Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2 (NS) Review

It's an evening of fighting games this Halloween night. Things start off with this review of Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2, as released on the Nintendo Switch last month. Stay tuned for more fighting game goodness later tonight, but first, here's SuperPhillip Central's review of Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2 for Nintendo Switch.

Preserve the past while forging a hopeful future

Dragon Ball is back and in a big way as of late. A new anime that continues the adventures of Goku and crew marches along with Dragon Ball Super, and a jaw-dropping new fighting game for the series is due out early next year with Dragon Ball FighterZ. Before looking completely into the future, Nintendo Switch owners recently got in on the Dragon Ball fun with a port of 2016's Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2. Does being able to relive parts of the Dragon Ball Z and Dragon Ball Super anime series, as well as being able to grind on the go (or on the toilet) make for a worthwhile game for Switch owners?

Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2 returns the story to a familiar concept. One very reminiscent of the first Xenoverse. Once more Towa and Mira are at it again, altering events within the Dragon Ball Z chronology to ensure the bad guys win. It's up to your avatar and Trunks to serve as the front lines of the Time Patrol, fixing various complications caused within the events of the game. Do you remember that one part on Dragon Ball Z during the Saiyan Saga where both Vegeta and Nappa turned into Great Apes? Well, that didn't actually happen, but with Towa and Mira's meddling, it does in Xenoverse 2's story. That's but one of the many alterations within the game. Xenoverse 2's story mode chronicles changes from Dragon Ball Z's Saiyan Saga all the way up to Dragon Ball Super's Frieza arc.

Battle like you've never battled before, Goku and Vegeta; The tournament crowd demands it!

Your avatar character is a custom creation made by you using various pieces of other Dragon Ball characters. Before you get down to the nitty-gritty, you first choose from one of five races like Human, Saiyan, or Namekian, for instance. Everything from the gender and color of your character's hair and skin to the sound of their voice can be customized.

Once you finish customizing your avatar, you're thrust into Xenoverse 2's new setting, Conton City, a much larger and less tedious place to travel around in than the original's Toki Toki City. However, on the Nintendo Switch version this overworld where all of Xenoverse 2's points of interest are interconnected chugs along at an inconsistent frame-rate at best. Still, it's a negative performance effect that doesn't mean much unless you're really sensitive to frame-rate. In my case, the stuttering didn't bother me whatsoever and I quickly learned to deal with it.

Looking pretty fly there, chief!

Conton City itself is home to an exhaustive list of things to do. The Time Nest houses the means to continue along with story quests while a counter in the westernmost part of the main city is where Parallel Quests can be tried out. As you progress in the story, more Parallel Quests unlock, bringing quests with varying scenarios, all of which never happened on the show. Whether it's battling Saiyan after Saiyan one after another, taking on the Ginyu Force in West City, or eliminating seven Cell Jr. enemies before taking on the head honcho Cell afterwards, the quests follow the same overall goal: beating the hell out of your opponents.

All Parallel Quests have secondary objectives (albeit hidden from sight) that when completed, introduces more fighting to the current quest. New opponents might appear yearning to fight or defeated ones might take a never say die attitude with you. Although failing a Parallel Quest after satisfying the primary objective but not finishing the secondary objective means you still complete the quest, it also means you won't be able to get an Ultimate Finish on that battle. This condition usually means better post-battle prizes and grades. Though the grade system itself in Xenoverse 2 doesn't generally follow any logical reasoning. One fight with a mediocre performance can give you the best grade, a Z, while a fight you thought you did well on nets you a B. The prizes you earn come in the form of items, costume pieces for your avatar, new moves to equip to your avatar, and money. Moves and costume pieces are the rarest to obtain, so even if you get an Ultimate Finish on a particular Parallel Quest, you're not guaranteed a rare item. In fact, there can be some annoying grinding involved to get desired items, but not nearly as bad as what was seen in the original Xenoverse.

Enter into some of the most memorable battles in Dragon Ball Z history... and some that never happened.

These Parallel Quests can be played offline with two other AI partners to assist you, or they can be played online with opponents the world over. Just don't expect to matched up all too quickly with people in the lobby. That said, once you're locked into a battle, everything runs steadily without much in the way of stuttering or lag, which was really great and satisfying to see in motion. Outside of Parallel Quests, multiplayer online battles are also available in both ranking and standard bouts. Meanwhile, local multiplayer can be played on one Switch with two controllers. The characters you've unlocked through normal play are the ones available to you, and with over 40 to choose from, the roster of fighters is quite impressive. (Alternatively, you can download a free code to unlock all characters instantaneously, but of course not the DLC ones that cost money.)

Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2's combat is mostly unchanged since the original game, but it still runs as fluidly on the Nintendo Switch with this port. Instead of up to eight characters on screen at once, the more limited hardware power of the Nintendo Switch results in only up to six characters being able to battle simultaneously. The Switch's Pro controller or Joycon grip work wonderfully with the game, granting the same experience as the earlier versions of Xenoverse 2 on the Switch's competing platforms. There's one face button each for weak and heavy attacks, one button to rise up while holding down the left stick results in your character lowering to the ground. one shoulder button blocks while the other provides a boost of speed to jet across the ground and through the air to get in the face of opponents, and holding down ZL, ZR, or a combination of the two presents a list of special moves that can be used (each assigned to a face button) as long as you have enough Ki energy to use them.

A boot to the gut will make even the strongest of fighters let out some serious air.

Ki is displayed on the HUD with an orange bar divided up between rectangles. It depletes as special moves are used, even if they miss their intended target (which is easy if you're just spamming them as there are few moves with actual homing capabilities). To restore it, you can either use an Energy Charge move, use a Ki-replenishing item, or deal damage to an opponent. Another bar on the HUD is the stamina gauge which is a series of blue rectangles that get used up each time you teleport behind your opponent, usually used to evade melee strikes and getting caught in a combo. Stamina also decreases when blocking. When the gauge is emptied completely, your character becomes dazed, and if they were blocking, their guard is broken, leaving them open to enemy attacks.

Xenoverse's 2 battles are just hectic as the anime they're based off of, just without any filler involved. Sure, you still have chatty characters like heroes cheering their teammates on or giving them words of encouragement while villains taunt your ability, but it's all in good fun. My only real gripe with battles is the unwieldy camera, which can obscure the view of players, especially when nearby objects like trees and buildings, and it does very little to help out when surrounded by enemies. Behind-the-back attacks happen more often than I would like, and with Xenoverse 2's camera these become a lot more frustrating when they happen (which is one problem that unfortunately reappears from the OG Xenoverse).

I'm glad Cell evolved from his first form. In this form he has a monstrous case of pinkeye.

Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2 has a ton of content to it. From all of the quests -- both story and Parallel -- to training with the over 20 teachers in the game to learn their exclusive moves, leveling up your character's stats in any way you like, and doing battles online and off, Xenoverse 2 kept me coming back for more long after my avatar gave Towa and Mira a history lesson (and that lesson was "don't f--- with history". Performance in the Conton City hub isn't spectacular (in fact, it's not good at all), but in battles where it matters, it's aces. If you have yet to check out Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2 and want to hype yourself up for the continuing adventures of Goku and friends in Dragon Ball Super or the upcoming fighter Dragon Ball FighterZ, this game will keep your hype in check. There's no need for Switch owners to call upon Shenron with the Dragon Ball to make a wish. An excellent Dragon Ball game is right here for them with Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2.

[SPC Says: B-]

Dragon Ball: Xenoverse (PS4, XONE, PS3, 360) Review

As mentioned, here's that second review. The fifteenth Dragon Ball fighter receives its judgment from SuperPhillip Central here and now. Will this fighter be better than the ones before it? Let's find out with my review.

Rock the Dragon

After years of Dragon Ball Z fighting games, running through the same now-tired story, and featuring minute differences between titles, one might be completely fried when it comes to the games. However, Dimps and Bandai Namco Entertainment have gotten onto something special with the first Dragon Ball Z game of the eighth generation of gaming consoles, Dragon Ball: Xenoverse. With a new take on a tired story, character customization like never seen before, and competent gameplay, there's no need to make a wish to Shenron for a new, capable Dragon Ball Z game.

It's a big, bad battle royale!

You start out by building your custom fighter by selecting one of a handful of races from the Dragon Ball Z saga to play as, whether human/Earthling, Saiyan, Namekian, or Majin, for example. Each race has its own strengths and weaknesses. While the Earthling race is basically the Mario of the races, extremely well rounded, Saiyans have high attack and low health, the Namekians have higher health and regenerate health better than any other race, and the Frieza clan is fast but suffers from low attack strength. You can use a selection of faces, body types, hair types, and much more to tweak your fighter to your desired specifics.

Each race has its own strengths and weaknesses.

As you play through the story and other types of missions, you gain experience points from performing well-- doing things like taking a limited amount of damage, using special attacks, blocking a bunch, defeating enemies, and other aspects of battle. This experience, like an RPG, earns you levels that grant attribute points that can be spent on things like increased health, Ki (the energy used to perform special and ultra attacks), basic attack strength, special attack strength, and a lot more.

You also earn Zeni from battle, the currency of the Dragon Ball series, which can be used in the game hub of Dragon Ball Universe, Toki Toki City, a circular area divided up between three parts. It's in the commercial district that you can spend your Zeni on helpful healing items to be used in especially tough battles in the game, as well as costume pieces for your custom fighter.

Not only are costume pieces great for giving your fighter that special "je ne sais quoi" and fashion flair, but they also give stat boosts to your fighter as well. There are hundreds of different costume parts to choose from, some only being available by playing specific missions over and over again until you randomly unlock the costume part desired. Some costume parts are exclusive to certain races, but most are available for all.

The main attraction of Dragon Ball: Xenoverse is the story missions, having you under the tutelage of the Supreme Kai of Time and Trunks, who is making good on paying his debts for illegally traveling back in time to alter the past to make for a better future. Someone or something is altering the past with evil intentions, making it so history has changed with grave consequences. For instance, the first saga represented in Xenoverse is the Saiyan Saga. One change to history is that when Goku is holding Raditz for Piccolo to use his Special Beam Cannon to defeat him, as well as sacrifice Goku in the process, Raditz slips free just before the beam hits him. This is a great change to what really happened. It's up to your custom fighter to enter these scenarios and fix them. The changes to history in Xenoverse can be mighty big shocks to the Dragon Ball Z faithful. What else can you say about facing a highly capable and almost-as-strong-as-Gohan Hercule?

...I don't remember this scene from the show~!

Apart from the story missions, there are missions known as Parallel Quests. These missions, which can be played with two AI partners (you can select which characters they are) or up to two human players via online, take place in parallel universes where battle conditions and contenders are altered from the norm. One has you taking on Frieza's guards before taking on the power-obsessed foe himself, while others have you teaming up to take on Goku, Gohan, Krillin, Vegeta, and a host of other fighters one after the other at the Cell Games.

"I'll be right over here if you need me, Goku!"

Completing specific requirements in the Parallel Quests offers an extension of the quest, meaning a new foe or foes enter the battlefield as an extra bonus. Beating this enemy or enemies, resulting in an Ultimate Finish, usually gives something good for doing so , and losing a Parallel Quest at this juncture of the quest isn't penalized, as it's merely a bonus part of the quest.

However, sometimes you can complete a quest's completion requirements to unlock the extra part of the quest and still not get the next part. This is where Dragon Ball: Xenoverse's ugliest feature is seen, the random number generator. You see, completing Parallel Quests multiple times is a must because even though each quest has a list of goodies you can unlock, such as costume pieces, special attack moves, and Z-souls (equip-able items that grant a special ability in battle), you are not guaranteed to win them for completing a given Parallel Quest with an Ultimate Finish. Instead, it's totally and frustratingly random. This means that while your friend might get that special jacket that Future Trunks wears on his second time completing a quest with an Ultimate Finish, it might take you 10-20 times to finally obtain it. All that ends up doing is artificially extending the play time of Xenoverse, and unnecessarily so, as there is already a lot of content to be found in game.

"Here's some Ki in your eye, chrome dome!"

Dragon Ball Z's strength lies with its extravagantly entertaining fights and unbridled chaos on the battlefield. Dragon Ball: Xenoverse attempts to match the action of the anime to varying degrees of success. In Xenoverse, battles take place in expansive areas with some destructible obstacles in the form of trees, mountains, houses, among other objects. This opens up the possibility for large scale battles featuring lots of horizontal and vertical flying and moving around. Unfortunately, the lock-on system, while helpful, can make for a very clunky experience when the fighting occurs up close and personal.

Combos are very easy to perform, relying on a series of light and heavy attacks to do damage and continue an impressive barrage of physicality. However, it's all too easy to find a combo that works and keep spamming it for most of the game. Blocks and the ability to teleport behind an attacking foe are indeed legitimate strategies, requiring some stamina to do, and these help in making battles less about spamming and more about strategy.

You don't want to be beaten by an Earthling, do you, Vegeta? The other Saiyans
would never let you off the-- oh. That's right. Almost all of them are dead.

You can utilize powerful Ki blast attacks in both super and ultra form, with the latter requiring more Ki to use. You can either patiently wait for Ki to regenerate or you can use one-time use capsule items to do the job. Each fighter can hold four super blast moves and four ultra blast moves. These are highly impressive to see in motion, offering some "holy crap" moments, particularly if you're the target of a said blast attack.

Big blasts are the norm for a DBZ battle!

Regardless, there is a certain amount of button mashing that Dragon Ball: Xenoverse allows, which can be a good thing or a bad thing depending on who you are. If you're looking for an accessible fighting game, you have one. If you're looking for something complex and in-depth, you should look elsewhere-- even within the Dragon Ball Z line of fighting games.

Xenoverse looks the part of an anime brawler with bright, colorful, and detailed characters, expertly animated. Seeing the detail as a fight goes on with your fighter gaining more scuffs, bruises, and blood is quite a nice touch. Areas feature plenty of eye candy and destructible objects as well. On the audio side of the spectrum, all of the voice actors of Dragon Ball Z Kai have lent their voices to Xenoverse, and all sound great in-game. The sounds of punches, kicks, and Ki blasts connecting enhance the throes of battle perfectly.

...And it was then that Kid Buu let out a huge burp.

Dragon Ball: Xenoverse delivers an amazing recreation of the action from the anime series. It's an obvious "must-have" for fans of the show. For everyone else, it depends on how much you can stand the obnoxious element of randomness to certain content within the game and how simplistic Xenoverse is as a fighter compared to other games in the genre. As someone without much love tied to the Dragon Ball Z series, Dragon Ball: Xenoverse managed to pull me in and unleashed a Kamehameha blast to my brain.

[SPC Says: B-]

Most Overlooked PlayStation 3 Games - Part Six

With a new year comes a new segment of Most Overlooked and five new games that were under-appreciated. The console this time? The PlayStation 3. Instead of asking what five titles will be mentioned on this fine Wednesday, why not just take a look for yourself with the following article?

Disgaea 4: A Promise Unforgotten


The Disgaea series returns, and as tradition it is on a PlayStation platform. This time around it has an entirely all-new graphic engine that pushes the anime aesthetic straight up to the front of players' attentions. In the fully 3D battles, character unit movement as well as attack range depends upon their level as well as what weapons that have equipped. If you are a PlayStation 3 owner looking for a strategy RPG that will fulfill your niche requirement, you cannot go wrong with Disgaea 4: A Promise Unforgotten, a title destined to be rare with a limited production run.

El Shaddai: Ascension of the Metatron


Sawaki Takeyasu (Devil May Cry) and Masato Kimura (Okami, Viewtiful Joe) team up to bring PlayStation 3 owners El Shaddai: Ascension of the Metatron where players assume the role of Enoch, mastering his combat and taking hold of out of worldly weapons and abilities. The storyline itself is inspired by the Old Testament "Book of Enoch", and it chronicles the hero's pursuit to save the world from a flood ordered by Heaven itself. If the premise isn't weird enough for you (there's no doubt that it turned more than a few potential buyers off), then there is something to like about this celestial game.

GoldenEye 007: Reloaded


The excellent Wii shooter stealth-releases its way onto the PlayStation 3 with Move support or traditional Dualshock controls and upgraded high definition visuals. Reloaded has all of the missions of the well-selling Wii game plus its multiplayer component, terrific for four player split-screen action or hopping online and shooting it out with up to fifteen other players in one of many maps such as the Jungle and Facility. Daniel Craig and Dame Judi Dench lend their voice talents to this excellent re-imagining of Rare's original GoldenEye.

Medieval Moves: Deadmund's Quest


Battle against the undead in Medieval Moves: Deadmund's Quest. The game has you switching between throwing items, shooting arrows, and slashing with your sword to take out enemies both big and small, and the three multiplayer modes offer split-screen action for two players to sit on a couch or stand next to one another and unleash heck on either each other or their opponents. Created by the same team that made one of the better selling Move titles, Sports Champions, Medieval Moves: Deadmund's Quest oozes charm from every orifice.

Dragon Ball Z: Burst Limit


While not as jam-packed with content as last generation's offerings, Dragon Ball Z: Burst Limit is an admirable start to the DBZ mythos on a current generation console. Offering destructible environments, a robust lineup of everyone's favorite Dragon Ball Z all-stars, numerous modes, and powerful, earth-shattering moves at players' disposal, Dragon Ball Z: Burst Limit takes the series to new heights. The declining popularity of not only the series but anime as a whole in the states might have had something to do with this title not selling to its full potential. Add in low marketing and you have a game that didn't meet its desired sales.

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Part Six of Most Overlooked PS3 Games-- six, can you believe it?-- has ended here on SuperPhillip Central. Tomorrow we will be examining Kirby's portable entries in Rank Up! See you then, friends!