Co-Optimus: The game features four playable characters – all animals. How do the members of the Jitsu Squad differ from each other?
Dave: That’s right. We wanted to have four characters completely different from each other, so the experience would be different.
- Hero Yamagiwa is a skillful ninja and a well-balanced character. He’s very accessible for everyone who plays the game for the first time, perhaps like Ryu from Street Fighter.
- Baby O’Hara is a cyber ninja in search of the one who killed her sister. She’s great for keeping distance because she throws projectiles, and she is the fastest in the game.
- Jazz Amun is a powerful wizard who uses magic and kung-fu. He’s an air combo specialist. You need experience and skill to master him!
- Aros Helgason is a Viking warlord [and] the muscle of [the team]. He got lots of wrestling moves and uses a powerful sword and metal arm to crush the enemy.
Our heroes were cursed by an evil sorcerer; that’s why they are portrayed as animals. [They can temporarily] transform back to their human forms, making them invincible for a short period of time! We call that Fury Mode.
Co-Optimus: What are some of the mechanics that differentiate Jitsu Squad from other beat ‘em ups?
We have lots of stuff which makes Jitsu Squad stand out compared to other beat ‘em ups:
Each playable character has their own unique Epic Super Special, you can create 100 chain-combos, players and bosses have powerful in-game character transformations, we have awesome crossover assist characters, your character can Parry and Counter to increase the strength of your attack, up to 4-player Tag Team combat, unique secondary weapons for each playable character to create awesome combos, and an upgrade system to level up your character and unlock new special moves with fighting game input commands.
Co-Optimus: Wow, that is a lot! What’s the Tag Team feature like?
We have something that other beat ‘em ups don’t: Tag Team mode, which is based on games such as Marvel vs. Capcom. This awesome feature makes it possible to select up to four characters and switch [between] them during your quest anytime you want! You can team up with a friend and create your own unique insane combos as well! You need to finish the game to unlock this mode.
Co-Optimus: How many stages does Jitsu Squad offer? Do you have any favorites?
Dave: The game has 8 stages in total, each with its own unique theme and enemies. The stages are pretty long, and [a full playthrough] gives the player more than two hours of gameplay with each character. My favorite stages are Castle Hellstorm and Primal Rage. I like the creepy characters in Castle Hellstorm, and I love the dinosaurs in Primal Rage.
Sebastien: My favorite stage is Infernia since it is so packed with events, and the difficulty is reaching a sweet spot there with the enemies. I loved making the music for it, it has two cutscenes, a train ride segment, and a surfing segment – all in one stage.
Co-Optimus: The game features an exciting story and new moves to learn as players progress. That said, have you considered the possibility of an arcade mode that offers a more streamlined, old-school experience?
We have thought about it. Let’s see what the future has in store. ;)
Co-Optimus: Can you tell us more about the free DLC that’s in the works?
Dave: The DLC was made possible by the Kickstarter that we did. We have the following planned for next year:
- Survival challenge mode
- Boss Rush mode
- New Game Plus mode
- Brutal Difficulty
- Playable character: Dash Kobayashi
Co-Optimus: Jitsu Squad is coming soon to PlayStation and Switch. Did porting the game to consoles present any specific challenges?
Sebastien: It might not seem so, but Jitsu Squad is a powerful game, especially because of its huge amount of texture pages. It was a challenge for the port studio. I believe ININ Games would be the one who could answer this question better than we can because we were not involved that much.
Co-Optimus: The store page for the Switch version of the game mentions 2-player co-op. Is it going to be 2-player or 4-player?
Dave: We know what the store page says, but Jitsu Squad will be 4-player on all platforms. This is confirmed by ININ.
Co-Optimus: That’s a relief! In addition to the PlayStation and Switch versions, an Xbox port is in the works as well. When will the Xbox game arrive?
Dave: The Xbox digital port should be ready for release on December 9th as well. We are excited about this.
Co-Optimus: Glad to hear it! Finally, is there anything you’re proud of about Jitsu Squad that we haven’t touched on yet?
Dave: We are extremely proud that Jitsu Squad became what we had in mind. Believe it or not, Jitsu Squad started out as a trailer with animated gameplay. It was “fake it till you make it.” Looking back, the game looks and plays better than we could have possibly imagined. Our team did an amazing job, so we are all very proud.
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Jitsu Squad will arrive on PlayStation, Switch, and Xbox in December 2022. The retail PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, and Switch versions are available to preorder for $29.99 each. Physical collector's editions can also be preordered for $69.99 at Games Rocket. If you can't wait, Jitsu Squad is already out on Steam and Epic for $19.99.