Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2 is a fighting game with Rpg and open world elements that provides a MMO lite experience. Building up on the highly successful Dragon Ball Xenoverse, Dimps the developer has managed to improve every aspect of their new game. Where Dragon Ball Xenoverse felt unfinished. Xenoverse 2 is a lot more fleshed out and its fan service and imaginative ideas sets this game apart from all other license anime games such as Naruto.
Storyline
Anybody who has played the first Dragon Ball Xenoverse will feel a little deja vu when it comes to the story of the second game. The story serves as a way to give a realistic reason as to why your character is able to take part in fights from some of the best-loved moments from Dragon Ball Z.
The 2 antagonists are going back in time trying to change key moments in the Dragon Ball Z timeline in order to carry out their nefarious scheme. As a time patroller it is the job of your character to go back in time and set the course of history right. In order to help save Canton City which is roughly 7 times bigger then than the hub area of the original game.
Along the way you will fight alongside and against a whole cast of your favourite characters. From the fight against Raditz to a showdown against Lord Beerus The God of Destruction. All the battles managed to bring back the nostalgia of sitting on the edge of my seat as a young boy wondering who will prevail. Goku and his friends or one of the many memorable villains from the series.
The only problem I had with this story is that it felt far too much like the first game. I felt almost like a cop-out due to the fact it was only the final acts and the actually enemies the antagonists used against me seemed different from the first game. That being said It is still a fascinating story that plays into the lore of the actual show.
Gameplay
Obviously the main gameplay element in this game is arena fights. Each of the battles manage to capture the colossal bone crushing, physics defying brawls from the show. Being able to recreate feats such as turning super saiyan and using a super Kamehameha to obliterate your opponent in tremendous fashion. Manage to make it feel like there is real weight behind each move and punch as you send your opponent crashing to the ground.
Each fight consists of managing your stamina and building up you Ki which is used for your super and ultimate moves. These super moves include some of the most iconic moves from the show such as spirit bomb and galick gun. Being able to build up your Ki during the fight and unleash it at the correct time to pull of some truly fantastic combos feels like you can do anything.
While the story missions feel amazing letting you relive your favourite fights from the show, Its Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2’s extra activities that really make the game. There are parallel quests that let you do the same fights with extra little twists. For instance helping Vegetta and Nappa defeat the Z warriors or Frieza destroying Goku on the planet Namek.
As you progress through the story you gain access to different mentors who are willing to teach you their own skills and ultimate moves. Everyone from Krillin to Cell, even the God of Destruction himself is available to learn from. You can even have them become your instructor and if you build up your friendship with these characters. If the friendship is built up enough they may show up in fights to help you out when you need it most.
Other additional activities in Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2 include large time rifts that can be found around Canton City. There are 5 large time rifts in all, one for each of the 5 playable races. While you do not need to be the correct race to participate in each of the time rifts. participating in the rift for your chosen race will unlock an awoken skill for your character. For instance if you’re a saiyan you will gain the ability to go super saiyan. Where as if you’re a namek you gain the ability to go giant form.
Except for a couple of weird design choices such as the way you can fly around Canton City till you progress enough through the story. I can not find any major problems with the game play of Dragon Ball Xenoverse. The game can easily take 100+ hours to see and do everything in the game and every second of that time is filled with enjoyment.
Graphics & Sound
The graphics in Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2 are truly amazing. The developers have even recreated some of the scenes from the show shot for shot. At certain points I even found myself forgetting that I had to move my character as the difference between the cut scenes and actual game play is almost indistinguishable.
The sounds in Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2 are seemingly taken straight from the show and expertly and lovingly put into Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2. From the signature Kamehameha to the screams of players unleashing their anger to go super saiyan. Dimps have passionately recreated the feel all fan of the franchise have been looking for.
The only graphical problem in the game is that sometimes the camera makes some weird choices in which ways it follows your character through the fast paced, action packed fights. It can be a little disorienting but it only happens now and again and is a minor problem in the grand scheme of things.
Controls
The controls in Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2 are simple and easy to learn, difficult to master. At first you may be able to get through a few fights and missions button massing you light and strong attack buttons. Eventually however you will need to learn how to string together combos and super attacks in order to progress. For instance in order to complete a certain side quest. You will need to complete a combo of 50 hits which means you will have to learn how to string together your attacks.
Dragon Ball Xenoverse provides you with challenge missions to complete. These challenge missions are basically a way to teach the more advance moves and combo abilities to players in a fun and challenging way. These challenge missions managed to teach me controls far more than the general tutorial missions. Even when some of the harder challenge missions became infuriating. I knew it was my fault inputting the attacks incorrectly and not some obtuse reason I was failing.
Difficulty
The difficult of Dragon Ball Xenoverse ranges. It’s fairly easy to complete the main story however to get the highest rank in each mission becomes a rewarding challenge. The parallel quests on the other hand become some of the most challenging parts of the game. Each parallel quest is given a star rating and the later ones become some of the hardest missions in the game. With hidden bonus objectives to complete in each quest to get the ultimate finish for the quest. It can become almost infuriating trying to complete the unknown objectives without a guide to look up what the objectives actually are.
Replayability
The replayability of Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2 is provided by going through the story as the other 4 playable races. unfortunately the story does not change with each race. The changes between races are your stats and the awoken ability that is available to each race. I tried playing as another race but after putting in over a 100 hours in my first play through. I did not find enough of a difference to make it worth spending another 100 hours completing the game as a different race.
