the Hokage, the leader of his village. T ...

leads Gamma (along with

Kakashi Kakashi may refer to: * Kakashi Hatake, fictional character from the ''Naruto'' series * ''Kakashi'' (album), 1982 album by Yasuaki Shimizu * ''Kakashi'' (film), 2001 film by Tsuruta Norio {{disambiguation ...

, Sasuke, Trunks and Sabo) 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 still-alive 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 downloadable content via Character Passes and three added as part of a free update 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.

Playable characters

;''

Black Clover is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Yūki Tabata. It started in Shueisha's Shōnen manga, manga magazine ''Weekly Shōnen Jump'' in February 2015. The series ran in the magazine until August 2023, and moved to ...

'' * Asta ;''

Bleach Bleach is the generic name for any chemical product that is used industrially or domestically to remove color from (i.e. to whiten) fabric or fiber (in a process called bleaching) or to disinfect after cleaning. It often refers specifically t ...

'' *

Ichigo Kurosaki is a fictional character in the ''Bleach'' manga and anime series and its adaptations created by author Tite Kubo. He is the main protagonist of the series, who receives Soul Reaper powers after meeting Rukia Kuchiki, a Soul Reaper assigned to ...

Rukia Kuchiki is a fictional character in the anime and manga series ''Bleach (manga), Bleach'' created by Tite Kubo. In the series, she is a Soul Reaper, (死神, Shinigami, literally 'Death God'), in charge of slaying and eradicating corrupted souls called ...

* Renji Abarai * Sousuke Aizen * Tōshirō Hitsugaya (DLC) * Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez (DLC) * Yoruichi Shihōin (DLC) ;'' Boruto: Naruto Next Generations'' * Boruto Uzumaki ;'' City Hunter'' * Ryo Saeba ;''

Dragon Ball is a Japanese media franchise created by Akira Toriyama in 1984. The Dragon Ball (manga), initial manga, written and illustrated by Toriyama, was Serial (literature), serialized in ''Weekly Shōnen Jump'' from 1984 to 1995, with the 519 indi ...

'' * Son Goku *

* Trunks *

* Frieza * Cell * Majin Buu (DLC) ;'' Dragon Quest: The Adventure of Dai'' * Dai ;''

Fist of the North Star is a Japanese manga series written by Buronson and illustrated by Tetsuo Hara. It was serialized in Shueisha's manga magazine ''Weekly Shōnen Jump'' for 245 issues published from 1983 to 1988 and initially collected in 27 volumes ...

'' * Kenshiro ;''

Hunter × Hunter ''Hunter × Hunter'' (pronounced "hunter hunter") is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Yoshihiro Togashi. It has been serialized in Shueisha's manga magazine ''Weekly Shōnen Jump'' since March 1998, although the man ...

'' * Gon Freecss * Killua Zoldyck * Kurapika * Hisoka Morow * Biscuit Krueger (DLC) * Meruem (DLC) ;''

JoJo's Bizarre Adventure is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Hirohiko Araki. It was originally serialized in Shueisha's manga magazine ''Weekly Shōnen Jump'' from 1987 to 2004, and was transferred to the monthly manga magazine ''Ultra Jum ...

'' *

Jotaro Kujo is a fictional character in the Japanese manga series ''JoJo's Bizarre Adventure'', written and illustrated by Hirohiko Araki. The main protagonist of the series' third story arc, '' Stardust Crusaders'', Jotaro is depicted as a rough delinquen ...

* DIO * Giorno Giovanna (DLC) ;''

My Hero Academia is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Kōhei Horikoshi. It was serialized in Shueisha's manga magazine ''Weekly Shōnen Jump'' from July 2014 to August 2024, with its chapters collected in 42 volumes. Set in a wor ...

'' * Izuku Midoriya * All Might (DLC) * Katsuki Bakugo (DLC) * Shoto Todoroki (DLC) ;''

'' *

Naruto Uzumaki () is the title character, titular protagonist of the manga ''Naruto'', created by Masashi Kishimoto. He is a ninja from the fictional . As a boy, Naruto is ridiculed and ostracized on account of the Kurama (Naruto), Nine-Tailed Demon Fox—a ...

* Sasuke Uchiha *

Kakashi Hatake is a fictional character and one of the main protagonists in the ''Naruto'' manga and anime series created by Masashi Kishimoto. In the story, Kakashi is the teacher of Team 7, consisting of the series' primary characters, Nar ...

* Gaara * Kaguya Ōtsutsuki * Madara Uchiha (DLC) ;''

One Piece ''One Piece'' (stylized in all caps) is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Eiichiro Oda. It follows the adventures of Monkey D. Luffy and his crew, the Straw Hat Pirates, as he explores the Grand Line in search of the myt ...

'' * Monkey D. Luffy * Roronoa Zoro * Sanji * Sabo * Boa Hancock *

Blackbeard Edward Teach (or Thatch; – 22 November 1718), better known as Blackbeard, was an English pirate who operated around the West Indies and the eastern coast of Britain's North American colonies. Little is known about his early life, but he ma ...

* Trafalgar D. Water Law (DLC) ;''

Rurouni Kenshin is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Nobuhiro Watsuki. The story begins in 1878, the 11th year of the Meiji era in Japan, and follows a former assassin of the Bakumatsu, known as Hitokiri Battosai. After his work against ...

'' *

Himura Kenshin is a fictional character and the protagonist of the manga ''Rurouni Kenshin'' created by Nobuhiro Watsuki. Kenshin's story is set in a fictional version of Japan during the Meiji period. Kenshin is a former legendary assassin known as , more ...

Shishio Makoto , known in the English anime in Western order as Makoto Shishio, is a fictional character from the ''Rurouni Kenshin'' manga series created by Nobuhiro Watsuki and the main antagonist from the ''Kyoto Arc'', the second arc of the series. Shishio ...

;''

Saint Seiya , also known as ''Saint Seiya: Knights of the Zodiac'' or simply ''Knights of the Zodiac'' (translated from the French title ''Les Chevaliers du Zodiaque''), is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Masami Kurumada. It ...

'' * Pegasus Seiya * Dragon Shiryū ;''

Yu-Gi-Oh! is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Kazuki Takahashi. It was serialized in Shueisha's manga magazine ''Weekly Shōnen Jump'' between September 1996 and March 2004, with its chapters collected in 38 volumes. The ...

'' * Yugi Muto/Yami Yugi * Seto Kaiba (DLC) ;''

YuYu Hakusho is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Yoshihiro Togashi. It tells the story of Yusuke Urameshi, a teenage delinquent who is struck and killed by a car while saving a child's life. After several tests presented to him ...

'' * Yusuke Urameshi * Younger Toguro * Hiei (DLC) ;Original ''Jump Force'' characters * * *

Non-playable characters

;''

Death Note ''Death Note'' (stylized in all caps) is a Japanese manga series written by Tsugumi Ohba and illustrated by Takeshi Obata. It was serialized in Shueisha's Shōnen manga, manga magazine ''Weekly Shōnen Jump'' from December 2003 to ...

'' * Light Yagami * Ryuk ;Original ''Jump Force'' characters *

Development and release

''Jump Force'' was developed by

and published by

Bandai Namco (commonly known as and formerly Namco Bandai until 2015, also known as Bandai Namco Group,) is a Japanese mass media and entertainment Conglomerate (company), conglomerate founded in 2005 by the merger of Namco and Bandai. The company specia ...

. The game is using

Unreal Engine 4 Unreal Engine 4 (UE4) is the fourth version of Unreal Engine developed by Epic Games. UE4 began development in 2003 and was released in March 2014, with the first game using UE4 being released in April 2014. UE4 introduced support for Physically ...

, and was created in commemoration of the 50th anniversary of ''Weekly Shōnen Jump''. ''

'' creator

Akira Toriyama was a Japanese manga artist and character designer. He came to be regarded as one of the most influential and important authors in the history of manga, authoring highly influential and popular series, particularly Dragon Ball (manga), ''Dra ...

designed the original characters created for the game. ''Jump Force'' was announced at E3 2018 during Microsoft's press conference. It was released on February 14, 2019 for

and

in Japan, and on February 15, 2019 in the west for the same platforms, as well as

. A

port was announced in April 2020. The Switch version, titled ''Jump Force Deluxe Edition'', includes the downloadable content from the first Character Pass and was released worldwide on August 28, 2020.

Discontinuation

On November 10, 2021, Bandai Namco announced the discontinuation of the game. It was delisted from digital stores along with its downloadable content on February 8, 2022, and the shutdown of its online server ranked matches happened 6 months later on August 24, 2022.

Reception

The game received "mixed or average reviews" according to review aggregator

Metacritic Metacritic is an American website that aggregates reviews of films, television shows, music albums, video games, and formerly books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created ...

Sales

In Japan, approximately 76,894 physical units for PS4 were sold during its launch week, becoming the top-selling game that week. As of 17 March 2019, the PS4 version has sold 190,214 physical units in Japan. 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. In North America, the game debuted at number two on NPD's monthly sales chart for February 2019, behind only ''

Anthem An anthem is a musical composition of celebration, usually used as a symbol for a distinct group, particularly the national anthems of countries. Originally, and in music theory and religious contexts, it also refers more particularly to sho ...

''. ''Jump Force'' is North America's fourth best-selling game of 2019 (behind only ''

Kingdom Hearts III is a 2019 action role-playing game developed and published by Square Enix for the PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Windows, and Nintendo Switch. It is the third main installment in the '' Kingdom Hearts'' series and the twelfth game overall, and ser ...

'', ''Anthem'', and ''

Resident Evil 2 ''Resident Evil 2'' is a 1998 survival horror video game developed and published by Capcom for the PlayStation (console), PlayStation. The player controls rookie cop Leon S. Kennedy and college student Claire Redfield, who must escape Raccoon ...

''), and had the third highest launch month sales for a Bandai Namco game in the territory. In Europe, ''Jump Force'' debuted at number four on the weekly UK charts, with the PS4 version accounting for 74% of launch sales. It debuted at number one on the weekly Italian charts, 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''. Steam Spy estimates that the PC version sold between 50,000 and 100,000 units worldwide on the

Steam Steam is water vapor, often mixed with air or an aerosol of liquid water droplets. This may occur due to evaporation or due to boiling, where heat is applied until water reaches the enthalpy of vaporization. Saturated or superheated steam is inv ...

platform, as of 23 March 2019. And between 200,000 and 500,000 units as of 22 December 2020.

Awards

References

External links

Jump Force Japanese official website

Jump Force North American official website

Jump Force European official website
{{Navboxes , title=Series featured in ''Jump Force'' , list1= {{Black Clover {{Bleach {{City Hunter {{Death Note {{Dragon Ball games, state=collapsed {{Dragon Quest series {{Fist of the North Star {{Hunter × Hunter {{JoJo's Bizarre Adventure {{My Hero Academia {{Naruto {{One Piece {{Rurouni Kenshin {{Saint Seiya {{Yu-Gi-Oh! {{YuYu Hakusho 2019 video games Bandai Namco games Crossover fighting games Bleach (manga) video games Dragon Ball games Fighting games Inactive multiplayer online games JoJo's Bizarre Adventure games Multiplayer and single-player video games Naruto video games Nintendo Switch games One Piece games PlayStation 4 games Saint Seiya video games Spike Chunsoft video games Science fiction video games Superhero video games Unreal Engine 4 games Video games developed in Japan Video games about parallel universes Weekly Shōnen Jump (video game series) Windows games Products and services discontinued in 2022 Xbox One games Yu-Gi-Oh! video games YuYu Hakusho games Video games with customizable avatars