Gamertell

The DS game Jump Ultimate Stars is quite an elaborate fighting game. After all, 300 characters from 40 different manga series appear in the game either as fighters or support characters. With all of those options, creating a deck can be a daunting feat - especially if you’re a beginner and you don’t speak Japanese.

So today in Important Importables, we are going to offer a few Jump Ultimate Stars theme deck suggestions. Since even that could get a bit long (there are loads of possible creation options and everyone’s fighting style may vary), we’re going to focus on three anime series - Bleach, Naruto and One Piece.

Each series will have two suggestions, one for people who have unlocked larger koma (panel) fighters and one for people who may just be starting out. Each deck will have a different approach - one deck will focus on utilizing multiple fighters, and the other will focus on a single large character.

Series: Bleach

• Deck 1 Komas used: 6 koma Renji, 5 koma Hitsugaya, 4 koma Rukia, 2 koma Aizen, 1 koma Gin, 1 koma Ichigo and 1 koma Orihime. Explanation: A good thing about all Bleach characters is they can flash step and air dash. Renji’s a power character with a great special attack and good reach. Hitsugaya’s an intelligence character and similar to Renji in that he’s very versitile. His reach is shorter, but some of his specials can freeze, which makes up for it. Rukia’s a nice filler character - she doesn’t combo well, but she has good reach with some of her specials. The Aizen support character causes a nice attack to the player of your choosing, paralyzing their fighter. Attach the SP increasing Ichigo 1 koma to Rukia, the SP increasing Gin 1 koma to Renji and the status recovery Orihime 1 koma to Hitsugaya and you’re good to go.
• Deck 2 Komas used: 8 koma Ichigo, 4 koma Hitsugaya, 3 koma Renji, 1 koma Tatsuki, 1 koma Gin, 1 koma Orihime, 1 koma Chad, 1 koma Kon Explanation: The Bankai version of Ichigo with the Hollow mask is one of the most powerful fighters in the game, so you want to focus on him. Set up the deck so all of the 1 koma characters are attached to him and giving him increased defence (Tatsuki), no knockback (Chad), fast status recovery (Orihime), increased SP from KOing opponents (Kon), and SP recovery (Gin). Here Hitsugaya is just a safety measure, in case something happens to Ichigo. Renji’s support attack lets you select an opponent and have projectiles fired at him.

Series: Naruto

• Deck 1 Komas used: 6 koma Sakura (laughter), 5 koma Naruto, 4 koma Kakashi, 3 koma Gaara, 1 koma Sasuke, 1 koma Orochimaru Explanation: This is probably the most well-rounded deck, as it contains power (Naruto), intelligence (Kakashi) and laughter (Sakura) characters. Each one is easy to use and has nice special bonuses and attacks to make things easier. The 1 koma Sasuke can be attached to either Sakura or Naruto to reduce damage from specials (don’t attach it to Kakashi, as he already has that ability) and the 1 koma Orochimaru can be attached to Sakura or Kakashi to constantly heal the characters. The 3 koma Gaara lets you unleash a sand coffin attack on the opponent of your choosing. As a side note - ninja characters in this deck can wall-jump, which makes reaching higher platforms helpful.
• Deck 2: Komas used: 8 koma Ninetails Naruto, 3 koma Gaara, 3 koma Sakura, 2 koma Kakashi, 1 koma Jiraya, 1 koma Sai, 1 koma Sasuke, 1 koma Tsunade Explanation: Personally, I wouldn’t use this deck. I just designed it to fit with the “two decks for each series” theme. If you want a challenge and want to try it, go ahead. The centerpiece is the 8 koma Ninetails Naruto. There’s also 3 support komas - the 3 koma Gaara to cast sand coffin, a 3 koma Sakura to heal and a 2 koma Kakashi to launch a basic physical attack. Also, attach the 1 koma Sasuke (special attacks damage decreased), Tsunade (status recovery increased) and Sai (immune to blind) to Naruto. Leave the 1 koma Jiraya in the corner to increase the special gauge by one.

Series: One Piece

• Deck 1 Komas used: 6 koma Sanji, 6 koma Nami, 5 koma Robin, 2 koma Zoro, 1 koma Luffy Explanation: This is a deck for people who like to focus on fighters alone. All three fighters are really strong with great strengths, and are either power (Sanji) or intelligence (Nami and Robin) characters. Plus Sanji has a special skill, triggered by pressing select, that heals characters in the deck and one of his special attack increases the power of female fighters in the deck. The Zoro support koma deals basic physical damage to a nearby opponent. Attach the 1 koma Luffy that reduces physical damage to Robin and you’ll be set.
• Deck 2 Komas used: 8 koma Luffy, 4 koma Nami (long laughter one), 2 koma Chopper, 2 koma Sanji, 1 koma Robin, 1 koma Kiwi, 1 koma Zoro, 1 koma Shanks Explanation: The 8 koma Luffy is one, along with Ichigo and Naruto, a heavy hitter. He’ll be your main fighter with this deck, with the four koma laughter Nami as backup. Both of the 2 koma assist characters, Chopper and Sanji, heal your characters (though sometimes Sanji only heals women). Attach the 1 koma Robin to Nami, so Nami will automatically guard when not attacking. Then attach the 1 koma Kiwi (increases SP when using or defending against support character attacks) and 1 koma Zoro (increase defense against swords) to Luffy. The 1 koma Shanks increases all characters SP by 1, and doesn’t need to be attached to a fighter.

COMING NEXT WEEK: Important Importables will look at the Simple DS Series of games, and point out some of the better volumes. If you don’t miss a single installment of Important Importables, or want to know right away when the next column is up, then sign up for the Gamertell Newsletter and RSS feed.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: Last week Important Importables talked about Gackt.

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