Jump Force brings some of the most iconic heroes and villains from Weekly Shonen Jump into one massive crossover for some 3v3 battles, and of course you want to unlock all the Jump Force characters in the roster. A fighting game's lineup is paramount to its success, and Jump Force is packing an impressive 40 characters at launch (though strangely, only three of them are women). And while you can't technically play as just anyone right from the start, unlocking all the Jump Force characters is quick and painless compared to the unlock grind in games like Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.
With Jump Force's strange insistence on making you use an in-game hub world rather than a main menu to access different modes, it can be confusing to know where to begin. But here are the simple steps you need to take in order to get all the Jump Force characters unlocked ASAP.
How to unlock Jump Force characters
The first time you boot up Jump Force, you're suddenly thrust straight into the story mode. And if you hoped to get into a match straight away, I have some bad news: you're going to need to watch some cutscenes first, because they're unskippable. After watching Frieza wreak havoc in New York City's Times Square, Trunks and his robot pal Navigator will fill you in on the dire situation. You'll then go into the create-a-character mode to construct your hero. If you just want to get to the action quickly, simply settle for one of the default models and continue.
Once your body's "reconstruction" is complete, you'll need to go through a brief combat tutorial, which is worth playing through to get a feel for the flow of the fights. But if you want to speed through it simply beat up the AI opponent until they're KOed to skip the tutorial. From there, you, Trunks, and Goku will beam up to Umbras Base, the main hub of the entire game.
After a brief chat with the base's director, Glover, you'll need to visit the Alpha, Beta, and Gamma sectors within the base to meet with team leaders Goku, Luffy, and Naruto, respectively. Reaching these three heroes is simple - just run down the stairs under their giant lettered entryway and you'll find them waiting for you with a quest prompt floating over their heads. Talk with them all and make your way back to the central area via the same stairs. You can explore further via alternate passageways, but the Umbras Base is oddly huge, and it's easy to get lost in a massive, empty hallway.
When you've successfully talked to all three leaders return to the main hub and look for an unmarked staircase between the Gamma and Beta pathways in the central area. Run down those steps and you'll find Glover, who will ask you to choose a leader before one more tutorial. Once you've completed that, congratulations - you now have access to all 40 Jump Force characters! Now, when you visit the Offline and Online Battle stations, you can scroll through the entire roster to your heart's content. Bear in mind that for the Key Missions in the story campaign, you'll still need to expand your team bit by bit, unlocking more characters the further you fight into the single-player content. And nine more fighters are still on the way via paid DLC, so plan accordingly if you want a complete roster!
Jump Force roster: every character in the game
The Jump Force characters all hail from Weekly Shonen Jump, a manga anthology you'll find at any Japanese newsstand that's been consistently popular for decades. Here are all 40 currently playable fighters in the Jump Force roster, along with the series they originally appeared in, organized alphabetically by the Western show name, followed by the nine DLC characters who will start rolling out in May (and are all included with the Character Pass):
- Asta (Black Clover)
- Ichigo (Bleach)
- Rukia (Bleach)
- Aizen (Bleach)
- Renji (Bleach)
- Ryo (City Hunter)
- Goku (Dragon Ball Z)
- Vegeta (Dragon Ball Z)
- Trunks (Dragon Ball Z)
- Piccolo (Dragon Ball Z)
- Frieza (Dragon Ball Z)
- Cell (Dragon Ball Z)
- Dai (Dragon Quest: The Adventure of Dai)
- Kenshiro (Fist of the North Star)
- Gon (Hunter x Hunter)
- Hisoka (Hunter x Hunter)
- Killua (Hunter x Hunter)
- Kurapika (Hunter x Hunter)
- Jotaro Kujo (JoJo's Bizarre Adventure)
- Dio (JoJo's Bizarre Adventure)
- Deku (My Hero Academia)
- Naruto (Naruto)
- Sasuke (Naruto)
- Boruto (Naruto)
- Gaara (Naruto)
- Kakashi (Naruto)
- Kaguya (Naruto)
- Luffy (One Piece)
- Blackbeard (One Piece)
- Boa Hancock (One Piece)
- Sabo (One Piece)
- Sanji (One Piece)
- Zoro (One Piece)
- Himura Kenshin (Rurouni Kenshin)
- Shishio Makoto (Rurouni Kenshin)
- Dragon Shiryu (Saint Seiya)
- Pegasus Seiya (Saint Seiya)
- Yugi Muto (Yu-Gi-Oh)
- Toguro (Yu Yu Hakusho)
- Yusuke Urameshi (Yu Yu Hakusho)
DLC Fighters:
- Hitsugaya Toshiro (Bleach)
- Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez (Bleach)
- Majin Buu (Dragon Ball Z)
- Biscuit Krueger (Hunter X Hunter)
- All Might (My Hero Academia)
- Katsuki Bakugo (My Hero Academia)
- Madara Uchiha (Naruto)
- Trafalgar D. Water Law (One Piece)
- Seto Kaiba (Yu-Gi-Oh)
If you want a break from Jump Force, check out our list of the best fighting games to play right now.
