Review for Dragon Ball FighterZ. Game for Nintendo Switch, PC, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, the video game was released on 26/01/2018 The version for Nintendo Switch came out on 28/09/2018
Among the many Japanese comic works and related anime versions, very few can boast the extraordinary magnetism of Dragon Ball. Almost thirty years have passed since its debut on our networks at the turn of the 90s on the now defunct Junior TV, yet the shonen par excellence continues to entertain fans of all ages, also thanks to the new series Dragon Ball Super .
In the videogame field the work of the master Akira Toriyama has had countless incarnations, not always happy. Budokai brought the franchise to a new youth on consoles, triggering a succession of sequels in recent times gradually less and less memorable and with increasingly bizarre formulas. So imagine our enthusiasm to see Bandai Namco entrust a new title to the skilled hands of the guys from Arc System Work, who have already shown us their mastery in the field of fighting games with the various Guilty Gear and BlazBlue.
The result is Dragon Ball FighterZ, title coming to Playstation 4, Xbox One and PC that aims to rekindle the energy of the saga with an eye to the aficionados of the original work.
Interactive anime
The aspect that immediately catches the eye - and that has caught our attention since the first trailers - is the extraordinary graphical presentation, which thanks to a skilful use of the Unreal Engine 4 shows one of the best cel-shading results we have. happened to admire. Visually Dragon Ball FighterZ is a real feast for the eyes, not only for the bright colors and fluidity, stable at 60 fps with a resolution of 1080p, but above all for the incredible work of transposition of the combatants. Each of them is perfectly represented with a truly impressive attention to detail and animations. From the movements of simple punches and kicks, to the iconic techniques of each character, to the facial expressions, everything has been reproduced with a fidelity that borders on perfection.
We did 20, we do 21
Despite the great visual fidelity to the original saga, Dragon Ball FighterZ offers a completely new story, created under the supervision of Akira Toriyama. In this new adventure the Earth has been invaded by myriads of clones of our heroes, created by the infamous army of the Red Ribbon. The situation would not be so tragic, were it not that mysterious waves are inhibiting the strength of our protagonists, and the only way for them to fight is to welcome an external spirit into their body, namely the player himself. If that's not enough, for some unknown reason, enemies like Freeza and Cell have mysteriously reappeared, along with the mysterious new cyborg C-21, accompanied by a revived C-16. Our goal will therefore be to face a series of fights against the clones and whoever stands in our way, investigating the intentions of the two cyborgs and discovering the causes behind the mysterious inhibitory waves.
The adventure is proposed in three narrative arcs that correspond to three different points of view: that of the protagonists, that of the antagonists and that of the cyborgs. In each of them the events will be slightly different, and only in the last will the bulk of the plot details be unraveled.
The story proceeds through well-animated cutscenes that reproduce well the feeling of being inside an episode of the anime, also thanks to the presence of the Japanese and English cast of the original voices. Unfortunately it cannot be said that the story shines for epic or quality of the plot, indeed, several potentially interesting details are left without explanation and often the cutscenes are rather trivial.
It's over 9000 !!!
Arc System Works has introduced part of its experience to define the basics of Dragon Ball FighterZ, as Guilty Gear players will notice, but several more or less new mechanics have been introduced (some inspired by Marvel Vs Capcom), to create a gameplay different that best suits the type of fighting typical of Dragon Ball.
As Street Fighter and Mortal Kombat have done for some time, we are faced with a game that makes three-dimensional models fight in a uniquely two-dimensional sense. The clashes proceed in teams of 3 on 3 with the possibility of changing the teammates on the bench, calling them for an assistance attack or involving them in a special technique.
Physical attacks of low, medium and high power are available, entrusted to as many keys on the joypad, while energy attacks are assigned to a fourth key. To avoid excessive spamming of energy spheres it is possible both to deflect them and to resort to the Super Dash, an attack in flight that bypasses the bullets and will take you directly to hit the opponent starting a combo. To circumvent the defense of the opponents there are no normal projections (except for the special techniques of some characters), but the Dragon Rush, a short sprint forward that if it meets the enemy automatically starts a barrage of shots that ends sending him into the air and exposing him to another combo. Obviously, the Dragon Rush can be blocked promptly by hitting the opponent as he approaches or by activating a Dragon Rush in turn. Finally, for the price of an aura bar it is possible to teleport behind the opponent for an immediate surprise attack.
Given the large audience it caters to, Arc System Works has been looking for a balance between accessibility and technical depth. On the one hand we find combos that are easy to perform by quickly pressing even a single button, the same for all the characters, on the other hand, it must be considered that to master the mechanics to perfect a superior play style, much more skill is required. On the other hand, it is unfortunate to find a great homogeneity of basic moves, as the key combinations for combos and special moves are practically the same for all characters; from Arc System Works we would have expected a deeper diversification. Fortunately, the roster is full of fighters who stand out for their speed / power ratio as well as for special techniques and style.
Dragon Ball FighterZ offers a good series of contents, accessible from the central lobby which acts as a hub for the various modes. In addition to the inevitable online mode already tested during the beta (hoping that it will be optimized for day one), as we have mentioned there are three arches of the Story mode, in which we will level up and get various passive skills. Then there is the arcade mode which offers us three climbs of different amounts of fights of increasing difficulty; once completed, the respective more difficult versions will be unlocked. Completing fights and challenges will earn us Zeni, to spend in the shop in exchange for items to customize the fighters.
Dragon Ball FighterZ has a very powerful aura. Despite an uninspired story and a certain flattening of the move set that can make lovers of more technical fighting games turn up their noses, the gameplay pulsates powerfully between the joypad keys and will force you to keep your attention high every second. Fun and adrenaline-pumping, with a good amount of content and a graphic quality that overflows with nostalgic details, the new fighting game dedicated to Goku & Co. will delight any enthusiast.
► Dragon Ball FighterZ is a fighting game developed by Arc System Works and published by Bandai Namco for Nintendo Switch, PC, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, the video game was released on 26/01/2018 The version for Nintendo Switch came out on 28/09/2018
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