JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Heritage for the Future

JoJo's Bizarre Adventure (ジョジョの奇妙な冒険) is the name commonly given to any one of the versions and ports of a fighting game developed by based on Part 3, Stardust Crusaders.

It was originally released in arcades in 1998 on the CPS-3 board; this version known outside Japan as JoJo's Venture. An updated version of the game was released in 1999 as JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Heritage for the Future (ジョジョの奇妙な冒険 未来への遺産), becoming the sixth and last game released for the board. Console ports of this version for the PlayStation and Dreamcast were released that year, while a high-definition version was released for PlayStation Network and Xbox Live Arcade in August 2012; making this version the most popular among players.

Profile
The games were developed by the same team responsible for the Street Fighter III series. The game combines Capcom's trademark anime-inspired graphics, as seen in the Darkstalkers series, with the colorful characters and events of Hirohiko Araki's creation, resulting in a highly stylized and detailed visual style. It also features many of the gameplay mechanics seen on previous Capcom fighting games, such as the use of power gauges for super moves, as well as a brand new Stand Mode, where the Stand can be summoned or dismissed at will by the player, resulting in variations on the character's move list and abilities.

Hirohiko Araki served as a consultant for the game and created exclusive pieces of artwork for its promotion and packaging; most notably, he developed from scratch a new character design for Midler, since Capcom was interested in using her in the game and she had been only vaguely shown in the original manga. These games were among the first pieces of JoJo-related media released in North America, exposing the characters to many western players for the first time.

Unique to the game is the face-shot of a defeated enemy if finished off with a super combo move, whose animation also reflect the kind of damage received; the portrait would be riddled with bullet holes, bisected or bloodied, depending on the finishing move.

Story and Setting
The game's events and characters are based on Stardust Crusaders. Many of the events featured in the game (as well as some character designs) directly contradict the depiction of the story in the OVA adaptation, so the game should be considered to be specifically based on the original manga.

Gameplay
The basic gameplay mechanics are those of a standard fighting game: one-on-one battles consisting of two or three time-limited rounds, in which the goal is to deplete the adversary's health bar using both regular attacks as well as character-specific special and super moves, which require the input of button combinations and/or spending accumulated energy, outputted in a power gauge which fills with every attack.

The game uses a simplified 4-button control scheme, consisting of three attacks (light, medium and strong) and a Stand button, which switches the character's stand On and Off (see Stand Mode below)

Stand Mode
Fighting with the Stand Mode "On" enhances both the character's offensive and defensive abilities; these improvements heavily depend of the character and stand, but some common ones are for example double jumping, absorbing residual damage when blocking special attacks, powered-up special moves, etc.

Most of the game's specific mechanics derive from the introduced Stand Mode. For example, attacking the physical manifestation of the enemy's stand will mirror the effects to its wielder; this is a crucial strategic element, since many of the special moves and attacks send the stand away from the user, adding the difficulty of protecting both of them at the same time; if a main character is damaged while his or her Stand is far away, the damage received is doubled. On top of the usual health bar and power gauge, there is a third meter, the Stand Gauge, which decreases when the stand is damaged and refills when the Stand Mode is switched off; if this gauge is depleted, a Stand Crash is caused, and the character is paralyzed and wide open to any attack for an instant.

Other features of the Stand Mode include summoning the stand with an instant attack, the possibility of "programming" attack patterns on the fly and unleashing them at will, "releasing" the stand and controlling it directly, and so forth.

Some characters lack an "active" stand, though; some of these "passive" stand users introduce even more complex and specific mechanics into the game, such as Hol Horse's gun-stand or Mariah's magnetic stand.

The stands create strong differences between the characters, and force often radically different offensive approaches for each one; this "character-dependent gameplay" style would be later present in posterior fighting games, such as the latter entries of the Guilty Gear series, which, interestingly enough, also contains Rock and pop music references.

Bonus Stages and Special Battles
Across the game, and if certain conditions are met, the player will have to clear special stages and face secret opponents. In these battles special rules are applied in order to reenact certain chapters of the manga that were less "translatable" as regular combats. Among these special events are a sidescrolling sequence in which the player has to overcome a water stand and find its user N'Doul, a special battle against Death Thirteen, and a minigame when the player must find Arabia Fats to defuse his stand The Sun.

They also include other special matches as well, but those were exclusive for the PlayStation port via the Super Story mode such as Gray Fly, Enya Geil, Imposter Captain Tennille (in an interactive movie), Forever (in an interactive action sequence), Nena (interactive movie scene), ZZ (interactive movie scene), Steely Dan (side scrolling shooter), Cameo, Telence T. D'Arby (interactive movie scene), Daniel J. D'Arby (interactive minigame), and Kenny G (interactive minigame).

Clashing
Similar to Guilty Gear's system, if certain attacks of the same strength and same intensity occur and collide at the same time, clashing occurs. This only happens with characters with an Active Stand. It is hard to see this system in action as it happens very seldom. Currently, it is unknown if the new Active Stand-wielding characters introduced in the 2nd JoJo game can cause attacks to clash. In some cases, clashing can lead to a Blazing Fists Match. (see below)

Blazing Fists Match
One of the less known features of the game, but also one of the most impressive, it's caused when two certain opposing special moves performed by certain characters at the very same time collide; the player/s are then prompted to quickly bash the attack buttons to win a Blazing Fists duel and decide who will take a fall, a feature first seen in Samurai Shodown. This feature has since been adopted and expanded in All-Star Battle.

Secret Factors
A interesting feature of the Super Story mode is the activation of secret factors. As the game itself is very faithful to the original manga series, playing out the scenario akin to official canon will activate these factors. If the player activates the scenario correctly, it gives them a high ranking upon winning the scenario. This is a unique feature that also celebrates its source material and rewards fans and readers of the series.

This feature later appeared in  Le Bizzarre Avventure di GioGio: Vento Aureo  which is also a game based on the JoJo's Bizarre Adventure license and a Capcom product.

Characters
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Alessi Mode
When Alessi uses his Stand Sethan to de-age the characters some of them turn into minor characters instead of their child forms. In the Dreamcast version there's Alessi Mode, which allows these de-aged characters to be played in a set of rules (Both players fighting as the kid counterparts for the whole round or the characters turning into children during a Stand crash). This mode is unlocked by finishing Challenge mode with Alessi
 * Kid forms (Jotaro, Kakyoin - both versions, the only difference being that New Kakyoin holds a painting canvas as a kid - , Avdol, Polnareff, Devo, Middler, Pet Shop, Vanilla Ice, Alessi)
 * Young Joseph (Joseph)
 * Teenage Joseph (Young Joseph)
 * Iggy's older design (Iggy)
 * Disguised Fat Woman (Rubber Soul)
 * Boingo (Hol Horse paired with Boingo; the de-aged Hol Horse trades places with Boingo under his crate)
 * Unnamed boy possessed by Anubis (Chaka, Black Polnareff)
 * Unnamed cow possessed by Anubis (Khan)
 * Unnamed boy with Hanged Man in his eyes (Hol Horse paired with J. Geil)
 * Unnamed old woman from Mariah's fight (Mariah)
 * Nukesaku (DIO)
 * Wang Chan (Shadow DIO)

Arcade
The initial arcade release of JoJo's Bizarre Adventure was released on December 2, 1998. An English-translated version was released in Asia under the shortened title of JoJo's Venture, which predates the officially licensed English adaptations of the original manga and anime (hence the name change). It was followed by a fully revised version titled JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Heritage for the Future, released on September 13, 1999, which featured eight additional playable characters. An English version that was released in Europe retained the full Japanese title of JoJo's Bizarre Adventure.

Console
Two console versions were produced. The PlayStation version is based on JoJo's Venture, but features some of the additional characters from the second version of the arcade game and an exclusive "Super Story Mode" that adapts the entirety of Part 3,Although there are a few unnoticible frames missing from the Playstation port and the sprites have less detail(especially the Stands). The Dreamcast version, also released in 1999, features both, the original and revised versions of the arcade game in their original forms. As it did with the arcade version, the English versions also changed the spelling of all new characters that contained heavy references to avoid the copyright involved in their names, which reference many singers and songs.

Differences between JoJo's venture and Heritage for the Future

 * The Guard Cancel motion was changed.
 * New moves for several of the returning characters. (Notably Jotaro, who gains new variations for his Blazing Strike, among others)
 * A minor change to Jotaro's Puttsun Ora, now performable in the air.
 * DIO is now selectable from the beginning, and does not require the unlocking codes as seen in JoJo's Venture. (he can be unlocked through the character select screen or permanently via the service menu previously)
 * All hidden characters are time-released (arcade) or requires finishing the game with certain characters (console).
 * Vanilla Ice becomes a playable character, vastly different from his NPC miniboss version.
 * A major variation of Polnareff is available (Black Polnareff).
 * Three brand new characters are selectable (Pet Shop, Mariah and Hol Horse).
 * There are four additional hidden characters (Rubber Soul, Khan, New Kakyoin and Hol Horse w/Boingo).
 * The opening and closing credits, as well as the character select theme are different.
 * The "Survival" option has been replaced by a 10-battle "Challenge Mode".

JoJo's Bizarre Adventure HD
JoJo's Bizarre Adventure HD is a high-definition port of the original game that was released for $19.99 USD on both PSN and Xbox Live.

The game, apart from upscaled graphics, include tweaked dialogues and fonts as well. Notably, it uses the super chime from the first JoJo's Venture, similar to the earlier Dreamcast port. Transparency has also been properly applied, replacing the sprite flashing once used. There are options to use the original graphics style, however.

The HD re-release was delisted from Xbox Live Arcade and PSN in September 2014. It is assumed that this is a result of Capcom no longer holding the licence to create or distribute JoJo's Bizarre Adventure games, which was acquired by Bandai Namco Games.

Story Mode
The HD update features the option to play in either the classic arcade style or an “Arcade SD Mode,” which has pixel-like art like the original games.

Online Play
The game supports online play that includes the ability to filter opponents by location and connection speed, similar to the lobby systems seen in newer Capcom fighting games such as Super Street Fighter IV and Marvel vs. Capcom 3.

The online mode introduces a new eight-player multiplayer mode where players can compete (while waiting to compete) for a chance to compete in the final showdown.

Differences from the manga and anime

 * Jotaro removes Kakyoin's flesh bud on the spot after defeating him as an antagonist. In the manga (as well as the anime adaptations), Jotaro takes him home and relieves him of DIO's slavery.
 * Perhaps due to programming constraints, much of their character story is not logically explained. One example is in Kakyoin's storyline, where after encountering Jotaro, his story shifts to Devo, fresh out of victimizing Polnareff, instead of introducing Polnareff in Hong Kong first.
 * The playable villains in the story have some of their storyline and concepts fleshed out. One example is Anubis, where the potential of betraying DIO is expounded.
 * Midler is seen in a new character design that has been the result of the collaboration of Hirohiko Araki and CAPCOM, at the latter's request. She has been drawn by Araki in this new design ever since.
 * However, in the Stardust Crusaders anime adaptation, her character design was reverted to the manga appearance.
 * Jotaro disses N'Doul instead of talking to him after defeating the latter. This was properly represented later in the game's Super Story Mode.
 * In the English version of the game, the Super Story Mode sequence of Kameo has Polnareff and Avdol simply dropping pebbles and debris on his breathing pipe. The Japanese version retains the rather-unsettling way of ratting out Kameo—by urinating into his breathing pipe.
 * Steely Dan's brutal punishment by Jotaro in Super Story Mode is remarkably shorter than in the manga. This is probably because of memory constraints in the PlayStation, where the mode is only available.
 * Enya Geil is killed after being defeated by Jotaro in Super Story Mode, whereas in the manga and anime, Steely Dan executes her.
 * In the Japanese version, on N'doul's bonus stage, he reacts to the dead helicopter pilot watch's alarm and cuts his hand. This was cut in the English version, but can be enabled.
 * Dio's explosive death is more violent in here, where only his bloodied lower torso is left. In the manga and anime, his upper torso remains, sans his decimated head.
 * If the game is set to certain regions or the game's regulation is set to enabled or, in the HD remake, expressions are disabled, Dio simply flies off-screen to his doom.
 * While D'arby's minigames are rigged on first play to lose all the time, when played in the gallery, it is possible to legitimately win in D'arby's minigames. There are reports however of people winning legitimately on D'arby's minigames on first try in Super Story Mode, without resorting to bluffing in his poker game.

Name Changes
Because JoJo makes many references to band names, it was necessary to rename the legally-troublesome names to be acceptable for release outside Japan. The following are name changes that are significant:
 * J. Geil was renamed as J. Gale.
 * Enya was renamed as N-Yah.
 * Devo was renamed as D'Bo.
 * Arabia Fats was renamed, oddly, as Alabia Fats.
 * Vanilla Ice was renamed as Iced. However, the English version still references the original namesake with his new winquote "You had a problem, I just solved it".
 * Mariah was renamed as Mahrahia, an exaggeration of her original name.
 * Kenny G was renamed as Ken-E Gee.
 * Rubber Soul was renamed as Robber Soul. The renaming fits him as well as it also touches his ability of stealing the essence of his victims.
 * Steely Dan was renamed as S-Terry Dan, a distortion of the original name.
 * Oingo and Boingo were renamed as Oing and Voing.
 * Some characters had only one letter changed, like Chaka to Chaca, Iggy to Iggi and Alessi to Alessy.

Trivia

 * Heritage for the Future marks the first time that a JoJo-based game has seen an English release, albeit with changed names to avert possible legal issues.
 * The game's English version logo seems to have become the defacto English logo of the series, as even All-Star Battle has adapted the overall look of the English language logo, which was first seen in this game. However, as of Eyes of Heaven, all English logos of the series now follow the one introduced by Crunchyroll.
 * The game pays homage or picks up inspirations from other JoJo-related medias that came before it:
 * One of Avdol's alternate color schemes turns his coat red and shirt to yellow, similar his apparance from the 1993's and 2001's OVA. The same goes for Joseph Joestar, Polnareff and Black Polnareff, both of them having alternate color schemes that resemble their OVA apparance.
 * Hacking the game reveals an unused variation of DIO's mansion stage, where a window is wide open, sunlight flowing into DIO's coffin. This is a canon event referenced in the manga, mirrored by the Anime and OVA.
 * One of Iggy's special moves make him create a giant wave of sand in the opponent's direction, similar to how he attacked Vanilla Ice in the OVA
 * Likewise, later JoJo games pay homages or made references to this game:
 * The underlying mechanics of All-Star Battle, and by extension, Eyes of Heaven largely borrows a lot from this game.
 * In All-Star Battle, Part 1 Dio's Space Ripper Stingy Eyes HHA uses the exact same animation (Including Dio rearing backward) as DIO's version of said move in this game, and DIO's HHA move in ASB is very similar to Shadow DIO's "Checkmate!" super.
 * All-Star Battle has two alternate free-DLC costumes for Jotaro and Polnareff, based off of promotional material for the game.
 * Vento Aureo for the PS2 (also by Capcom) features an orchestrated rendition of Polnareff's theme from this game.
 * Besides being based on Part 3 (Stardust Crusaders), this is the first game to have elements from more than one JoJo saga.
 * Part 1: Wang Chan as Shadow Dio's "child" form during Alessi's stand ability, a shot of the Stone Mask appears when a character is stand crashed and both versions of Dio have Space Ripper Stingy Eyes as a special move.
 * Part 2: Young Joseph is a playable character, Caesar appears in the Young Joseph's special move that contains several manga panel flashbacks as well as Lisa Lisa doing the same for Old Joseph's version, the Red Stone of Aja is used as one of Young Joseph's supers and the crossbow he used against Wamuu, as well as the coke bottle during his introduction scene, appears in his moveset.
 * Part 4: The arrow appaears during Polnareff "Requiem" super, one of Jotaro's alternate color scheme recolours his coat, hat and pants white, much like his Part 4 outfit and in one of Dio's alternate color schemes,The World is pink and blue giving it an appearance similar to Crazy Diamond.
 * Part 5: Silver Chariot Requiem appears as a super combo for Polnareff and one of his win quotes translates to "We'll meet again in the future...in Italy".
 * Three of the game's seiyuu, Mitsuaki Madono (Kakyoin), Hōchū Ōtsuka (Joseph) and Sho Hayami (Vanilla Ice) return to voice different characters in All Star Battle (Madono voices Part 8'sJosuke, Hōchu voices Hol Horse and Hayami voices Enrico Pucci).
 * Hayami reprised his role as Vanilla Ice in the Stardust Crusaders anime, which carried over to Eyes of Heaven. As a result, Pucci is voiced by a new Seiyuu.
 * The HD version is the first console release of the game overseas in which the player can uncensor the game, via the "Expressions" option. Setting it to "Original" restores red blood graphics as well as Dio's Story Mode defeat animation of him exploding violently.
 * For its Playstation release, the game has sketchy censorship even in its Japanese version. It did not retain much of the violent animations in Arcade Mode, such as Dio's explosive death.
 * While some of its sound effects have been borrowed from the Darkstalkers series, the unique sound effects used in this game have been recycled several times in other titles from Capcom. It has been reused in Capcom vs. SNK 2, Capcom Fighting Evolution, Marvel Vs. Capcom 2, and even in the Street Fighter IV series.
 * Some of the visual effects used in the game, particularly the sparks, dusts and super sparks have been borrowed from Capcom's Marvel VS series.
 * Despite Alessi's name being changed in the international release, Young Joseph's opening still has the original name. This was fixed in the console and HD versions of the game.
 * If the player is using either DIO, Jotaro or Shadow DIO and they are caught in Timestop, they can input the timestop command and effectively steal the timestop. This tactic was previously unknown until made popular by the HD re-release, as an achievement.
 * The characters introduced in  the Heritage for the Future update have no A.I (Artificial Inteligence) at all. It wasn't until the PlayStation port that Capcom give those character A.I for the Super Story Mode.
 * There is a glitch where if someone loses a round, the player can perform a time stop with DIO or Jotaro and the opponent will be frozen between rounds. If the opponent is hit during the freeze, he/she automatically loses the round.
 * In the game's Secret File, there is concept artwork of Roses, as well as Kars, Wamuu, Esidisi, Wired Beck and Stroheim from Battle Tendency, indicating that they were originally set to appear in the game during development.
 * This is one of the few games in existence with extensive fourth-wall interaction, ie. characters aware of the 'player'.
 * Devo outright threatens to curse the player next in his ending.
 * Mariah flirts with the 'player' in her ending, with no story-centric dialogue in her story mode.
 * Black Polnareff attacks the 'player' after running out of victims in his ending.
 * Alessy talks to the 'player' in one of his winposes.
 * Both DIOs interact with the player-- Shadow DIO and DIO with their Kisama, miteiru na! (You... you saw me!) gesture, with the addition of DIO attacking the 'player' with The World in his winpose.