The record-breakingDragon Ball: Sparking Zerohas rekindled a collective focus on theDragon Ballfranchise’s impressive wealth of games, with many titles, though distinct, emulating that fast-paced, dynamic, and more than often chaotic sense of energy that has made theDragon Ballso popular for decades.
Most of the bestDragon Ballgames have received such recognition not just fortheir dynamic fighting mechanics, but how they’re able to emulate Akira Toriyama’s legendary style on top of the latest innovations in graphics. Thesegames in particular do the best job of bringing top-tier graphics to theDragon Balluniverse.
Dragon Ball: The Breakershas quite a novel concept,but its executionhas left fans wanting and, perhaps just as unfortunately, put the idea of this sort of game to bed for a very long time. In essence,Dragon Ball: The Breakersis a game that pits five ordinary people, with a power level probably in the single digits (but hey, power creep is a menace in this universe, they’re probably actually Raditz tier) against a single, iconic villain from theDragon Balluniverse.
Much in the same vein asDead by Daylight, this asymmetrical fighter does have some redeeming qualities in the graphical department, where it does a great job using high-end graphics and Toriyama’s style to really evoke the menace and danger these heinous villains provoke when confronting ordinary civilians.
BeforeFighterZ,Dragon Ball: Xenoverse 2was the preeminent fighting game, pitting a colossal variety of skills and characters from every series under theDragon Ballumbrella. On top of this, there is an incredible character creator that lets people breathe life into almost anyDragon BallOC they’ve ever concocted and has them take center stage in a fantastic wide-scale story. The game isstill receiving DLCand updates and is an essential feature in anyDragon Ballfan’s library.
The graphics in this game are stellar, with every fighter incredibly well modeled, and with fantastic, glitzy transformation sequences when they hit the next level of their power, it’s a great feature in its own right and also helps the created character fit right in with the canon roster.
Dragon Ball Z: Kakarotfuses fighting game mechanics with RPG elements, and then grafts on top of that some surprisingly deep slice-of-life elements that come together to make a fantastic title for those looking to explore and relive almost every part of theDragon Ball Zanime and manga. Each character inthe extensive rostercan train, eat, relax, and, of course, battle across the setting of the major arcs, and they do all these things with incredible style.
Kakarothas bright, vivacious graphics that bring a new level of glamor and gloss not just to every character, but to the settings they inhabit as well - it all looks so idyllic and verdant, or ominous and dark, and it’s a great way to complement the slower-paced sections of the game.
Dragon Ball: Sparking! Zeroevokes that same kind of in-depth, detailed “oh my god how is this so good” energy that many longtime fans might not have felt sinceBudokai Tenkaichi 3. This is an expansive story mode and an extremely fluid fighting game meshed together into the perfectDragon Ball3D fighter package. The inclusion of alternate character costumesand what-if scenariosborne from non-canon choices in the story mode makes for an even more detailed game.
The graphics in this title pop like nothing else, everything feels alive and bright, and each energy blast is articulated not just in a way where itlooksgood, but lands and explodes with a satisfying amount of weight.
This game is crazy good. Stupidly good. Barring some interesting DLC practices, this might bethedefinitive 2D anime fighter, in no small part due to how much it just pops and shines in the graphical department. In most games, some less-than-stellar graphics can be made up for with a fantastic story or engaging mechanics, butDragon Ball FighterZdraws players in with some stellar graphical fidelity, being more than just faithful to the anime’s style, but elevating it with a unique video game flare that makes each battle shine with hyper-colored zeal.
The mechanics and graphics in this title go hand-in-hand to make each attack feel like it has weight behind it, and each battle feels destructive on a colossal scale. Everything from charging up ki moves to simple melee attacks has the appropriate amount of force and is articulated in such a fantastic “hyper-anime” style. No game feels quite as graphically vital asFighterZ.
