This rare gem is a must have for any fan of anime and games.
While only available via import, and no English versions available. The game is still easy enough to understand even to someone who has never spoken a word in Japanese or read a Kanji in their life. Jump Superstars plays remarkably similar to Super Smash Bros at first, yet there are many key differences in how battles are waged and won, giving the game it's own very unique feel yet still familiar at the same time. The main campaign sets you on a world map with many levels that you progressively advance through, some of them are just a normal fight, while many contain special conditions ranging from "Break all the walls" to "Survive for a minute without getting hit". Since a good many people who are reading this will most likely not understand most of the special requests, it usually works best to have a handy guide on your computer monitor nearby where you can look over and see just what each requirement is. Most levels have a few requirements that you can achieve, with only the first being mandatory, the others are optional targets which if achieved will unlock more cards for you to use to construct your own deck with. This allows for all levels to usually have some replayability to them. Gameplay is a rather cartoony type of battle, each character using their trademark attacks from their starring shows. Characters all have a limited amount of health unlike Super Smash Bros and characters can be defeated without being knocked out of the playing area. All playing areas have destructible walls along the left and right side of the stages which after being destroyed can be used to strategically kill your opponents quickly. No Characters stays dead forever though, and all battles continue until the pre-designated time limit has expired. When you defeat a character through KO or ring out, they become unselectable by your opponent and you gain a victory point. Victory points decide who is the ultimate victor of a battle. Once all of a players battle characters have been defeated, you gain 1 Victory point for the kill and an extra for defeating all of his available characters, then all your opponents characters become usable again and the battle continues. Graphics are a 2D anime style of art, which works well considering the shows featured are all in 2D. Like a Street Fighter, this game just feel right being an animated, 2D fighter. There are a few minor blemishes but nothing is too large that you would stop to notice or care. The manga images featured in the decks are superb and adds to the feel of the game when you are looking at your own little manga page on your bottom screen.
Jump Superstars is played using a selection of cards from which you can customize your own personal deck to fight with. These cards are displayed on a 5*4 (20 space) grid on your touch screen and each card can take up between 1-7 spaces. Selecting cards from your deck to use is done by pressing your finger on the tile on your touch screen. 1 space cards are help cards, which offer a variety of short bonuses to attack, speed, or sometimes couple with other cards for other bonuses. 2-3 space cards are support cards, which will spawn the character on the card onto the battlefield for just long enough to launch a quick attack, give you a boost of something, or in some other way help you out. 4, 5, 6, and the rare 7 space cards are all battle cards. These are the characters you actually use in a battle to fight your opponent with. A single character can have multiple battle cards of different sizes, and the more spaces a card takes up, the more health and the better his special attacks tend to be. The drawback of course being that you have less space to add other cards into your deck when you put in the 6 space battle card instead of the 4. All of these different types of cards, coupled with the many hundred available cards, allow for a great amount of deck customization. There are of course a good number of preconstructed decks that come with the game as well, with progress through the campaign slowly unlocking more. The game features characters from many anime's that Jump has produced; Naruto, One Piece, Shaman King, Prince of Tennis, and Dragon Ball Z are all included just to name a few of the dozens more available.
Multiplayer allows for single cart, multi cart, and deck swapping. in single cart play you are limited to the first 4 available preconstructed decks, chosen at random by the computer for both players. In multicart play, each player has access to all the decks and cards he has unlocked and players can battle each other with their own decks, making for a much more personal experience. There is also deck and card swapping available.