2 replies to this topic

[wildfire]

Hey FUSers! Wildfire here with a topic after entirely too long. I just bought the newest Dragonball game a week ago and have been playing it a little here and there. I think its safe to assume that anyone reading this topic is a fan of DBZ on some level. I'm one such fan, and i've played a good number of DBZ releases over the past few years. After Tenkaiichi 3 came out I thought I had seen DBZ gaming nirvana. The Raging Blast series showed promise, but I hadn't the money to check it out beyond the demo. So, does this newest game make the cut? Here are some of my thoughts...

Graphics

Over the years DBZ games have tried to capture the look and feel of the anime with varying results. Dragonball GT: Final Bout for the PS1 saw some flat characters rendered in 3D very ineffectively. The Budokai series brought cell shading into the mix in an attempt to better mimic the look of the anime. Tenkaiichi adopted this engine after the first title to great success. Graphically speaking, Dragonball Z games don't often fail to impress. The newest entry looks absolutely beautiful, with a painted cell shaded look that perfectly captures the anime. Some of the cut scenes from the anime (DBZ Kai) are even used between story mode sequences. Graphically, this is the best looking Dragonball Z game to date.

Sound

In terms of sound design, DBZ games have used the same basic sound clips ad neausem (sp) for the better part of a decade. Unfortualtely, the same can be said here. Any improvement in overall sound quality can more than likely be attributed to newer technology.

Gameplay

The gameplay in Budokai Tenkaiichi 3 was so great as to completely blow my mind. Maybe that's being a bit generous, but I really thought that was the closest representation to a DBZ fight to date. A game in that same light should follow suit with improved gameplay mechanics, being an overall blast to play right? At best the mechanics of the game are hit and miss, at worst, it's neigh unplayable. Gameplay footage shows your favorite characters duking it out in spectacular fight sequences that you can't help to want to play as a DBZ fan. The control scheme is somewhat similar to BT3, but simplified for less strain on your controller. After any five hit combo with swift strikes, a clash ensues. During a clash, the object is to pick one of two options, the opposite of your opponent, to win the clash and proceed to beat your opponent around a bunch as a reward. All of this looks awesome, but fails to be engaging for the player. You just press a direction and an attack before beating your enemy around some more. The loser in a clash can recover by hammering all the buttons on the controller, but it hardly works out that way. The fight takles place at two distinct ranges. In blast range, your light and heavy attacks are ki blasts. Closer up, you move into melee range where your attack options change accordingly. You can move between the two range options at will with a quick double tap of the A button (I play 360) in one of the best moves this game makes. There's little strategy to be had here gameplay wise. Just hammer away on the light attack button and win clashes with your opponent. Super moves are executed with a flick of the right stick, and they look spectacular. I personally love the defensive options here. Depending on the amount of ki you have stored up, you can block, dodge, or counter with a blast of your own. Each of these options has its own mini game, dodging is a question of timing, and counter moves amount to hammering on the heavy attack button faster than your opponent. Unfortunalely, use of supers requires proper management of the new Spirit Guage. You can't use an Ultimate attack unless either you or your opponent are near death and your spirit guage is high enough. The result overall is a game with a lot of style, but no substance.

Features

In terms of modes, this game features the same standard fare we've come to expect with DBZ games of the past decade. Story mode has you duking it out through the events of Dragonball Z. World Tournament is the same gathering of warriors its always been, and the Battle mode is where you've always gone to destroy your friends. Play over X-Box LIVE (which I haven't done yet) is an added bonus. In my opinion, the best mode this game has to offer is Hero Mode. This mode has you create your own DBZ hero and journey through an alternate universe. The character creation options are a bit limited, but expand as you play. There are three types of characters you can create, and through training with various DBZ characters you can teach them all sorts of super moves and ultimate techniques. This mode shows the most promise, and with time and care could be the best thing to come out of this series.

Conclusion

Dragonball Z Ultimate Tenkaiichi tries a few new ideas that are very hit and miss. There are people out there that may find some enjoyment here (i'm sure as hell going to try since I paid full price for it) but there are definitely better places to look. In short, be sure to try before you buy if you're really interested.

[RedAuthar]

Being a DBZ fan I'll have to look into it.

[wildfire]

So i've finished the story mode, and have been working on Hero mode (where you build your own character). Having played the game a bit more now, I have warmed up to it a bit, but I still say there's much room for improvement. Here are a few suggestions of mine, please feel free to add your own.

More Characters: DBZ has an ensamble cast to say the least, and yet the cast of UT is severely lacking. I recently discovered that Andriod 18 is the ONLY female fighter in the entire game! Now i'm a dude, but the under representation of this series' great cast of female fighters is a damn crime. Tenakichi 3 had an awesome cast of characters, but I personally believe the game suffered from the giant characters. I have this to say in terms of a bit of a compromise. Tenkaichi 3's character roster, sans giant characters (great apes, Dr. Wheelo, and the like) would make an excellent roster for Ultimate Tenkaichi, as well as fix the woeful lack of female characters. I would love to fight as Videl (one of my favorite characters in Tenkaichi 3)

Blast 2: A skill I found sorely lacking in UT is Blast 2, or Favored Techniques. One of my favorite tactics in previous games was to batter my opponent with someone unlikely (Yajirobe being my fave) and come back ftw. Moves like Senzu Bean make this not only possible, but annoying as hell for people fighting me. Nothing beat the satisfaction of being beaten almost to death, only to dissappear somewhere, munch a Senzu, and wail on my enemy with renewed health and ki. Of course not all Blast 2's are the same, but I thought they added a certain depth to the game that is lacking without them.

Hero Mode: There's a few things about the Hero Mode in UT that would improve it. While overall it's a great addition to the series' regular modes (and it tickles my fanboy fancy to no end), there's somre room for improvement overall.

More Character options, like the ability to play as a non-sayian, would be appreciated. Being able to go through your own story as a Namek or even a Human fighter would add replay value to this already fantastic mode.

On character voices I have this to say, half of the cast sounds british! Initially I was going to use the Cocky voice option, thinking it would fit the character I had created in my head. After hearing it play out through the first fight and a little training I decided to scrap the entire character and start again. I wound up using the default voice, which changes the entire personality of your character!

More character slots would be great as well. After playing through Hero Mode a while i've become attached to my character, which i'm sure is a regular occurance, but I would love to create another character of the same type. Unfortunately, the game only allows you to create characters of three specific types, Normal, Light, and Heavy. Even as I play through my inital run with my Normal Character (which I named Gokken), i'm coming up with new ideas for characters. The Light characters are all child sized, and Heavy characters are friggin' huge! Give a guy at least one more slot per character and you'll make me very happy.

Fighting system Upgrades: One idea I have to make the fighting system a little deeper is to add to the clash mechanic at least one more option. This decreases the chances of your clash being interrupted, giving your defender only a 33% chance of beating your clash. With another button (making the count 4) further decreases the chances, ratcheting up the intensity of things a bit imho. This would also add more attack options with the clash wins as well, giving you greater a greater range of options to batter your opponent into the ground.

These are just my ideas, take em or leave em. Anyone else playing this game? Got thoughts on the fighting or character selection? Feel free to add thoughts or ideas.