Over the three day weekend of January 12th through the 15th, players were given access to the "open" beta to Dragon Ball FighterZ. Players who have pre-ordered the game via PSN and Xbox Live were allegedly given a day advance of play time with the open beta. I have "open" in quotes as it technically wasn't open as players on Xbox Live AND PlayStation Network weren't able to get into the beta for the majority of the weekend. I was told by my followers on Twitter and Facebook that TeamSpooky were able to get into Ranked Matches and get pretty high on the leaderboards, but in terms of accessibility, Xbox Live was hit the hardest from the disconnects from the server(s) and inability to get matchmaking to get anything going. From my own personal experience on PlayStation Network, the servers were a complete mess on Saturday and Sunday, with the rare chance that you did get into the lobbies, you weren't able to get a match going at all. Monday morning seemed to be the nirvana of this open beta as I was able to get a LOT of matches recorded in Casual Matches as I wasn't up for playing Ranked as I wasn't planning on playing this game "seriously" unless I bought it down the road.
Gameplay
The game is simple enough to pick up and play. That's the biggest novelty about it outside of being ArcSys first attempt at a Dragon Ball Z licensed fighting game. The magic series/auto combos would get most people by for the most part until they get the grasp on things and really experimenting and figuring out the ins and outs of the combo system. There's a button strictly for projectiles that the DBZ franchise is known for, same for the dash/powered up state that extends combos even further on knockbacks and wall bounces. I personally felt that throws were a little too strong in this game as they guarantee a free air combo follow-up, but it never felt unfair. Dashes beat out most basic projectiles. Vanishes (think like an instant transmission/teleport) can blindside an opponent and attacks immediately from behind your opponent at the cost of one bar of super meter. Some attacks (specific heavy attacks that have to be timed accordingly to properly punish dashes on the spot) can beat out throws and EASILY punish most blocked dashes. Everyone seems to have an universal overhead attack that must be blocked standing while others seem to hit like cross-ups, so there's mix-ups a plenty in this game from blockstrings combined with your teammates' assist attacks (think Marvel vs. Capcom series or Skullgirls). Assist attacks are defaulted to one staple attack per character, so there's not that confusion of wondering what assist do you pick from this array of characters - something that was a little jarring for casuals in the Marvel vs. Capcom series. Here, you simply pick your fighters and jump right into the action.
Most players will be happy to know that there's not any complicated inputs for super moves either. Everyone seems to have the same universal input for super moves (either Hadoken motion forward or backwards + the throw button). That adds even more accessibility to the point of entry for this fighter. In that regard, I thought it was rather odd that some super moves (especially level 3 supers) were scaled heavily in damage in comparison of doing a raw super. It seemed kind of weird in that regard, but whatever. This was the beta testing after all.
One thing I wish the in-game tutorial went over was that every character has unique moves outside of the basics that were shown in the tutorial mode. I didn't figure that out until I was getting comfortable with the fighters in Casual Matches. I had to smack myself on the forehead for not thinking about that sooner. Still in that regard, I wonder how much variety is here before it gets stale?
I didn't see the mechanic much in the beta outside of the tutorial, but there's a comeback mechanic in the form of collecting all seven Dragonballs (each randomly acquired from performing specific actions within a match) and summoning Shenron by connecting a specific combo sequence. One of those options from selecting one of the four wishes to Shenron to turn the tide of the battle includes the ability to revive a fallen teammate and even the ability to max out the super meter gauge. Seems like an unique mechanic on its own, but it was nowhere as prevalent as X-Factor was in Marvel vs. Capcom 3 or Rage state in Tekken Tag Tournament 2 as an "annoying" comeback mechanic. Only time will tell if this will change in the retail release.
Presentation
The visuals are the best thing going about this game. The game sports a "not quite cell shaded" look that makes it look like you're playing an episode of the anime come to life. It's not quite Budokai series (even though some of the backgrounds look subpar if I'm perfectly honest...) in terms of quality, but you can appreciate the sheer amount of love from ArcSys to make this game take as much from the source material as possible in terms of visuals and sound. Even the avatars for players in the online lobby were adorable and a nice touch.
While we're on the subject of the online lobby/central hub for this game, I want to confess that I flat out hated it to an extent. Maybe it's that I have played fighting games that have been set up in a better fashion than this, but locking everything from practice/training modes, replay channel, etc. behind your online servers is downright asinine. One can only hope that this is not the case when the retail release of the game comes out later this month. I saw the message for "You Have Left The Lobby" and "Cannot Connect to Server" far too many times that I have liked for this past weekend. If that is a preview of what the game's launch is going to be then that isn't a good look at all. I think that came down to ArcSys underestimating the popularity of this game and the sheer number of people who would want to check out the game during this free trial session.
My Streaming Experience
Final Thoughts
I can see why people are excited about this game as I had a lot of fun playing it when it actually worked, but at the same time, ArcSys rubbed me the wrong way for this open beta, especially when this game is going to release in a mere TWO weeks. They are going to have to scramble to make sure their servers aren't utter shit when the retail release/launch for this game is right around the corner. At the same time, I know how this publisher treats the BlazBlue and Guilty Gear series in terms of DLC and additional content. I dare say that they are just as bad - if not more in some cases - as Capcom in that regard with multiple iterations of the same game for updates, expansions, and add-ons every few months. With that being said, I seriously doubt I would pick this up at launch. The initial roster seems interesting enough, but I was expecting a lot more characters for this from the base in-game roster.
Don't get me wrong. Maybe I'm being a little hard on this game after the shortcomings of this past weekend's open beta, but I can't help be a little skeptical when this game is set to release in a mere two weeks. I don't know about you guys but I would like to get my money's worth when it comes to my gaming purchases, especially when it comes to these fighting games who have been known for lackluster content right out of the box. How can we forget the recent clusterfuck that was Street Fighter V's initial launch and the lackluster content for Marvel vs. Capcom 3/Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3?
Look, I get it. Dragon Ball Z is a part of a lot of people's childhood memories and served as the gateway to the world of anime for many. All that I'm saying is don't allow yourself to get caught up behind those nostalgia glasses and be blinded that this game could potentially be a scam from our friends at ArcSys. Then again, I could be wrong. ArcSys already announced that the pre-order bonus DLC characters of SSGSS Goku and Vegeta, along with Android 21 are unlockable in-game without any real life currency, so those who don't pre-order the game and decide to pick it up down the road won't be penalized.
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