You have a series of 10 quick fights against the computer, starting with Raditz and ending with Majin Buu, basically the entire Dragon Ball Z timeline. The problem is Z Story mode is borderline painful to play through. When you pop Extreme Butoden in your 3DS for the first time, you have access to local multiplayer, 1 on 1 battles vs the computer, and Z Story mode, which you must complete before opening Adventure mode or Extreme World Tournament. Aside from the ho-hum presentation, my biggest issue with the game is the way you progress through it. So serious fighting game fans could pick up the game now, brush up their skills against the computer, and take their battles online a little later this year.ĭragon Ball fans, fighter fans and everyone else can pick up here, as the rest of the review is geared toward everyone interested in this title.
As of now the game features no online mode, though it was announced just days ago that it will be coming soon in the form of a free downloadable patch. The problem these fans will have with the game, though, is that the AI controlled opponents are pushovers even on the hardest difficulty, meaning serious technicians will need to rely on local multiplayer to scratch that itch. Like most good fighting games, the system is easy to learn but tough to master, and I imagine that holds a lot of promise for fight-starved 3DS gamers. There are a lot of combos possible with your basic weak and strong attacks, and these are augmented by the very DBZ beam struggles and super moves. Arc System Works is one of the few developers out there still recognized for prowess in making great fighters, and though Extreme Butoden isn't as technical as, say, a BlazBlue title, there is still decent depth here. This is a matter of personal taste, however some may be incensed that no U.S. It paints a rather unimpressive picture, though I do have to give props to keeping the Japanese voices, rather than the routinely awful U.S. The story is told in-game with static character portraits and text, with the only voice acting being relegated to the screams and grunts emoted during the actual fighting. The animated intro to the game seems short, low-res, and a bit lazy, and the game's UI is a bunch of boring blacks and reds.
Unfortunately, that is where the good news ends on the presentation front (don't worry, fighting game fans I'll get to you in a minute). It's also nice to see the sheer amount of characters that made it in, though 85% of them are support characters, not fully playable fighters. The characters are very large on the 3DS' screen and very detailed, perfectly capturing the feel of the source material. While games like Xenoverse proved that DBZ can still look like DBZ with 3D models, Extreme Butoden's 2D animation is a more natural fit and better reflects the way the characters are supposed to look. Capcom game's beautiful sprites and animation and wondered why they couldn't just make a Dragon Ball game that looked like that, your prayers are answered here. Let's talk to the Dragon Ball fans first. Extreme Butoden won't appeal to many outside one or both of those camps.Įxtreme Butoden's biggest strength for Dragon Ball fans is the top notch character sprites, while the selling point for fighting fans is going to be developer Arc System Works' trademark depth and style with this type of game. Sadly, your enjoyment of Extreme Butoden is going to hinge on not just the usual "anime game for anime fans only," but also on whether or not you've been a fan of other 2D fighters like the BlazBlue or Marvel Vs. 3DS Dragon Ball game, Extreme Butoden, come out (Japan has gotten two 3DS games we'll never see here, Ultimate Mission 1 and 2), but Resurrection F, the latest Dragon Ball movie, finally saw release on DVD and Blu-Ray! While hardcore fans probably already have both in their collections, I'll bet some of you are reading this hoping for a yay or nay on the first 3DS fighting game since Smash Bros. Octowas a good day to be a Dragon Ball fan.