Dragon Ball Z: Burst Limit – 360 – Review

It’s safe to say that Dragon Ball Z is a
well-known commodity here in the United States. Not only are there legions of
devout followers, but there are countless amounts of people being introduced to
the series today as if the series just debuted. Premiering in the states after
the series concluded its seven year run in Japan, Dragon Ball Z arrived
in 1996 and has create tidal waves of interest in the anime genre for
millions. Now, in 2008, Atari continues to reel off the success of Dragon
Ball Z with its eighth game in the fighting genre titled Dragon Ball Z:
Burst Limit.

Having ignored the DBZ series ever since
its rise to fame and opting to watch shows that favored adventure over action
such as Inuyasha and Rurouni Kenshin, Dragon Ball Z: Burst
Limit proved to be a wonderful surprise for this skeptic. Having lost my
faith in the continuing decline of the fighting genre, I have found some hope of
where it could go.

While it may not be a technical innovation of any
sorts, Dragon Ball Z: Burst Limit implements drama pieces within the
combat to spice up the action. Having read some opinions from DBZ fans
of their disapproval of the drama pieces being added in, it must be said that
the drama pieces break up the flow of the combat at times, but ultimately it
gives the gameplay a certain flare that is missing from other titles. Providing
incentive and a backstory to continue pushing forward through the game, the
drama pieces are entertaining the first few times you encounter them. Though,
they will drag on once you have a repeat of a drama piece, and along with that,
you can’t skip the ones throughout the fight – bummer!

For the storyline mode, Dimps, the developer of
Burst Limit, brings forth Z Chronicles mode which allows the player to
traverse through three different sagas pertaining to the television show. Starting off with the Saiyan Saga, one that begins with Goku meeting his brother
Raditz, the Saiyan Saga is a quick introduction to the game and is over after
eight to nine fights. After that, the players’ skill level will begin to be
tested as they enter the Frieza Saga. The Frieza Saga wraps its might around an
evil galactic overlord out to destroy anything his path. The last saga, and
perhaps the one with the least amount of explanation of its story, is the Cell
Saga. Having finished all three of them, the most entertaining of the three is
the Frieza Saga due to its villain and drama pieces that were included.  They
were entertaining and Goku’s evolution is at the forefront of the storyline
throughout this saga. Also, it’ll take a good 4-5 hours to beat the Z
Chronicles mode and the game also provides six different difficulty levels to
test how yourself.

What should attract fans of DBZ to
Burst Limit is the exquisite gameplay. Not only is it fast and grueling,
but it comes off as if it was right out of the anime. Players are able to
teleport, transform into Super Saiyans, use their Aura Spark, and blow away
enemies with their Ki throughout a fight. Pulling off tricky maneuvers at the
whim has never been easier provided your Ki bar is full. Essentially, to pull
off Goku’s Kamehameha, all you would have to do is press the B button and the
left stick toward the enemy along with holding the button longer to make it
stronger. There’s also a variety of other moves to take advantage of such as
Vanishing Attacks, Ultimate Attacks, Grabs and Aura Spark attacks. With so much
action going on in the screen, the combat of Burst Limit is impressive to
say the least.

If you aren’t one for playing by your lonesome,
there is a versus and online mode to invest time in. The versus mode is your
typical one vs. one mode for friends and foes to face off. As for the online
mode, while its fun at first, players will soon recognize the fault with the
easy to learn combat system: everybody uses Goku and constantly spams super
attacks. The fun factor for the online portion quickly fades away when you are
facing your tenth opponent in the row and they pick Goku to continually use the
Kamehameha attack. In its entirety, the online mode’s biggest problem is the
people who opt to use the power attacks over and over again.

In addition, there’s a tutorial mode and training
modes to play through. The tutorial mode is basically there to practice
techniques and moves. Adding in diversity, the training modes include Survival
Mode, Time Attack, and Battle Point Mode. Survival Mode provides players the
chance to run through the gauntlet of enemies and see how long they can last. The Time Attack is what it sounds like, a series of opponents to fight and test
your speed on how fast you can eliminate them. Lastly, the Battle Point Mode is
based around a score that relates to the maneuvers you pull off during battle.

If you are looking for replay value, the online
mode should last you a few weeks. In case you don’t have online, there are
several unlockable characters, attacks, drama pieces and stages to win. In
total, there are 21 combatants to play with and hone your skills with. In all
honesty, the 21 fighters were enough for me, but I’ve heard complaints from fans
about the lack of their favorites making into the game.

Now for those who live and die by the technical
aspects, you’ll be pleased to hear that graphics and audio are top notch. Fans
of the series will feel right at home when they play through Burst Limit
since the graphics are representative of how the anime looks. Although there
are elements that are not up to par (i.e. the environments), it’s an overall
impressive package. The voice-acting is also exceptional with English voice
actors that deliver quality emotion to their characters.

Gameplay: 8.2
For newcomers, they should find the game
intriguing; for fans of the series, they should find the title reminiscent of
the anime.

Graphics: 8.0
If they had improved the environments, we would
be looking at one of the better-looking games of this generation. But at least
the animations are outstanding.

Sound: 8.0
There’ll be times where you’ll wonder who wrote
the dialogue, but then you’ll realize that you’re dealing with alien overlords
and warriors from the future so it won’t be as bad as you originally thought.

Difficulty: Easy / Medium
Beginners will have a tough time online while
fanatics will breeze through the competition with the simplified combat system. Though, there are six difficulty levels to test your skill.

Concept: 7.5
The drama pieces alone could prove to be vital
for the stagnant fighting genre that is looking for the next big thing.

Multiplayer: 7.0
While the gameplay is superb, it doesn’t
translate too well for an online fighter. Players will enjoy the first few go-arounds
online, but when the same match-ups occur too often (Goku vs. Goku), they’ll be
letdown at how monotonous it will become over time.

Overall: 7.9
As the Xbox 360’s first Dragon Ball Z
game, Dragon Ball Z: Burst Limit is an excellent game with a few
drawbacks. The character selection is low compared to previous iterations which
will turn off fans of the DBZ games. The online multiplayer could’ve
been refined to make interesting match-ups between DBZ favorites. But in
the end, the gameplay shines through and is a critical success in terms of
delivering something similar to the anime.