As a huge Dragonball Z fanatic it doesn't necessarily carry over to the video game side of things. I enjoyed the Budokai series, skipped most of the Tenkaichi series, and jumped back in for Bust Limit but haven't invested time in the games since. A good Dragonball Z game is nothing new but it seems to be a hit or miss lately from what I've read across the world wide web. I didn't know what to expect going into Dragonball Xenoverse, the newest installment, but low expectations are usually the best way to dive into a new game.
From the games I did play, Xenoverse feels completely different. At it's core it is very much still a fighting game but there is more to it than that. For the first time you are able to create your very own fighter and mold it in which ever way you please. You pick its race choosing from Saiyan, Namekian, Frieza's race, Majin race or simply be a boring Human. Make yourself tall or short, fat or thin, mold it after yourself or have fun with it, the choice is yours. You immediately feel as if you are taking part in the DBZ universe fighting along side Goku and friends. However you make your character he (or she) is summoned by Trunks to help him preserve the timeline that is currently being altered by evil powers. You must take part in a lot of battle that have grown oh so familiar. From fighting Raditz, to Frieza, all the way to Kid Buu. I'm sure like many of you, taking part in the same story with minor tweaks here and there has grown a bit stale. However, with the altered timeline things are tweaked a bit further and keep things a bit more compelling.
The fighting is fast pace how it should be. You have a basic combo set that only requires 2 buttons. Then you can hold onto R2 which brings up your super Menu, and then holding R2 and L2 brings up even more move sets that deal massive damage. It does take a while to get use to the buttons and the over all feel but once you do it will get better. You have a standard health bar along with a Ki and Stamina bar. When blasts are used it depletes your Ki and when evasive skills or flying are used it depletes your stamina. One issue with the fighting is sometimes your character will not "look" to who you're locked onto and you will end up swinging at the all powerful air! Air is undefeated. The game is somewhat challenging and expect to do some grinding otherwise you'll be staring at defeat often.
Completing the Main Quest will also have familiar characters pop up and look to take you under their wing. Accepting their training will give you a chance to earn more moves and obtain their Z Soul which allows you to execute their special move they taught you for maximum damage. There are plenty of other Z Souls that come in the form of Quotes from the DBZ world. Some enhance specific traits based on meeting requirements, and others activate automatically go give you a little boost. There are also certain point when the Villains will seek your assistance making you play the role of the biggest douche in the universe!
While the main story mode's timeline has been compromised there are also sub plots that has been to. These are called Parallel Quests that opens the game to both Online and Offline play. Offline you can pick 3 total characters to join you in battle. If you find yourself bored playing as...yourself, you can choose any of the iconic Heros and Villains. Playing offline however has it's downside as the AI is pretty much useless other than good meat shields. Online Quest allows 2 other players to join you which is much more exciting and fun. Unfortunately once in a lobby you can't see the other persons stats which I would prefer. Each quest or any fight for that matter gives you XP and sort of turns Xenoverse into an RPG where you can allocate points earned into 6 slots. Increase your health, damage output for physical and Ki blasts, Stamina, Ki or basic attacks. Each Quest also has some cool rewards you can gain (which feel randomized). Some could be special moves, clothing, or items that can be used for mixing potions. Some levels allow you to free roam once the battle is over which gives you the chance to scout the area for hidden items which is pretty sweet. Zen is also earned which can be used to purchase Skills, Accessories, Items or Gear. There are Dragonballs to find also that give you a wish, unfortunately I haven't found any to give a comment.
There is also an opportunity to battle against other players directly in a 1 on 1 fight or you could team up with others and do a 2v2 or 3v3. There is an endless battle mode where the winner keeps playing, and ranked matches. There seems to be a big imbalance when fighting against others since anyone can pick any character most of whom are stronger than your own created one. You can also engage in the World Tournament but due to the wonky servers I have not been able to give it a go.
To my surprise, I am having a blast with Dragonball Xenoverse. For a fighting game such as this there is plenty of depth to keep you interested for hours and hours and months on end. The MP might have issues but it seems to be getting better by the day. Online fighting is extremely fun and the timeline plot twist keeps you from getting bored of the same old story. If you are a fan of Dragonball Z then you will absolutely find yourself soaking in the good energy of Goku spirit bomb. It's not over 9,000 (I had to fit that in there) but I'd definitely give it a solid 8,000 out of 10,000.
Why Dragon Ball Xenoverse is a big deal and whether it lives up to the hype. A few light, early-game spoilers.
Many video games feature a character creation system, but which ones are the best? We will try to narrow down the ten best character creation systems currently available.
APB had a pretty sweet character creator and that’s not mentioned. I agree with xenoverse and dragon’s dogma. The Bethesda games kinda suck in this regard imo.
Forza’s layering system is the best character creator out there. Everytime I go to place tattoos on some elf’s face I think about how much better Forza could do it.
Fans can finally get a Dragon Ball Xenoverse theme for free after three years of exclusivity to the readers of a Japanese magazine.
What I wanna know is, as a COMPLETE fighting game noob, can I buy Xenoverse and see it through to the end?
To give you a brief example of how bad I am at fighting games, I couldn't complete the third fight of BlazBlue Extend on Very Easy, I could ONLY complete the Injustice story on Very Easy and I shudder to think what would happen if I bought Mortal Kombat X.
I really like the look of Xenoverse, and I've been on a little DBZ kick lately, so I hope it's rook-friendly.
funny thing is, that famous line "his power level is over 9,000" the original japanese line is over 8,000. not sure why they changed the number.