If you’ve spent any time in the JoJo fandom, you know that logic is usually the first thing to go out the window. One minute you’re breathing weird to fight vampires, the next you’re using a ghost cat that turns air into bombs to protect a quiet life in suburbia. It's wild. But JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Eyes of Heaven takes that inherent madness and cranks it up to a level that even Hirohiko Araki might find a bit much.
Released back in 2015 in Japan and a year later globally, this game wasn't just another fighter. It was an event. It was the first time we saw a massive, 3D tag-team brawler that tried to shove every single part of the manga—from Phantom Blood all the way to JoJolion—into one coherent story. Well, "coherent" is doing a lot of heavy lifting there.
Honestly? Most people got it wrong when it launched. They expected a balanced competitive fighter like Street Fighter or even the previous All-Star Battle. It isn't that. It’s a love letter written in neon ink and frantic button-mashing. It's a game where you can have a 19th-century gentleman team up with a sailor from an alternate dimension to beat up a god.
Why the JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Eyes of Heaven Story Still Matters in 2026
The plot of JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Eyes of Heaven is basically the most expensive fan fiction ever produced, and I mean that as a compliment. CyberConnect2 worked closely with Araki to create "Heaven-Attained DIO," a version of the villain who actually won. He didn't just kill the Stardust Crusaders; he rewrote reality.
This gives us the "Eyes of Heaven" concept—the Saint's Corpse parts are scattered across time and space, and Robert E.O. Speedwagon (bless his soul) has to gather Joestars from every era to fix the timeline. It sounds like a standard crossover trope. Because it is. But the magic is in the interactions. You get to see Jotaro Kujo meet his daughter Jolyne before the events of Stone Ocean break your heart. You see Jonathan Joestar try to wrap his head around the concept of a "Stand."
There's this one specific scene where Part 3 Jotaro meets Part 4 Jotaro. It’s awkward. It’s weird. It’s exactly what the fans wanted. The game fills in gaps we didn't know we had. It’s not canon, obviously, but it feels like the "What If?" scenario that Araki would have doodled in the margins of his notebook.
The Combat Mechanics Are... Polarizing
Let's talk about the actual gameplay. If you’re coming from All-Star Battle R, the 2D plane is gone. This is a full 3D arena brawler. You and a partner (AI or another player) run around large, interactive stages like the Joestar Mansion or Cairo.
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It’s chaotic.
Sometimes the camera hates you. You’ll be trying to line up a Dual Heat Attack—the game's flashy cinematic supers—and a stray piece of the environment will block your view. But when it works? Man, it’s satisfying. The Dual Heat Attacks are the soul of the game. If you pair up specific characters, like Johnny Joestar and Gyro Zeppeli, you get unique animations that reference the manga’s most iconic moments.
- Environment Interaction: You can pick up items, set traps, or use stage hazards.
- Style Specifics: Vampires heal in the dark; Hamon users charge their gauge; Stand users... well, they use Stands.
- The "Dual" System: You aren't just fighting alongside an AI; you're managing a shared health pool and "Dual Combo" gauges.
It’s not balanced. Not even a little bit. Some characters, like Weather Report or Pet Shop, can be absolutely infuriating to play against because of their zoning capabilities. But in a game about psychic ghosts and magical sunlight breathing, balance feels like an afterthought to spectacle.
What Most People Get Wrong About the Roster
People complain that the roster is "missing" favorites. But look at the numbers. There are over 50 playable characters. That’s insane for a niche anime fighter. We’re talking about a game that included characters like N'Doul and Mariah when they easily could have just stuck to the main protagonists.
The real tragedy isn't the roster size; it's the exclusion of local multiplayer. This is the biggest sticking point for JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Eyes of Heaven. You cannot play split-screen. In a game built entirely around 2v2 combat, being forced to go online (which, let's be real, the netcode wasn't great) or play with an AI partner was a massive oversight. It turned what could have been a legendary couch co-op game into a solo grind with the occasional laggy online match.
The Learning Curve for Newbies
If you’ve never seen JoJo, do not start here. You will be spoiled on every major death and plot twist from the first seven parts of the series. The game assumes you know who funny Valentine is. It assumes you understand the tragedy of Caesar Zeppeli.
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For the uninitiated, the "Dual Combo Finishers" will just look like colorful explosions. For the fan, it’s a dopamine hit. The game is less about "winning" and more about "performing." You want to win the way the character would win. You want to land the "ORA ORA" rush exactly when the music swells.
The Visuals: Aging Like a Fine Wine (or a Vampire)
CyberConnect2 has a specific style. They did the Naruto Ultimate Ninja Storm games, and that DNA is all over Eyes of Heaven. The cel-shading is gorgeous. Even in 2026, the game holds up visually because it isn't trying to be photorealistic. It’s trying to be a moving manga.
The use of on-screen sound effects—the "ドドドド" (menacing) symbols—floating in the air adds a layer of immersion that most anime games miss. The colors shift during big moves, mimicking the way Araki changes his color palettes mid-chapter for dramatic effect. It’s a stylistic masterpiece even if the frame rate occasionally chugs during 4-player Stand rushes.
Real-World Legacy and Why You Should Care
Despite its flaws, JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Eyes of Heaven paved the way for the resurgence of JoJo gaming. It proved there was a global market for high-budget JoJo titles. Before this, we mostly had the old Capcom fighter (which is great) and some Japan-only PS2 games.
The game also served as a sort of "archive" for the voices. Many of the voice actors who defined these roles in the anime actually started or solidified their performances in these games. Hearing Daisuke Ono (Jotaro) and Takehito Koyasu (DIO) trade insults is worth the price of admission alone.
How to Actually Enjoy It Today
Don't go into this looking for a "fair" fight. If you try to play this like Tekken, you'll hate it. The AI can be dumb as a rock, and the mission requirements for the "S" ranks can be needlessly grindy.
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Instead, treat it as an interactive museum.
- Focus on the Story Mode first. It’s the only way to unlock the full roster and get a feel for the different "Styles" (Hamon, Stand, Spin, etc.).
- Experiment with Team Comps. Don't just stick to the obvious ones. Pairing Giorno Giovanna with his "father" DIO leads to some hilarious and strange dialogue.
- Turn up the volume. The soundtrack is underrated. Each character has a theme that captures their vibe perfectly.
- Accept the jank. You will get stuck on a wall. You will miss a punch because of the targeting system. Just laugh and move on.
The game is frequently on sale on the PlayStation Store. It’s one of those titles that is constantly discounted to under ten dollars. At that price, it’s a steal. It’s dozens of hours of fanservice that treats the source material with more respect than most "AAA" adaptations.
Final Insights for the Modern Player
JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Eyes of Heaven is a beautiful, flawed, loud, and incredibly specific piece of media. It isn't for everyone. It’s for the person who has a favorite "Pose." It’s for the person who knows why "The World" is the ultimate Stand.
If you want a competitive experience, go play All-Star Battle R. If you want to feel like you’re inside the mind of a brilliant, fashion-obsessed mangaka while everything around you explodes in a shower of glitter and "MUDA," then this is your game.
To get the most out of it now, hunt down the physical copy if you're a collector, but otherwise, grab the digital version during a seasonal sale. Spend your first few hours in the "Free Battle" mode just testing out the "Unique Dual Heat Attacks." It’s the quickest way to see the best content the game has to offer without slogging through the sometimes-repetitive story missions. Once you find a duo that clicks, the game truly opens up.
Stop worrying about the Tier Lists. They don't matter here. What matters is the style. And in the world of JoJo, style is everything.
Actionable Next Steps:
- Check the PSN Store: This game is a frequent "Deal of the Week." Don't pay the full $59.99; you can almost always find it for $9.99 or less.
- Watch the "Unique Dual Heat Attack" compilations on YouTube: If the animations don't make you smile, the gameplay probably won't win you over.
- Prioritize unlocking characters in Story Mode: Many of the best fighters (especially the Steel Ball Run and JoJolion characters) aren't available at the start.