Our latest guest review comes from Christina, one of the main contributors to the popular Naruto Gang blog. She takes a look at Dragonball Z: Burst Limit, a videogame tie-in with the wildly popular anime and manga series. For more of Christina’s thoughts on anime, manga, videogames, and cosplay, visit her website at http://www.thenarutogang.com/blogs.

Dragon Ball Z: Burst Limit

Atari
Available for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360
Rated: Teen

Dragon Ball Z: Burst Limit is a real action game, with very little story and a lot of fighting. (The game uses a short exchange of insults as a trigger for the fights.) Not to worry if you’re a fan of the anime—the drama cards link the game directly to the cartoon and are a nice reminder of the story. These drama cards are introduced as the game progresses and enable rest, recharging the player’s Ki, and other fun stuff. The cards stop the game and switch it to a cut scene that seems to be taken directly from the cartoon. When the player is rested and his Ki is full, he opens for attacks again.

The tutorial and trial modes are all that you need to understand how the game works. The trial mode is not so easy, though, as you’ll have to beat 100 characters with only a little help from the health bar to restore your energy. If you finish the Z-Chronicles before entering the trial mode, you’ll have more unlocked characters and more drama cards to use.

The training mode is a great help in learning more complicated moves. Note that the attacks are not character-specific, so what goes for one character goes for them all, and speed counts for more than agility. That said, I still recommend that you take the time to play through the training mode, as you’ll have more strategies and moves to choose from. To unlock the extras and the higher levels of difficulties, you’ll need a second player. I like the option to play the “versus mode” that enables you to play against a second person (or the computer’) on- or offline.

While it’s always fun to beat players sitting next to you, playing online can be much more competitive. Your scores are saved and the ranked matches will enable you to find players of similar ability. There’s just one drawback: if you play against someone in another country, expect delays and breaks in the action unless you both have a really good internet connection.

For me, the best thing in the game is the graphics. The visuals are brilliant and it is really clear that the game is based on a Japanese animated series. You’re going to feel at times as if you are looking at the anime. Everything flows beautifully: the fast character movements, the drama cards, the scene changes.

The sound design isn’t quite as good as the visuals. The heavy metal soundtrack suits the game, but was a little too heavy on the ears for me. The English voices are not really natural, but if you’re used to seeing the dubbed anime, you might be immune. I even tried the Japanese mode with the English subtitles but returned to the English version soon enough.

There are more than 50 fights, but for the most part they are over in a couple of minutes due to the fast tempo of the game. You’ll find long dialogues only in few of them. If you want to play the game for longer periods of time, try going online or playing the harder difficulties levels as they would unlock more options that you’ll be able to use in the games.

If you’re a fan of the Dragon Ball Z anime or manga, you’re going to love the games. Little surprises make the game extra fun, but if you’re just in for the fights, it can be a little frustrating.

The official website:
http://www.atari.com/us/games/dragonballz_burst_limit/xbox_360

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