Dragon Ball: Raging Blast 2

Dragon Ball: Raging Blast 2 is the sequel to Dragon Ball: Raging Blast, retaining much of the same gameplay of its predecessor, consisting of one-on-one fights on a 3D field. Battles can be fought between teams, giving players the opportunity to change their fighter during a match. Every fighter has simple attacks and unique actions (such as Frieza’s tail attack and Piccolo’s elastic arm) that don’t consume Ki, and super/ultimate attacks that do. These special attacks can be customized using new attacks unlocked through the various game modes, giving the player the ability to form a move set that best suits their style of play. The fighter can also transform during battle or even fuse with a teammate. “Pursuit Attacks” also make a return from the predecessor, allowing players to form a combo all across the field; this is usually done by knocking the opponent away and teleporting to do the same before they can land, continuing until the final blow in which the opponent is blasted into the ground. New to the battle system is the “Raging Soul System”, which can be activated when enough Ki is charged so that the fighter is in Hi-Tension mode. Activating Raging Soul opens up new, speedier combo possibilities at the expense of not being able to perform super or ultimate attacks.

As its name suggests, Dragon Ball: Raging Blast 2 draws inspiration from the entire Dragon Ball series up until its release, including movies, original video animations (OVA), and the long-running anime series based off of Akira Toriyama’s original manga. All 43 characters from the predecessor make a return alongside 23 new characters, bringing the total to 66. New characters include Tarble, estranged younger brother of Vegeta from the 2008 movie Yo! Son Goku and His Friends Return!! and Cooler, villain of the 1991 movie Cooler’s Revenge. Fusions and transformations bring the total to 100+, allowing for a variety of match-ups emphasized by the game’s primary modes: Galaxy Mode and Battle Zone.

Galaxy Mode acts as the game’s story mode, featuring a series of challenges for each version of every character. A series of battles progress in difficulty until the final battle, with a difficulty level of “Ultimate”; these tasks range from defeating a series of opponents while the player character’s health drops to defeating a powerful opponent with 1 HP. Clearing stages earn special attacks or power-ups for the chosen fighter along with bonus items that can be viewed in the Gallery such as artwork. Fully-completing a Galaxy for one character earns the player a Dragon Ball; as in the show, seven must be collected before the player can call on Shenron for a wish, rewarding the player with additional unlockables of their choice. Battle Zones serve much of the same purpose as Galaxy Mode, with the player progressing toward a boss character throughout each Zone. Stamps can be earned by performing specific tasks, such as giving the player character a handicap or refraining from performing special attacks, rewarding the player with more bonuses.

A bonus 30-minute OVA is included with the game: Dragon Ball: Plan to Eradicate the Super Saiyans. Originally released in 1993, it has been completely reanimated, and watching it unlocks the main antagonist, Hatchiyack, as a playable character.