Shonen Jump has got to be one of the most recognisable manga publishers around. They are the company behind some well-known favourites like Dragon Ball Z, Naruto and One Piece, some of the biggest properties in the genre. The company is so prominent in pop culture circles that there have been many crossover games set in the universe; taking characters from some of their most popular worlds and putting them together has always been a dream for any fan.
Sadly, most of these crossover games have been fighting games, and if you are a fan of Shonen Jump, but not of fighting games, you were out of luck. Fast Forward to now, and Shonen Jump fans who don’t like fighters finally have a game for them in Captain Velvet Meteor: The Jump+ Dimensions.
Story
Captain Velvet Meteor: The Jump+ Dimensions is a turn-based tactical game released almost two years ago for the Switch. It has finally made its way to PC and Xbox. In Captain Velvet Meteor, you play Damien, a young boy who has been uprooted from his home in Paris to live in Japan, where his mum’s mum lives. As a young boy, Damien does not want to leave his home and friends and start a new life in an unknown country. To cope with leaving his home, Damien creates a new world in his head that helps him deal with being in a new place. Some of his favorite Shonen Jump characters, including Loid from Spy X Family, are in this world.
Unlike other crossover games you may have played before, Captain Velvet doesn’t have hundreds of your favourite characters but limits it to only eight characters from eight different series. That’s not a lot when you consider how vast the Shonen Jump line is, but it does mean it doesn’t feel so overwhelming to players with hundreds of characters to choose from.
With only eight characters from eight series, they must be the usual suspects, right? Wrong, as Goku, Luffy and Naruto are nowhere to be seen in this game; instead, it focuses on some newer characters like Loid from Spy X Family or Slime from Slime Life. An interesting move on the developer’s part, but I also assume this is because those series would be more popular among the younger crowd who are just getting into manga/anime.
Gameplay
Captain Velvet Meteor: The Jump+ Dimensions is a turn-based tactical game on fast forward. What I mean by this is that everything feels like it was made to go quickly, or at least it feels quick, due to the style of the game. When you think of tactical turn-based games, the first thought is slow and steady; it is a lot of thinking before acting not here, instead the game is all about big attacks that clear lots of enemies, and yes, you just read that right, big attacks that clear ten plus enemies at a time.
Although, it makes sense as it is all about teaming up with your current teammate for that chapter. Each chapter follows a similar approach: meet new anime/manga character, then go through a series of levels until you get to the boss. With each new character Captain Velvet meets, he gains new team-up abilities for that specific character. One can be used whenever they are close, and another can be used after collecting enough gold orbs during encounters.
Battles are quite simple, and while it looks overwhelming with over 50 enemies on a level, there is a reason: the team-up attacks. Each team-up attack does wide area damage, which can hit multiple enemies and, in most cases, kill them all. As I briefly detailed in the last paragraph there are two area attacks that can be done per chapter; there is also a solo attack that each character can do.
You are probably wondering why you would use solo attacks if duo attacks can kill a wide area of enemies. The simple answer is that the standard duo attack doesn’t kill medium enemies, only small enemies, which is when the solo attacks come in handy as they kill medium enemies in one hit. Besides the normal solo and team attack, there is also an ultimate team attack (which changes depending on your partner) that kills most enemies or does massive damage to the large enemies. This attack can be activated when the player collects gold orbs after defeating multiple enemies.
That is pretty much it. There isn’t anything too complicated here, which makes sense as it seems to be on the easier side. Even the controls are quite simple, whether using the controller or a mouse. Clearly, this game was made with a controller in mind, which is apparent from the start-up screen, and it is a former Switch exclusive, but it works well with just a mouse, too well, if you ask me. For some, this may seem too simple for a tactical turn-based game, but it is more targeted at a younger crowd or gamers who don’t play too many tactical games. Don’t get me wrong, while it is simple, it still has moments where you need to use your tactical mind and think before acting.
Conclusion
Captain Velvet Meteor: The Jump+ Dimensions is a short, fun, tactical turn-based game. Most gamers are going to come to this due to it having some of their favorite anime/manga characters; while they aren’t the most recognizable to most, they do still have their fans, especially Loid from Spy X Family (Sorry, I don’t really know the rest).
If you are coming in as a hardcore tactical fan who expects lots of features and whatnot, you may be disappointed because this was made to be more accessible to gamers who wouldn’t normally play these types of games. Honestly, I had lots of fun playing this. The story was great, and I loved the fast gameplay. I would love to see more games like this and even a sequel with more characters cause sadly, apart from Loid, I knew none of the others which may just be me, but they did seem more obscure.
Captain Velvet Meteor: The Jump+ Dimensions is out now on PC, Switch, Xbox and mobile platforms. A review code was provided by the publisher SHUEISHA GAMES.
