Dragonball Z: Burst Limit 360 (JAP) 6.5 out of 10 ...

June 09 , 2008 ... Review by Chad

This is it, this is the game that I’ve been waiting for ever since the current-gen systems were launched. You’d better believe that I was there on launch-day to buy this thing. Dragonball, on my Xbox 360… in HD? What could be better? Unfortunately, a little bit more polish, and at least half a year more for development would have been just what the doctor ordered.

The game as it’s actually presented here isn’t bad per-se, it’s just that it’s too short, the story isn’t fleshed out, and there simply aren’t enough characters to select from. The entire game only covers the first 200 episodes of the anime. For those of you who aren’t familiar with the Dragonball universe, you may not see the problem. The problem lies in the fact that there are only so many characters in the first 200 episodes. Trust me when I say this, picking Yamcha and Tenshinhan isn’t exactly going to win you any online battles. At least they left Chaozu out of the game. Also, the characters that can transform are almost overpowered.

The issues that I have with the story are just that they’re about as filled-out as Kate Moss in a swimsuit, which is to say... gross. I’m not sure why, but they don’t even have the narrator that the Tenkaichi Budokai games had. It’s a shame, because if they would have at least filled-out the story, this would have been a really good game. Alas, there are even more things that keep this from being a shining gem in your game collection.

The main reason you’re going to pass on buying this game is because it’s simply too short. Also, even though the fighting system has evolved in a really good way, it’s one of THOSE games. I’m sure you know what I mean here. If the game wasn’t Dragonball-themed, would you really buy it? Would you even rent it? I suppose that’s the appeal though. Because he game IS Dragonball, Namco Bandai knows that the game will indeed sell. That’s too bad though, because the game could have taken this next-gen step to really improve on a lot of things. Hell, the last game has over 150 characters in it, and now they go back to 22? What gives?

There are actually some good qualities to the game though. I played through the entire game in a night, and loved most of it. The intro to the game is utterly amazing, and after you complete each saga, you get a little movie montage that’s enough to make a man get giddy with nostalgia. There are times like this when you really wish the story was told better than it is.

Some of the animations used in the game are simply breathtaking… the first couple of times you see them. Unfortunately they’re overused, and tons of characters do the same animations, and you just want to end up skipping the cinematic.

The use of dramatic scenes in the game is pretty cool to be honest. I don’t remember these being in previous games, but they trigger is certain situations, and each character gains a certain type of bonus because of them. One example of this is Vegeta’s “Prince’s Pride” dramatic piece. After taking a couple of heavy hits in succession, it cuts to a scene where he says one of his famous lines about being the prince of all Saiyans, and he raises a bunch of his stats and wards off whatever combo his opponent was in the middle of. Each dramatic piece depends on the character and whatever support character you may have chose, but I think they’re really cool. In versus mode, you can even have Krillin help out the Freiza, something that would be unthinkable in the actual show.

The online play in the game is actually a bunch of fun, and is one of the main reasons you should give this game a rental. If you’re opponent is in the same area as you (for example, if I was fighting someone in Japan), the connection is as smooth as can be. If you’re battling people in other continents however, the connection isn’t fantastic, but I wouldn’t say it’s unplayable.

The one thing that I can’t comment on in this review is the voices. Because I played the Japanese version of the game, of course I got the Japanese voices, and that was the main reason I got the Japanese version of the game. I’m not sure if the Japanese voices are selectable in the English version. I have a feeling they aren’t going to be, but then again, don’t quote me on that. The musical score for the game is also something worth mentioning. When you get into a couple of specific battles, the score is noteworthy. The intro-song though was by far my favorite, and is still in my head as I write this.

Overall this game is pretty hard to judge. I would say that it’s a game that you should definitely rent if you’re a fan of the series. There is however no reason that you should buy this game. I’m a pretty diehard fan of the series, and I already traded it in after only two days with the game. It’s lots of fun, but only for about ten hours.

Completion Time – Only 7 hours to get through the entire story mode. After that, you’ll only play it online or against a buddy.

Achievement Information – The first 300 points or so are easy to get (as they unlock as you run through story mode), and then after that you’ll want to stop because it’s simply too much work to get the others

DBZ Burst Limit (Jap) At A Glance
	6.5	The Good	If you’re a DBZ fan, you’ll love it. Visuals better than the anime. Easy to get into. “What if?” battles are cool. Online play is great.
		The Bad	You can blow by the entire game in a day. Only 22 characters. Only goes until the Cell saga. Can be too easy the first time through.
	Decent	The Verdict	6.5 out of 10 Fans should rent it for sure.

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