作者彙整: Jason Guisao

Jump Force has finally launched. Touting 40 playable characters and a handful of others, the Shonen Jump-inspired title has enough prominent folks in it to satisfy a plethora of anime and manga enthusiasts. For those who need to brush up on the lore of the featured heroes and villains, or for those who are completely unfamiliar, but curious – you’ve come to the right place. Below are brief descriptions we’ve compiled to provide some clarity before you jump into the action.

Son Goku – Dragon Ball

The world-famous protagonist from the Dragon Ball series, Son Goku is Earth’s constant savior. Born a member of the legendary alien Saiyan race, Goku, with the help of his family and friends, has repelled the universe’s most sinister beings for decades.

Vegeta – Dragon Ball Z

Goku’s most stubborn rival (and perhaps greatest friend?) and the Prince of the Saiyans, Vegeta is the series’ quintessential anti-hero. After a devastating defeat, he joins forces with Earth’s heroes to combat greater threats to humanity and the universe.  

Trunks – Dragon Ball Z

Trunks is Vegeta’s stylish, time-traveling son. With his iconic bowl-cut and lightning-fast sword strikes, Trunks eventually becomes an integral addition to the battle against the nefarious Android threat and the villain Cell.

Frieza – Dragon Ball Z

Widely recognized as Goku’s first all-powerful adversary, Frieza was responsible for the enslavement and murder of the Namekian people (Piccolo’s race) as well as the utter obliteration of their home planet. He also destroyed Goku and Vegeta’s home planet.

Piccolo – Dragon Ball

An enemy converted into a loyal ally, Piccolo played a major role in the training of Goku’s son, Gohan. His stomach-piercing “Special Beam Cannon” will likely make a bombastic appearance in the game. 

Cell – Dragon Ball Z

An experiment gone horribly wrong, Cell holds within him the genetic makeup of some of Dragon Ball’s most significant fighters. Equipped with a life-sucking tail and unfathomable power, his exhaustive arc foreshadows the coming struggles that await Earth’s guardians.  

Monkey D. Luffy – One Piece

With dreams to become a pirate, Luffy eats the fabled Gum-Gum Fruit and gains the abilities to stretch his appendages like rubber. With his newfound strength, he travels the world with his ragtag group of followers yearning to become the new “King of the Pirates.”

Roronoa Zoro – One Piece

Zoro is Luffy’s first comrade. A master swordsman, he carries three blades and often wields one in his mouth.

Sanji – One Piece

An exiled prince turned wandering vagabond, Sanji is the talented chef of Luffy’s troupe. Sanji chooses to fight only with his lower body in order to salvage his hands for more suitable duties; namely, cooking.

Marshall D. Teach – One Piece

Master of the Dark-Dark Fruit, “Blackbeard” can summon black holes and nullify the powers of other devil fruit wielders. He is a member of the Four Emperors, the strongest pirates in the world. 

Boa Hancock – One Piece

The infamous “Pirate Empress” was a victim of child slavery. Years after being liberated, she becomes a leader among her people. The power of the Love-Love Fruit dwells within her and allows her to turn prospective lovers into stone with a mere glance. She loves Luffy, who constantly rebuffs her advances.

Sabo – One Piece

Sabo is Luffy’s sworn brother. After a long struggle with amnesia, Sabo returns to the foreground of the series to avenge a fallen friend. He consumes the Flame-Flame Fruit and learns to control fire at will. 

Naruto Uzumaki – Naruto

The titular character of the popular anime and manga, Naruto rises to meet the challenges of his adversaries head-on (and without much thought to his own well-being). Shunned and despised by the villagers of Konohagakure since adolescence, his ultimate goal is to one day become Hokage; the sovereign leader of the Leaf Village. Believe it!

Sasuke Uchiha – Naruto

Protagonist and antagonist? Both and neither? Sasuke is a survivor of the massacred Uchiha clan, possessed with remarkable intellect and the all-seeing Sharingan eye. Throughout the franchise, he remains Naruto’s most elusive enemy and unequivocal friend. 

Kaguya Otsutsuki – Naruto

A “final boss” of sorts, Kaguya is an ancient deity and the first to wield the power of chakra; the mystical energy that enables ninja techniques. In the final moments of the series, Naruto and his allies battle her to save the world.

Gaara – Naruto

Gaara fights assailants with the copious amount of sand within the gourd-shaped bag upon his back. He is the host of a malicious tailed beast whose hunger for blood is never sated. 

Kakashi Hatake – Naruto

Leader of Team 7, Kakashi serves as the comic relief in the earlier moments of both the manga and anime. His jutsu-mimicry establishes him as one of the more mischievous ninja in the series.

Boruto Uzumaki – Boruto: Naruto Next Generations

Naruto’s son is the new shining star of the series. Born outside of the confines of the emotional and physical toils that his father experienced, Boruto yearns for acceptance and recognition from his peers but, most importantly, Naruto – the newly appointed Hokage of the village. 

Pegasus Seiya – Saint Seiya

At thirteen, Seiya travels to Greece to train and become a Saint – a righteous servant of the goddess Athena. He receives the powers of the Pegasus constellation and ventures out to find his missing sister and protect the weak. 

Dragon Shiryu – Saint Seiya

The wisest of the Saints, Dragon is notable for his calmness in the face of adversity and for the strength of the piercing abilities linked to his impenetrable armaments (or Cloth). His Cloth is considered by many to be “the strongest fist and shield.”

Ryo Saeba – City Hunter

At the age of three, Ryo’s plane crashed over South America and he is raised amidst a life of guerrilla warfare. He eventually moves back to Tokyo but feels displaced because he has no recollection of his adolescence in Japan. While in his homeland, he founds “City Hunter,” a team of private detectives.

Kenshiro – Fist of the North Star

Creator of the meme-tastic “omae wa mo shindeiru” catchphrase, Kenshiro is the latest successor in a long line of martial artists to obtain the “Hokuto Shinken” – a technique that allows its user to attack an adversary along their vital energy-points (or meridians). 

Ichigo Kurosaki – Bleach

Tasked with the responsibilities of a Soul Reaper (god of death), Ichigo patrols his hometown in an effort to protect innocent civilians from evil spirits (Hollows) while aiding benevolent spirits in their journey to the afterlife. 

Renji Abarai – Bleach

Originally charged with locating Rukia in the human world and bringing her back to the Soul Society (spirit world), Renji partners with Ichigo (his sworn enemy, for some time) to save their mutual friend. 

Sosuke Aizen – Bleach

Betrayer of the Soul Society, Sosuke serves as the anime’s main antagonist for most of its run. 

Rukia Kuchiki – Bleach

Rukia gifts her Soul Reaper powers to Ichigo after she is seriously injured in a fight with Hollows. With most of her powers gone, she focuses on healing her allies and seldom attacking enemies with whatever abilities she can muster.

Gon Freecss – Hunter x Hunter

An aspiring Hunter, like his father before him, Gon is the main character of the Hunter x Hunter manga and anime adaptation. As an Enhancer, Gon contains the power to increase his strength with the help of external and internal forces. 

Killua Zoldyck – Hunter x Hunter

In one moment Killua is cheerful and compassionate; in the next, he is bloodthirsty and volatile. Born into a family of ruthless assassins, Killua meets and befriends Gon during the Hunter Exam arc. Despite being susceptible to murderous rampages, Killua is ever-faithful to his friends and often places their safety before his own. 

Kurapika – Hunter x Hunter

Part of Gon’s band of Hunters, Kurapika embodies the last remnants of the Kurta clan. Gifted with eyes that illuminate when in times of emotional duress, Kurapika’s ultimate goal is to become a powerful Hunter and avenge his slaughtered people.

Hisoka Morow – Hunter x Hunter

Hisoka was the antagonist of the Hunter Exam arc. A skilled magician, he employed his arcane powers for the murder and belittlement of those he deemed lesser. He was also a member of the Phantom Troupe, the group of vagabonds responsible for the annihilation of Kurapika’s clan. 

Jotaro Kujo – JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure

Jotaro is the third protagonist in the expansive lore of JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure. The third chapter, Stardust Crusaders – set in the late 1980s – follows Jotaro and his mission to Egypt to defeat the series antagonist, Dio, and save his mother. His success in this journey stems from his incredible strength and speed. 

Dio – JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure 

Dio is the series’ mainstay villain. Originally a member of the Joestar family, Dio schemes to inherit the family title until he is discovered and cast out. He is later transformed into a vampire, allowing him to exist as the sole antagonist in each Joestar iteration.

Yusuke Urameshi – Yu Yu Hakusho

A high school delinquent in his previous life, Yusuke is struck and killed by a car while attempting to save a child. His good naturedness earns him a second chance at life but also leads to abnormal powers because of his strong ties to the afterlife. 

Toguro – Yu Yu Hakusho

Toguro is a demon of immense physical prowess. During the Dark Tournament arc, he serves as the series’ primary villain and decimates his opponents with relative ease, even killing some fan-favorites.

Kenshin Himura – Rurouni Kenshin

In a past life, Kenshin donned the title “Battousai The Manslayer.” By the end of the Edo period, he has left his old life as a merciless assassin behind. A wandering samurai with a deceivingly cheerful demeanor, Kenshin roams the Japanese countryside to atone for his past sins.

Makoto Shishio – Rurouni Kenshin

A replacement for Kenshin after he suddenly leaves, Makoto is eventually betrayed by his employers, doused in oil, and almost burned to death. Later emerging from the outskirts of Japan clothed in layers of bandages, he leads a clan of bandits against the Meiji government. 

Yugi Moto & Yami Yugi – Yu-Gi-Oh!

We begin the classic series with a lonely, friendless Yugi Moto. In an attempt to manifest bonds using a mystical ritual, he unearths an ancient Egyptian spirit: Yami. With this new power (that, of course, brings its fair share of trouble), Yugi makes connections with others and forms long-lasting relationships all while believing in the “heart of the cards.”

Izuku Midoriya – My Hero Academia

Midoriya belongs to the small percentage of people without a super power, or quirk as it is referred in My Hero Academia. When he finally meets his heroic idol, All Might, he is chosen to receive the noble One for All quirk; a skill passed down by powerful heroes for generations. With One for All, Midoriya motivates and inspires others, just as his mentor did before him. 

Asta – Black Clover

Asta is an orphan. In his rags-to-riches tale to one day become the “Wizard King,” he is forced to accept his magical inadequacies and, instead, strengthen his physical capabilities and willpower. Eventually, Asta acquires magic-nullifying abilities. 

Dai – Dragon Quest: The Adventures of Dai

Born on Delmurin Island, Dai has the ability to gain super-strength and control magic. These capabilities mainly stem from his illustrious Dragon Knight bloodline. 

Light Yagami and Ryuk – Death Note

An intelligent high school student, Light happens upon a Death Note – a book that can spell doom upon any person whose name is written within its blank pages. With the help of his apple-loving Shinigami (death spirit), Ryuk, Light uses the Death Note to establish his dominance and create a new world order. 

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Kane & Galena – Jump Force

These two make up the overarching malevolent duo of Jump Force. Both are originally designed by Akira Toriyama of Dragon Ball and Chrono Trigger fame.

As you explore Jump Force, you can refer to these short outlines as you navigate the game’s extensive character selection. If this list isn’t enough to placate your Jump Force excitement, check out our (comedic) early impressions of its campaign and gameplay.

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Overwatch has had an abundance of updates since its 2016 release, with Blizzard continuously reworking the roster to allow for more optimal combat experiences. While some noteworthy patches have completely reinvented character roles, smaller ones have altered cooldown timers or bullet spreads. These frequent modifications often tip the scales of gameplay balance. Some heroes have become devastatingly strong (Hanzo and his lethal arrow volleys), while others lose their value (Brigitte’s shield bash debuff). Here are four heroes currently in need of serious repair: 

Mercy

The Flaws: At one point, Mercy’s selection rate soared above her support comrades, because she was such a capable healer. Supports, like Lucio and Zenyatta, were limited to specific stratagems. Others, notably Ana, were too mechanically demanding to use efficiently. Comparably, Mercy’s ability-kit was easy to execute and, in some cases, stronger. With ample healing numbers and high mobility, she provided a dependability that no other hero could best. Currently, however, Mercy’s viability is at a record low. With a healing per second (hps) reduction, and a less sustainable ultimate called valkyrie (for 15 seconds her core abilities are slightly enhanced), she is no longer reliable at her own role. 

Before valkyrie, Mercy’s resurrection ultimate earned the ire of many Overwatch players. The power to revive an entire team was overpowered, so it was only a matter of time until that was patched. Now the forgotten ultimate has become nothing more than a single-target reviver on an egregious 30-second cooldown. Her angel wings momentarily clipped, Ana, Moira, and Zenyatta have become increasingly commonplace. 

The Fix: A return to Mercy’s old healing capabilities of 60 hps would work wonders for the character. Right now, she sits at a meager 50 hps which often fails to sustain heroes with both large and small health pools. Since resurrection has a cast time of 1.75 seconds, death is almost always assured (all of this just for the attempted revival of one ally!). If the revival time is reduced to a manageable 1.5 (Overwatch, after all, is a game of seconds), Mercy might find herself in a sweet spot that won’t threaten the popularity of other heroes. 

Wrecking Ball

The Flaws: Wrecking Ball’s fall from grace was as quick as his initial announcement. Players prized him for an uncanny ability to initiate skirmishes. Likewise, his utility stems from enabling allies to swoop in and dispatch specified targets. Now that tank-heavy, brawler team compositions are becoming the standard, Wrecking Ball has a harder time contributing to the kill count. Considering that Overwatch is primarily about the decimation of one’s enemy, Wrecking Ball’s damage deficiency is alarming. 

The Fix: Wrecking Ball is easily defeated by most crowd-control heroes. Perhaps by replacing his quad cannons with infinite-ammo chain guns (like D.Va’s firearms), players could secure their own chance at survival when attacked. To prevent him from massacring foes with smaller health pools, an increase to bullet spread and an ensuing overheat-period that substitutes a normal reload timer would be important. With his dual guns rendered unusable, Wrecking Ball’s “adaptive shield” ability would have a new purpose, allowing him to be as tank-y as Reinhardt and Orisa, but also giving him the potential to seal the deal on battles against counter heroes.

Reaper

The Flaws: Everyone’s favorite flanker received a tremendous buff last month. With major tweaks to his passive lifesteal, Reaper is unkillable unless actively confronted. Does this make him overpowered? On lower tiers, perhaps. Yet, issues never sprang from his high damage output or self-healing capabilities. Rather, he is notorious for having extremely weak core abilities: “shadow step” and “wraith form.” 

Shadow step’s lengthy cast animation leaves Reaper susceptible to incoming attacks and often leads to an instant demise. While under the limited protection of wraith form, he can retreat to safer locations, but when nimbler heroes are in tow, he is easily tracked down and vanquished. Additionally, his shotguns suffer from considerable damage distance drop-off, meaning that without a speed-boosting Lucio, he struggles to get within range of enemies. As double-sniper and triple-healer team compositions become more common, Reaper will likely remain a situational hero. 

The Fix: Let’s start with shadow step. Highlighting Widowmaker’s “grappling hook” and Ashe’s “coach gun,” YouTuber Blame The Controller posits that Reaper could benefit from a skill that swiftly places him within range of his targets. Like Tracer’s “blinks,” he would be limited to horizontal navigation. Drop the latest lifesteal patch, throw in visual cues for the new ability, add a lengthy cooldown – maybe 15 to 20 seconds – and I’d be all for this suggestion! 

Relative to wraith form, programmers can look to Moira’s “fade” for inspiration. While I won’t advocate for an undetectable Reaper, if he is simply harder to pursue, it enables him to lurk and pounce on unsuspecting foes; which encapsulates the entirety of his role on the battlefield.

Doomfist

The Flaws: Doomfist slowly made his way to the bottom of the roster heap with the unwanted help of drastic ability adjustments. The perfect assassin, he was infamous for ambushing key targets, eliminating them in mere seconds, and then retreating to reset for the next push. His melee combos, in particular, juggled opponents with well-timed attacks until death. Unfortunately, recent updates have lessened his kill potential. For instance, opponents launched by his abilities have their physical agency returned to them much sooner than before. This means that it’s now possible to counterattack Doomfist during his overwhelming barrage. 

The Fix: I’ve chosen to focus on Doomfist’s “meteor strike” ultimate rather than his combos. Whereas most other damage dealers have ultimates dedicated to eliminating targets, frustrated Doomfist players are often forced to use meteor strike for tactical escapes. With a steep damage-reduction in effect, the ability doesn’t kill adversaries unless accurately placed. Because his ultimate has AOE qualities, a return to the terrifying 300 damage output from before Doomfist’s latest revision with   a stun-lock on opposing players caught in meteor strike’s radius would be ideal. Perhaps with changes like these, Doomfist may find himself amid the wonderful chaos of combat once again.

For an all-encompassing overview of hero-based evolutions in Overwatch head here. And, by all means, feel free to offer your own flaws and fixes in the comments section!

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