It looks a lot like Pokémon Unite as well.
This is one of the most surprising announcements in the world of video games and manga/anime. The publisher Shueisha, known for printing the famous magazine Jump (or Weekly Shonen Jump), has unveiled the upcoming release of a video game called Jump: Assemble, which will bring together iconic characters from beloved manga series published in Jump, such as Naruto, Luffy from One Piece, Goku from Dragon Ball, and even Ichigo from Bleach.
Developed by the Japanese studios DeNA, Jump: Assemble will be a MOBA, a type of team-based online battle game, with the most well-known representative today being League of Legends. Set to be released for Android and iOS, the game has already revealed some of its gameplay in a video:
The graphics, while relatively simplistic (as is typical for mobile games), bear some resemblance to Pokémon Unite, a recent MOBA iteration launched by Nintendo in 2021. The gameplay also remains fairly accessible, allowing players of all levels, including beginners in this genre, to embark on their adventure. However, the map, in the shape of a square with three lanes, is more reminiscent of that in League of Legends.
As for the ‘champions,’ it appears that each of them has their own unique abilities and combat style. For instance, Naruto heavily relies on his ‘Shadow Clone Technique,’ which allows him to create duplicates to fight alongside him.
From what we can see, many characters will be playable, including those from more recent works like Tanjiro from Demon Slayer or Yuji Itadori from Jujutsu Kaisen. The franchises won’t be limited to just one character representation, as we’ve already seen Sasuke (Naruto) and Chopper (One Piece) as playable characters.
For now, available in beta for the fortunate few, Jump: Assemble is scheduled to be released in 2024.