Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2 Review

 I am a huge fan of Dragon Ball and all the continuing TV series aired on Cartoon Network back in the 90's and early  2000's.  I spent many an afternoon watching the adventures of Goku and friends and their antics to save the world.

Over the years I have tried out the Manga and found I didn't enjoy it as much as the cartoon though it does have its strengths.  I have also tried out several of the video games with Dragon Ball Z:  Budokai as my reigning favorite...at least until Dragon Ball Xenoverse came along.  I enjoyed Xenoverse 1 so much that On December 25th, I found myself at the local game store picking up my copy of Xenoverse 2 as soon as it became available!

 Xenoverse allowed you make an original character the Time Patroller and then take that character to all of our favorite moments in Dragon Ball history and set right events that the mysterious villain had changed.  Not getting into any spoilers about the first game, lets just say with a little help from friends you save the universe and time itself!

Now in the sequel, you once again make an original character.  Toki Toki City has become Conton city in Xenoverse 2, and is much larger than the previous iteration.  Once you finish the intro mission and training you a lead to the center of town where you have the option to choose a character from your Xenoverse 1 save data to transfer over to Xenoverse 2.  You can't play the character but you can see them immortalized in a holographic statue in Conton City for their actions in the previous game saving the universe!  You also will gain the equipped abilities and clothes from that character.  So you may want to fire up Xenoverse 1 and make sure your character is equipped with the abilities and clothes you want to transfer.

After the intro and character transfer you then have an open sprawling city of Conton city to explore!  and like the first game you have your time patrols where you will travel in time to set right events that have been altered, you can also train with various masters, conduct parallel quest (think "what if") events in Dragon Ball history, and eventually open up the skies of Conton city for you to fly around.

The fighting mechanics are quick and fluid and once you master the controls you find that each battle will play out quickly...for better or worse.   One aspect I was hopping would get added to the game was a Ki battle.  So no using a kamehameha wave and having to battle it out once your attacked meets your opponents ki attack.  This game is more of a you shoot and they shoot kind of sequence.

If you didn't like Xenoverse 1 then you may not care for the sequel.  The game shares the same game set up and mechanics, though the opponent targeting option does appear to work better this time around.

I would recommend this game to any Dragon Ball Z fans and suggest that fans of the older video games give it a chance as well.  It is currently available at most retailers, Amazon, and Steam for $59.99.


Pros (Things I like)

• Your character from the original Xenoverse is immortalized in Conton City as a hero for all to see!
• You can transfer from Xenoverse 1 some of you hard earned abilities and equipment, choose carefully.
• The portal between zone are easier to identity and use during mission than they were in the original.
• I love getting to see all my favorite Dragon Ball Z characters and Vegeta is as much fun as I remember.
• Multi-step missions are clearer in what you need to do and where you need to go than they were in Xenoverse 1.

Cons (Things I don't like)

• Having to get a license to fly around Conton City.
• You get the impression that Xenoverse 1 was a test to get right some of the game play in Xenoverse 2.
• The voice dubbing does not match up the animation of the character speaking, I know some people enjoy that aspect of dubbing to english but it has always gotten on my nerves.
• No Ki beam or special ablity battles of strength.