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Games of the Decade: Expansion Pass #24/Blog a Day #07

Hello everyone, how are you?

I have always loved anime, heck when I was a kid I watched it without knowing what the heck anime even was. Games based on anime, basically a licensed game, can be 50-50. Sometimes the genre they pick for an anime game works, other times it really doesn't. It never really is as good as the anime. But sometimes developers actually put effort and they make a great game rather than trying to make a quick buck because the anime is popular. One of my most favorite anime of all time is Dragon Ball Z and today we are going to rock the dragon with Dragon Ball FighterZ

 

                             Music in the game is really good, just ask Majin Buu

I remember there was a lot of hype when this game was announced. It looked really good. Literally. It was made by Arc System Works and these guys know their fighting games, so I had no doubt it was going to be good. There was a beta for it and I got to try it and it gave me some really good first impressions. I also did surprisingly well online too. I was impressed with it so I decided to pre-order it right away. I try to not get fighting games right away since they eventually release a complete edition with all the dlc. The only exception is Smash though.  But I made an exception for this one. But how is the actual game?

I don't really want to say much on the story of the game, since I could spoil something. However I want to say this, I really appreciate that they did an original story here. Most DBZ games that I have played normally retells the events from the anime. Right here they tried something original from what other games have done rather than playing it safe and retell the same story over and over.

The game works like in the Marvel vs. Capcom games where you select a team of characters to fight an opponents team of characters. You can call them to assist you at any time which you can also combo up moves with them or you could switch between any of them at any time. One of my favorite features of the games are Dramatic Finishes, these basically recreate an iconic scene from the series if certain requirements are met, like playing as certain characters on certain stages. This is by far one of my favorite features in the game.

 

                       Well in a way, this can be considered a Dramatic Finish as well

Obviously the real winner in the game is how it looks. It looks just like the anime itself. Like for years we've had Dragon Ball Z games do their take and while they look good, they just don't compare to this. This here is on another level. The animations look so fluid, each attack and is directly lifted from the manga and anime. Nothing goes wasted here. Beautiful.

"But Captain N, where can I play this game?" You can get it on PS4. Xbox One, Switch, or PC. Pretty much any version works well, even the Switch version is good. Only difference is that the colors look a bit washed out and some environments don't look as good as the other versions, but the game still runs and plays at 60fps and 1080p.

So really it's just a matter of preference and convenience here. The game has dlc as well which adds extra music and extra characters. I haven't had a chance to get either unfortunately, but my best advice is to wait for a sale so you can pick up the 3 season passes if you want more out of your game. If not the base game is still worth playing.

 

                                               Gohan has always been my favorite

Final Thoughts: Dragon Ball FighterZ is pretty much the best DBZ game I have ever played and definitely the best one that they have ever made. The gameplay is fast, it's easy to learn the game but really satisfying to master. The artstyle is incredible and everything is so fluid and being able to recreate iconic moments from the series was a great touch that they didn't have to do but I appreciate that they did. They put a lot of love and care and were faithful to the source material. And dare I say the best anime game ever as well.

Dragon Ball Z Budokai Tenkaichi 3 will always be my favorite DBZ game, give me a Wiimote and Nunchuk and I can guarantee that I'll win. But unfortunately I can't put that game on this list. But DBFZ is without a doubt the best DBZ game ever made. It's that good.

When it comes to DBZ the most logical genre to make a game about it is a fighting game. I mean it makes sense if you have read the manga or watched the anime. Sometimes they'll try something different and try their hand at an rpg, which also does work well for the most part. But the safest bet is a fighting game. Arc System Works did a really damn good job capturing the look and feel of DBZ in this game. Other games have tried for years, often adding or trying something new to tweak the formula but DBFZ is as close as you are going to get to having a game that looks like the anime itself or actually playing through it. If we ever get another game or follow-up then I hope the roster has more variety.

                                  He's not wrong but who am I to argue with Vegeta?

Days can be tough and brutal and sometimes it looks like the whole world is against you. Keep fighting, you are strong no matter what anyone says. You are much stronger than you think you are.

Well that's it for this one. Next time we'll take a look at another game, sponsored by Subway. Thanks for reading and...

 

 

*All game images were taken by my PS4, Switch, and my copy of the game*