14 DAY TRIAL // 
The Captain and Princess might be in trouble. They have to battle through a level where a bomb was poised to explode. They mastered their combat moves and eliminated a lumbering monster that was determined to eat them. But they might fail before they activate a switch to extend a bridge, defeated by the combined power of two long-range attackers.
These creatures work like artillery, dealing damage in a wide area. My secondary objective involves getting the enemies to kill each other 50 times, so I have been drawing lower-level opponents into the clearly marked impact areas. I have been killing just enough of them to keep my health up. But monster attacks and spike traps have been taking their toll.
But as Princess and the Captain are moving down the enemy horde, there are fewer opportunities to walk over them to heal. I need to abandon the secondary objective and focus on survival. A few combined attacks should give me space and then replenish my health. Then I need to carefully maneuver to avoid big enemy attacks while eliminating the bigger threats.
Captain Velvet Meteor: The Jump+ Dimensions is developed by Momo-pi, with publishing duties handled by Shueisha Games. I played the PC version using Steam and the game is also available on the Nintendo Switch and the Xbox Series X and S. The title offers turn-based tactical challenges and features Shonen Jump+ heroes as companions.
Damien is French, but he has Japanese ancestry and moves back to the country with his family to inherit his grandpa’s estate. The boy isn’t very happy with him and deals with his negative emotions by creating an alternate identity as Captain Velvet Meteor. He crashlands on a hostile planet and has to explore it. When Damien encounters a real-world problem, he shifts to his alter-ego, who is joined by a range of characters.
On his adventures the Captain will work with: Chloe Love and Kai Iod of Ghost Reaper Girl, the Princess and the EX sentient sword from Tis Time for “Torture”, Princess, Loid Forger as featured in SpyxFamily, Gabimaru from Hell’s Paradise: Jigokuraku, Ushio Kofune of Summer Time Rendering, Kafka Hibino from Kaiju No, 8, Chrome from Heart Gear, and Slime from Slime Life.
It’s a diverse cast that will certainly appeal to fans of those universes. The game’s writing aims for a light tone and some easy jokes. The banter between Damien, his companions, and the robot assistant takes place between missions and is fairly short. The boy also comments on the many objects he can interact with in his new Japanese house.
Captain Velvet Meteor: The Jump+ Dimensions is played from an isometric perspective, with a focus on turn-based battles. Damien will move around rooms and can interact with certain objects to get collectibles. But most of the time he, alongside a partner, will explore levels, seeking to eliminate all opponents, looking for something, or simply trying to reach an exit.
The two characters have a limited amount of moves and can attack one per turn. When they act separately, they can each eliminate a capable foe and independently pick up drops. When they join forces, they will launch a special combined attack that has additional effects, like pushing back or stunning enemies. If the yellow power-up bar is filled, the pair can launch a massive strike that takes out many enemies and delivers significant damage to boss creatures.
Because there are tons of melee and ranged creatures to battle (later backed by traps and special enemies), the Captain and his partner will get hit. To balance this the lowest tier of enemy can be killed by simply moving over them and destroying creatures restores the shared health bar. The priority is to take out or stun as many opponents in one move or to focus fire on the bigger targets.
It’s an easy system to understand and use. Captain Velvet Meteor does a good job of showing players what each companion can do before introducing tougher challenges. Some levels feature a time limit or mechanism that gate progress until they are activated. The big boss battles will test the player’s understanding of character powers and their tactical sense.
Unfortunately, there’s no way to save during a level, which can lead to frustration if monsters get the better of the adventuring player just before the end of the level. When that happens, it’s a good idea to switch to another companion and make progress using slightly different mechanics.
Veterans of the turn-based tactics genre will be disappointed with the simple and pretty repetitive structure of Captain Velvet Meteor. More combat options would have been welcome. But the target audience, fans of the featured characters, and younger players will have fun with the battles.
Captain Velvet Meteor: The Jump+ Dimensions has a unique look, taking some ideas from Japanese anime, like Damien’s exaggerated expressions, without copying it fully. I like the character and the enemy designs (the bosses are very cool), although the levels are pretty limited, and the visual effects are not impressive. Damien’s house is very drab and even his dog looks like he’s made out of plastic.
The combat sound design is equally limited, with repetitive effects, and the game does not feature voice acting for the Captain or any of his companions. But the soundtrack is good and makes even the more repetitive battle sequences feel exciting. This is the kind of music that is varied and interesting enough to buy separately.
The Good
- Eight heroic companions
- Emotional moments
- Easy-to-understand tactical combat
The Bad
- Limited house interactions
- Repetitive combat
- Requires some prior knowledge of the eight companions
Conclusion
House exploration is disappointing, with very limited interactions that only yield stickers and short comments. The developers should have also found ways to add more innovation to the combat, especially when it comes to character moves. Captain Velvet Meteor: The Jump+ Dimensions is a fun adventure for anyone who knows and likes the featured companions but has limited appeal for non-fans.
Review key provided by the publisher.
