Dragon Ball Z: Ultimate Tenkaichi

For years I have been searching for the ultimate Dragon Ball Z game, and I still haven't found it. After 15 years I really expected better gameplay, however it seems BanDai has decided that the visuals are more important. Don't get me wrong, this is definitely the closest that they have come to recreating graphics almost exactly the same as the anime series and the craters created from special attacks are brilliant. However I really wish they would let you go into the craters, instead they are just in the background.

The gameplay itself feels like I am basically watching a really long interactive cinematic. The only combo in the game is 3 punches, after that it goes into the cinematic. I really believe that Dragon Ball Z: Raging Blast 2 really had the gameplay perfect. You truly felt like a powerful Saiyan, with fast movement, precise timing to counter and recover. Unlike Ultimate Tenkaich, that uses visual promts for timing, and has very little player gameplay. The story is actually the story of the whole Dragon Ball Z universe, so the devoted fans might be disappointed by the lack of new story. However those who really liked the T.V series the game uses small clips of the most important parts of the series, so you really do feel nostalgic for the most part. Although I found there was too much scrolling text for my liking,but unfortunately you really have to read it to understand whats happening (especially if you haven't seen the T.V series)

50 50 choices decide battles

Spike's graphics engine is probably my favorite thing about this game, yet there is one thing I like much better.Hero mode is a new feature to the Dragon Ball Z universe. It lets you create your own super Saiyan and play in his own story. You can choose from 3 different character types, normal, young and large. Unfortunately it seems that your character has decided to join the Goku look alike contest. No matter what you do your character always has the same face. The only other things you can change is his hair style and colour, clothes style and colour and the colour of his aura (a glowing blur around him). I was really disappointing with not only the lack of character customization, but also the story line for your character. It begins by telling you that it's based in a parallel universe, but it doesn't explain what makes it parallel. So I spent most of my time trying to figure out what is different, and all I can think of is that it's something to do with who got the dragon balls..

Other than the flying mechanic, the new block break system is brilliant. Depending on how much Ki you have stored changes how you deal with someones special attack (like the Kamehameha). You can choose from Defend, Evade and Intercept. Defend simply reduces how much damage you take, Evade (if done correctly) makes it so you take no damage, while Intercept can let you cause your enemy damage when it's their special attack! If you didn't manage your Ki levels then you take all the damage, so there is some kind of strategy to the game. However most of the game is based on rock paper scissors luck, so I really didn't feel like I was playing, more or less guessing.

A new interesting aspect of the game is fighting the great apes (super Saiyans who still have their tails during full moons). It is like a large boss battle, and really reminds me of a God of War style timing based interactive cinematics. However when you are killed you are sent to far back to be bothered to do it all again, as it's not easy and can be really tedious to do for the 3rd time. So it could do with improvement, but I think should still stay in the game as it's a big part of the Dragon Ball Z universe. It should probably only be done once or twice in the game as it can be really boring to do the same kind of thing repeatedly.

Boring over the top boss battles

  Overview  

Lastly, would I recommend it. I would recommend it once it's becomes much cheaper. Unfortunately Dragon Ball Z isn't usually available in stores, as it's not really sort after. So if your desperate for it then yes, go buy it. However I really do think that if your going to get a Dragon Ball Z game then get Dragon Ball Z: Raging Blast 2. I wouldn't pay the full price for this game, due to the lack of gameplay. So I give it about a 6.5/10, mainly due to the nostalgia and graphics.