Dragonball Z: Ultimate Tenkaichi has been a highly anticipated title for a few months now. Does it live up to the hype?
Yes, the trailers were amazing and the boss fights are most definitely a new feature to the series of games released over the past few years. But were the trailers all show and no tell?
This reviewer thinks, "They could have done a little better"
Now, I've been a Dragonball Z fan since the beginning. I've owned many Dragonball games. (Personally, Tenkaichi 3 and Budokai 3 being my favorites)
I feel that this game is somewhat...lacking something.
Something that Tenkaichi 3, and Budokai 3 had. But Ultimate Tenkaichi has missed it.
It's a little bit of a disappointment, since it's the soul decider of who wins a match between two people. Real players.
And that detail, is skill.
Yes, This game takes next to No skill to play.
Excluding the times that you need to choose wisely of How and When to use your Ki blasts, The vast majority of the time while playing this game. You will be locked in "Clash" moments, which rely on both players choosing one option out of a possible two options.
Meaning, in it's most simple context.
Each player has a 50/50 percent chance to win the clash, and turn the tide of battle.
The only skill this game requires, is knowing when to use your Ki blasts. In a nutshell, the attacking player should use their Kamehameha blast on the enemy when the attacking player has zero, or no Ki energy.
Unlike the previous games I've played, Ki energy is no longer required to fire Energy waves. No, The new requirement for those is the Spirit meter.
Ki is used mainly for defense, so keep it topped up at all times.
Also, one thing that irritates me is that while you're being hit by the enemy. Basic ki blasts or even a punch or two. You cannot escape from them, as you could in Budokai 3. No, You have to wait for the "Clash moment" to appear after three punches, and hope to get lucky. Otherwise they'll send you flying around the arena, and may just finish you off.
Now, of course, you can escape from the clashes you've lost.
While flying around the course, IF you have the required Ki. You can button mash your way to safety, but of course, this is also based on luck and timing. You'll teleport behind your opponent and attempt to hit them.
If they dodge your attack, they'll appear behind you and a bar will appear with a button like Square, or Triangle. You have to time this perfectly, or you'll be sent flying. (Hint: Press the button a little earlier than you think you should. I've noticed graphical lag when that happens)
Sadly, this kills the skill requirement for online battles. Regardless of how experienced a player is. Anyone can be foiled by the 50% success rate of the Clash encounters.
Now, onto another topic.
Boss Battles.
The newest feature that most people are dying to test out. Looks pretty straight forward in the trailers, right? Well...
*Ahem*
The characters are hard to control to be quite honest.. Mainly when you're shooting Ki blasts at the boss while he's a fair distance away.
Say you shoot a few blasts at him, and suddenly the boss throws a rock at you. Your character will not move in time, Will keep standing there shooting Ki waves at him, and be hit by the rock. No matter how much you press the button to Dash left or right to avoid the attack.. Your character just won't listen, and will be hit.
Now, this can be avoided by shooting 1 or two Ki blasts at a time to stop attacking early.
In some instances, you'll be required to hit a button at the exactly right time to avoid an attack from the boss. Again, this is like the Clash avoidance bar that has a sliding light, moving across a bar that show's the button you must press when the light reaches the middle. Again, if you press the button while the light is in the middle, You'll miss and take serious damage.
Press the right button, just before the light hits the center of the bar. And you'll succeed.
Now, on the lighter side of things.
Although this game has some flaws, I think that it makes up for the lack of skill required to play with some of the most amazing visuals I've seen in a Dragonball Z game so far.
The fast paced action, Loud noises and explosions shooting off the face of the planet. (Something I sorely missed from Budokai 3, has returned)
Altogether, it makes a very fun game to play.
It truly does feel like a proper Dragonball Z game this time around.
Just be sure to set the difficulty to Easy, otherwise the CPU will win those Clash encounters every time.
My final verdict.
It feels like a Dragonball Z game for sure, however, it also feels like I'm rolling dice.