Pocket FighterZ

Once again, this blog has fallen to the wayside due to a myriad of distractions and excuses.  I hope to break this habit by taking baby steps, typing entries little by little, till it becomes routine.  Starting with my currently favorite subject: Handheld brawler games.

Dragon Ball Advanced Adventure (Game Boy Advance)

Since catching it on a YouTube compilation vid, I've meant to get this one for some time now.  But because I gotta have authentic products, a physical cartridge proved rare and expensive.  Luckily, an imported Japanese cart was available on eBay for cheap.  Though heavy in dialogue, the inability to read it doesn't impede gameplay.

Following the story arcs of the original anime, the player shifts to multiple gameplay styles as they progress, ranging from sidescrolling beat 'em up . . .

To auto-scrolling aerial combat . . .

To one-on-one versus battles.  And for fans of the anime, yes that is Krillin throwing a Kamehameha.

The story builds up to the final battle with King Piccolo, the game's main villain.  But you get to take him out early (albeit with limited health) before the final level.

For someone who's played his share of beat 'em ups on the GBA, the depth and variety the game offers is a welcome sight.  And it doesn't hurt that DBAA is probably the best-looking Dragon Ball game on the handheld.  Though it's short and takes a little over an hour to beat, you get tons of extras, including replaying Story Mode as multiple characters.  The game would also bring back my love for the franchise itself, as I'd start watching the shows, reading the comics, and digging this next game out of my sock drawer.

Dragon Ball FighterZ (Switch)

Lured into reserving my copy by a pre-order bonus (cuz I love me some pre-order bonuses), I've stashed it away with the rest of my Switch backlog, where it remained until just recently.  After an update has eaten most of my console's memory card (which I trust goes to quality-of-life improvements), the first stop was the in-game tutorials followed by several dozen challenges to gear up for online play.

But even before that, I've fired up the cartridge to check something else.  And sure enough, SSGSS Goku and Vegeta are unlocked with no purchase or grinding necessary.

Though far from my favorite, I'm warming up to using Yamcha as my main.  Where he currently stands on the tier rankings is beyond me.

I'm guessing that the Kamehameha is the first thing you learn while training under Master Roshi.

Dragon Ball Z: Extreme Butoden (3DS)

Developed by the company behind the BlazBlue series, I was initially excited to pick this up after reading about it in a catalog.  But then I learned that the game wouldn't have online muliplayer; one of my many problems with the 3DS port of BlazBlue.  I finally bought the game after a patch added online play, though I didn't start playing until now.

The story mode loosely follows the plotlines from original DBZ to Dragon Ball Super, sticking brief cutscenes between bouts.

Those who've played enough anime fighting games should be familiar with the assist menu on the touch screen, where support characters enhance your fighter's abilities.  Playable characters can also be added to set up tag/handicap matches.

Beyond that gimmick, Extreme Butoden plays like most other Dragon Ball fighters, with beautiful 2D sprites along with tons of play modes and unlockables.

That about does it for this latest blog entry.  Tune in for next few entries where I'll cover more games and finally make a dent in my DVR backlog.  Till next time . . .

Rock the dragon!