There are worlds that exist, separate from our own. Where the impossible is reality, they coexist to both good and evil. These worlds were never meant to meet, but things have changed. Now... they have begun to merge as one, and our last hope are the heroes we could only imagine, uniting to fight for our survival.
Jump Force is an action-fighting video game developed by Spike Chunsoft and published by Bandai Namco Entertainment for the Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and PC. It is a crossover of multiple series from Shonen Jump bringing in many heroes and villains from their respective stories to battle each other as their universes collide, with present-day Earth caught in the crossfire. The game released on February 15th, 2019.
An Updated Re-release, Jump Force Deluxe Edition, for the Nintendo Switch, was announced on April 16, 2020, and released on August 27 in Japan and August 28 in the West; it includes the first round of DLC characters. A second character pass was announced alongside the Deluxe Edition.
In November 2021, Bandai Namco announced that service for Jump Force would be ending. The game and its DLC have been removed from digital storefronts in February 2022, and most online functionality ceased the following August.
Playable franchises and characters include
Italics indicates DLC.
- From Black Clover: Asta
- From Bleach: Ichigo Kurosaki, Rukia Kuchiki, Sosuke Aizen, Renji Abarai, Toshiro Hitsugaya, Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez, Yoruichi Shihoin
- From City Hunter: Ryo Saeba
- From Dragon Ball: Son Goku, Frieza, Vegeta, Piccolo, Cell, Future Trunks, Majin Buu
- From Dragon Quest: The Adventure of Dai: Dai
- From Fist of the North Star: Kenshiro
- From Hunter × Hunter: Gon Freecss, Hisoka Morrow, Killua Zoldyck, Kurapika Kurta, Biscuit Krueger, Meruem
- From JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Jotaro Kujo, DIO, Giorno Giovanna
- From My Hero Academia: Izuku Midoriya, All Might, Katsuki Bakugo, Shoto Todoroki
- From Naruto: Naruto Uzumaki, Sasuke Uchiha, Kakashi Hatake, Gaara, Kaguya Otsutsuki, Madara Uchiha
- From One Piece: Monkey D. Luffy, Roronoa Zoro, Sanji, Marshal D. Teach (Blackbeard), Sabo, Boa Hancock, Trafalgar Law
- From Rurouni Kenshin: Kenshin Himura, Makoto Shishio
- From Saint Seiya: Pegasus Seiya, Dragon Shiryu
- From Yu-Gi-Oh!: Yami Yuginote , Seto Kaibanote
- From YuYu Hakusho: Yusuke Urameshi, Younger Toguro, Hiei
- Original to Jump Force: Glover/Prometheus, Galena, Kane
Stages included
- New York (featuring the God Tree from Naruto)
- Matterhorn (featuring Frieza's ship from Dragon Ball and the Hokage Rock from Naruto)
- Hong Kong (featuring ships from One Piece)
- Japan (featuring Thouzer's pyramid from Fist of the North Star)
- Mexico (featuring Silbern fortress from Bleach)
- Paris (featuring floating landmasses from Saint Seiya)
- San Francisco (featuring the statues from the Valley of the End from Naruto)
- New Zealand (featuring the Black Whale from Hunter × Hunter)
- Planet Namek (featuring the Statue of Liberty)
- Marineford (featuring Tokyo Tower)
- Hidden Leaf Village (featuring Big Ben)
- Umbras
- Los Angeles (featuring the U.A. High School building from My Hero Academia)Free DLC
The E3 2018 reveal trailer can be seen here
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Jump Force contains examples of the following tropes:
- Alternate Company Equivalent: The Story Mode itself mirrors that of Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite regarding a Big Bad Duumvirate that wants to fuse two different worlds in order to rule over the resulting world. Even the Bittersweet Ending is literally the same. The only difference is that in MVCI there was no Greater-Scope Villain to talk about.
- And the Adventure Continues: Prometheus is defeated, and his plan to destroy the worlds of reality and Jump has been thwarted, but the Venoms are still on the loose and the Umbras Cubes still pose a danger (not to mention, Light now has the Black Book). Thus, the Player Character must continue the good fight as the new leader of Jump Force.
- Applied Phlebotinum: The umbras cubes have a wide array of uses, from reviving those near death to bestowing regular humans with the powers of Jump world denizens. In the hands of the villains, they are also used to create a Clone Army and brainwash others.
- Badass Normal: Ryo Saeba, the only fully normal human character of the roster. Kenshin as well, to a slightly lesser degree. He is just a swordsman, with a comparatively down to earth fighting style (Shishio is no more supernatural, but certainly more flashy).
- Beyond the Impossible: The debut trailer discusses how each of the fighters' worlds defy what seems improbable.
- Big Damn Heroes: Just as all hope seems lost, Light and Kane arrive to give the Player Character an umbras cube to help them fight back.
- Bittersweet Ending: The Greater-Scope Villain is defeated for good, however the worlds are still fused, and the Jump villains got away scot-free, meaning that more attacks are coming.
- Character Customization: Players can create their own avatar with customizable appearances and special attacks, not unlike in Dragon Ball Xenoverse.
- Clothing Damage: When in battle, the characters' outfits will gradually become torn and dirty as they lose health.
- Color-Coded Elements: Attaching an element to your avatar's special attacks changes their color: red for fire, blue for lightning, pale blue for ice, green for wind, yellow for light, and purple for darkness.
- Crisis Crossover: The trailer showed three heroes of different franchises working together to defeat a great threat. Seeing the ruined cities pretty much explains how dangerous the threat is.
- Crossover Alternate Universe: The setting takes place where all Shōnen Jump universes collide
- Cue the Sun: After all is said and done, the Venoms disappear, and the sun shined over the still-fused worlds.
- Darker and Edgier: Compared to J-Stars Victory VS, this game has a more foreboding atmosphere overall, with Scenery Gorn not simply just a consequence of battle, but the cornerstone of the battlefields' aesthetic.
- Downer Beginning: The game's story opens to Frieza and his Venoms foot soldiers invading New York, and the Player Character getting mortally wounded.
- Dual Wielding: Ichigo can pull out his second Zangetsu to attack his enemy.
- Dub Name Change: The cubes are called Umbras Cubes in the text and subtitles, but they are clearly called Cosmic Cubes in the dialog. This is probably because Marvel Comics holds the copyright on the name and the change is meant to circumvent that.
- Eldritch Location: Umbras, where the Jump Force is based, is actually a dimension that sits between reality and the worlds of Jump, where the Keymen convey the histories of the Jump worlds as comic books in the real world. Prometheus's lair resembles a floating metallic platform in space surrounded by panels from Jump manga.
- Loads and Loads of Loading: Loading screens could take up to 3 minutes in early versions of the game. It also has them about as often as Sonic the Hedgehog (2006).
- Massive Multiplayer Crossover: The various franchises of Shonen Jump like Dragon Ball, Naruto, and One Piece are brought into the real world.
- Medium Blending: All of the characters retain the style of their particular models.
- Merged Reality: The "Real" world is becoming fused with various other worlds collectively known as "Jump". As a result, Frieza's ship has been stranded in the Alps while London's Big Ben clock tower has popped up in the Hidden Leaf Village, to name two examples. Prometheus's plot is to fully merge reality and the Jump worlds together, destroying them so he can remake the universe in his own image. By the end of the game, the worlds are still at least partially fused.
- Mysterious Waif: The heroes find Angela, a mysterious young woman carrying a book. She later turns out to be a modified Venom replica possessed by Galena.
- No-Gear Level: In the penultimate boss battle, Prometheus steals the Player Character's Umbras Cube, forcing them to fight without any special attacks.
- Non-Action Guy: Fittingly for someone who relies on outwitting his opponents in lieu of fighting, Light Yagami is not a playable character.
- Power Creep, Power Seep:
- Inevitable in a game that crosses over the stars of Shonen Jump from series with vastly different power levels. Physical Gods like Goku and Vegeta, moon-level busters like Naruto and comparatively lower-level fighters like Luffy and Kenshiro all fight as if they were equals in this game. With characters like Yugi (who "fights" with his Duel Monsters cards) and Ryo Saeba (a gunman with no powers at all and only relies on his trusty revolver and rifle) fighting with and against the heavy-hitters without a problem, you basically need to accept this trope to get the full enjoyment out of the experience.
- However, this is played straight with no In-Universe excuse in story-mode, unlike Dragon Ball Fighter Z (in that game, the Big Bad had synthetic energy waves sapping characters of their power).
- Punched Across the Room: Strong attacks can send fighters flying into new arenas.
- Real-World Episode: Several of the game's battlefields are based on real-world locations, such as New York City and the Alps. This even bleeds into the fictional locations, as the Planet Namek stage has the Statue of Liberty dropped into it.
- Red Eyes, Take Warning: Venoms and their thralls have menacing glowing red eyes.
- Scenery Gorn: Manhattan is looking like the aftermath of a massive battle in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
- Sequel Hook: Though Prometheus is defeated, the worlds are still merged together and the various villains are still on the loose, prompting the Jump Force to nominate the player character as their new leader. Additionally, Light gets his hands on a leftover umbras cube and plans to use it to further his ambitions.
- Spotlight-Stealing Crossover: Generally, the more popular and longstanding franchises will have the most reps. The three biggest franchises, Dragon Ball, One Piece and Naruto, have the most reps with six for each and a stage belonging to their franchises each. The smaller franchises, like Fist of the North Star, City Hunter, and Black Clover, only have one.
- Super Mode: Every character is capable of undergoing an "Awakening", which increases their fighting ability and grants them access to their Ultimate Skills. Many of these Awakenings take the forms of super modes from the characters' respective series, while others access their super forms during their Ultimates:
- Goku and Vegeta can transform into Super Saiyans and Super Saiyan Blue.
- Frieza can use his 100% Full Power form and his Golden Frieza form.
- Naruto can activate Six Paths Sage Mode and transform into Kurama.
- Luffy can power up to Gear Fourth for his ultimate attack.
- Ichigo can activate his Merged Hollow Form while Rukia can activate her Bankai.
- Gon can transform into his adult form.
- Pegasus Seiya and Dragon Shiryu can transform into their Gold Cloth forms.
- Kenshiro can use Musou Tensei.
- Yusuke can transform into his Mazoku form.
- Dai can tap into his dragon blood.
- Tag Team: Players fight using teams of three characters each, calling in assists and swapping characters throughout the battle.
- Truer to the Text: Except for Yugi's Dark Magician, most characters take their appearance and movesets from their more recent manga arcs, as opposed to J-Stars Victory VS, where they took after their anime incarnations.
- Walking Shirtless Scene:
- Luffy, Zoro, Law, Yusuke, Hiei, Seiya, Shiryu, Kenshiro, Kenshin, Asta and Dai experience the maximum amount of Clothing Damage in the game by losing all of their upper body garments after taking sufficient damage and will remain shirtless for the rest of the fight.
- Goku, Deku and Todoroki aren't technically shirtless but as they lose more than half of their shirt after Clothing Damage it's definitely close enough to count. Likewise, Vegeta and Hitsugaya will also expose a considerable amount of skin while Grimmjow becomes a case of No Shirt, Long Jacket.
- For those who don't wish to wait till the battle gets heated, Zoro and Kenshiro are also able to become shirtless upon activating their Awakening. While this is also the case for Yusuke, activating his Awakening will also change him into his Mazoku form for the remainder of the battle with no option to reverse the transformation.
- Younger Toguro doesn't wear any upper body clothing to begin with whereas Blackbeard, Luffy and Law wear unbuttoned shirts.
- Surprisingly averted however for all characters who wear only tank tops (Gon, Killua and Yugi).
- Would Hit a Girl: Vegeta is this.
- In one cutscene, Zoro cutting down female Venoms.
- Would Not Hit a Girl: While any male fighter have no problem with women, Sanji is an exception. Fighting a woman means he will blow hearts to them.
- Seiya, Renji, and Dai are also this, but unlike Sanji, they will fight them when the situation calls for it.
- Wrong Context Magic: Certain characters would often use terms and concepts from their home universe to explain the powers of characters from another universe. For example, Deku refers to Toshiro's ice powers as a Quirk when it is actually the power of his Zanpakutō, Hyōrinmaru.
