Jump Force Roster – Every confirmed Character and fan theories

Update:After Gamescom, the Jump Force roster has grown even more recently with the addition of characters – and versions of characters – from all over Shonen Jump's history.

The legendary Shonen Jump turns 50 this year, and they're doing some seriously special things to celebrate. The world's best-selling manga magazine is producing an all-star fighting game featuring some of its greatest ever characters. Here's everything we know about the Jump Force roster, including every confirmed character and a few fan theories.

In Jump Force, you pick a team of three characters from Shonen Jump history and square off against another squad of three.
Jump Force Roster – Confirmed Characters:

• Naruto Uzumaki
  

A worldwide manga superstar, Naruto was always going to one of the headline inclusions in the Jump Force roster. In the E3 trailer we saw an adult Naruto using Sage and Kyuubi powers. We've now heard that versions of characters – such as Sage Naruto – won't be individually playable, so we can expect Naruto to have special moves that call on all of the different fighting styles that he uses in the manga.

• Sasuke Uchiha
  

Naruto's one-time friend and nemesis joins the fray. He didn't show up in the E3 trailer, but was available to play in the show floor demo that we saw just after. As with Naruto, only the Shippuden version of Sasuke has been confirmed.

• Ichigo Kurosaki
  

Bleach series protagonist Ichigo Kurosaki joins the battle. Bleach characters' melee and magic-based fighting styles seem like they'd make a great fit for Jump Force, so it makes sense to see them here.

• Rukia Kuchiki
  

Ichigo's fellow Soul Reaper Rukia Kuchiki is also on the Jump Force roster. While her katana is her primary weapon, she can also use ice magic attacks against her enemies.

• Sosuke Aizen
  

The final Bleach character joining Jump Force so far is big baddie Sosuke Aizen. Originally a high-ranking captain in the Soul Society, Aizen's moveset will be similar to that of Ichigo and Rukia.

• Goku
  

It just wouldn't be a Jump game without Goku, right? The lovable spikey-headed Saiyan featured heavily in the game's E3 trailer and is sure to take a lead role in Jump Force despite the recent release of Dragon Ball FighterZ. We've since seen that a Super Saiyan Blue version of Goku will appear in Jump Force, although – like Naruto – not as an individual character.

• Vegeta
  

Everyone's favoruite grumpy pants had to show up. If Jump Force is supposed to be a celebration of Jump's rich history, it'd be a travesty to leave out such a well-loved character.

• Frieza
  

To go with the glut of good guys, Frieza is one of Shonen Jump history's most recognisable villains. In the E3 trailer and demo we saw his final form, so that's how he'll probably fight the whole time.

• Monkey D. Luffy
  

The wannabe King of the Pirates, Luffy from One Piece, is another cornerstone of the Shonen Jump roster. It'll be interesting to see how his stretchy Devil Fruit powers are balanced in Jump Force so his reach isn't overpowered, but his move-set still feels true to his character.

• Zoro
  

Straw Hat Pirates stalwart Roronoa Zoro made an appearance as a playable character in the E3 show floor demo of Jump Force. His multi-sword-based style of fighting should make him a fun departure from the rest of the roster.

• Sanji
  

The cigarette-smokin' cook Sanji is the third of the Star Hat Pirates that'll appear on the Jump Force roster. Revealed during Gamescom, Sanji's known for a fighting style that's heavily reliant on kicks, so expect that to be the case here too.

• Sabo
  

Also from One Piece, the Revolutionary Army's second-in-command Sabo joins the fight as well. His fiery Flare-Flare Fruit powers and cane should form the basis of his close-range moveset.

• Blackbeard
  

As for One Piece villains, Blackbeard – or Marshall D. Teach to give him his full name – appeared in the Gamescom trailer as well. Blackbeard is the only character in One Piece to use two Devil Fruit powers at the same time, so it'll be interesting to see how Jump Force handles his twin powers of earthquakes and darkness.

• Yugi Moto
  

Well, it's technically the spirit of The Pharaoh that possesses Yugi to help him win at a children's card game that you play as. Yugi's addition to the Jump Force roster is an awesome one, because it raises so many questions about his fighting style. Which Duel Monsters will fight alongside him – the Dark Magician has to be a dead cert, as is Slifer the Sky Dragon, surely? There are some interesting possibilities for defensive play too. Could incoming attacks activate his Mirror Force trap card?

• Gon
  

From Hunter X Hunter, Gon's speed and hand-to-hand based fighting-style make him a good fit for Jump Force. Shown off during the Gamescom trailer, it looks like Gon's Limitation Transformation also makes an appearance in the game as well as his other Nen powers.

• Hisoka
  

A main bad guy for a lot of early Hunter X Hunter, Hisoka Morow is known as a strong fighter within the manga's world and is a great fit for Jump Force. He was announced in the same Gamescom demo as Blackbeard.

• Killua and Kurapika
  

Gon's bestie Killua and Blacklist Hunter Kurapika were revealed together in the pages of Shonen Jump magazine itself. Not much is known about their moveset yet, but we can assume that they make use of their lightning and conjuration style Nen abilities respectively.
Story characters that aren't playable:

• Light Yamagi and Ryuk
  

At the end of the E3 trailer, we saw Light Yamagi and Ryuk watching over the battle between the heroes and Frieza below. In an interview with Comicbook, Nick O'Leary, public relations manager for Bandai Namco, confirmed that the Death Note characters will contribute to the story of Jump Force, but won't be playable themselves. This news opens up a whole new world of possibilities for cameos, since it sets a precedent that characters can appear without necessarily having to fight.
Unconfirmed fan picks:

Now for the fun part. None of these characters have been confirmed to appear in the Jump Force Roster, but are fan favourites to be included and were important to the development of Shonen Jump as a modern cultural phenomenon. These are just a few characters we'd like to see make the cut – tell us down in the comments who you want in the game too!

• Seto Kaiba and Jaden Yuki
  

The franchise is probably best known for its wildly successful physical card game, Yu Gi Oh got its start in Shonen Jump back in 1996. Yugi might be confirmed, but there are plenty of other duelists that could round out the roster. Where Yugi could battle using the Dark Magician, Kaiba could wield the equally iconic Blue Eyes White Dragon. And if Jump are trying to get a few eras of Yu Gi Oh into Jump Force, Duel Academy's-own Jaden Yuki could make an appearance, alongside his Elemental Hero monsters of course.

• Jonathan Joestar
  

Granted, you could have any of the JoJos appear in Jump Force, but we had to choose one so went with the first. JoJo's Bizarre Adventure is a cult favourite and their inclusion would be the ultimate fan-service.

• One-Punch Man
  

Originally self-published, Shonen Jump were involved in a digital remake of One-punch Man, and he'd be a really interesting character to make work in a game. Plus, he's one of the more recent manga characters to come to prominence, so it'd be good to get him in there alongside the stone-cold classics.

There's no firm release date for Jump Force yet, but the game is slated to appear in 2019.

The post Jump Force Roster – Every confirmed Character and fan theories appeared first on VG247.