Ultimate Blast/Tenkaichi Game Play (Post-Release Discussion)

[Saiga]

What "levels" would you recommend for Omega? Or the more difficult bosses in general?

[mysticboy]

What "levels" would you recommend for Omega? Or the more difficult bosses in general?

I can't really recommend a level yet since I'm still training to get the stat boost skills to beat him. But I know Health+ 4 gives you 27,000 HP and you can stack skills (I have Health+ 1 and Health+ 3 [can't stack the same ones] in the same Skill Set).

[Saiga]

Oh, sounds like the Omega fight is going to be rather unfair in terms of comparing stats then. Items aren't the only way to increase health are they?

[mysticboy]

Oh, sounds like the Omega fight is going to be rather unfair in terms of comparing stats then. Items aren't the only way to increase health are they?

Yes, you can increase stats through side battles. Press X/[] when you're on the world map to open the capsule case and select "Status" to check where you stand.

[DragonBoxZTheMovies]

I haven't played this game, but from what I've seen, would it be a fair assessment to call it a polished turd? Create-a-Character, boss fights, cinematic cut scenes, new 2D animation, free roam story mode, but crappy game play. Well done Spike, you managed to get every aspect right apart from the game play itself.

[Saiga]

I haven't played this game, but from what I've seen, would it be a fair assessment to call it a polished turd? Create-a-Character, boss fights, cinematic cut scenes, new 2D animation, free roam story mode, but crappy game play. Well done Spike, you managed to get every aspect right apart from the game play itself.

Not until you play the game yourself. I know a lot of people who thought the gameplay would be atrocious, until they tried it for themselves.

[Rukura]

I was very optimistic about it, despite knowing how it would be.

I finished the Saiyan arc yesterday. I'm so bored that I might skip to Hero Mode and be done with it. It is, indeed, shit (to ME). Not worth the Collector's Edition...the figure is cool though.

Bought it for the new animation, the boss battles, the character creation and hero mode. Everything else (except flying on kinto-un) just seems and feels atrocious.

In short, the gameplay makes me feel like I'm being kept from actually playing the game. It makes me want to actually finish GT Transformation.

[funrush]

So, would you guys like the game better if it ran on RB's engine and not the rock-paper-scissors stuff?

[Rukura]

Not really, no.
At this point, I just need something new. Ultimate Blast is something new, but I'd like something one can play and not just watch and use LUCK as a prime gameplay element.

But I know that with Spike, these are the kinds of games we're getting and it's just more of the same.
So, as a Dragon Ball gamer, I need a new Advanced Adventure, a ps3 ground-base 3d fighter for JUST Dragon Ball OR Zenkai Battle Royal.

[Phred]

Hero Mode was fun, but I didn't like that one plot development that seems to do nothing but artificially extend the game.
There isn't even any plot advancement or conversation for the next battles.

[SparkyPantsMcGee]

Not much of a Gamespot fan, but I was looking for a review:

http://www.gamespot.com/ps3/action/drag ... deo-review

They gave the game a 4 and given the reception from you guys in here, I'm not surprised.

[Rukura]

Their review seemed very spot-on. Much more realistic than ign's. (maybe gamespot actually took the time to play all of it lol)

[SparkyPantsMcGee]

Their review seemed very spot-on. Much more realistic than ign's. (maybe gamespot actually took the time to play all of it lol)

It definitely matched what a lot of you guys were saying; which is a big disappointment. Still I'm surprised no one has brought up the fact that some characters have two voice actors. That's a big WTF?

[mysticboy]

Omega2040's review:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SIXurpH5 ... ture=feedu
I disagree with that score, but I can see where it stems from.

[SparkyPantsMcGee]

I've never seen a fan get upset at re-animated cut scenes. Personally I thought it was one of the highlights of the game(especially after what happened with Kai). Also, I didn't realize the roster was that small.

[Rukura]

It definitely matched what a lot of you guys were saying; which is a big disappointment. Still I'm surprised no one has brought up the fact that some characters have two voice actors. That's a big WTF?

It definitely falls under the category of "more things wrong with the release" but not on the game programing end...plus, it doesn't affect the experience over on the japanese voices lol. (Then again, I'm not that far in the game yet...)

I've never seen a fan get upset at re-animated cut scenes. Personally I thought it was one of the highlights of the game(especially after what happened with Kai). Also, I didn't realize the roster was that small.

The newly animated cutscenes look gorgeous, no reason to get upset at (now i really wanna hear that review lol), be it not a gameplay element in any way.

About the roster...feels even shorten when you go through it...

[SparkyPantsMcGee]

The newly animated cutscenes look gorgeous, no reason to get upset at (now i really wanna hear that review lol), be it not a gameplay element in any way.

About the roster...feels even shorten when you go through it...

I've never really liked Omega2040's reviews; complaining about (beautiful) animated cut-scenes is probably one of the reasons why. However, his review fits in with what everyone has been saying on here. I'm really mad; I've wanted a completed Dragonball game to call my own for this generation and so far I've been nothing but disappointed. Burst limit is the closest thing so far with the only real downside being it's roster size; and that's kind of sad.

[Rukura]

I'm hoping we might get it next year.

I hope we get someone with a fresh new take, that wants to start fresh on it......and starts with Dragon Ball for once, move on to Z and do GT.

They CANNOT continue doing Raditz to Buu year in, year out. They don't need to make up new stories, just to use the ones they've kept ignoring for years now...

[mysticboy]

I want Raging Blast 3. I hope UT is an experiment.

[Cold Skin]

As far as I'm concerned, it's the best Dragon Ball game ever. And no, I'm not saying that just to be provocative or something, it's really how I feel.

GAMEPLAY :

The gameplay, which seems to be the universally-panned point of the game, is just great to me and really fun, mixing the regular Tenkaichi system with RPG-like strategic elements, making battles quite fascinating (especially when training with the last Masters in Hero Mode). Luck has no big part in it actually, it's up to you to quickly device strategies according to what is going on and what you think your opponent will try to get, by constantly watching where you're at and where the opponent is at. You need to cut off his needs before he tries to get them, and avoid lethal traps you've identified over hours of game.

On the contrary of what I thought at first, there are like a dozen elements to take in account that can affect the Ki gauge and the power gauge, whether it's a few milimeters, a full gauge filled, the special attacks chosen by your opponent which will make it more or less quick for him to reach a point.

Depending on the situation, you can take the risk of making your Ki gauge bleed out to be at max power and take out the opponent and partially the next one showing up, but you might as well keep your ki up if your adversary is getting close to a dangerous power gauge mark, and consider the actions he will probably undertake to make you lose your defense. If a counter attack is the safe way to get out of any attack, dodging is already much more stressful, and gaurding is just a consolation price.

You have to choose the right moment to transform too, as it will stop your opponent's action and leave him open when the fight resumes. All opponents have their habits that you have to analyze, and if you're lucky enough, you'll quickly discover that some of them are obsessed by a unique objective, like feeding their power gauge, which will give you 90% chance of succeeding your assault. The most dangerous ones are the pesky ones, not giving you time to increase your Ki meter, an essential point to the fight, both to transform (if in Hero mode) and to enter Max power or be ready to defend against the upcoming special move.

Anyway, it's just a handful of advice, but as I said, there's a ton of parameters to analyze and learn during hours of game, and trust me, luck really isn't what makes you win or lose. Rather, a mistake on your part, if it's a big one, can make you lose when you were winning, which is quite close to the Dragon Ball universe I think (yeah, even when training with the last Masters and therefore having a certain level of power, I got my ass kicked by minor opponents a few times because I had been reckless or had forgetten to pay attention to something).

In the end, the gameplay combines reflexes and strategy, but I really think you need hours and hours of gameplay to understand all its subtleties and realize that luck has not much place in it in the end.

The story mode is pleasant, with little pursuit games that are not much but still a welcome addition (however, a big downside is that they don't explain everything about it, it is quite annoying when you're after Dodoria not knowing why you fail). It's nice flying around the map too. Most impressive is the fact that some scenes are included on a battle game for the first time. It's good to see minor scenes being reproduced with the Kanzenban graphics.

Needless to say, making your own Saiyan with the moves you choose is a dream come true. There's more than enough to make a character you like, with clothes from everyone that you can recolor your own way, special moves that you can pick from other characters and mix as you see fit, general animation that you can set too depending on your character's personnality, various types of aura (including a beautiful flame one, available in many colors - which makes me hope there's a white one to reproduce the manga's "white flames" aura). Undoubtedly the main mode of the game, and the one you'll spend hours and hours playing until your perfect character is born, with the look, power level and moves you always envisionned for him.

GRAPHICS/MUSIC:

Best graphics ever, directly inspired by the author's latest work (the Kanzenban covers). Some may be pissed with the green hair of Super Saiyans, but isn't it like that on the Kanzenban covers anyway? The special and ultimate attacks are gorgeous, with really huge beam that will make rocks fly on the way to the opponent, and likely leave a trace in the level. Note that the more special attacks you use, the more damaged the setting will look, existing in three or four variations and ultimately becoming dark-skied or apocalyptic altogether if there are many special moves involving energy.

It's a pleasure to watch scenes from the story mode, though as usual, some of them are a very lazy work (Vegeta's death facing Majin Boo is laughable, with that "reprensentation" of Vegeta falling to the ground as a statue...). Other cinematics, notably the interactive one, are on the contrary amazingly accurate (fight with Giant Ape Vegeta, Janemba...) But like CGI scenes in a Final Fantasy game, the reanimated scenes are the main point that will make you motivated to go on, with dreamy graphics and the greatest epic musics ever, sounding like orchestra tracks for a movie. If that wasn't the case until now, you'll start dreaming that the anime will be completely redone someday (for the 30 years of the series, maybe? Or the 50 years perhaps?)

The characters available are more than enough to me, though it is a real negative point to the most people. There's already enough characters for me not to even try them all. You'll spend your time with your own character anyway, who is not only extremely powerful, but already has the charisma and set of moves that you chose yourself. So apart from the story mode, you could almost eliminate all characters... except that you need them to have someone to fight! But the fact that the series regular characters are playable outside of the story mode is trivial to me, they'll only ever be computer-controlled to me.

The European tracks are great, as they add to the usual style what was missing in previous game: the epic, heroic aspect. The Japanese tracks, also available on the Western disc, mostly covers Kikuchi's score, and though it sometimes sounds synthetic (like Cha-La Head Cha-La - why didn't they keep the much better Budokai version?), it is somehow more enjoyable than Kikuchi's original soundtrack, since what it lacks in professional arrangements, it catches up with a dynamic aspect which is absent from Kikuchi's original tracks. And what a great surprise to hear that not only you can hear tracks from the movies, but tracks from Kai are also included, and sounding great with that, with a great choice of instruments (guitar - or violin for Wings Of The Heart).

THE FUTURE:

To me, they've done the best they could with the story mode right now. There is no need to implement it again in the next game, since they won't do better than a super-detailed, even-showing-minor-scenes story mode filled with anime scenes. They can focus on a large-scale Hero mode maybe, or aim at a completely new kind of game altogether. As some of you said, focusing on new parts of the story and new ways to live through it, or create a new story altogether.

I really love the gameplay of this one, but I don't see any way it could be improved, and having a copied gameplay wouldn't be interesting for the next game. Plus, and that's the most important, most people hated the gameplay, and that's a reason good enough to change it all.

Really the most exciting Dragon Ball game for me, and the first time I feel an experience that actually makes me dive into the Dragon Ball universe and feel like I'm fighting there. But I think it should stay a one-time experiment and that the next game should erase it all and start anew. Apparently, that's the way the developers think too, since apparently they asked the question to fans during the presentation: "for the next game, if we keep the same overall orientation for everything except completely changing the gameplay style, would that be okay with you?"