To many, the Dragon Ball series is much more recognizable for its anime and manga compared to using a laundry list of winning game entries. In fact, when the newest game, Dragon Ball FighterZ, was announced during last year's E3, it had been met with more speculation than excitement. Obviously, the numerous previous games designed for the franchise have their fans, but for a genre that's filled with esports juggernauts, like Street Fighter, Marvel vs. Capcom, and Tekken, it's difficult to see in which a modern Dragon Ball Z fighter can stand a chance. Well, similar to the over-the-top action seen in the Dragon Ball series, the sport has taken are designed for the competition and it is striving to be among the best. Experiencing Dragon Ball FighterZ's fact-paced, fluid, and addictive gameplay makes it extremely clear i was wrong to overlook the potential a well-made entry in the franchise might have. To put it simply: it is a blast.
Created by the combined forces of Arc System Works and Bandai Namco, Dragon Ball FighterZ is really a three-on-three tag-team 2.5D fighter. Fans acquainted with the numerous games underneath the Dragon Ball name will recall Dragon Ball FighterZ isn't the first collaboration within the franchise between your publisher and developer. 2005's Dragon Ball Z: Extreme Butoden for the Nintendo 3DS was an attempt to bring the extreme fighting-style observed in the series' anime and manga to some game, nevertheless it became a middling fighter that didn't properly make use of the genre or franchise's staples to its benefit. Thankfully, the most recent team-up requires a lot of concepts from both genre and anime series to produce an aggressive experience that, surprisingly, can be enjoyed by player. Including me, an informal fighting game fan.
When first jumping in to the game, there are a variety of modes players can tackle. You can try out the basic mechanics in Practice mode, have a fight with a friend in Local Battle, watch your favorite victories or failures within the Replay gallery, enjoy a classical tiered Arcade mode, as well as buy new avatar characters and customizable gear in the Shop. However, the bread and butter of Dragon Ball FighterZ comes down to the internet Ranked mode and Story system. Once players feel accustom to the mechanics from the game, they are able to undertake players from across the globe online, like most modern fighters. As with any online play, it's recommended you do not attempt to be ranked until you seem like you can battle with the best of them, as online medals, the in-game medals earned through climbing up the ranked mode, will probably be coveted, making players eagerly bloodthirsty for victory. The major key to mastering Dragon Ball FighterZ comes down to understanding each of the characters as well as their slight differences from one another.
While Practice rounds are a good way to learn the way it operates of Dragon Ball FighterZ, the developers did a fantastic job of making the storyline mode an engaging and efficient educational bootcamp. Taking cues from Marvel vs. Capcom's tag-team system, players will enter a struggle with as much as three characters to make use of at once. The other two fighters are designated left trigger buttons (I literally PlayStation 4 version), allowing the player to do quick taps of the buttons to them in for an Assist move or a mixture of buttons to bring them into battle and switch the current fighter. As the roster of 20 characters is diverse, every one has relatively the same control layout, using the face buttons set to melee and ranged attacks, right triggers for Specials, and directional pad for movement. On the surface that may appear to be a downside, however with how FighterZ is essentially a refresh from the franchise, it was a smart move to not insert characters with vastly different movesets. This could be a downfall for competitive players attempting to immediately jump right into a challenging and complex experience, however with time the team could expand and develop more discernible differences between fighters.
The game is made for anybody enter into and enjoy. FighterZ's approach to combat is quite simplistic at first, with combos triggered by short commands, but as the gamer learns more moves, the mechanics do become a little more complicated. While combos are often accessed, efficiently stringing them together takes a solid understanding of the overall mechanics, that is likely what will separate casual players from competitive. For instance, most fighters may use a powerful ranged attack, like Goku's “Kamehameha” blast, having a rotation of the D-pad and also the X-button, but combining it with a warp attack or melee combo takes practice. All of these mechanics, from basics to Special attacks, are taught through brief tutorials throughout the Story mode, keeping the gameplay going and never completely holding your hand. As I progressed through the story, started seeing which characters I liked the most, and mastered the fundamentals, I found myself striving to really understand how to look for chances to bar and counter. Overall, it had been a rare experience where I saw myself, yet others less familiar with the genre, training being a web-based competitor. I don't have that experience with other fighters usually, especially at the outset of understanding the gameplay, therefore it would be a proof of the developers based on how well the building blocks to fighting are taught.
Apart in the basic options, each fighter comes with a Ki charge gauge that enables these to unleash different spiritual-style moves. Goku's earlier mentioned “Kamehameha” falls into that category, as does the brand new Vanishing ability, which teleports a character directly behind the opponent for a surprise attack. Not just is disappearing and reappearing extremely cool, but it helps make the player seem like they're reenacting the very best areas of the anime, where the characters could be moving so fast it's nearly as if they're teleporting, to provide powerful blows.
Of course, as they say, with power comes responsibility. The Ki moves can not be exploited, as the gauge only allows some uses at any given time, adding a strategic element to every fight. There are lots of other features that work similarly to Ki in battle, but to help keep the praise and explanation simple, it is the system that best represents Arc System Works' well-balanced method of teaching players how the game works. For gamers that don't intend on dedicated hours of study and practice to competitive fighters, jumping into a modern game in the genre could be intimidating. Often, we never feel powerful enough or in a position to grasp the complexities of every match, especially when up against an experienced who causes it to be all look easy. FighterZ bridges the space between novice and master by providing you raw power, the strings to create combos, after which saying, “Here are the tools to become great, now place them together in your own way.”
What also helps the gameplay feel so exciting and welcoming would be the visuals. The animation team kept in keeping with the origin material by creating a gorgeous anime art-style that runs through every moment of the game. Each battle feels and looks as if you're watching a battle right out the series, along with the unique Specials of every character, everyone gets to come with an epic moment in battle that will make fans and newcomers to Dragon Ball Z seem like they're experiencing something unique. Players may also unlock new outfits and color schemes for each character, which adds a custom layer of fun which will make repeat battles seem like a new encounter.
As for the fighters, their expressions and attitudes perfectly match their anime personas, from simple kick animations for their most devastating attacks. Going together with that drama, you can even trigger epic K.O.'s which will send an opponent flying right into a mountainside or obliterate a volcano. I never got tired of using Frieza's Super Ability to kill my opponent so I often see the whole field explode, and knowing each character had an opportunity for a showstopper made me would like to try them all. In most, the spectacle is amazing, which is fitting for any series that thrives on over-the-top action. What's most shocking about FighterZ, though, is how well it delivers a strong story wrapped within a pulpy fighter.
Apart from teaching you how to play, the main thing on the Story mode may be the plot. Split into three timelines, players must get through each to be able to unlock the entire narrative, using the opening scenario featuring the Super Saiyan heroes we all know and love, including Goku, Krillin, Piccolo, Gohan, Tien, Vegeta, and much more. Through the other arcs, more characters, like Frieza, Cell, Android 18, and Beerus, are playable and impact the events of Dragon Ball FighterZ's fresh story. After Android 16 and the Red Ribbon army, who players should recognize from the Android/Cell sagas in the anime, are revived, clones of every major character start to pop up around the world, prepared to destroy anything and anyone in their way. While Dr. Gero, who created the Androids, still seems to be gone after his downfall years prior, a new character, known as Android 21, is manipulating the revived Androids and clones to defeat the original fighters.
While those details barely scratch the surface from the story, spoiling much more will be a disservice towards the great work from Arc System Works and Bandai Namco. While fighting games have experienced Story modes for a long time, they frequently feel like an afterthought and do not contribute much towards the meta, but Dragon Ball FighterZ took another approach. The new saga of Android 21, a brand new character designed for the game, and her mission to literally devour every living being includes twists and turns that one would expect from a role-playing game, less a fighter. The game's foundation in Dragon Ball Z's anime makes this possible, because the development team turned FighterZ into much more of an interactive film. You feel a personality within the story as a spirit that controls all the fighters available. The familiar snark, wit, or evil from the characters is delivered to you, with prompts of how to reply that can actually alter the tide from the story. While that concept is cool enough on its own, the personalization goes much deeper.
Progressing through the different arcs is also an energetic experience. Whereas a lot of other fighters would certainly have you advance up a ladder of sorts, here, players can move around a Monopoly-style board to choose which enemy teams they would like to pursue, if any at all. Fighting random teams serves several purposes, such as teaching a new fighting mechanic, offering practice, defeating a plot boss that moves along the story, or rescuing a fighter that can join your playable roster. While you unlock new characters, you are able to switch out which three constitute your team, and in addition to the obvious opportunity of having for their services in battle, who you have selected affects the narrative. For example, heading right into a battle using Gotenks, Goku, and Vegeta triggered a cutscene where Gotenks, who's a fusion of Vegeta's son Trunks and Goku's son Goten, asks the 2 men if he is able to call them both “dad.” In another moment, entering a battle against Frieza and using Cell can trigger an incredible interaction using the two arguing over who lost the most to Gohan in battle.
The different cutscenes, which are fully animated in the game's gorgeous anime-style visuals, offer a chance for players revisit the story mode and alter the encounters. That it is astounding to see how wonderfully executed the scenes are that it pains me to understand how long it took the animators to make scenes for every character. In a nutshell, the delving into Dragon Ball's lore is absolutely astounding in these moments, making the sport seem like an appreciation letter towards the entire franchise and the fans that have kept it afloat.
As said often, the best asset Dragon Ball FighterZ has is introducing a brand new audience towards the fighting genre inside a masterfully developed package. As a passive fan of fighters myself, I was amazed to determine how welcoming Dragon Ball FighterZ ended up being to a person that can typically get turned off through the minutia of learning complicated lists of combo moves. But, obviously, I, together with many more like me, only represent one side from the story.
Players connected to the competitive scene will notice the negative aspect towards the ease of using combos, as numerous fights can come down to who can trap their opponent faster in a flurry of arguably unbalanced hits. So far as differentiating fighters from one another in terms of gameplay, there still must be more noticeable diversity in the movepools. The unique Specials are fantastic, but each fighter should have, at least, several extra moves that separate one fighter from the next. The game's pros definitely outweigh its cons, however, for anybody who likes the genre already, but more importantly, it's a powerful tool for newcomers to know how infectious mastering a fighting game can be.
