Dragon Ball Z: Burst Limit Review

Bursting onto your console right now.

by suttondagger

©2008 Steve Sutton:

“`Dragon Ball Z has been an incredibly popular anime franchise for well over a decade, originally derived from the manga series written and illustrated by Akira Toriyama. The DBZ phenomenon has infiltrated movies, figurines and of course, video games. Burst Limit is the first ‘next gen’ DBZ game, but does it offer more than the previous DBZ iterations?

“`Like most games in the genre, the aim is to deplete the opponents life gauge, whilst maintaining your own, though there is more to Burst Limit than just this simple premise. You also have a ‘Ki’ (energy) gauge which gradually regenerates throughout the battle, ‘Ki’ is used for the special/ultimate attacks the DBZ franchise is renowned for.

On top of this, you have a fatigue gauge that builds up as you do actions like teleporting or blocking, once full, you become incapacitated and open to attack. One of the most unique features introduced into Burst Limit though is the ‘Aura Spark’ state. Once your ‘Ki’ gauge is full, each character is able to enter aura spark mode, dramatically increases your strength and opening up powerful attacks. All these gauges are clearly displayed on the in-game HUD, though you can turn these displays off if your after a pure fighting experience.

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Burst Limit’s main staple is its story mode titled ‘Z Chronicles’, you engage in all the most popular battles from the ‘Saiyan Saga’, ‘Freiza Saga’, and the ‘Cell Saga’ (though upon completion of Z Chronicles you will get some extra surprises). This mode has varying difficulty settings, ranging from the incredibly easy to the frustratingly hard.

After each battle you are awarded a rank, which is a result of meeting certain criteria within each fight, obtaining higher ranks will unlock new drama pieces (more on that later) and special attacks for characters. Though the story mode is great for seasoned DBZ fans, Dimps (the developer) have missed the boat in bringing in gamers not familiar with the franchise. There is minimal story exposition before or after each fight, which results in the Z chronicles becoming merely  back-to-back battles, with no room for character development.

Thankfully Burst Limit has move to offer than just a shallow story mode. For those not accustomed to the Idiosyncrasies of the fighting genre, there is both a tutorial (the ins and outs of combat are explained) and a training mode to get you up to speed. Also on offer is the trial mode, as the name implies, players must overcome a set of challenges, these are split into 3 separate categories: Survival (defeat 100 opponents), Time Attack (overcome your foes the fastest) and Battle Point (you gain points based on your selected attacks).

Perhaps the most welcome and exciting addition to Dragon Ball Z: Burst Limit is the versus mode, with options for both offline and online play. The prospect of fighting your friends online in a colossal clash of the DBZ superpowers will surely be enough to warrant a purchase by the series fans. Though online play is the saving grace in terms of replay-ability, it is not without problems.

Given the fact that the fighting genre demands quick responses and precise timing, online lag can be the Achilles heel of any title within the genre, unfortunately Burst Limit can suffer from this problem. Normally it is recommended that you play with someone from your own region in most online games (at least in Australia), in Burst Limit though it is a necessity if you want a smooth, lag free experience.

In terms of fighting mechanics, Burst Limit is basic yet complex at the same time. Different moves, even powerful attacks, can be pulled off with the simple press of a button and corresponding direction. This might seem like straightforward button bashing gameplay, but with various blocking and teleportation moves at your disposal, the more skillful player will ultimately have the upper hand.

‘Drama Pieces’ are another of the unique features introduced into Burst Limit, though their inclusion have both positive and negative aspects. These drama pieces are activated when certain battle conditions are met, like: dropping below 30% health or firing an ultimate attack at your opponent.

At this point, the battle is interrupted with a scene showing various player actions (ect: ‘powering up’, or receiving a Senzu Bean), which result in a combat bonus . These drama pieces might be interesting the first few times, but with no option to skip these scenes, they become repetitive and often break up the fast-paced gameplay.

Graphically, DBZ: Burst Limit is a sight to behold, far surpassing previous games that tried to recreate the anime franchise. The cell shaded character models are all beautifully rendered, capturing the distinct feel of much loved show. Animations are also top notch with fast, fluid motions, juxtaposed by the bone-crunching, solid impact of fists on flesh. The stages all look the part, though it’s disappointing  that there is only a handful to choose from, considering you barely interact with the environment at all.

Sound wise, you couldn’t ask for anything more from Burst Limit, fans will be delighted. Both the English (Funimation) and original Japanese voice cast are selectable, adding to the overall Dragon Ball Z aura. Likewise, most of the recognisable sound effects from the anime are intact, don’t you just love the hum/buzz of a Super Saiyan ‘powering up’. The music is not directly taken from the show, but is a suitable substitution.

Dragon Ball Z: Burst Limit is a hard game to categorise, In one sense fans will be pleased by the offering, yet should they be? Burst Limit is a bare bones fighter, with story development taking a back seat to graphical enhancements. It seems that the headway gained by the Budokai series (especially the advancements of Budokai 3) has been striped down, what we are left with is a basic fighter with little variety.

If this can be overlooked, there is still a decent pick up and play game underneath. With online battles, I’m sure this will quench the insatiable appetite of the rabid Dragon Ball Z fans among us, at least until Burst Limit 2?

“7.6/10

©2008 Steve Sutton:

Filed under: Xbox 360, Xbox 360 3rd Party Games, Xbox 360 Game Reviews Tagged: | Atari, burst limit review, dargon ball z reviews, DBZ burst reviews, Dimps Corporation, Dragon Ball Z Burst limit review