Dragon Ball: Raging Blast
Encyclopedia
is a video game based on the manga
and anime
franchise Dragon Ball
. It was developed by Spike
and published by Namco Bandai
for the PlayStation 3
and Xbox 360
game consoles throughout North America
, while everywhere else it would be published under the Bandai
label. It was released in Japan
, North America, Europe
, and Australia
during the second week of November 2009. In Europe, a limited edition pack of the game was also released that included bonus collector material.
The game is a cel-shaded 3D fighter that allows players to play as characters within the Dragon Ball universe, either against the game's AI
or another player in one of the various modes of play both on and offline. The game is one of the first games in the Dragon Ball franchise to be published by Namco Bandai
in North America, as the company would acquire the gaming license from previous license holder Atari
in July of that same year.
The game was met with mixed to negative reviews from gaming critics for its storymode and overall gameplay controls.
New combination moves can now be utilized, allowing two characters to launch special attacks. There are also brand new environmental features such as new advanced interactions with the grounds of the battlefield. Enhanced destructible features such as rocks, mountains, and even the ground below are now destructible. The ground can now split, shatter, or just be obliterated. Players can now also throw enemies into rocks or other environment features, causing the opponent to become trapped, defenseless, and unable to move. The capsule system from previous games also returned, allowing players to customize their characters.
On June 2 the Namco Bandai's US branch issued a press release stating that they would release the game throughout North America and that they would retain the game's title. It would also mention that the game would feature new interactive and destructible environments, more than seventy characters including transformations, a new special attack system called "Super Rising", and that the release date would be sometime in the Fall of 2009.
The following July, Namco Bandai announced in a press release that they had successfully acquired the North American Dragon Ball gaming license from Atari
, giving them the right to publish Dragon Ball games for the next five years, starting with the titles Raging Blast, Revenge of King Piccolo
, and Attack of the Saiyans. In an article of the July thirteenth issue of Weekly Shonen Jump
magazine it was revealed that the game would receive a new theme song. In August both V Jump and Shonen Jump would feature articles which revealed that Broly would receive an exclusive Super Saiyan 3 form within the game. In September Namco Bandai revealed that Raging Blast, along with eighteen other titles, would be available for hands-on demonstration at the 2009 Tokyo Game Show
. A few days later Shonen Jump would feature another spread showing several in-game screenshots, including battle over some of the battle fields such as the city and Namek stages, the character select menu, and the VS match up screen. The spread would also reveal the game's official boxart for the Japanese release. In the October 5 issue of Shonen Jump it was revealed that Vegeta
would also receive an exclusive Super Saiyan 3 form. Two days later, it was announced that there would be a Limited Edition version released throughout Europe. This would include a fifty-two page artbook, the game's soundtrack, and coupons to redeem for special unlockables on the PlayStation Network and Xbox Live Marketplace
. The game itself would come in a Steelbook case.
On October twenty-third, Namco Bandai announced that they had completed Raging Blast and that it would be shipped on November tenth throughout North America. A few days later, the company announced that they had released a demo of the game for both PlayStation Network and Xbox Live Marketplace for North American users and that a Raging Blast Special Pack would be available to North American players who pre-ordered the game.
.
Along with its sales, the game received mixed reviews from various gaming critics. Both the PS3 and Xbox 360 versions earned their own aggregated scores of 57/100 and 56/100 on Metacritic
, 60.37% and 57.86% on GameRankings, and 7.2 and 7.3 on GameStats respectively. Chris Roper of IGN
found the Super Battle Trial to be the most interesting part of the game, though he would complain about the presentation of the story arcs in the Dragon Battle Collection mode, the gaming mechanics, and the camera. Gambus Kahn of ZTGameDomain, who reviewed the PlayStation 3 version, had mixed feelings over the fighting system, claiming that it was both awesome and a pain, as most of the controls are utilized during play and the right analog stick was used as another set of buttons functions, making it appear convoluted. Khan went on to complain about the timing accuracy in which a player has to block both grabbing and Ki attacks, which he compares as being tougher than the timing accuracy in Street Fighter IV
. Although he loved the game's depth, claiming that it "plays unlike any non-Dragon Ball game before", he stated that it had the feel of a very fast paced Armored Core
game. Arnold Katayev of PSXtream felt that the game mechanics were not very deep. He called the mutiplayer mode the best thing about the game, while complaining that the dialogue was not taken straight from the anime.
Downtown Jimmy of Extreme Gamer complained that the controls were too simple and criticized the camera for not having a lock on feature. While he felt that the graphics were not impressive, they still looked good enough to surpass his expectations of what the game looked like. Carolyn Petit of GameSpot found that the visuals captured the look of the anime very well. She stated that the controls were complex but featured little depth. She mentioned that attacks made the battle within the game feel "tremendous", but stated the Ki building process would take attention away from the combat due to being time consuming and leaving the player wide open to an attack. She also had complaints over the multiplayer, claiming that as the screen became split down the middle on offline mutiplayer, it would limit the player's view and that online multiplayer was better but would be riddled with opponents that would instantly log off if things don't go their way. Jeremy Jastrzab of PAL Gaming Network pointed out that the game was good by itself, but was not as good as any of the previous games, stating that "there is no excuse for it being worse than its predecessors."
Robert Workman of GameDaily felt that while the game has good visuals and options, its problems were a sign that the license is getting old, stating that Namco Bandai should get back to basics or retire the franchise. David Chapman of TeamXbox praised the character models for looking like "dead ringers" to their anime counterparts and stated that the 360's online play was nearly flawless with little to no lag, yet he felt that gameplay needed a third hand for controls. GameTrailers stated that the difference in the game's overall feel was a good thing, yet the camera problems would turn away casual gamers. Gamezone's "jkdmedia" called the Dragon Mode impressive and said that he likes the game's Ultimate Customize feature, as it lets players customize their favorite characters with various attacks and items, but commented that the feature was useless due to the game's drawbacks.
Manga
Manga is the Japanese word for "comics" and consists of comics and print cartoons . In the West, the term "manga" has been appropriated to refer specifically to comics created in Japan, or by Japanese authors, in the Japanese language and conforming to the style developed in Japan in the late 19th...
and anime
Anime
is the Japanese abbreviated pronunciation of "animation". The definition sometimes changes depending on the context. In English-speaking countries, the term most commonly refers to Japanese animated cartoons....
franchise Dragon Ball
Dragon Ball
is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Akira Toriyama. It was originally serialized in Weekly Shōnen Jump from 1984 to 1995; later the 519 individual chapters were published into 42 tankōbon volumes by Shueisha. Dragon Ball was inspired by the classical Chinese novel Journey to the...
. It was developed by Spike
Spike (company)
is a Japanese video game developer and publisher. Most of the staff were part of Human Entertainment. Human's Fire Pro Wrestling series is owned by Spike.-Games developed:*Crimson Tears*Dangan Ronpa: Kibou no Gakuen to Zetsubou no Koukousei...
and published by Namco Bandai
Namco Bandai
, also known as the Bandai Namco Group, is a Japanese holding company formed from the merger of Namco and Bandai. It has interests in toys, video games and arcades, anime, and amusement parks. The new entity was founded on September 29, 2005...
for the PlayStation 3
PlayStation 3
The is the third home video game console produced by Sony Computer Entertainment and the successor to the PlayStation 2 as part of the PlayStation series. The PlayStation 3 competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles...
and Xbox 360
Xbox 360
The Xbox 360 is the second video game console produced by Microsoft and the successor to the Xbox. The Xbox 360 competes with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles...
game consoles throughout North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
, while everywhere else it would be published under the Bandai
Bandai
is a Japanese toy making and video game company, as well as the producer of a large number of plastic model kits. It is the world's third-largest producer of toys . Some ex-Bandai group companies produce anime and tokusatsu programs...
label. It was released in Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
, North America, Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
, and Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
during the second week of November 2009. In Europe, a limited edition pack of the game was also released that included bonus collector material.
The game is a cel-shaded 3D fighter that allows players to play as characters within the Dragon Ball universe, either against the game's AI
Artificial intelligence
Artificial intelligence is the intelligence of machines and the branch of computer science that aims to create it. AI textbooks define the field as "the study and design of intelligent agents" where an intelligent agent is a system that perceives its environment and takes actions that maximize its...
or another player in one of the various modes of play both on and offline. The game is one of the first games in the Dragon Ball franchise to be published by Namco Bandai
Namco Bandai
, also known as the Bandai Namco Group, is a Japanese holding company formed from the merger of Namco and Bandai. It has interests in toys, video games and arcades, anime, and amusement parks. The new entity was founded on September 29, 2005...
in North America, as the company would acquire the gaming license from previous license holder Atari
Atari
Atari is a corporate and brand name owned by several entities since its inception in 1972. It is currently owned by Atari Interactive, a wholly owned subsidiary of the French publisher Atari, SA . The original Atari, Inc. was founded in 1972 by Nolan Bushnell and Ted Dabney. It was a pioneer in...
in July of that same year.
The game was met with mixed to negative reviews from gaming critics for its storymode and overall gameplay controls.
Gameplay
The game's story mode, Dragon Battle Collection, allows players to play through the original events of the Dragon Ball story, but their actions in battle can change the story in many different ways. Over 100 "Battle Frames" can be selected at any time, regardless of chronological order to which they appear in the series. The story spans from the Saiyan Saga up until the Kid Buu Saga. Battle Frames also include "what-if" scenarios that never occurred in the series. Players can practice and hone their skills in the "Dojo". Players can also partake in the "Super Battle Trial" single-player modes. The online mode features a 16-player "Budokai Tournament", single or team battle VS, and a spectator mode where players can rate the fighters.New combination moves can now be utilized, allowing two characters to launch special attacks. There are also brand new environmental features such as new advanced interactions with the grounds of the battlefield. Enhanced destructible features such as rocks, mountains, and even the ground below are now destructible. The ground can now split, shatter, or just be obliterated. Players can now also throw enemies into rocks or other environment features, causing the opponent to become trapped, defenseless, and unable to move. The capsule system from previous games also returned, allowing players to customize their characters.
Development
The game was first mentioned in Namco Bandai's 2009 fiscal report. It was revealed that a new game was in development for both Xbox 360 and PS3, and that the game will be released the second quarter of the 2009-2010 fiscal year. A full announcement was featured May 2009 issue of V Jump magazine. The issue included several screenshots showing that the game contained gameplay elements from the previous Sparking games, polished Sparking character models, and revealed the official title. A week later, Namco Bandai's European branch released a statement announcing that they would release the game throughout Europe sometime in autumn of that year.On June 2 the Namco Bandai's US branch issued a press release stating that they would release the game throughout North America and that they would retain the game's title. It would also mention that the game would feature new interactive and destructible environments, more than seventy characters including transformations, a new special attack system called "Super Rising", and that the release date would be sometime in the Fall of 2009.
The following July, Namco Bandai announced in a press release that they had successfully acquired the North American Dragon Ball gaming license from Atari
Atari
Atari is a corporate and brand name owned by several entities since its inception in 1972. It is currently owned by Atari Interactive, a wholly owned subsidiary of the French publisher Atari, SA . The original Atari, Inc. was founded in 1972 by Nolan Bushnell and Ted Dabney. It was a pioneer in...
, giving them the right to publish Dragon Ball games for the next five years, starting with the titles Raging Blast, Revenge of King Piccolo
Dragon Ball: Revenge of King Piccolo
Dragon Ball: Revenge of King Piccolo, released in Japan as , is a video game based on the anime and manga series Dragon Ball. It was developed by Media.Vision and published by Namco Bandai under the Bandai label...
, and Attack of the Saiyans. In an article of the July thirteenth issue of Weekly Shonen Jump
Weekly Shonen Jump
is a weekly shōnen manga anthology published in Japan by Shueisha under the Jump line of magazines. The first issue was released with a cover date of July 2, 1968, and it is still circulating. One of the longest-running manga magazines in Japan, it has a circulation of 2.8 million copies...
magazine it was revealed that the game would receive a new theme song. In August both V Jump and Shonen Jump would feature articles which revealed that Broly would receive an exclusive Super Saiyan 3 form within the game. In September Namco Bandai revealed that Raging Blast, along with eighteen other titles, would be available for hands-on demonstration at the 2009 Tokyo Game Show
Tokyo Game Show
The , commonly known as TGS, is a video game expo / convention held annually in the Makuhari Messe, in Chiba, Japan. It is presented by the Computer Entertainment Supplier's Association and the Nikkei Business Publications, Inc...
. A few days later Shonen Jump would feature another spread showing several in-game screenshots, including battle over some of the battle fields such as the city and Namek stages, the character select menu, and the VS match up screen. The spread would also reveal the game's official boxart for the Japanese release. In the October 5 issue of Shonen Jump it was revealed that Vegeta
Vegeta
is a fictional character and antihero in the Dragon Ball franchise created by Akira Toriyama. Vegeta first appeared in the manga chapter #204 first published in Weekly Shōnen Jump magazine on December 19, 1988, and in episode 5 of its anime adaptation Dragon Ball Z...
would also receive an exclusive Super Saiyan 3 form. Two days later, it was announced that there would be a Limited Edition version released throughout Europe. This would include a fifty-two page artbook, the game's soundtrack, and coupons to redeem for special unlockables on the PlayStation Network and Xbox Live Marketplace
Xbox Live Marketplace
The Xbox Live Marketplace is a virtual market designed for Microsoft's Xbox 360 console that allows Xbox Live members to download purchased or promotional content...
. The game itself would come in a Steelbook case.
On October twenty-third, Namco Bandai announced that they had completed Raging Blast and that it would be shipped on November tenth throughout North America. A few days later, the company announced that they had released a demo of the game for both PlayStation Network and Xbox Live Marketplace for North American users and that a Raging Blast Special Pack would be available to North American players who pre-ordered the game.
Reception
Dragon Ball: Raging Blast was released in North America on November 10, 2009, in Japan on November 12, 2009, in Europe on November 13, 2009, and in Australia on November 19, 2009. In it first week the PlayStation 3 version managed to sell 58,000 copies in Japan, making it the third best selling game behind the revamped Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilverPokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver
are enhanced remakes of the 1999 video games Pokémon Gold and Silver. The games are part of the Pokémon series of role-playing video games, and were developed by Game Freak and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo DS...
.
Along with its sales, the game received mixed reviews from various gaming critics. Both the PS3 and Xbox 360 versions earned their own aggregated scores of 57/100 and 56/100 on Metacritic
Metacritic
Metacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...
, 60.37% and 57.86% on GameRankings, and 7.2 and 7.3 on GameStats respectively. Chris Roper of IGN
IGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
found the Super Battle Trial to be the most interesting part of the game, though he would complain about the presentation of the story arcs in the Dragon Battle Collection mode, the gaming mechanics, and the camera. Gambus Kahn of ZTGameDomain, who reviewed the PlayStation 3 version, had mixed feelings over the fighting system, claiming that it was both awesome and a pain, as most of the controls are utilized during play and the right analog stick was used as another set of buttons functions, making it appear convoluted. Khan went on to complain about the timing accuracy in which a player has to block both grabbing and Ki attacks, which he compares as being tougher than the timing accuracy in Street Fighter IV
Street Fighter IV
is a fighting game produced by Capcom. It is the first numbered Street Fighter game released by Capcom since . The coin-operated arcade game was released in Japan on July 18, 2008, with North American arcades importing the machines by August...
. Although he loved the game's depth, claiming that it "plays unlike any non-Dragon Ball game before", he stated that it had the feel of a very fast paced Armored Core
Armored Core
Armored Core is a mecha-based video game series developed by From Software for the PlayStation Portable, PlayStation, PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and Mobile Phone platforms. Armored Core games are Mecha Simulation/third-person shooters, in which the player pilots a large mecha called an...
game. Arnold Katayev of PSXtream felt that the game mechanics were not very deep. He called the mutiplayer mode the best thing about the game, while complaining that the dialogue was not taken straight from the anime.
Downtown Jimmy of Extreme Gamer complained that the controls were too simple and criticized the camera for not having a lock on feature. While he felt that the graphics were not impressive, they still looked good enough to surpass his expectations of what the game looked like. Carolyn Petit of GameSpot found that the visuals captured the look of the anime very well. She stated that the controls were complex but featured little depth. She mentioned that attacks made the battle within the game feel "tremendous", but stated the Ki building process would take attention away from the combat due to being time consuming and leaving the player wide open to an attack. She also had complaints over the multiplayer, claiming that as the screen became split down the middle on offline mutiplayer, it would limit the player's view and that online multiplayer was better but would be riddled with opponents that would instantly log off if things don't go their way. Jeremy Jastrzab of PAL Gaming Network pointed out that the game was good by itself, but was not as good as any of the previous games, stating that "there is no excuse for it being worse than its predecessors."
Robert Workman of GameDaily felt that while the game has good visuals and options, its problems were a sign that the license is getting old, stating that Namco Bandai should get back to basics or retire the franchise. David Chapman of TeamXbox praised the character models for looking like "dead ringers" to their anime counterparts and stated that the 360's online play was nearly flawless with little to no lag, yet he felt that gameplay needed a third hand for controls. GameTrailers stated that the difference in the game's overall feel was a good thing, yet the camera problems would turn away casual gamers. Gamezone's "jkdmedia" called the Dragon Mode impressive and said that he likes the game's Ultimate Customize feature, as it lets players customize their favorite characters with various attacks and items, but commented that the feature was useless due to the game's drawbacks.
External links
- Raging Blast on Namco Bandai EUEuropeEurope is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...