Jitsu Squad Developers Sebastien Romero and Dave Baljon Detail Character Powers, Mechanics

gamerant.com:

Tanuki Creative Studio's maiden voyage, Jitsu Squad, is a paradoxical four-player beat 'em up. The newly released indie game is reminiscent of the arcade renaissance of the early 1990s, featuring frantic action that consumes the entire play area. Simultaneously, the title appeals to modern audiences with high-quality animated graphics, and mechanics designed to disrupt the fatigue that can settle in over prolonged play sessions.

Game Rant spoke with lead creators Dave Baljon and Sebastien Romero about the challenges of keeping a classic, relatively simplistic formula fresh and compelling in 2022. Jitsu Squad's primary appeal is the influence it draws from traditional one-on-one fighting games, and its roster of selectable characters with completely different styles. With influences spanning Marvel vs. Capcom, Samurai Pizza Cats, and other classic Capcom brawlers, Jitsu Squad simultaneously looks to the past and future of its genre.

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Both Baljon and Romero are enormous fans of beat 'em ups and fighting games, and that affection comes through their roster of characters. Each embody a different fighting game archetype, according to Romero.

All the four characters are very, very different. If you start over again and play with Baby, or play with Aros, it's almost a different game from playing with Jazz or Hero. We really didn't want to make two characters the same because why would we?

Baljon describes Hero, the raccoon samurai, as «the Ryu of Jitsu Squad,» with well-rounded and accessible mechanics beneath a broadly appealing character design. Jazz, an afro-sporting frog mystic, has a double jump ability that affords him enormous air combo