New Players & Beginners Introduction to ASB

## **Styles**

**Styles:**  Similar to the Capcom game's Stand Button, the Style Button in ASB utilizes unique abilities for each character. There are six unique styles in the game, spread out among the cast.

1. The Ripple - Also known as Hamon. The style of the heroes from Parts 1 and 2. A very basic style that allows meter to be quickly built and spent on big combos.
	* **Ripple Breathing:** Holding down the Style button causes the character to pose and "charge" the Ripple. While charging, their Heart Heat gauge will increase slowly.
	* **Ripple Attacks:** All Ripple users are able to infuse their Special Moves with the power of the Ripple. Performing a special move with the style button instead of an attack button will use an enhanced version of the move at the cost of 25% HH gauge. Especially effective against Vampires.
2. Vampire - This style is exclusive to Dio Brando of Part 1. Using the Style Button after specific Special Moves, you can steal life and/or HH gauge from your opponents.
3. Mode - A style that solely belongs to the Pillar Men of Part 2. Probably the most meter intensive style yet the most unique and dangerous.
	* **Mode 1:** Pressing the Style button toggles that Pillar Man's unique "Mode" at the cost of 25% HH gauge, then drains the meter until there's none left. Gives attacks all sorts of crazy new properties.
	* **Mode 2:** Pressing down, down, then Style will activate an even more powerful version of the mode with further enhanced properties. Costs one bar of HH and runs out when that bar drains. Heart Heat Attacks can be done in this mode regardless of the remaining HH gauge.
	* **Cooldown:** When a Mode ends, the character will have to sit through a recovery animation, so be careful! Mode 1 can be manually deactivated at the cost of 25% HH gauge. Doing a Heart/Great Heat Attack when in a Mode will end it without any additional cooldown animation, but will drain any remaining HH meter the player may have.
4. Stand - The main style for characters from Part 3 and later. Players familiar with Capcom's Part 3 JoJo fighter might notice some similarities in how they work here.
	* **Stand Switch:** On the fly, your character's Stand can toggled on or off. While in Stand-On, characters will recieve different normals and new special moves. Play around with your character to find out what they are capable of. Hard knockdows will deactivate Stands.
	* **Quick Stand-On:** Pressing the style button during an attack will instantly activate your stand for 50% HH gauge. Using this in a combo will temporarily lock meter gain and lower damage output.
	* **Stand Rush:** Select attacks in a character's repertoire will be marked as  "Stand Rush capable" special moves. What this means is you can press the Style Button while one of these moves is active to "un-link" from your Stand as its attack continues, allowing the player to act freely. This can potentially be used for combos, mixups, setups, or simply making offense safer. Costs 25% HH gauge. Examples include Jotaro's **Star Finger** or Giorno's **Muda Muda Muda Muda*!***
5. Mount - This style is exclusive to Part 7's Steel Ball Run racers Gyro and Johnny.
6. Baoh Armed Phenomenon - This style is exclusive to BAOH/Ikuro Hashizawa. Pressing the Style button will cause his next move to have Super Armor at the cost of 25% HH gauge.

## **Dodging**:

* Characters can dodge toward the background or the foreground by pressing the **Dodge Button**. Use dodges to avoid your opponents moves, like projectiles and easy to read attacks. Watch out though, dodges are not invincible like **Stylish Move**, so it's possible to be thrown out of a dodge or dodge into an attack with a wide-hitting arc.

## **Throws**:

* A close range attack that can't be blocked. Performed by pressing two attack buttons simultaneously. Throws can be escaped by performing a throw at the same time as your opponent. Being thrown will remove 10% of your Guard Gauge.

## **Soft Knockdown**:

* Getting knocked down onto the ground, but you are still able to get yourself up faster with **Quick Rise**. Most attacks that launch an opponent far away or up into the air have soft knockdowns.

## **Hard Knockdown**:

* Getting knocked down onto the ground, but you are unable to get up any faster than normal. Most Throws put you in this state.

## **Quick Rise**:

* What's commonly known in fighting game terms as "Ukemi". You can get up quicker when hitting the ground by pressing the Dodge Button as you hit the ground.

## **OTGs**:

* "Off the ground" attacks. Certain characters have attacks that can also damage the opponent when they're knocked down. Examples include Joseph's warhammer, DIO's road sign, or Wham's pillar.

## **Recoverable Health**:

* Certain moves hurt yourself as well as the opponent. (like Buccellati's HHA, and Hermes' sticker abilities) When moves like this occur, the damage is converted into health that can recover. This is shown as grey on the health gauge, and will recover as long as you don't get hit. Characters with vampiric origins, such as both Dios, the Pillar Men, and Vanilla Ice, will take small amounts of grey damage alongside regular damage by default.

## **Chain Beat**:

* This game has chain combos! For the uninformed, chain combos are a a string of normal attacks cancelled into each other in quick succession to form a combo. Usually going from weakest strength up through the heavier attacks. Other games have similar systems, ie; ArcSystem Works titles (Guilty Gear, BlazBlue, Persona 4 Arena), Darkstalkers series, Arcana Heart, you name it. Many characters will have chain combo options unique to them. Use your best judgement to see what's best.  (A = Weak Attack, B = Medium Attack, C = Strong Attack)

## **Easy Beat**:

* An automatic combo that fighting game beginners can use to get no-effort easy damage. This works the same as in Persona 4 Arena. Tap Weak Attack repeatedly and a basic combo will automatically come out, ending with a Heart Heat Attack if meter is there to burn.

## **Guard Break**:

* As you defend yourself from an opponent's attacks, the small green gauge below your health will drain, turning to yellow and then red. If it runs out, the opponent will smash through your guard, stunning you long enough for a free combo. Be sure to keep track of how long you've been holding back! Things that will negatively effect your Guard Gauge are:
	+ Blocking attacks
	+ Being thrown (deals 10% to the gauge)
	+ Performing a Stylish Move (deals 30% to the gauge, adding an extra 10% if done incorrectly)

## **Heart Heat (HH)**:

The game's meter system. Characters can hold a maximum of three bars. Specific actions can use anywhere from three bars of HH to a mere tenth of a bar. HH is built by attacking or being attacked, and some moves can steal HH from an opponent. Manage this wisely!

## **Heart Heat Attack (HHA)**:

A dynamic and cinematic super attack that costs one bar of HH. It's performed with a fireball motion + any two attacks. These can be cancelled into from just about anything, including normals, command normals, and specials.

## **Great Heat Attack (GHA)**:

A character's ultimate fabulous attack, overlaying the character models in a manga panel style. Costs two bars of HH. They're performed with a fireball motion + all three attacks. A GHA cannot be cancelled into from a special move, but can be from all normals and some command normals. (With Rotate Cancel GHA's can be linked from Specail moves in certain cases)

## **Puttsun Cancel (PC)**:

Puttsun (プッツン) refers to the sound of a string or chord breaking. Alternatively, it can be used as a manga sound effect referring to someone "snapping". Think of when Josuke gets pissed off when someone makes fun of his hair. Puttsun Cancel lets you cancel any attack to continue into a combo or to stay on the offensive. It's similar to the Roman Cancel from *Guilty Gear*. Properly performing one will cause the screen to quickly darken while your character strikes a pose and the "puttsun" sound effect appears. It costs one bar of HH. (Example)

## **Resolve/Rumble Last-ditch Effort Modes**:

Activated when your character's health is low, or as it's shown, in the red. How they affect your character is described below. Each character is assigned just one of these 2 modes. A character entering this mode is granted a short amount of invincibility upon activation.

## **Stylish Dodge**:

    Guarding an attack with precise timing causes your character to strike a pose and automatically sidestep the attack. Throughout this animation you are invincible and can capitalize on the opponent's mistakes. Initiating a Stylish Dodge takes 30% of your Guard Gauge, and an extra 10% if you Stylish Move incorrectly (overheads must be guarded standing, and lows must be guarded crouching) so be sure to manage them properly! This action cannot be performed by Iggy in Stand-Off mode or Johnny and Gyro while on Horseback.

## **Taunts**:

ASB has a unique and fabulous taunting system. When you press the Select button, your character does an iconic pose/action. If you taunt while the opponent is knocked down, the game will give your taunt a stylish cinematic zoom-in and decrease your opponent's HH gauge by 10%.

## **Stage Gimmicks**:

Hazards frequently appear in every stage of ASB. Anything from Stand abilities to natural phenomena to a politician's vehicle. Hazards are activated when a player is knocked down in a zone marked with a large red circle. Once activated, the game warns players of the incoming hazard via narrative on-screen manga panels and clearly marked pathways on the ground. Hazards cannot be blocked, so do your best to MOVE OUTTA THE WAY! These can be disabled in the stage select screen with the Square button. Specific Stage Gimmicks are described in the Stages section.

## **Dramatic Finish**:

If you finish a match by beating your opponent with a HHA or GHA in a certain area of a stage, a special cutscene specific to that stage will activate. Specific Situation Finishes are described in the Stages section.

## **Rush Battle Mode**:

Similar to "Blazing Fist Matches" in the previous Capcom fighter, this sounds to work the same way. When two characters with a "Rush-type" attack face each other, and as these specific moves connect, a Rush Battle is initiated. Moves like Jotaro's **Ora Ora** and DIO's **Muda Muda** are this type of move. Mashing on the button causes your character to attack rapidly until the person who attacks the fastest is the victor.

## ****RPCS3****

Due to the advent of the last generation emulation projects, RPCS3 makes it so that PC players can finally experience JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: All Star Battle. However, you can only play on Story Mode, Versus Mode, Practice Mode, Option Mode, and Arcade Mode.

**PROS**

* Finally there is no need to be stuck on two stages to fight others. Every stage is tolerable to play in.
* There is an opportunity to play with other people using Parsec (it works like a future Google project - Stadia).
* Almost the same as playing on a PlayStation 3.
* Access to all 41 characters.
* Access to all cosmetics for all 41 characters.

**CONS**

* Is not perfect.
* Graphics can disappear.
* Audio problems.
* Visual problems.

## ****Optimal Online Play****

No stage hazards, DIO's Mansion or Kira Estate only. Use an Ethernet cable or have a wired connection.

**PROS**

* Efficient and stable frame rate.
* No holds barred player matches.

**CONS**

* Stuck with two stages that will burn into your retinas while playing.
* Has the chance to still lag and eat inputs.

## ****Why do people not play JoJo ASB NOW?****

A video series guide by experienced player FreeMeal8WR on the concepts and mechanics of the game in-depth and the problems with the game that had affect it back then and even now.