The Good
- Visuals capture the over-the-top combat style of the anime.
The Bad
- Simple, repetitive fighting mechanics
- Flow of battle often determined by chance rather than skill
- Tedious boss fights that make poor use of quick-time events.
No ordinary human could ever perform the kinds of tremendously devastating and destructive attacks that the characters of the Dragon Ball Z universe regularly pull off. But even for Goku, Vegeta, Piccolo, and the rest of the gang, such abilities take dedication, training, and a great deal of energy and effort. In Dragon Ball Z: Ultimate Tenkaichi, however, sending opponents flying through the air with a kick is as easy as pushing a button, and firing off a kamehameha takes only a press of the right thumbstick. In fact, combat requires so little effort on your part that, despite the explosive display of power and fighting skill happening onscreen, it's hard to feel invested in what's taking place. Ultimate Tenkaichi is all spectacle and no substance
Battles in this fighting game pit characters against each other in three-dimensional environments. When close to your opponent, you can dish out a flurry of melee attacks by tapping a button repeatedly, or press another button for a slower, more powerful attack. If you land a string of attacks, the action stops for what is called an attack clash. At this point, you and your opponent select one of two options; if you each choose different options, you win the clash, dealing damage and potentially sending your foe soaring through the air, giving you the opportunity to keep a chain of attacks going. If the defender chooses the same option that you do, he or she breaks your combo and performs a counterattack. There's no sense of timing or skill involved in unleashing the chain of attacks that triggers the clash; the stops the clashes bring about interrupt the flow of battle; and the continued success or failure of your attacks comes down to a 50-50 chance rather than to any actual prowess or technique on your part. It's a shallow and uninvolving melee combat system, and one in which the sight and sound of combatants being knocked hundreds of feet through the air is so commonplace, it quickly becomes tiresome.
Such boss battles also appear in Ultimate Tenkaichi's Hero mode. Here, you create a character from a very limited number of options and make a name for yourself in a parallel version of the DBZ universe. The idea of creating your own character whose skills increase as you progress is an interesting one, but because the underlying combat mechanics are so shallow, there's no rewarding sense of growth to be had. That shallowness also saps the fun out of online combat. Human opponents are more unpredictable and more fun to fight than AI combatants, but Ultimate Tenkaichi's focus on mashing buttons and winning games of chance over skill and technique makes it a dull fighting game regardless of whether your opponent is human or artificial.
The combat certainly captures the intense look of the anime it's based on. Attacks appear to possess incredible power, and stylish camera angles strive to create a sense of impact as characters collide in midair or hit the ground with enough force to shatter the earth around them. But this appearance of excitement rings hollow; the characters grunt and sweat and fire massive beams of destructive energy, but the dull gameplay leaves you feeling disconnected from their struggles. If you're looking for an engaging Dragon Ball Z experience, you're much better off watching the anime than playing this game.
Battles in this fighting game pit characters against each other in three-dimensional environments. When close to your opponent, you can dish out a flurry of melee attacks by tapping a button repeatedly, or press another button for a slower, more powerful attack. If you land a string of attacks, the action stops for what is called an attack clash. At this point, you and your opponent select one of two options; if you each choose different options, you win the clash, dealing damage and potentially sending your foe soaring through the air, giving you the opportunity to keep a chain of attacks going. If the defender chooses the same option that you do, he or she breaks your combo and performs a counterattack. There's no sense of timing or skill involved in unleashing the chain of attacks that triggers the clash; the stops the clashes bring about interrupt the flow of battle; and the continued success or failure of your attacks comes down to a 50-50 chance rather than to any actual prowess or technique on your part. It's a shallow and uninvolving melee combat system, and one in which the sight and sound of combatants being knocked hundreds of feet through the air is so commonplace, it quickly becomes tiresome.
Such boss battles also appear in Ultimate Tenkaichi's Hero mode. Here, you create a character from a very limited number of options and make a name for yourself in a parallel version of the DBZ universe. The idea of creating your own character whose skills increase as you progress is an interesting one, but because the underlying combat mechanics are so shallow, there's no rewarding sense of growth to be had. That shallowness also saps the fun out of online combat. Human opponents are more unpredictable and more fun to fight than AI combatants, but Ultimate Tenkaichi's focus on mashing buttons and winning games of chance over skill and technique makes it a dull fighting game regardless of whether your opponent is human or artificial.
The combat certainly captures the intense look of the anime it's based on. Attacks appear to possess incredible power, and stylish camera angles strive to create a sense of impact as characters collide in midair or hit the ground with enough force to shatter the earth around them. But this appearance of excitement rings hollow; the characters grunt and sweat and fire massive beams of destructive energy, but the dull gameplay leaves you feeling disconnected from their struggles. If you're looking for an engaging Dragon Ball Z experience, you're much better off watching the anime than playing this game.
Wow I really liked your Review! Thanks!
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