Ever since the release of “J-Stars Victory VS” on March 19, 2014, anime fans wondered what Bandai Namco would do next for the game series. Five years later, “Jump Force” was released on Friday, Feb. 15, 2019. The graphics were made by Bandai Namco developers and are a first of its kind for anime games; fans are excited to see similar graphics in “One Piece World Seeker,” which is to be released on Friday, March 15, and “Dragon Ball Project Z,” which is still in development and the release date has yet to be announced. Both of these games are being designed by Bandai Namco developers.

“Jump Force” starts off with the main character running through a destroyed New York City which is invaded by villains called Venoms. Venoms are created by a device called an Umbras Cube, which if used properly can create heroes but if used for evil can create Venoms. The invading forces are led by Frieza, an intergalactic emperor from the Dragonball universe. While the main character hides from the battle and destruction, Goku arrives to fight against the invading forces. However, while the main character watches the ongoing battle, they are hit by a stray energy blast piercing their lung and putting him into a critical state. While the protagonist is blacking in and out of consciousness, Trunks, who is also from the Dragonball universe, comes to try to save them with a robot companion called a Navigator. The only way to prevent the protagonist’s death is by turning them into a hero by an Umbras Cube which Trunks fuses into the main character’s body.

After this opening scene, the player is able to customize his or her avatar with various hairstyles, eye selections and markings. There are three different body types that affect the created characters fighting style and combos. There is the martial artist’s body type based on the Dragon Ball Z anime, the pirate body type based on the One Piece anime and the ninja body type based on the Naruto anime. This concept has made fans eager to create different character types to see how they fight during the story.

After the player is finished with customizing, he or she is then put through a tutorial to be shown how to play to this new style of combat. After the tutorial, the main character is taken to the main boss of operations to become an active member of “Jump Force.” Inside the “Jump Force” game there are a wide variety of areas to choose from that provide players enough space to operate from. Adding to the diverse gameplay of “Jump Force,” there is also a range of 40 playable characters who can be played and experimented with.

However, the game isn’t perfect and has a few major flaws. The first noticeable flaw is that the audio is only in Japanese and the subtitles transition pretty fast which is normal for anime watchers, but for new players or players who don’t watch anime, it takes time to become used to the Japanese voices and fast text. Another big flaw is the main storyline; while it is fun and interesting, it is repetitive as the main character going on a mission to fight opponents can become pretty boring at times.

“Jump Force” receives 4 out of 5 stars for its one-of-a-kind fighting schematics and for its massive character roster that is still being added upon. Unfortunately, the storyline, repetition and fast subtitle transitions prevent this game from getting a full-star review.