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PS2
Jojo Bizarre Adventure: Phantom Blood
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NCS
Game Synopsis
«©NCSX»
Jojo's
Bizarre Adventure first appeared on Weekly Shonen
Jump in 1987 and has enjoyed a healthy run and seven
major story arcs since its debut. Jojo no
Kimyou na Bouken: Phantom Blood hearkens back to
the beginning of the series which introduced
Jonathan Joestar and Dio Brando to the world.
The
year is 1868 in England and the cries of a baby are
heard by a vandal named Dario Brando. He follows the
crying to an overturned stagecoach and intends to
rob the occupants whom he presumes are dead. He
finds a male that is still alive named George
Joestar who offers Dario a reward for helping them.
Fast forward to 1880 and Dario Brando is dying at
bed and tells his son Dio to go to the Joestars to
cash in Dario's reward. George Joestar welcomes Dio
to the family but son Jonathan is less welcoming
when he discovers Dio's true nature.
The game
features 27 chapters which tell the complete tale of
the Phantom Blood story arc which begins with Jojo
defending his girlfriend's honor from two bruisers
and goes through all of the major encounters and
battles in the game including Jonathan's first
battle against Dio. Between the battles, the
storyline is laid out in mostly static cut scenes
which are brimming with voice acting and sound
effects.
Bonus Schwag
Every preorder and new order will include a bonus 25th
Anniversary Project DVD as shown above.
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NCS
Game Notes
» Before the Bandai logo and title screen
appear, an image of the stone mask from the Phantom
Blood story arc appears. The mask also appears
during the "Now Loading" screen.
» On the title screen, the Jojo logo appears above a
wavy checkerboard pattern that slowly undulates.
» Press START and the following options appear:
STORY.......... Begin a NEW GAME or CONTINUE
a game in progress from memory card data
CHAPTER........ Once the game is finished in
Story Mode, revisit any of the 27 chapters in the
game
MUSEUM......... View 32 character profiles,
80 theater selections, and three locked game options
[all listings must be unlocked]
OPTION......... Set vibration, key config,
sound (stereo/mono), and BGM/SE volume levels
» The three locked options in the Museum option are
as follows
1) Extra Battle: Fighters battle like hyenas
in an original Jojo's story line.
2) 77 Ring Knights: Battle 77 enemies in
sequence in an all-out survival mode.
3) Dio Mode: Play the game from Dio's warped
view of the world.
» After starting a new game, a gal with big beasts
is shown tethered to a stone slab and is in the
process of being sacrificed. A voice over explains
what's going on as miscreants chant in the
background. A masked bruiser lifts up a blade and
stabs it downwards into the girl. Some blood
splotches onto the mask and causes claws from the
mask to stretch out and attach itself to the face of
the wearer. The maniac screams to followers below
and arches his arms up to the sky while the body of
the sacrificial lamb may be seen lying in the
background above a stone altar slab.
» After the intro, another sequence starts where
Dario Brando is coughing up a lung and dying on his
bed. He calls out to Dio who is nonchalantly reading
a book and sitting on a chair in a red suit. Dario
Brando tells his son to go to the Joestars to
collect on the debt that the Joe's owed to Dario for
saving them. He tells him of 1868 when he came upon
a blue overturned stagecoach and was going to rob it
when the man inside (Joestar Sr) asked for his help.
A voice over accompanies this sequence along with
windy sound effects and the pattering of rain behind
the wind. Later, Dario Brando is buried and Dio
resolves to accomplish his father's misguided goals.
» In the next scene, two ruffians are tormenting a
girl named Erina by taking her toy doll. Their eyes
gleam with evil as Erina weeps and sobs. They just
laugh until Jonathan Joestar arrives on the scene.
Before the battle starts, an moves list appears
which shows some shots that Jonathan can throw out.
The game is a 3D beat 'em up where Jojo suffers from
an inordinately long recovery time. For example, if
he's hit, he's momentarily stunned for a up to 2
seconds. There's no quick pickup but our advice is
to avoid being hit and defend often.
Controls
L-Analog...........Move
R-Analog..........Camera
Triangle............Shoulder attack forward
Circle................Roll forward
Square.............Attack move which looks like a
tiger swatting a fly
L1-Trigger........Guard
» The two bruisers in Battle #1 are not push-overs.
They'll defend and gang up on poor Jojo like a
well-oiled machine as they run after Joe, attack in
concert, and defend themselves against Joe's
attacks. Prepare to get your ass kicked. While Joe's
battling, Erina sits in the background and cheers
him on. For an added challenge, the HP of the two
attackers continually regenerate.
» The action in Jojo's is rough 'n tumble and viewed
from a behind-the-Jojo perspective. It's a fairly
challenging game due to the tenacity of the foes
along with their HP regeneration powers. Even if you
lose the first battle, the game will go on as Joe
wipes his nose with his embroidered handkerchief.
When the bruisers see that his name is Jonathan
Joestar, they beat and kick him down some more
before leaving Joe gasping for breath. A speechless
Erina later appears to greet her hero.
» After the battle, Dio arrives at the Joestar
estate by stagecoach and Jojo is waiting for him.
Jonathan is friendly to Dio when he arrives and we
can hear a lisp in Jon's voice. Dio immediately
shows his wicked side when Jon's dog Danny barks and
runs up to them. Jojo bends down to greet the
Dalmation but Dio knees the dog in the chin and
knocks it unconscious. A staring contest ensues
between the two where Dio lifts up his fists as the
dog can be seen shivering in the background.
» In the next scene, Joestar and another boy are in
a field surrounded by boys who are cheering. They're
about to engage in a boxing match but before the
battle begins, Dio steps forward and challenges Jojo
instead of the other boy and the boxing match
begins.
» Battle #02. Everyone's cheering as the battle
begins. When boxing the "O button" feints and dodges
while TRIANGLE performs a head butt. To punch, press
the "SQUARE button." Whenever Dio comes in close and
punches, press the O button and Joe will
automatically dodge all attacks. However, the dodge
move is also performed perfectly by Dio and he can
evade with the quickness.
» After being defeated by Dio (guaranteed outcome),
Dio boasts about his skills in front of the of the
other boys and clocks Joe a few more times across
the face to knock him down. Dio becomes the new
object of adoration as he sits on the field unlacing
his boxing gloves.
» After the second battle, Jojo sits with his dog on
a field as Erina looks from behind a tree with a
basket of grapes. She hangs the basket from a branch
with a note inside addressed to Jonathan Joestar.
Jojo is next seen sliding on a wooden rampway with
Erina. As she walks along one day, Dio spies her and
kisses her which is seen by witnesses. The news sets
Jojo's blood boiling. The events lead to a third
battle where Jojo once again faces off against Dio
in the mansion.
» Battle #03. Simple tactic for beating Dio - Guard
and stand still. When Dio comes in and attacks,
block the blows, and then follow him with three
quick punches in succession. Even if he dodges the
first two, he won't counterattack and he'll be hit
by the third blow. Wash, rinse, repeat until he
screams a blood curdling cry. A cut sequence plays
afterwards where Jojo uses Dio as a punching bag and
sends blood spurting from Dio's body. Blood
splatters on the stone mask which erects claws from
behind it and the two boys stare at the mask in
wonder. Dio's crying like a b$@#h and Joe's father
walks in to interrupt the drama - the mask is later
seen facing the ground in a sub-window as a voice
over continues narrating the storyline along.
» Years later, Joe's father is sick and Dio attends
to him everyday. Joe later finds information which
leads him to believe that Dio poisoned his own
father and is now poisoning his father. He
accuses Dio and throws him out and goes off to find
evidence of Dio's treachery....
» Voice acting accompanies all of the dialogue boxes
in the game.
» After each battle, new items are unlocked in the
Gallery and the option to save one's progress is
prompted.
» NCS Consensus: Tough game with challenging
enemies. Fans of the Jojo's Bizarre Adventure will
love it however as it recaps the Phantom Blood
storyline beautifully and throws in minor and major
encounters from the arc.
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This document and photos are ©NCSX 2006. All rights reserved. No
reproduction in whole or in part of this document
may be made without express written consent of National Console Support, Inc. |
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