DragonBall Xenoverse Review - Super Saiyan Gaming

Nowadays my childhood seems like one big blur, school and teenage years mashed in a mess of hazy memories where I spent my time playing games and avoiding doing any “work” if I could. Most importantly, it was a time that helped shape my personal tastes in games, TV, movies and anime forever – and a key catalyst in that was most certainly Dragon Ball Z. Years on, my tastes have expanded and changed but the Dragon Ball series is still close to my heart and obviously I was excited for DragonBall Xenoverse; the developers promised a game where fans can finally create their own Dragon Ball character and enter that universe, fight alongside Goku and friends, defeat Freiza for the umpteenth time.

 

First off, let’s say that non-Dragon Ball fans need not apply. Whilst older Dragon Ball titles took the shape of a fighting game with a Dragon Ball skin, Xenoverse is very much a Dragon Ball game. You don’t merely fight on a 2D plane with the usual selection of specials and moves that require stick rotations to activate; this time, a large 3D area is in place and you can fly around, chase your opponent, fire energy blasts from a distance or instantly warp to your enemy’s location in order to unleash a brutal barrage. These are the tropes that made Dragon Ball one of the most successful anime franchises the world has ever seen, but they’re also the reason why non-Dragon Ball fans will find this overly complex game quite uninviting.

Whilst in the past those not versed in Dragon Ball’s over-the-top action could still get to grips with a familiar Street Fighter-esque 2D fighter, the complicated controls of Dragonball Xenoverse are not going to be friendly to the uninitiated. Ultimately though, the steeper-than-necessary learning curve adds up to a game that successfully captures the true spirit and absurd mechanics of the Dragon Ball world.

The premise is that you have been summoned by the dragon Shenron, granting the wish of familiar face Trunks. The Dragon Ball history is being rewritten by evil interlopers who wish to disrupt Goku and crew’s battles throughout history. You’ll venture back in time to many famous Dragon Ball fights, but these have been twisted. Enemies will be stronger than ever with greater powers and abilities, which is why Goku needs your assistance to prevail; history would otherwise be changed for the worse.

 

Happily, you can create your own Dragon Ball character from a preset of races and hairstyles – avoiding the needlessly complex sliders we see in some other games that you might spend hours pointlessly editing. The races are Saiyan, Human, Freiza, Buu and Namekian.

Due to the fairly limited character customisation, I spent just a short amount of time creating my Saiyan girl (named Cabbage), but a much longer amount of time buying and equipping armor. All the armor sets in the game take inspiration from big and small Dragon Ball characters  – the Karinga Tribe, who live at the base of Korin’s Tower, is of minor importance in the great scheme of things but it’s still possible to buy and equip armor representing the tribe’s clothing. The same goes for characters that some fans may have forgotten, such as Emperor Pilaf. A fantastic selection of armor sets, then – and the same goes for Skills too.

Some of the skills will allow you to perform famous moves from the universe – Raditz’s Double Sunday is here, Piccolo’s Special Beam Cannon, Gohan’s Masenko, Vegeta’s Galick Gun, and of course, Goku’s famous Kamehameha. All of these can be used and you’ll therefore be able to create varied characters, according to your preferred playstyle.

Dragonball Xenoverse has several modes for you to get to grips with. There are online co-op quests, Versus lobbies and of course the game’s main story. As you battle your character levels up and gains attribute points that can be used on increasing Health, Strength, Ki, etc. This does rise one problem, where if you focus on the main story you’ll quickly find your character being dwarfed by harder hitting enemies – necessitating the use of health items unless you do at least some side quests to level up.

All of these game modes have the same combat mechanics – the art of beating someone senseless. This is where things can get confusing, and even after a couple of hours of play I found myself pressing the wrong buttons in high-stress situations. On PlayStation 4, Left Trigger begins flight, with Cross levitating you further into the air and clicking the left stick (L3) taking you back down to Earth. This is already a weird method of flight, but coupled with the odd button combos needed for Grab, Special and Energy attacks it can feel messy and very awkward to play. It’s a shame, because once you begin to understand the controls it actually works very well indeed.

You can begin a small physical combo against an enemy and end it with a heavy attack which sends the enemy flying. You can then fly after them and punch them the second they hit the ground. If you are locked in combat and taking a beating you can quickly zip behind the opponent in true Dragon Ball fashion, allowing a speedy counter. Specials and Ultimate attacks take up Ki energy, as you might imagine, so it’s important to keep an eye on your energy before spamming Kamehameha. The quick Instant Transmission-style movements you can make to escape and attack enemies use a separate energy bar which builds as you battle enemies – yet another bar to keep an eye on, although it makes sense and works well once you understand the battle system.

DragonBall Xenoverse has a lovely art style which feels true to the universe, even if the graphics as a whole is not quite impressive. All characters have English voice over by the famous members of the English voice cast, and Japanese voices are also available for those who prefer them. It’s a complete Dragon Ball package, albeit one aimed exclusively at fans; it’s just a pity that currently the game forces you to start a new lobby after each and every online co-op game.

Hopefully this will be fixed in an update soon.