dragon ball z ultimate tenkaichi

Prepare to dive into the world of Dragon Ball Z with Earth-shaking combat, a massive character selection, faithful manga-style graphics, and exciting new features in Dragon Ball Z: Ultimate Tenkaichi! Delivering an explosive DBZ fighting experience, this game features upgraded environmental and character graphics, with designs drawn from the original manga series. Destructible battlefields, including massive craters and ki blasts cutting across the sky deliver a more dynamic experience and immediate sense of urgency to the exhilarating fights. An enhanced story mode drops players into the rich Dragon Ball Z universe, filled with beloved characters and powerful enemies. An accessible battle system allows gamers of all ages to hold their own in fast-paced battles, while still retaining tactical depth for hardcore fans.


Recreating the epic battles the show is known for is an entirely different matter, and despite some issues, Spike has done admirably well in that respect too. Combat is heated, with characters charging Ki here and blasting energy there. There's even environmental damage based on attacks, though the environments only stay damaged for a brief, cinematic "aftermath" moment. Once the animation is finished, the area is clear of craters. It would have been nice if they stuck around and affected gameplay, but it's still a cool effect once the devastation occurs.
There are two standard attacks, quick and hard. After a series of quick attacks, you'll go into "Clash" mode, where you basically have a 50/50 shot at hitting the opposite button your opponent does in order to win the clash and beat down your foe with a series of flashy moves. The first few times you do this, it's exciting and visually stimulating, but after a while, it becomes what all DBZ games degrade to: repetition.
The main problem here is that all the characters perform essentially the same way. Sure, their special attacks (executed by tilting up or down on the right analog stick once "Spirit" energy has been gathered in battle) are unique to each character and look fantastic, but the standard combat looks and acts the same. As the game progresses, your character naturally evolves with the storyline, but since they all play the same, it doesn't make much difference, even despite the obvious power difference (cue "Over 9000!" now). In fact, while floating through the overhead map in story mode, I stumbled upon the in-game "World Tournament" and beat it with my base character without having advanced at all..