REVIEW / JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Eyes of Heaven (PS4)

From CyberConnect2, the team that brought us the series Naruto Shippuden Ultimate Ninja Storm, comes the equally delectable campiness that is Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure: Eyes of Heaven. First and foremost, it is important to note that the game is a sequel and is primarily meant to please fans of the series and its characters. The story mode is filled with a lot of dialogue – A LOT of dialogue – so those who may be unfamiliar with the series’ previous entry may be quite lost.

Playing through the game’s story mode exposes players to the events succeeding Stardust Crusaders, the series’ previous installment. In Stardust Crusaders, Jotaro Kujo and his allies defeated a sinister vampire by the name of DIO in Cairo, Egypt in 1988. After defeating DIO, all is well until Jotaro and his allies are ambushed by deceased allies from his past; they have returned surrounded by a mysterious, sinister energy and speaking of a villainous figure called “The Noble One.” After the attack, the party is approached by a man named Robert Speedwagon, who reveals a mummified limb that is said to be one of eight pieces of “The Holy Corpse.”

This sets the backdrop for the remainder of the story, where the heroes are plunged through time to various location worldwide to locate the remaining pieces of “The Holy Corpse.” They hope to use its power to restore their allies and return order to the dimensions. The game is wholly voice acted in Japanese by brilliantly vibrant voice actors who bring the characters to life effortlessly.

The game’s battle system is much akin to that of Naruto games, a free roaming style that allows players to take full advantage of their arena. Most of the game’s assorted cast of characters are Stand-Users (Stands being the guardian-like entities which manifest themselves in unique and various ways). Whether you’re blundering your enemies in a barrage of fists or tossing them casually, this game’s battle system is guaranteed to keep players engaged.

However, the game’s battle system seems to be the only true gem of the game since its story mode grows rather…monotonous. And we are talking at least 20 hours worth of monotony. With exceptional visuals and action to carry you through the story’s repetitive formula—heroes run into familiar face who is possessed and they fight, heroes find piece of “The Holy Corpse,” heroes jump through time, repeat.

The story mode does not seem to offer very much to the imagination other than occasional mini-games in the form of zombie smashing and poker games. However it IS worth playing through the story mode, seeing as how there is a plethora of bonus content—to include character costumes and poses—is unlockable through the story mode. The beauty of each level is exemplary but most are hardly memorable.

As stated before , the game is meant to please fans of the series. Although newcomers may find themselves a new guilty pleasure in the wicked fun of the battle system, it would not be enough to spare Eyes of Heaven of its guiltily dull story mode. However, the game’s stellar graphics, pulse-pounding fights, assortment of characters, and innumerable amounts of unlockables may give players enough grip to press onward.

This review is based on a retail copy of the game provided by the publisher.