facebook icon

Sign out complete

arrow up iconGO TO
TOP
By
London, UK Posted 4 years, 1 month ago

Dragon Ball FighterZ

With the release of Dragon Ball FighterZ, Akira Toriyama's classic series has found a form of representation to rival its comics and cartoons. FighterZ looks and feels like the most faithful representation of the Dragon Ball universe we’ve seen in video games.

I've played a handful of the Dragon Ball fighting games in the past, as early as 2002’s Dragon Ball Z: Budokai, and I was never impressed. There was always a disconnect between the level of visual flair in the cartoons and what I saw in the games. So when I heard that Arc System Works, a company known for its stylish fighting games, was working on a brand new Dragon Ball game, I was eager to see what it would do. Arc has already created one of my favorite fighting game franchises in Guilty Gear, and the company blew me away with what it did with the Persona fighting games. I couldn’t wait to get my hands on the team's interpretation of Dragon Ball.

Sure enough, the wait was worth it. Fighter Z’s action marries the intensity of Dragon Ball’s battles with Arc’s history of exciting fighting games. Everything you do delivers screen-filling spectacle, from one-button attacks to literally earth-shattering moves that dramatically end matches. Arc’s pedigree for making some of the best-looking 2D fighters on the market is on display in full force, and what it's done with the source material is special. Various attacks and character poses are ripped straight from the comics and cartoon, which is a treat for longtime fans of the series.

This visual hype machine thankfully ebbs and flows, with a handful of design decisions that pace the game appropriately for experts and beginners alike. One of the best examples is how Dragon Ball FighterZ handles its three-versus-three system. Each battle has two trios squaring off until one team is completely defeated. To ease the flow of the intense combat, a transition animation is inserted whenever a player is knocked out and a new fighter takes their place. This breather is a nice touch, given how hectic the battles can get. The transition between characters helps players mentally reset before the next stage of combat begins.

These types of small but noticeable design decisions might be the most striking thing about the game: FighterZ feels like it’s finely tuned to woo fighting game aficionados and lure in Dragon Ball fans, who might not be experienced brawlers. The intense combat is rewarding for experts, while little changes to the typical fighting game formula make this title more approachable for beginners.

Newcomers will also benefit from another unique feature in the game: a shared command list. Nearly every fighter’s move set is the same, which greatly cuts down on how long it takes to learn the game. At first, I thought that I’d have to go through the typical growing pains of learning the game’s unique mechanics before I could do anything even remotely flashy, but that wasn’t the case. Once I got my feet wet learning how one character operated, almost all of those skills transferred to the rest of the cast.

A shared command list cuts down on the game's learning curve

polygon

This shared template removes the barrier of having to memorize unique commands for each character. Instead, players have the freedom to instantly explore what every character can do with very little extra to learn. For instance, the same command that makes Goku shoot his legendary energy blast allows Captain Ginyu to summon the other members of his squad to attack. The same button that makes Vegeta fire an energy ball allows Piccolo to stretch his arms and grab his opponent. This simplicity makes it possible to learn the basics of a character in seconds, instead of having to constantly pause and check a command list.

This design decision removes one of the other stumbling blocks casual players often encounter in team-based fighting games: switching characters in the middle of a fight. Because FighterZ is a three-on-three game, players have to learn how to play as at least three characters. Even if casual players don’t make use of the game’s character switching mechanic midfight, they will inevitably be thrown into the shoes of a different character when one member of their roster is defeated. This might seem overwhelming for beginners, but the decision to make every command list nearly identical makes fluency among multiple characters easier.

Outside of spending hours in training, FighterZ’s story mode is a great place for new players to ease into using multiple characters. It also shows off the game’s mechanics one at a time in a controlled environment.

The story mode is broken up into three unique chapters, each of which has you taking control of various characters in the Dragon Ball universe. The premise of the story mode is a tad confusing, but through mysterious reasons, Goku and his pals end up being knocked out all at once. As the player, you are somehow “linked” to Goku, and you must travel around the world reviving your friends and squaring off against evil clones of yourselves. Because you can mix and match characters in your roster, the story mode offers some unique moments of dialogue as characters who normally wouldn’t interact share quips and references before encounters.

The story mode's pacing might be a drag for experts, but welcomed by beginners

polygon

Battles in story mode are chosen by the player on a map screen that has multiple routes leading to a story-specific fights that will move the plot forward. If you’re still getting your bearings, then the ability to choose how many fights you want to do will be welcome. However, if you’re already comfortable with the game, some of these forced battles against various fodder can get tedious. All of the story mode fights offer experience points and the chance to earn power-ups that you can use in future single-player battles, but I never felt a noticeable difference, no matter what level I was or what I had equipped. At best, going through these additional fights gives you more opportunities to see various characters chat with one another. Otherwise, these needless and easy bouts feel like they are slowing you down as you fight your way to the battles that contain the anime-quality cutscenes.

Arcade mode is a different beast. For players looking to battle against the computer, you get your pick of three courses of varying difficulty. In each, you face off against a handful of the game’s roster, and the opponents' difficulty is determined by how well you do. While the latter half of each course can become devastatingly challenging, the arcade mode is a great place to practice your skills against computer-controlled opponents who can put up a fight — unlike story mode, where the bad guys are pushovers.

 

Source: polygon

There are currently no comments.

Forgot your password?
Don't have an account? Register
Old Password
New Password
New Password Again
Safety of your password:
Email
Already a member? Log In

credits remaining

We don't like stress and we're sure you don't either! Save time and money when making purchases on Arena 100 by topping up with A100 Credits.

0 credits equals 0

Close
Close
NEED PROTEIN?

SHOP A100 LIFE

Save Time, Save Money and Satisfy All Your Dietry Needs Over 750 Products
Over 50 Brands
Shop Now PROTEIN - SNACKS - SUPPLEMENTS - RECOVERY back to browsing
Life Store pop up image.
Oh you didn't know?

WE
LOVE
FASHION TOO!

Look Good In And Outside The Gym Shop Athleisure Shop Streetware
back to browsing

USER
GUIDE

Ok we get it – you don’t want to make a fuss, or say it out loud, but you’re feeling slightly overwhelmed. Just like Texas, Andre the Giant, and a famous Tom Hanks movie, the Arena100 platform can be described in one word…BIG! Now we’ve got that awkward moment out the way here comes the good news. We’ve designed a User Guide section that can be used as a point of reference to answer all things "A100". Tutorials here detail how to best navigate the platform and maximise its capabilities for your enjoyment.

STILL UNCLEAR???

Reach out to us in the Contact Us page...we're pretty friendly and we won't bite.
Team 100
Go to User Guide
Your request is being processed
| ARENA 100 BETA RELEASE 2.0 |