One of the most famous anime series of all time has returned in the form of a new fighting game, Dragon Ball : Raging Blast. Dragon Ball Z is no stranger when it comes to video games, especially fighting games. There are already numerous amounts of fighters with the DBZ logo around, but now only two on current gen systems.
How does this high speed fighter hold up to the competition as well as its predecessors? Will this game blow you away, or should it be Dragon Ball Z’s final kamehameha? Let’s take a look at the Hots and Nots!
HOT
Graphics
Though they are not anything groundbreaking, the graphics are defiantly something to take note of here. The game is wonderfully cell shaded and all the characters have their own unique look. All the characters in the game look to be exact match ups with their anime counter parts, which is always an awesome thing. The attacks in the game are also a visual treat. Ranging from attack combos, high speed rush attacks, super attacks, all the way to each characters unique ultimate attacks. All these moves will remind you of the anime series and, if you are a fan, bring back fond memories. The transformations in the game are also nicely done, however they do not have as much emotion as they do in the anime.
Customization
Through playing the game you will unlock a lot of customization options. This can range from new costumes for characters as well as new super attacks for characters. The super attacks you unlock are nice because you cannot customize which super attacks you want the character you play as to have. This is all fun, but one thing you cannot change is the characters ultimate attack. It would have been cool if each character had at least two ultimates, but I suppose that would be a little too much to ask. Fans will also take note that all the ultimates are signatures of the users character, which is another pleaser.
Lengthy Story
Just like all other Dragon Ball Z games, this one follows the story of the DBZ anime. To be exact, it follows the Saiyan Saga, Freeza Saga, Bardock Saga, Android Saga (which also includes Cell Saga), Majin Buu Saga, and a special What If Saga. These are all very lengthy Sagas that will keep you busy for a long while. After completing a fight in one of the Sagas, there is more reason to go back and re play the missions. Re playing them lets you unlock stars that can be used to buy alternate costumes, more missions, and other special items fans will enjoy. The What If Saga is probably going to be the favorite for the fans. This Saga is a mix up of different battles that fans may have always wondered about. These can range from what if Bardock got to meet his grandchildren, who’s the strongest earthling, all the way to my personal favorite, who is the ultimate Super Saiyan 3. In this fight, Super Saiyan 3 Vegeta (yes, Super Saiyan THREE Vegeta) takes on the other Super Saiyan 3’s in the Dragon Ball Z universe. These are interesting takes and will keep players amused the whole way through. One thing that I do wish was put into this game was the Dragon Ball Saga and the GT Saga. Why they have yet to release a 100% complete Dragon Ball Z game is a mystery with all the games that have been released.
NOT
Everything feels the same
There are a lot of characters to choose from in this title, that’s for sure, however everyone plays exactly the same. The button inputs for combos, the way dodge, and even the way you do super attacks. The super attacks are forgivable, but every single character having the exact same combos? You can see that the developers were being a little lazy here. Whenever you do the combos, they all also look exactly the same. There are a few exceptions that some characters have in the look of the combos, but these are few and far between. No matter what character you get good with, you will be just as good with another. The only true differences in every character are their looks and some of their specials. Even then, some of the specials are pretty similar. There are not many different types; they are simply power ups, large energy bursts, and combos that are automatically performed in the first hit lands. The look of these attacks are of course different for most characters, but the end result is the exact same.
Bland
The fighting mechanics of the game are very, very dull. You might think that the action is very exciting, but these moments do not happen often enough. The base fighting just gets down right boring after a while, which is a bad thing for a fighting game. With only one form of melee attack, you have a very set number of combos. The only thing that can change the combo is if you push the ki power button during a melee combo, which even then only changes the end of the combo. If you want to look at it that way, each character truly only have four combos, all of which are the same besides the last hit. As stated before as well, each characters combos basically look the same, so the basic fighting becomes a real bore after only a few minutes of playing.
Haven’t I played this game before?
Let me just say this right off the bat, if you have played another Dragon Ball Z fighting game before, then you have essentially played this game. All the combos and super attacks have been used in previous Dragon Ball Z games making this just feel like a graphically updated version of an old PS2 game. Even the combos are reminiscent to prior games in the series such as Budokai Tenkaichi 3. If you want to play this game but want it on the cheap, just go to the bargain bin and pull out a prior Dragon Ball Z game.
Camera
The camera for this game can be described in one word. Horrible. Once you or your opponent start moving, the camera immediately loses track of the enemy. You will find yourself not even trying to attempt attacks since you won’t have your opponent in sight. You will also find yourself using the homing dash more than anything else as it is the only way to locate your opponent in the game. Another thing that is very bothersome about the camera is that if you get to close to your opponent or they try to get behind you while close to you; the camera will have a freak out moment. This will simply make you disorientated and even a little confused as to what the hell just happened.
Online Play
To be honest, I can’t exactly give this option a fair trial. The match I played was slightly laggy, but not terrible, but the camera was all too terrible. The reason I say I can’t give the only a fair trial is because I could only find a total of two matches. One was from the US, the other was foreign. Both matches pretty much played the same, looking for the enemy through the terrible camera and then using super moves. From what I played, not all that great.
Verdict
Dragon Ball : Raging Blast is not a terrible game at all, it has just all been done before. The game is a great representation of the anime series and has a very nice look to it. I suppose that this game was truly designed with the fans in mind, and it is for sure that fans will get a lot of enjoyment out of this. This is especially true with the What Is Saga mode. However for everyone else, you will just find a game with bland fighting mechanics, and a terrible camera that will become more of a headache than anything else. If you must play this, it is simply a rent, unless you are a big Dragon Ball Z fan, so if you are in that category, go out and make the purchase!
[Editor’s Note: Dragon Ball: Raging Blasat was reviewed on a PlayStation 3 platform. The game was supplied to us by the publisher.]
