To be fair, the anime wasn't exactly known for its lushly illustrated backdrops, but the fighting arenas in Battle of Z rarely go past the likes of "craggy, rock-laden environment" on the inspiration scale.
![dragon ball z battle of z dragon ball z battle of z](https://i.pinimg.com/736x/28/7a/78/287a786bda40e898bc4fccc9e9b7fdb1.jpg)
Once you navigate through confusingly-designed menus and get into the actual game, you immediately notice that while the character models themselves look fantastic, the environments are sparse and dull. You'll jump into single-player mode first-since you don't really have much choice. I say "going online" because there is no local multiplayer available: if you want to play with friends, you must play online. The multiplayer modes become available after playing a short ways into the single-player mode, but you'll probably want to play through a good amount of single-player to unlock characters, items, and status-augmenting cards you can equip on your Z fighters before going online.
![dragon ball z battle of z dragon ball z battle of z](https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/dragonball/images/f/fe/Dragon-ball-z-battle-of-z_bmuploads_2013-08-21_4925_dbz_boz_460.jpg)
"You wouldn't believe it! It was thiiiiiiiiis big!"īattle of Z offers three gameplay modes: a single-player, mission-based story mode that follows the various story arcs seen in the anime/manga series, a co-op multiplayer mode, and a versus mode. It's a confused, overly chaotic mission-based action game that tries to recreate the team-based camaraderie oft seen in its source material, but more often than not falls flat on its face. Sadly, Dragon Ball Z: Battle of Z is not Budokai, instead following in the underwhelming footsteps of more recent DBZ efforts like DBZ Kinect.
#DRAGON BALL Z BATTLE OF Z SERIES#
But it's had some highlights, too: The Budokai series made a lot of fans happy, hitting on a formula that satisfied what buyers crave from an anime-flavored fighter: a comprehensive cast, true-to-the-source visuals, and fighting that made you feel like a hyper-powered Super Saiyan. And when I say downs, I'm talking about pretty incredible lows: bottom-of-the-barrel material like Ultimate Battle 22 and Final Bout that frequently turns up on "worst games ever" lists.
![dragon ball z battle of z dragon ball z battle of z](https://gamefabrique.com/storage/screenshots/ps3/dragon-ball-z-battle-of-z-04.png)
Dragon Ball is one of those properties that's had its ups and downs when it comes to game adaptations.