Bandai Namco has released a new video interview with J-Stars Victory VS+ producer Koji Nakajima, who discusses how the team selected which characters would represent Shonen Jump in the 20th anniversary fighting game, what updates to expect in the western release, and his favorite team combination.
Get the quotes below.
How did you go through the process of picking which characters were going to be in the game?
“Well, there are three components we considered when choosing the characters. First, we reflected the results of the popularity survey that was conducted by Shonen Jump magazine. Next, there are manga series that have already ended, so we made sure we had popular characters appear from them. Lastly, there were characters that haven’t made their way into anime or games yet, and we wanted everyone to play them, so we added those characters, too. So the character lineup was comprised based on these three components.
The game originally released as J-Stars Victory VS for PlayStation 3 and PS Vita in Japan. We’re bringing it west as J-Stars Victory VS+ for PS4, PS3, and PS Vita. What’s different about the two versions?
“Well, in regards to bringing Victory VS+ to the U.S. and Europe, the big change we made was to make it on PlayStation 4. We also added an arcade mode, where you repeatedly fight challenging battles, and because we had time since the Japanese release, we also applied feedback from the Japanese version, and tweaked the battles, so the gameplay should be a lot better than before. Those three points are the major changes made to the game.”
What’s your favorite team combination?
“Well, with this many characters here, I like every one of them, but I guess my first choice would be Goku. He can transform into a Super Saiyan, becoming a very powerful character. For his partner, I’d like to recommend this guy here: Lucky Man, which I believe most of you may not know. This guy, Lucky Man, is like everyone else, a hero, but his main power is that he’s lucky, like the luckiest in the universe, and fights with only luck, making him a very unique character. I’d like everyone to see what kind of combos these two create with one being a powerful character, and the other, Lucky Man, simply fighting with luck on his side.”
Message to the Fans
“All the characters from Japan’s popular manga series come together in J-Stars Victory VS+ to conduct the battle of your dreams, so I’m looking forward to seeing everyone enjoy, firsthand, this festive and enjoyable title. Please look forward to it!”
And here’s the actual interview:
J-Stars Victory VS+ is due out for PlayStation 4, PlayStation 3, and PS Vita in North America on June 30 and Europe on June 26.