Dual Pixels
  • News
  • PlayStation
  • Xbox
  • Nintendo
  • PC
  • TV
  • Originals
  • Review
No Result
View All Result
  • News
  • PlayStation
  • Xbox
  • Nintendo
  • PC
  • TV
  • Originals
  • Review
No Result
View All Result
Dual Pixels
No Result
View All Result
Home News

Portable Saiyans | Dragon Ball Z: Extreme Butoden Review

Rob Hernandez by Rob Hernandez
October 19, 2015
in News, Nintendo, Review
0 0
0
Portable Saiyans | Dragon Ball Z: Extreme Butoden Review
0
SHARES
17
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

The Dragon Ball Z series is no stranger when it comes to fighting games. The popular anime and manga series is about fighting, so that genre is the easiest to transpose the franchise onto. That’s why it’s appeared on just about every popular system since the series’ popularity began, but this marks the first time a DBZ fighter is playable on the 3DS. The game is a 2D fighter developed by Arc System Works, the same development studio behind the Guilty Gear and BlazBlue series. But how well does the game compare to those fighters and can it stand on it’s own?

Dragon-Ball-Z-Extreme-Butoden_2015_02-22-15_001

Fights are a bit different than “normal” fighting games. The flashy special moves can be done by inputting a string of button presses; usually YYYYXA. If all of the button presses land on the opponent, this will launch a character’s unique move. The Y and X button are the traditional attacks while the A button does an energy blast. The B button is the evade, the L button is the special button and the R button charges your meter.

Different moves take different amounts of meter. Out of the gate, characters can charge up to 150{3a19833c997fa52158a43c449fe089ff048ac0506a335cac10721cfa396ff282} meter. Characters can hit 200{3a19833c997fa52158a43c449fe089ff048ac0506a335cac10721cfa396ff282} once they are “awakened,” which happens when the character is low on health. It’s a great comeback mechanic that doesn’t feel overly cheap like the X factor in Marvel vs Capcom 3.  Fights aren’t as fast I would have expected in a DBZ game. All of the characters have a weight to them that feels a bit clunky. It’s not bad, per se. The fights are quick, so they don’t drag on too long.

dragon-ball-7

The biggest draw to this game is the team mechanic. There are slots for three playable characters. However, if you choose to go with just one or two playable characters, then you can select more characters as an assist. So you can have Goku and Vegeta as your two playable characters and then select Chi-Chi and Oolong as your assist characters. Or you can just go it alone with Buu. It’s pretty cool and it reminds me of Skullgirls, except for the scaling power/health. It would have been a lot better had the playable roster been bigger. The assist roster is quite large, but the playable characters left me wanting.

There are about 20 characters unlocked from the start, but a lot of them are “duplicates.” Goku’s base form and Super Saiyan 1 form are two separate characters. The same with Vegeta. And strangely enough, There is no character for anything above SS1, but there are four different Gohan characters (kid, SS kid, unleashed, and SS teen). I can understand the “need” for having different characters for SS versions of chracters as the game uses 2D sprites it would be tons of work to get characters to change forms mid fight. However, the roster for the assist characters are a lot more expansive. Especially with characters from Dragonball, Dragonball GT, Jaco the Galactic Patrolman, and the more recent DBZ movies. The second screen comes into play here as that’s how you can switch characters out. I found it pretty comfortable to easily switch between characters in the thick of a fight.

dragon-ball-z-extreme-butoden_020

While the game is light when it comes to the roster, it does have a variety of modes.; Z Story, Adventure Mode, Extreme World Tournament, Battle Mode, Versus Mode, and Quest mode. The Quest most is mostly about exchanging StreetPass hits by way of a card that records your wins/losses and some other information. Battle Mode lets players go against the computer in a custom match. Versus is the same but instead of against the computer it’s against other players. The Z Story mode is similar to an Arcade mode. It’s 10 fights set to a story. There are different stories here focusing on one character. Of course, before you can unlock other character stories, you need to play through the entirety of the DBZ story yet again. Luckily, it is done very quickly often just going to certain highlights.

There’s a little bit of dialogue between characters before and after the story that sets up the events, which is true with the other story modes. Each story has 10 fights and you can exit out after each fight if you need. Adventure Mode is where a lot of the content is held and where the assist characters are unlocked. Unfortunately, there are no assist characters unlocked from the beginning and must be unlocked in this mode. It follows Goku as he needs to hunt the Dragonballs because there is a rip in space-time causing villains from the past to show up in the present. Each stage lets you unlock different things based on your rating.

Dragon-Ball-Z-Extreme-Butoden_2015_03-27-15_007

The game lends itself well to small bursts of play, but it’s not something I’ll probably spend an extended amount of time with. The team battles are pretty cool and the use of the touchscreen to swap them out on the fly is fantastic. However, the limited playable roster is rather disappointing, but the assists are actually varied and a lot of fun.  If you’re looking for a fighter with a robust gameplay experience, Dragonball Z: Extreme Butoden isn’t for you. If you’re looking for something to play in quick bursts, then I could recommend this game. If you’re a Dragonball Z fan, I would probably still recommend it. It’s not going to rock your dragon, but it’s a great way to kill some time.

 

Tags: 3dsAkira ToriyamaanimeDBZDragonballDragonball ZFighterfighting gameNamco BandainintendoNintendo 3DSReview
Previous Post

Get Hyped Star Wars Battlefront Commercial!

Next Post

An Eye for an Eye | Gotham “Scarification” Review

Rob Hernandez

Rob Hernandez

Rob's been gaming since he was a wee lad. It all started with a NES, and a Super Mario Bros./Duck Hunt combo cart one Christmas morning. Since then, he's been an avid lover of all things video. He also likes comics, manga, movies, long walks on the beach, candlelit dinners and dogs. Rob is also quite adept at speaking in the third person.

Next Post
An Eye for an Eye | Gotham “Scarification” Review

An Eye for an Eye | Gotham “Scarification” Review

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

  • Trending
  • Comments
  • Latest
Why the Steam Deck Hurts PS5, XBOX More than Switch

Why the Steam Deck Hurts PS5, XBOX More than Switch

July 15, 2021
Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 Lives Again Thanks to Mods

Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 Lives Again Thanks to Mods

January 23, 2022
Back 4 Blood Gameplay Showcase

Back 4 Blood Gameplay Showcase

December 17, 2020
Joey Ansah (Akuma) & Mike Moh (Ryu) Interviews and Behind-The-Scenes | Street Fighter Assassin’s Fist

Joey Ansah (Akuma) & Mike Moh (Ryu) Interviews and Behind-The-Scenes | Street Fighter Assassin’s Fist

May 23, 2014
Update: Nintendo NX Controller Leaked Photo

Update: Nintendo NX Controller Leaked Photo

98
Rumor: Information On Next Gen Pokemon Games, Dubbed “Pokemon Plus” & “Pokemon Minus”

Rumor: Information On Next Gen Pokemon Games, Dubbed “Pokemon Plus” & “Pokemon Minus”

72
Rumor: Next COD Dubbed “Bloodline”, Activision Entangled in Nintendo NX

Rumor: Next COD Dubbed “Bloodline”, Activision Entangled in Nintendo NX

67
Possible Leaked Super Smash Bros. Character Screen Reveals Full Roster

Possible Leaked Super Smash Bros. Character Screen Reveals Full Roster

64
The Last of Us Episode 1. Nico Parker and Pedro Pascal

The Last of Us Episode 1 Review

February 2, 2023
Hexware #1 cover with Jesminder/Which-Where with a pentagram on fire.

Comic Read of The Week: Hexware #1 | 12/7/22

December 20, 2022
Diablo IV title card.

Diablo IV Release Date Trailer – The Game Awards 2022

December 8, 2022
Dune characters looking out over Arrakis shaped like a crescent moon.

Dune: Awakening Teaser from The Game Awards 2022

December 8, 2022

Recommended

The Last of Us Episode 1. Nico Parker and Pedro Pascal

The Last of Us Episode 1 Review

February 2, 2023
Hexware #1 cover with Jesminder/Which-Where with a pentagram on fire.

Comic Read of The Week: Hexware #1 | 12/7/22

December 20, 2022
Diablo IV title card.

Diablo IV Release Date Trailer – The Game Awards 2022

December 8, 2022
Dune characters looking out over Arrakis shaped like a crescent moon.

Dune: Awakening Teaser from The Game Awards 2022

December 8, 2022

WHAT IS DUAL PIXELS?

Dual Pixels is more than just an organization, it's a culture. The interactive arts are our passion, this includes gaming and innovations brought forward with technology.

The beauty of being an independent organization is the fact that we have the opportunity to bring back the enthusiasm in a gaming industry. The Dual Pixels brand is full of perspective hence the reason why we also go by the appellation "The Digital Crossover".

  • Staff
  • Advertise
  • Privacy & Policy
  • Contact

Copyright ©2023 Dual Pixels Entertainment LLC, All Rights Reserved. | Powered By LIT NYC

No Result
View All Result
  • News
  • PlayStation
  • Xbox
  • Nintendo
  • PC
  • TV
  • Originals
  • Review

Copyright ©2023 Dual Pixels Entertainment LLC, All Rights Reserved. | Powered By LIT NYC

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Create New Account!

Fill the forms below to register

All fields are required. Log In

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish. Cookie settingsACCEPT
Privacy & Cookies Policy

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled

Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.

Non-necessary

Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.