Twenty-one years ago Dragon Ball Z came over to America from Japan. However, people didn’t know that this would become one of the most famous anime shows in the west. Opening up a brand new market that most considered a niche. With the massive fan support for Dragon Ball Z, not only did it become successful as an anime but it branched out to other mediums like movies, card games and a strong following in video games. For this reason, the latest title in the franchise found a home with the Nintendo Switch about a year after the initial launch on PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC. Can this port stand on two feet or will it, stumble?
Game publisher, Bandai Namco makes some of the most famous anime fighting games ranging from Naruto to One Piece and Dragon Ball Z. Notably, their work goes as far back as the PlayStation 2 where they developed Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 2 and Naruto: Ultimate Ninja. Another thing to note Dragon Ball Z has been on every Nintendo console with the exception of the Wii u and that was largely due to poor sales of the console. Given these points, the company knows how to develop anime themed games and how to make good ports. This is no exception for Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2, in many ways the company achieved their goal of making a fighting role-playing game, with the story feeling straight out of the anime, and the fighting being top notch it can feel like this game hits the mark on every level. However, there are problems which only increase when it comes to the Nintendo switch port.
The first thing you will spot when starting the game is an opening anime scene which establishes the story. You get to see more anime-styled cutscenes throughout the game and this feels like an homage to the anime. Furthermore, the story centers on the main player which protects time from changing as a member of the time patrol. During the journey, you will meet companions, foes, trainers and even gods of the universe. This game offers many different levels of roleplaying to the core mechanics. Four examples are, being able to pick from 5 races and create your own character in a custom character screen which offers a variety of different looks and abilities depending on the race, picking a trainer to learn from can affect the abilities you earn although you can have multiple trainers and lastly, the leveling system offers different ways of focusing your character. Giving you 6 states to improve, HP, stamina, ki, base attacks, striking supers, ki supers. And lastly you can change cloth to improve states but it has negatives also so be careful when changing them.
Dragon Ball Z At its Finest
The world feels just like the anime since the art style matches the franchise perfectly. However, the graphics on the Nintendo Switch don’t match to the other home consoles since the console has hardware limitations because of its hybrid nature. For many, this could be a downside but at the same time, you get to play the game on your TV or on the go since it can also be portable so it’s up to you if the inferior graphics ruin the experience for you. Another aspect of the game is the characters act and feel just like their anime counterparts which makes the game feel so much more alive since you feel a part of the universe and have a stake in what happens to everyone.
The music in this game can be mixed in some areas it can hype you up for a fight or it can kill the mood of the game for instance when you enter the hub zone you will be greeted by this track over and over and it can get annoying since the track itself isn’t that great. However, like I said when fighting the music can be really intense making the fight so much more grand and epic. As a result, composer Steve Aoki makes the game feel intense and lively but has issues landing the music just right.
The game offers a hub zone for players where they can shop, start several different types of quests such as parallel quests which battles happen in other universes usually in iconic scenes from the series but you will be set on the opposite side of the heroes. Also, battles from the non-canon series Dragon ball GT will be featured. Other types of quest, trainer quests where you learn new moves and fight opponents while working on finishing everything the trainer can teach you. And there are rift quests which will set you against a powerful opponent with 5 other players either computer or online players. Lastly, the story missions will be found in the hub zone. In addition, if you play online you will usually be on a full server with people running around the hub zone.
Gameplay is very fast paced and destructive. When starting a match you will be dropped into a large area with the enemy straight ahead coming at you with full force you’re defensive will be evasive abilities and dodging the enemy while blocking. Most of the abilities you earn in-game will need to be equipped before fighting or you will be stuck with what you have on. In addition to that, most of the abilities will be taught by the trainers. And the combos are easy enough to learn and the tutorial is pretty helpful at teaching you the mechanics of the game.
Multiplayer can be found in several places, first you can fight people online through challenging them in the hub zone or by going to the battle station and finding people online to fight with another form of multiplayer is through the rift quests you can go and fight bosses with other players online or locally and last of all you can do local vs matches with friends by going to the battle station. Online matches are lag free but can be a real hassle to find a fair fight since a lot of players will spam you or be overpowered with their custom characters. Although online battles can be really fun depends on the situation.
Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2 Is filled with great content but has its flaws. Multiplayer battles can be improved on if they were to make the creation characters scaled down a bit when in multiplayer matches. There is no reason for one vs one 60 fps while the rest of the game is at 30 fps it makes it feel like there isn’t a constant frame rate. And then the Nintendo switch has its own flaws Sacrificing the frame rate and graphics for portability but that can be taken as a positive or negative depending on your need for portability. Good things about the game are that the world looks wonderful for this franchise, Combat is smooth and fast offering an intense fight, Music can feel very lively and intense although it has its weak moments and the story has to be the best part of the game offering an epic tale with interesting side quests and characters. I recommend checking the game out it’s well worth the price.
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