Chaotic 2D Beat ‘Em Up Game “Jitsu Squad” Opens Pre-Orders!

If you have been wanting to play a beat ’em up game that offers a whole lot of chaos and 90s nostalgia, you should keep an eye out for the upcoming Jitsu Squad. Pre-orders are currently open with the game looking at a winter release.

The gameplay’s supposed to help you channel your inner animal and demonstrate the best and fastest moves. Having watched the trailer, Jitsu Squad sure looks like a lot of fun. ININ Games will be bringing this title from Tanuki Creative Studio to the Nintendo Switch, PS4, and PS5 this winter. There’s no set date as of writing this. A digital-only release for the Xbox family is planned for a later date. You can pre-order by visiting ININ Games.

The story involves the legendary Kusanagi Stone which contains the soul of a powerful demon. The stone is capable of granting godly powers to those who are able to awaken it, but it has remained hidden for centuries. Enter Origami, the lord of darkness. He ends up summoning ancient warriors to find the stone. The warriors have been cursed by Origami, turning them into animals.

A mysterious monk named Ramen’s able to save four warrior souls, allowing Hero (the shinobi), Baby (cyber ninja), Jazz (magic kung-fu master), and Aros (the dragon slayer) to form the Jitsu Squad. There are 8 planets for you to defend and numerous enemies to defeat. 

The game has been created to provide players with the feel of old-school brawlers from the 90s. The visuals make use of a hand-drawn cartoon style. The game is supposed to be easy to learn, but hard to master. You can play solo or you can co-op with other players (up to four people) against waves of enemies. There’s also the option to team up with a friend in the 2-player tag-team mode, which will have each player choose up to 2 characters.

The fighting style will make use of massive combo chains and flashy moves. There’s also an upgrade system involved and unique secondary weapons for new combos. If you’re able to get the mechanics down, you can create 100+ combo chains. There are infinite juggles and Super Specials along with in-game character transformations.

You can see a lot of the gameplay features in the trailer. I do like the chaotic vibe of the entire thing. It’s kind of difficult to understand what’s happening onscreen during some of the battle scenes. There’s a stage where you need to fight enemies while surfing on lava!

And I do like the animal-inspired character designs. Look at that little raccoon!

The game’s soundtrack was created by ‘Crush 40’ singer Johnny Gioeli, famous for the iconic Sonic The Hedgehog music. The trailer uses Gioeli’s single ‘Surfing on the Lava’.

As for the recognition that Jitsu Squad has recieved, it was nominated at this year’s Dutch Game Awards in October, in the categories “Best Debut Game” and “Best Art”.

Coming to the Jitsu Squad Collector’s Edition, ININ Games teamed up with Games Rocket to create the limited exclusive editions. Pre-orders can be placed by visiting Gamesrocket.com. It will cost you $69.99 USD.

The Collector’s Edition will include the following:

• Game for Nintendo Switch, PS4 or PS5
• Collector’s Edition box
• A colorful game manual
• Japanese-style hand fa
• Hand surfboard
• Artbook
• The soundtrack on CD
• Headband
• Acrylic diorama
• Paperwheel
• Reversible Poster
• Postcard set
• A sticker sheet

Talking a bit about the Dutch indie Tanuki Creative Studio, it was founded by Dave Baljon in 2016. Baljon then teamed up with animator/composer Sebastien Romero in mid-2016, with full-time development beginning in 2018. Released on Steam in March of this year, Jitsu Squad is the studio’s first game. An Arcade release is planned by exA-Arcadia Japan.

What are your thoughts about Jitsu Squad?

Let us know.

You can read more of our video game coverage here.

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(via press release)

Author: Farid-ul-Haq

Farid has a Double Masters in Psychology and Biotechnology as well as an M.Phil in Molecular Genetics. He is the author of numerous books including Missing in Somerville, and The Game Master of Somerville. He gives us insight into comics, books, TV shows, anime/manga, video games, and movies.

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