The Z fighters are back, facing off against their most ambitious enemies thus far! A demonic duo known as the “Time Breakers” has begun meddling with the events of the past, turning the heroes' greatest triumphs into horrific defeats. Two newly-recruited members of the Time Patrol rise to stop them: Trunks, the half-Saiyan child of Vegeta and Bulma, and a new hero no one has ever seen before...

Holding Out For A Hero

Desperate to balance out the sudden alterations that have started throwing history off-course, Trunks has gathered the Dragon Balls, commanding Shenron to bring forth a brand new hero with the power to save everything. Who is this hero? Why, me! (Le gasp!) No sooner had he made the wish than away I went to the character creation screen. I'm not gonna lie, from this point on I was well and truly hooked. I mean, there are worse ways to start players off than telling them straight up that the character they’ve just created now exists for the sole purpose of saving the world with their sheer awesomeness

And what a character creator we got! Xenoverse wowed me with all the options available, and I practically started drooling when I saw that I wasn't just limited to Earthlings and Saiyans. No, I could be a Namekian, a Majin or even one of the Frieza Clan! (For the record, I went with a Frieza Clan character and decided then and there that s/he would be an endless fountain of kindness and love. Because irony.) And since I learned shortly thereafter that I'd eventually be able to acquire and wear pretty much any article of clothing that any character has ever worn over the course of the Dragon Ball continuity… Yeah. I lost no time making my new hero the coolest guy ever. Does YOUR Frieza character have sweat pants and a ruff? I’ll bet not!

From there I rode on a whirlwind tour through all the most crucial battles of the DBZ cannon to make sure that events played out as close to their original outcomes as possible. Not only did this mean that I got to fight nearly every single named character in the canon, the game also started throwing curves with several fun deviations in how the scenarios played out. (Looking at you, Captain Ginyu!)

In between story missions, I also completed Parallel Quests (i.e. side quests) both to gain experience and to acquire some pretty sweet rewards. (I was less than thrilled when I discovered that the game randomizes the potential rewards I got for completing these missions, meaning that I had to complete a quest many, many times to get every last prize. Ah well, time to go axe more Saibamen!)

Knocking Down and Dragging Out

Dragon Ball Xenoverse's most impressive feature is, far and away, the ungodly awesome feel to its battles. Seriously, hats off to the programmers and design team! Everything feels wild and massive and destructive! The fights take place in several large-scale fully 3D arenas that recreate some of the most iconic locations from the anime. I was blown away (on multiple levels) by how the moves, stances, poses and (of course) giant laser cannon attacks were so painstakingly reproduced for every move that has ever existed. Seriously, woof!

Now I'm not that much of a fan of fighting games (given how they often involve crazy, easy-to-mess-up combos that feel like the SATs at light speed), but Xenoverse once again impressed me with its combat system. It's pretty straightforward overall (there's a fast weak attack, a slow strong attack, and you can dodge, block, throw, and use special moves or items). It's got an "easy to learn, difficult to master" feel that doesn't exclude non-fighting fans, but is plenty challenging all the same.

What Makes A True Hero?

I soon learned that I had huge amounts of control over exactly how my character played. A word to the wise: you'll want to have some idea about your general play-style before you begin, since you won’t get to make a second character for quite a while. Remember when I said that you can choose your race? Well, that actually decides more than just how your character looks; each alien species has its own natural strengths and weaknesses. Saiyans have high attack but low HP, Namekians have high HP but low attack, Majins have the best defense, the Frieza Clan has the best speed, and Earthlings are the jacks-of-all-stats. Your race (and your gender, if you’re playing as an Earthling, Saiyan or Majin) also decides the types of armor you can and can't wear. For example, my Frieza Clan character’s speed is great for my "kiting" style of gameplay, but because they’re all-male, I can't wear any female-exclusive armor.

The game also incorporates various RPG elements, allowing players to level up their characters' individual stats (1 Level = 3 Stat points). I'm an RPG nerd (shocker!) but don’t worry about the system being a hassle if you’re not. Try looking at it this way: the bad guy knocks you down, but then you train your weaknesses away and come back to kick his face to the curb! How's that for recreating the Dragon Ball Z experience?

Speaking of which, it's not Dragon Ball if we don't have some awesome battle auras and energy blasts firing every which way. My character started out with some pretty basic moves, but since I'm a completionist, I ended up nabbing a whole bunch within the first few hours of play. I've decided that I’m going to get every last special character move, so can you if you like! Having even a few more moves in your arsenal makes it much easier for you to find your own unique style of gameplay. It certainly helped me realize that the Galik Gun is faster than the Kamehameha and, therefore, a much better choice for my character. Aww, yeah!

There are a lot of ways to get skills: receive them as rewards from Parallel Quests, buy them at the shop, or learn them directly from the masters who created them. That's right. I flipped my lid when I found out that I could actually train under many of Dragon Ball's most famous heroes and villains. They were pretty much lining up to make my character their protégé…at least when they're not just mosey-ing along in Tokitoki city. The first step is beating them in a one-on-one duel, whereupon they'll agree to be your Master and teach you new techniques. To raise their unseen "friendship gauge," keep using the technique(s) they taught you and add them to your party during Parallel Quests. During an apprenticeship, the master gives the player various side-quests (such as fighting them with a special handicap or bringing them a certain item) that unlock more skills. At last, however, my teacher ended my apprenticeship after one final duel and gave me an extra skill before setting me adrift to find a new teacher. (Since you're wondering, my first master was none other than Krillin! Jeeeealous?)

And there's lots to do in the game's hub, Toki Toki City. You can interact with other online players, buy gear, talk to NPCs, take on a variety of quests by yourself or with others and more. It's also a very beautiful place. The design makes you feel like you're really in the Dragon Ball universe. It adds a whole new dimension to the game. 

The game is not all gumdrops and ice cream, though. The fully three-dimensional arenas complicate the aerial battles a lot. I quickly got frustrated chasing down my opponents due to how the lock-on system works, and how (at least on the PS4) the unintuitive the flight controls made getting to any specific spot needlessly difficult. I ended up flying in circles around my very confused opponents more than once, finally getting up in their grills just in time for them to unleash a Kamehameha Wave in my face. Or (while we're on the subject) it was hard enough physically reaching my adversaries at all if I didn’t lock on!

But despite these couple of flaws, I cannot recommend this game enough to even casual DBZ fans. If this if this game had been out when I was a kid, you could not have taken my money fast enough. Every single detail in the gameplay has captured the testosterone-filled masterpiece that is Dragon Ball. Now where ARE those Saibamen? Mwhahahaha….!

Hint: Members of the Time Patrol hide in plain sight throughout several Parallel Quests, each carrying a dragon ball. Collect all seven if you want to wish for money, experience, secret equipment or the chance to redo your character! 

by Chris Turner