Dragonball Fighter Z and What we know about it so Far

Im not a hardcore fan of the Dragonball series but Ive always enjoyed the over the top fight scenes the series has shown over the years. So Im so happy when I heard that there was a new dragonball game coming out soon. Yes folks, Bandai Namco Entertainment is currently working on a new fighting game thats been creating a lot of hype for Dragonball fans and fighting game fanatics in general. And that game is Dragonball FighterZ

Not to be confused with Dragon ball Z: Budokai and the Budokai Tenkaichi game for the Playstation 2 by game producer Spike, Dragonball Fighter Z is an upcoming 2.5D fighting game by Arc System Works and published by Bandai Namco Entertainment, it is based on the Dragon Ball franchise scheduled for release on the PlayStation 4, Xbox One and Microsoft Windows. It is set to be released January 26, 2018 internationally and February 1, 2018 in Japan.

The gameplay borrows ideas from several fighting games, generally from Marvel vs Capcom in terms of controls and team fighting system where the players each select three characters to form a team. One character is controlled, and can be switch to one of the other characters at any time so those dreaming of seeing Goku and Cell teaming up will be have their dream come true on this one.

Players can also call on other characters for assist move like simultaneous attacks and combos. And much like Marvel vs Capcom all three characters must be defeated in order to win.

The "Super Dash" move reminds me of the Homing system of Arcana Heart. The universal "Vanish" and "Dragon Rush" moves barrows the Roman Cancel system used in Arc System Works games and Guilty Gear Xrd's Dust attacks. Players can also do the "Ki Charge" to manually increase their super meter, similar to previous Dragon Ball fighting games like Dragonball GT: Final Bout.

The game includes other features, like the "Come on Shenron!", that allows players to gather the Dragon Balls one by one as the fight progresses by special moves and combos. Once all seven are assembled by a player, Shenron appears to grant a wish, and allows players to choose one among the following benefits: increasing their fighter's strength, revive a fallen ally, recover a fighter's health or increase resistance to damage. Kind of like the Gem System used in Capcoms Marvel Superheroes.

Other feature is the "Dramatic Finish" mode, in which if some characters win the fight against specific enemies, special cutscenes are triggered related to events from the Dragon Ball manga and anime series. Im guessing this is some form of story mode-ish for the game at present.

So far the rumor on the internet is that the story involves Android 16 being mysteriously been revived, along with an army of Super Androids who look like the Z Fighters, and the Z Fighters are taken down one after the other. This game also introduces Android 21, an all new female character created just for the game who rumors say will be one of the main antagonist in the game. Judging  by the roster this places the game after the Future Trunks story arc and after Universal 6 Saga but its still a stretch. All this information isnt final as they could change in an instant before the date of the actual release date and even beyond that so we shall take all this with a grain of salt.

Graphics wise this is probably the best looking Dragonball game to date specially since it uses the same graphics engine used in Guilty Gear engine. Every dash, every charge move or attack is done in full detail while keeping the animation as smooth and as fast paced as the actual Dragonball anime.

So far the roster is as follows. Android 16, Android 18 (w/ Android 17), Beerus, Captain Ginyu (w/ Ginyu Force), Cell, Frieza, Gohan (Teen, Adult), Goku (Super Saiyan, Super Saiyan God Super Saiyan), Goku Black (w/ Zamasu), Gotenks, Hit, Kid Buu, Krillin, Majin Buu, Nappa (w/ Saibaman), Piccolo, Tien (w/ Chiaotzu), Trunks, Vegeta (Super Vegeta, Super Saiyan God Super Saiyan) and Yamcha. Tahts a lot of characters. We would probably get a lot more on the way before actual release date or maybe DLC or unlockables. Maybe even more gameplay modes as well.

Overall the game has all been the hype for fighting game and dragonball fans alike. Budokai might have kept the franchise up to date but it wasn't until Dragonball Fighter Z initial teaser footage and rumors  was Dragonball ever been seen as a contender in the fighting game genre mostly dominated by Street Fightings and Iron Fists.