If you’ve been anywhere near the anime scene lately, chances are you’ve heard all about Jujutsu Kaisen. This action-packed shonen series took the world by storm when it debuted in 2018, featuring the demon-battlin’ adventures of jujutsu sorcerer-in-training Yuji Itadori. With its slick animation style, badass fight choreography, and instantly iconic characters like Gojo and Nobara, it’s no wonder JJK has garnered millions of loyal fans worldwide.
Now, in an attempt to capitalize on the franchise’s massive popularity, developers Byking and Gemdrops have brought Jujutsu Kaisen to consoles for the first time with Cursed Clash. As you’ve probably guessed from the title, this is an arena fighting game in the vein of the Naruto Ultimate Ninja series – basically, a 3D brawler that pits your favorite anime heroes and villains against each other in chaotic matchups. It’s a genre that’s provided both god-tier and downright embarrassing adaptations in the past, so the question is…which category does Cursed Clash fall into? Read on to find out!
A Sorcerer’s Apprentice Job
I don’t know if the developers at Byking took a page from Principal Gakuganji’s book, but the presentation in Cursed Clash feels almost criminally lackluster. We’re talking about Jujutsu-freaking-Kaisen here – a series celebrated for its slick character designs, fluid animation, and hard-hitting action. Yet none of that vivid style seems to have made its way into this game.
From the clunky main menu to the barren box of text that passes for a character select screen, Cursed Clash’s UI is painfully bare-bones and dated. Story mode cutscenes lift static images and dialog directly from the anime with zero in-engine embellishment. And the character models themselves, while resembling the 2D art, lack any real pizzazz in their movements or attack animations.
It’s honestly kind of crazy how little this game seems to take advantage of its source material. The JJK anime dazzles viewers with its dynamic camera angles, striking color palette, and mesmerizing fight choreography. Meanwhile, Cursed Clash has you slugging it out on bland, empty stages viewed from a fixed perspective. Attacks feel floaty and lack impact. Even the win poses and victory animations, which should be a showcase for signature character moments, are totally forgettable here.
For a modern fighting game based on one of the most visually stunning anime in recent memory to overlook aesthetics this much…it really begs the question: did anyone working on Cursed Clash actually watch JJK before making this?! Some of the lesser-known supporting sorcerers may have needed reference pics – but the absolute disservice done to fan faves like Gojo and Nanami should be considered criminal.
Getting Down to Business
Alright, enough griping about the looks – let’s dive into the actual meat n’ potatoes gameplay that fighting fans care about most. At its core, Cursed Clash utilizes a “cursed energy” mechanic that rewards aggressive rushing down over careful defense and precise combos. Land enough hits and your meter fills, allowing ultra-powerful special attacks fueled by jujutsu sorcery.
It’s a cool concept on paper that really plays into the whole exorcist theme. In practice though, cursed energy is way too easily spammed by just mashing light attack over and over. And even when you juice up those super flashy moves, they rarely feel satisfying to connect with thanks to stiff animations and finicky hit detection.
Most fighter rosters aim to provide a diverse mix of speedy, well-rounded, and heavy hitter archetypes – but the balance in Cursed Clash feels totally lopsided. Ranged fighters like Inumaki utterly demolish short-range brawlers like Yuji at all levels of play. The difference between S-tier and bottom barrel characters is embarrassingly vast. And good luck trying to fight 1v2 in story mode against certain notorious bosses like Hanami. Their ability to infinitely juggle you from full health to zero with unavoidable super attacks isn’t challenging…it’s just plain un-fun.
At least there’s a decent variety of ways to suffer unfair beatdowns? You’ve got your standard suite of versus, arcade, and training modes as expected. Story mode tries adapting season 1 of the anime via visual novel-style reenactments, but falters due to repetitive fights, text walls covering the screen, and zero in-engine cutscenes. It’s cool to battle through the Jujutsu Tech college invasions and Kyoto Goodwill Event as fan favorites like Nanami and Todo though.
The real highlight is the 4-player co-op mode, which hits almost all the right notes. Fighting endless waves of Cursed Spirits with friends while leveling up feels straight out of a Phantom Parade play session at Goodwill. And scrambling to cover each other from surprise attacks or coordinate dual supers to take down bosses captures the camaraderie of the anime. This is the closest Cursed Clash gets to channeling that authentic JJK energy…but fluid gameplay and fair combat should be priorities in every mode, not just one bonus offering tacked on.
A Sorcerous Soundscape
While the visuals may falter, Cursed Clash manages to shine a bit brighter when it comes to audio. The epic orchestral soundtrack sets an appropriately dramatic mood for battles. Sword slashes land with sharp, visceral impact, and cursed energy techniques roar with monstrous ferocity. And fans will undoubtedly geek out hearing that sweet, sweet original Japanese voice acting from the anime’s cast reprising their roles.
Yuma Uchida turns in a typically spirited performance as protagonist Yuji – you can hear his resolve not to disappoint the friends fighting beside him. Similarly, Asami Tano pumps up the charm as one of JJK’s few shining rays of joy, Miwa Kasumi. And Yuichi Nakamura steals every scene he’s in as everyone’s favorite loud-mouthed, emotional jujutsu instructor, Satoru Gojo. Their dynamic delivery adds an extra layer of immersion that fans of the sub will eat up.
That said, mixing definitely seems a tad off in places. The overpowering background music has a bad habit of drowning out combat callouts and super attack voicelines. And false hope creeps in whenever you hear a character start bantering, only for their next five lines to be repetitive fight phrase stock audio. At least fighters feel somewhat talkative compared to the eerily silent visual novel story delivery.
In keeping the original Japanese VO talent intact and crafting blood-pumping tunes befitting monster battles, the sound design gets more right than wrong. But slightly better balancing and a bit more care into fight dialogue would’ve completed the audio package. I kept expecting one of Nanami’s musical taste lectures or Yuji fanboying over famous jujutsu techniques – those signature moments are missed opportunities that never arrive amidst the sonic chaos. Still, points for effort compared to the visual shortcomings!
Getting the Squad Back Together
Considering how hugely expansive JJK’s cast of characters has grown lately, Cursed Clash had ample opportunity to delight fans by representing sorcerers and curses from both the anime and cutting-edge manga arcs. Instead, the initial roster frustratingly limits itself to just season one of the anime. And even then, there are some real head-scratching omissions among fan favorites.
Where’s the chainsaw-wielding badass Miwa to reprising her changed fate with the Zenin clan? Why can’t we play as Miguel to relive his tragic backstory battles? What about Mei Mei and her adorable panda sidekick? The list goes on and on. Even Todo, arguably the anime’s most popular and meme-worthy character, is locked behind DLC.
On the plus side, there are some pleasant surprises that almost make up for slim pickings – like the addition of Yuta and Rika from the Jujutsu Kaisen 0 film. Still, in a tag-team fighter especially, variety is king when it comes to replayability. And missing so many beloved fighters right off the bat really hurts Cursed Clash’s staying power.
At least hopping online gives you a reason to keep leveling up characters in the endless co-op mode. Competing in ranked matches lets you show off all those snazzy alternate costumes and awakened abilities you’ve unlocked. But between service errors booting you from games, frame rate drops and input lag screwing up your combos, and hideously long load times between every rematch…the netcode leaves almost as much to be desired as the roster.
Again, it feels like the developers banked hard on name recognition alone to sell copies here without investing proper effort into areas fans and fighting game vets would actually care about. Downloadable content and updates could right the ship, but for now, this sorcerer squad dynamic feels sparse and unsatisfying. Where’s Fushigoro to remind everyone that finesse and teamwork trumps pure skill level any day? Get him in here ASAP!
Signing Off
At the end of the day, I really wanted to love Jujutsu Kaisen’s first foray into gaming – I truly did. But Cursed Clash unfortunately whiffs hard at capturing the energy, emotion and flair that makes the anime so special. Limited combat depth, clunky mechanics, weak fan service and lackluster care for the source material hold it back from reaching its full potential.
Strip away the JJK skin and you’re left with a pretty cookie-cutter arena fighter – maybe a slight cut above the glut of low-budget cash grabs, but nowhere near genre greats like the Naruto Ultimate Ninja Storm series in terms of gameplay refinement and content.
Hardcore fans will still find bits to enjoy, like recreating their favorite throwdowns from season 1 or bonding with the characters in co-op mode. But the magic is missing. And for newcomers to the series wanting to experience sorcerer battles with proper weight and spectacle? I’d point them towards watching the anime first, then come back to this game later if they desperately need more.
With some hefty patches addressing mechanical issues and adding cut content, Cursed Clash could be redeemed into a worthy adaptation down the line. My fingers are crossed for that possibility! But based on the careless oversights out the gate here? I’d temper expectations tighter than Gojo’s infinity bounds. This curse still needs plenty more refinement before unlocking its full potential.
The Review
Jujutsu Kaisen: Cursed Clash
While Jujutsu Kaisen: Cursed Clash nails the style and characters of the beloved anime, it fails to capture the captivating energy in a meaningful way. Stiff combat, dated graphics, and lackluster content hold the game back from reaching its full potential. I wanted to love this, but the magic just isn't there yet.
PROS
- Captures the style and personalities of characters from the anime
- Interesting cursed energy combat mechanic
- Co-op mode provides some solid fun
CONS
- Repetitive, button-mashy combat
- Unbalanced character roster and abilities
- Dated graphics and presentation
- Lackluster single player content
- Technical issues in online multiplayer
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