Rival Schools 3: Graduation Year

Rival Schools 3, also known as Rival Schools 3: Graduation Year in Europe, Australia, and Latin America, (Japanese: 燃えろ!ジャスティス学園) is a 3D fighting video game produced by Mad Man Ninja Studios and published by Capcom.

It is the sequel to Project Justice and was first released as an arcade game in July 2022 in Japan and ported to consoles worldwide in September 2022.

Gameplay
Graduation Year's fighting system is lifted from the original Rival Schools, with some notable changes. The game continues to be a team fighter, but has teams of three characters instead of two. This allows another Team-Up attack to be used in a fight, but also adds a new type of attack, the Party-Up, initiated by pressing any three attack buttons. The Party-Up is a three-person attack that varies based on what school the character initiating the attack is from.

The additional partner also allows players to cancel an opponent's Team-Up Special by inputting a Team-Up command of their own. This initiates a short fighting sequence between one character from each team. If the person initiating the sequence gets the first successful hit in during the sequence before time runs out, the Team-Up they are caught in will be canceled, and the game switches back to the main fight; if the opposing player gets the first hit or time runs out, the Team-Up continues as usual.

Additionally, the 'vigor' meter in Graduation Year, similarly to Project Justice, is limited to 5 levels (down from 9 in the original Rival Schools), with Party-Ups requiring all 5 levels, Team-Ups continuing to cost two levels, and any attempts (successful or not) to cancel a Team-Up costing one level.

Game Modes

 * In Story Mode, players select a portion of story grouped by school and play through a rigid storyline with a limited group of 2 to 6 characters that the player can choose from for each fight. Like the original games, each fight in story mode is accompanied with 2D cut scenes that advance the story. In some stories, the plot will branch out depending on the results of certain fights or decisions made by the player, changing the fights that the player faces. After fighting the boss of the game, an ending for the school's story is shown.
 * In Free Mode, players select a team of three characters and fight random teams of opponents until getting to fight the boss, similar to selecting two characters from different schools in Project Justice. After defeating the boss, the player is shown a screen where the game rates the performance of player, and gives them a ranking named after a character from the game.
 * In Character Creation Mode, a player is able to create their own fighters who can be used in all modes except for single-player. However, the mode is packaged as a board game, taking place during an inter-school festival, rather than a date sim game like in Rival Schools.
 * In School Life Mode, the player creates their own custom character and go through a typical Japanese school year with the rest of the cast. This mode isn't enabled in the arcade versions of the game.
 * In Versus Mode, a multiplayer mode enables players and/or computer players to fight against each other or in a variety of settings.
 * In Training Mode, options are available to see game play elements such as inputs and damage scaling that can be triggered on and off among other game play elements.

Plot
It is the third year of High School, and two years have passed since the events of Rival Schools: United By Fate. Although things have gone back to normal in Aoharu City, Batsu Ichimonji, Hinata Wakaba, Kyosuke Kagami, and the rest of the fighters have a decision to make: what will they do with their lives? While most of them have resumed their normal school lives and enjoyed the calm peace that came after their last adventure, the peace itself doesn't last for long when new fighters and familiar faces get involved in a new struggle.

Characters
All the fighters are divided by local schools, as listed below:

Taiyo Academy: The High School of the Free-Spirited
A school in Aoharu that currently consists of a middle school and a high school. The school has rather conservative uniforms, but the children don't raise too much of a fuss about wearing them.

The school's motto is "A liberated school tradition that yields carefree students", giving consideration to the individuality of each student. Aside from the entrance examinations that assess the students' individuality, interviews are also conducted that assess their excellence in extra-curricular activities. Basically, this school aims to give students freedom in their lives.

Representing the academy:


 * Batsu Ichimonji
 * Kyosuke Kagami
 * Hinata Wakaba
 * Ran Hibiki
 * Hayato Nekketsu

Gorin High School: The School of Advanced Sports
Gorin High is a private school aimed at producing the best athletes that can compete at the national level. The school places sports as its top priority, wherein athletic ability and character determine if an individual is worthy enough to enroll in Gorin, instead of the entrance exam results. The school's motto is "A healthy mind, a strong body, and Olympian training".

During the events of Graduation Year, the number of high school graduates was more than what many P.E.-centered colleges and universities could accommodate, which led to the educational institution establishing a university of its own. Just like Gorin High, the university aims to produce world-class athletes, as well as sporting doctors and trainers.

Outside academic matters, this school has a serious, hostile rivalry with Gedo High.

Representing the academy:


 * Shoma Sawamura
 * Shuichi Sawamura
 * Natsu Ayuhara
 * Roberto Miura
 * Momo Karuizawa
 * Sean Matsuda

Pacific High School: High-Class International School
Pacific High is located in a harbor town next to high-rise living quarters, and is also near an international military base. The school's student population is small, though, at a count of only 500.

The reason behind this, however, is justifiable: The students enrolled here are children of high-profile Ocident International workers, studying here as exchange students. The said students' parents are mostly ambassadors, high-ranking military officers, politicians, and other high-profile figures. The school's motto is "Circulate élite education through the world using culture and sports".

Representing the academy:


 * Boman Delgado
 * Roy Bromwell
 * Tiffany Lords
 * Amy
 * Area

Gedo High School: Collecting the Nation's Worst
Gedo High is an all-male school located beside an industrial area on the Yamato river. The school's motto is "Gang morals and perseverance", and their objective is "One person will force a lot of graduations".

Before the currently-known status of this school, Gedo High used to be a high-profile school that equally promotes excellence in both academics and martial arts, aiming to raise fine Japanese men. But now, it has degraded to an institution that makes use of "lessons that drill the mind" to raise "people who don't drift from the way of the people", making it look like a correctional facility of sorts, seeking to rehabilitate bad guys from all over the country. Outside academic matters, Gedo High has some bad-blood issues with Gorin High.

Representing the academy:


 * Daigo Kazama
 * Eiji "Edge" Yamada
 * Gan Isurugi
 * D.D.
 * Shin

Seijyun Girls' High School: The Fine Girl's Institute
As the name tells it, Seijyun High is an all-girls school, located on a small island in the middle of a lake. Student population statistics are unknown, and almost every student studying here lives in the school's dormitories until graduation. Most of the students studying here come from well-to-do families. The school's principal is notorious for being strict on allowing leaves of absence requested by students. The only times that students can leave the school's confines without the need for admin consent are: summer and winter vacations, and the first and last days of the year.

The school's motto is "Raise women who display feminine virtues and the time-honored traditions of Japan within themselves". Obviously, the motto is a reflection of its conservative and overtly strict policies, as seen with respect to modern standards of society.

Representing the academy:


 * Akira Kazama
 * Aoi "Zaki" Himezaki
 * Yurika Kirishima
 * Ibuki
 * Makoto

Justice High School: Super Elite High School
Located close to a mountain quarry, Justice High's students live in dormitories, and are not allowed to go home until graduation. The academic curriculum is rigid, with the lessons taught aimed at changing the content of one's personal ability; and study schedule is determined by the dorm management. Students are classified according to their degree of ability and overall competence; and as such, there are 10 class levels labeled A to J.

The school's motto is "A sound mind and body build excellent abilities". The school admits talented students from all over the country and recently, from abroad.

Representing the academy:


 * Hideo Shimazu
 * Kyoko Minazuki
 * Hyo Imawano
 * Kurow Kirishima
 * Raizo Imawano

Tamagawa Minami High School: A New Option
Founded recently, Tamagawa Minami High School is a cheaper option for many students that didn't hava the opportunity to enroll in others high-cost institutions. Despite the cost, their students have been rising to proeminence lately in many fields of society.

The school's motto is "A chance for everyone to a better future".


 * Sakura Kasugano
 * Karin Kanzuki
 * Kei Chitose
 * Narumi
 * Asuka