Japanese developers CyberConnect2 introduced me to the wonderful world of anime-based fighters with their stellar Naruto Shippuden games. In recent years, titles like Dragon Ball Xenoverse and its sequel have made decent attempts at trying to revolutionize the genre, but the team at Arc System Works have made things simpler with a return to the classic 2D fighter space with Dragon Ball FighterZ. Is it able to re-capture the magic of the Dragon Ball games of old, or has the light gone out for the long-running series" This is a review-in-progress for Dragon Ball FighterZ which focuses on the offline components of the game as the servers are set to go live on launch day. Make sure to check this page in the days to come for an updated review with a final score! Sidequest Story
When I said that FighterZ is a lot more straightforward than Xenoverse, I didn?t just mean in its fighting style. The game throws players into a hub world that isn?t as interactive or as engaging as those found in the Xenoverse titles. You can see fellow players roaming around with their avatars in chibi-form, as my incredibly cute Android 17 is a testament to, but there isn?t as much freedom and interactivity this time around. While Xenoverse felt like a world unto itself as you chased your friends across a decently sized hub world, the same feature has become totally unnecessary in FighterZ as the franchise?s license doesn?t feel like it was used to its potential here. The same four structures dot...