The Jitsu Squad project was started in 2016 by a small Dutch team of fighting game enthusiasts who would two years later become Tanuki Creative Studio. At the start of 2021, the already well-advanced game benefited from a crowdfunding campaign which was a great success as well as a nomination in the final at the Game Makers Awards in the category of the most anticipated game of the year. PC owners got their hands on the title at the start of the year and it’s now up to us consolers to mistreat our controllers and our enemies in this beat’em all that is both ultra cute and completely excessive in every way. The title is offered to us at a price of € 29.99 on the Xbox Store.
One piece and it starts again
Jitsu Squad smacks of the dark arcades of the 90s. It only lacks the level demos that launch after a few tens of seconds on the title screen and the characteristic “Insert Coin”. All the beat’em all codes of the time are there, to the delight of those who used their fingers and abused the joysticks on Captain Commando, Sengoku or the plethora of titles that closely resembled them.
- As at the time, we tell you
From the selection of the characters, this magic of the arcade comes back from the bottom of the ages to revive our video game emotions that we undoubtedly experienced in our adolescence. For us who were looking in the back pocket of our jeans for that damned last five-franc piece to give us a few more chances to smash Sodom, it’s hard not to be nostalgic.
The Jitsu Squad storyline fits on a postage stamp, as usual. The big bad, a vile sorcerer by the name of Origami, enslaved the souls of the heroes of ancient times in order to make them recover a statuette that would allow him to acquire the power of a god.
- The whole team with Master Ramen
Only our four characters have been partially freed from this curse by Master Ramen, an old owl wearing a wok, and are ready to do anything to put an end to his Machiavellian plans, with great katana blows in his margoulette. But before this epic head-to-head encounter, they must travel through the different planets that make up the game.
Small but strong
Let’s start with the particular graphic design of the title. From the haunted castle to an island that smells of piracy, not to mention the slums of a modern city (and its elevator, of course), all the emblematic and historical environments of the genre have been put through the mill of a resolutely kawaii artistic direction with vibrant colors. The icing on the cake, they are literally jam-packed with cameos on every screen. We don’t even wonder how the Vic Viper from the Gradius series crashed in the middle of the village with his Options, or why one of the enemy minions disguised himself as Freddie Mercury version “I want to break free” . We smile, or we even laugh frankly and we appreciate the attention to detail.
- I swear it was an accident
The Master of Evil’s minions are mostly grimacing demons in pure Asian style, but level-specific enemies allow for variety in fun and strategy. The majority benefit from a graphic treatment in Super Deformed mode: their huge heads are often very expressive and it is not uncommon to see their eyes pop out of their sockets and their mouths twist in a grotesque way when we give them a few good blows. felt.
Jitsu Squad introduces us to protagonists who wouldn’t do (too much) work in a Tiny Toons family photo, especially Miss Baby, the group’s kunoichi. The other heroes are not to be outdone and are cheerfully inspired by the favorite titles of the members of the studio. When we notice a detail or a reference, it is certain that the approach is undoubtedly completely assumed. Take Hero Yamagiwa, the leader of the quartet.
- I’ve seen this attack before somewhere… Captain Kidd?
If his tanuki look is completely in line with the theme of the game, we really wonder if Rocket from Guardians of the Galaxy applied for the casting. We also note that his azure getup is reminiscent of the outfit of good old Galford from Samurai Spirits, red scarf fluttering in the wind and shoulder pads in support. Just like his imposing capillary creativity that another main character of the same title, Haohmaru, would not deny. And what about his attack in the air which makes him spin like a certain hedgehog… However, even if these very many thinly disguised tributes delight the old of the old, it is not necessary to know them to appreciate the titanic graphic and animation work from which the title benefits.
A few grams of finesse in a world of brutes
Getting started with our fighting buddies is simple and easy, with a gradual addition of particularly powerful special moves and graphic furies in tune with their power. They are easy to make and are unlocked over levels and experience rolls collected. The combo system is simple to understand, since it is enough to take a short break in the middle of our sequence to be able to loop on more powerful variants.
- We know very well how it will end…
If the most primary nagging is in order during our first games, encouraged by the absence of limitation of “juggles”, the bosses mainly remind us in a very energetic way that a parry is part of our panel of movements (and that ‘it automatically engages on a counter when executed with the right timing).
It is strongly recommended to vary the pleasures of destruction to pick up weapons specific to each character, their limited use can be extended via vials found in the many destructible elements of the game. More or less exotic dishes are of course present to go up our bar of life, among which the unalterable apples and roast chickens. The last specificity of the title lies in the support attacks. At specific points in the game, a badge can be picked up like any other item. We then instantly call on a completely delusional character who performs a particularly devastating ultimate attack. A few rare backers of the crowdfunding campaign have each contributed to the design of these elements, one of them being Maximilian Dood, youtuber specialized in VS Fighting who, modeled with the emblematic kimono of Ken Masters, gratifies us here of a Shinku Hadōken XXL.
- Zombies, guns, but it’s not what you think
It’s so good it’s too short
At the end of each level, a scoreboard summarizes our performance and above all allows us to possibly chamber the other players, sometimes engaging in a bonus stage strongly reminding us of a similar but little-known event from Street Fighter II, the barrels being replaced by… giant lemurs. It takes a little over two hours to complete a full solo game, the list of successes requiring you to perform some slightly technical actions or important combos, as well as to finish the game with the four characters.
- Jitsu Squad VS Caveman Ninja
Their gameplay is slightly differentiated, making team members obviously complementary in co-op mode. Hero is the most balanced, Baby focuses on ranged attacks (and the change of costume with each blow given), Jazz favors multi-hits and aerial sequences, finally Aros shows us all the delicacy of the Viking berserker.
The pleasure is immediate, controller in hand, the impression of exhilarating power and we gradually master the subtleties of the title. The humor and the references are not confined to the visual part and the dialogues between the levels are so many opportunities to place a witticism, a rotten valve or a more or less clear allusion (I see dinosaurs, don’t don’t tell me that there are also cadillacs?). The game is dubbed in English only but the localization of the texts can be modified in the options, for an FR version apparently made in a hurry, some lines simply not being translated.
- sadistic pleasure
In any case, these sequences are anecdotal and it is the frantic action which is at the center of the title. The variety of environments and enemies avoids the routine that we often lamented on many old-fashioned beat ’em alls. The bosses are of course unique and with the exception of the rival of one of the heroes, do not suffer from any recycling. This diversity is found in the musical compositions, catchy and very punchy at times, sometimes even sung, but always sticking to the action and the sets.
The multiplayer is only in local cooperation, but it’s a shame to only benefit from a single automatic save, which does not allow you to start a session “for fun” without overwriting the laborious progress of a previous game on maximum difficulty. Tanuki Creative Studio presents here a quality beat’em all that overflows with love, passion and geek culture. Less technical than VS Fighting but more stress-relieving than a party game, it is an excellent choice for livening up evenings with friends.
Tested on Xbox One and Xbox Series X
