Why You Should Play
- Amazing visuals that rival the anime.
- Beginner-friendly gameplay with more than enough depth for tournament veterans.
- Near flawless online play in good connections.
- Over 10 hours of Story Mode content.
Bandai Namco is well-known for shipping Dragon Ball games that appeal to the masses. The Dragon Ball Xenoverse and Budokai series are some of the best-selling anime games to date. Arc System Works has been a staple developer in the fighting game genre for many years, dating back to the original Guilty Gear. The two companies have joined forces to create what is hands down the best anime fighting game ever to grace the digital shelves of your PlayStation 4, Xbox One or PC. If you’re a Dragon Ball fan, or you just love fighting games, you do not want to miss out on Dragon Ball FighterZ.
Gameplay
If you’ve played Marvel vs. Capcom 3, Persona 4 Arena or Guilty Gear, you should already have a pretty good idea of how Dragon Ball FighterZ plays. It’s a three-on-three team-based fighting game that offers general gameplay mechanics that are very similar to Marvel vs. Capcom 3. Meanwhile, the more in-depth gameplay details hail from Persona and Guilty Gear, which are both fighting games developed by Arc System Works.
Pick three of your favorite Dragon Ball heroes and villains from Dragon Ball Z and Dragon Ball Super. You can tag characters in and out in the midst of the fight, while performing spectacular combos with all the trademark attacks you would expect from a Dragon Ball fighting game. If you’re new to fighting games or just have trouble learning intricate combos, Dragon Ball FighterZ offers several auto combos that are extremely easy to execute, but offer the flashy pay off of harder combos found in other fighting games.
Arc System Works shows off an impeccable attention to detail, as iconic moments from the anime and manga are littered throughout Dragon Ball FighterZ. Pit Goku against Frieza on Planet Namek and you’ll be greeted with an introduction that includes Frieza blowing up Krillin, forcing Goku into a Super Saiyan state, just like in the anime. If Yamcha loses to Nappa, a special cinematic of the Saibamen finishing off Yamcha mimics the same scene from the anime. Everything about Dragon Ball FighterZ feels like a love letter to fans of the series.
Visuals and Performance
When it comes to the graphics, Arc System Works knows how to make an anime fighting game pop off the screen. The character creation process is so detailed, it takes nearly four months to complete a single character from start to finish. The result is the best-looking anime fighting game ever made. If you watch Dragon Ball Super in HD, there’s a good chance you’ll think Dragon Ball FighterZ looks as good or better. The shading and lighting effects on the characters are second to none, making them look identical to their anime counterparts.
Load times are very fast on the PlayStation 4 and PC versions of the game, and the PC system requirements are low enough that almost any decent gaming PC built within the last decade should be able to play the game without issue. The action is fast-paced and sometimes frantic, but there isn’t a hint of slowdown or stutter, even with a lower spec PC.
Game of the Week
As fighting game and anime enthusiasts, we were excited beyond belief when Dragon Ball FighterZ debuted at the Microsoft E3 2017 press conference last June. Since that time we’ve played the game at the Evolution Fighting Game Championships in July, the closed beta in September, and the open beta earlier this month. Despite all that play time, we couldn’t wait to get our hands on the final retail version, and it did not disappoint.
With 24 characters in the launch roster and 8 more coming via DLC, there’s a lot to like about Dragon Ball FighterZ. You can play as iconic heroes such as Piccolo, Gotenks or Super Saiyan Blue Goku, or take a walk on the wild side and add Nappa, Frieza, or the entire Ginyu Force to your team. There’s even Android 21, a brand new character created specifically for Dragon Ball FighterZ. No matter which characters you love in Dragon Ball, there’s representation in Dragon Ball FighterZ. Other developers will be hard-pressed to top what Bandai Namco and Arc System Works have done here, and that’s exactly why Dragon Ball FighterZ is the Prima Game of the Week!
If you’re just picking up the game, you’re in for a treat, but you’ll definitely want to check out our coverage of how to play, as well as the basic controls of the game in our Dragon Ball FighterZ game hub!
