Dragon Ball: Raging Blast 2
Encyclopedia
is a video game based on the manga
and anime
franchise Dragon Ball
and is a follow up to the 2009 video game Dragon Ball: Raging Blast
. It was developed by Spike
and published by Namco Bandai
under the Bandai
label for the PlayStation 3
and Xbox 360
gaming consoles in the beginning of November 2010.
The game is a 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 will come with a remake of OVA
Saiyan Zetsumetsu Keikaku
, now retitled Plan to Eradicate the Super Saiyans.
While becoming the second best selling game in Japan, the game would meet with mixed criticism over its gameplay, controls, repetitive AI, and lack of proper story mode.
fighting techniques. The combat features a technique called Raging Soul, where players are restricted from ki attacks, but physical attacks become stronger.
Replacing the standard story mode from previous Dragon Ball fighting games is the Galaxy Mode. Here each character is represented by a planet in the game's galaxy. Within these planets are several mission paths. Each mission has various advantages or handicaps that will affect the overall fight. Completing some of these missions will unlock powerups and or other mission paths. Other modes of play are the Battle Zone, where player take on fighters from different zones, on and offline battle modes where players can take on friends or other random players from around the world, and the World Tournament, which players can take part in either Tenkaichi Budokai or Cell games style fighting competition.
. The announcement revealed that the game would include up to 90 playable characters in total and improved visuals. Images within the announcement featured several screenshots and production that featured polished character models of Son Goku
, Vegeta
, and Frieza fighting on Earth and Namek respectively. It was also revealed that the game would be released for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 consoles later that year. On May 11, Namco Bandai America announced that Raging Blast 2 along with Tenkaichi Tag Team would be released throughout North America sometime in the fall. The June 14 issue of Weekly Shonen Jump revealed that Dabura and the movie villains Turles and Janemba would be playable characters. In the July issue of V Jump it was revealed that Future Gohan, Pikkon, and Nail would be playable characters. There also featured a screenshot of Future Gohan in Super Saiyan form fighting #17. Giving the possibility that the storyline from The History of Trunks and Trunks: The Story might be in the game's story mode in some form.
On July 22, more gameplay screenshots were made public which revealed that the Super Saiyan 3 forms of Vegeta and Broly would be returning. The following issue of Shonen Jump also confirmed their return. The August 9 issue of Shonen Jump revealed that the game would include six character that have never been featured within a Dragon Ball game, and that the game would include a remake to the 1993 OVA which would be retitled as . A feature that was originally a visual strategy guide for the Famicom
game by the same name and was in turn, made into two video games for the Playdia
. Included were design sheets for both Goku and primary villain Dr. Raichi stating that the remake would use current up to date animation methods and would feature about thirty minutes worth of new footage. It also revealed the Japanese release date for November 11. Shortly after, Namco Bandai's Japanese branch issued a press release confirming the feature's inclusion into the game. The following day Namco Bandai's North American branch announced that the feature would be included in that region's release of the game as Dragon Ball: Plan to Eradicate the Super Saiyans.
At the same time the European branch announced the inclusion of the featurette in their release of the game. The following issue of Shonen Jump, a few days later, revealed that the villain Hatchiyack would be a playable character within the game. In September it was reported that that Europe would also get a collector's edition of the game that would include a pop-up cover sleeve, a laser animation cel
of Goku from Plan to Eliminate the Super Saiyans, and a set of scratch off card with codes to unlock bonus costumes that would, in turn, add new abilities to specific characters. In the following September 20 issue of Shonen Jump it was revealed that the Japanese release of the game would come packaged with a color booklette filled with the character design sheets from the Plan to Eradicate the Super Saiyans feature. It was also revealed that the game would feature another CG opening introduction with another new theme song by Jpop vocalist Hironobu Kageyama
titled "Battle of Omega". On October 6, Namco Bandai released an announcement that the game was near completion for both consoles. The following week, a demo of the game was made available on the Xbox Live Marketplace
, and was made available on PlayStation Network two weeks after. The November issue of V Jump revealed that Tarble, the character from the feature Yo! Son Goku and His Friends Return!!
, would make video game debut as a playable character within the game. Marking the character's first time being marketed outside of Japan. Shortly after Namco Bandai would also announce that the game would be released throughout North America on November 2. With the company announcing that the game was in stores after the initial release date.
.
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 60/100 and 57/100 on Metacritic
, 60.85% and 58.52% on GameRankings, and 7.1 and 6.9 on GameStats. Anthony Gallegos of IGN
found the mechanics clunky, the controls too complex, each character's AI to be identical to each other, and the environments to be bland and ugly. He go on to commend the game for managing to copy the aesthetic of the series. Henry Gilbert of Xbox Magazine
felt that players only interested in single player would still a lot to work with. However, he would complain that the story was esoteric to fans and that without a tutorial, new players would not know what they were doing. Brian Rowe of GameZone
felt that the versus modes were the game's real selling points, and that the Power Battle was it highlight. As players could be overpowered with certain characters in battle. In the end his ultimate opinion on the licence was that it need to evolve. Carolyn Petit of GameSpot
that the game was merely an expansion of the Raging Blast, citing that enough for $60. She also pointed that the Raging Soul system made building ki worth while. Nathan Grayson of GamesRadar
complained about the repetitive gameplay, AI, and the awkward camera, but felt that the game was moving the license a small step in the right direction.
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...
and is a follow up to the 2009 video game Dragon Ball: Raging Blast
Dragon Ball: Raging Blast
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...
. 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...
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 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...
gaming consoles in the beginning of November 2010.
The game is a 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 will come with a remake of OVA
Original video animation
, abbreviated as media , are animated films and series made specially for release in home-video formats. The term originated in relation to Japanese animation...
Saiyan Zetsumetsu Keikaku
Dragon Ball Z Side Story: Plan to Eradicate the Saiyans
is a Japanese-exclusive video game released for the Family Computer game console. The game takes the form of a card battle RPG, where the player's movement and battle choices are dictated by the randomly generated playing cards. Multiplayer is a six player tournament using difficulty level of...
, now retitled Plan to Eradicate the Super Saiyans.
While becoming the second best selling game in Japan, the game would meet with mixed criticism over its gameplay, controls, repetitive AI, and lack of proper story mode.
Gameplay
Like its predecessor, Raging Blast 2 uses 3-D gaming mechanics with the camera alternating from over the shoulder to overhead angles at various moments. The player takes on the role of one of the available characters taking on another character from the franchise using various basic, melée, or signature kiQi
In traditional Chinese culture, qì is an active principle forming part of any living thing. Qi is frequently translated as life energy, lifeforce, or energy flow. Qi is the central underlying principle in traditional Chinese medicine and martial arts...
fighting techniques. The combat features a technique called Raging Soul, where players are restricted from ki attacks, but physical attacks become stronger.
Replacing the standard story mode from previous Dragon Ball fighting games is the Galaxy Mode. Here each character is represented by a planet in the game's galaxy. Within these planets are several mission paths. Each mission has various advantages or handicaps that will affect the overall fight. Completing some of these missions will unlock powerups and or other mission paths. Other modes of play are the Battle Zone, where player take on fighters from different zones, on and offline battle modes where players can take on friends or other random players from around the world, and the World Tournament, which players can take part in either Tenkaichi Budokai or Cell games style fighting competition.
Development
The game was first announced in the May 3 issue of Weekly Shonen JumpWeekly 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...
. The announcement revealed that the game would include up to 90 playable characters in total and improved visuals. Images within the announcement featured several screenshots and production that featured polished character models of Son Goku
Son Goku (Dragon Ball)
Goku, known as in the English-language manga and original Japanese-language version, is a fictional character and the main protagonist of the Dragon Ball franchise created by Akira Toriyama. He is loosely based on Sun Wukong, a central character in Journey to the West...
, 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...
, and Frieza fighting on Earth and Namek respectively. It was also revealed that the game would be released for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 consoles later that year. On May 11, Namco Bandai America announced that Raging Blast 2 along with Tenkaichi Tag Team would be released throughout North America sometime in the fall. The June 14 issue of Weekly Shonen Jump revealed that Dabura and the movie villains Turles and Janemba would be playable characters. In the July issue of V Jump it was revealed that Future Gohan, Pikkon, and Nail would be playable characters. There also featured a screenshot of Future Gohan in Super Saiyan form fighting #17. Giving the possibility that the storyline from The History of Trunks and Trunks: The Story might be in the game's story mode in some form.
On July 22, more gameplay screenshots were made public which revealed that the Super Saiyan 3 forms of Vegeta and Broly would be returning. The following issue of Shonen Jump also confirmed their return. The August 9 issue of Shonen Jump revealed that the game would include six character that have never been featured within a Dragon Ball game, and that the game would include a remake to the 1993 OVA which would be retitled as . A feature that was originally a visual strategy guide for the Famicom
Nintendo Entertainment System
The Nintendo Entertainment System is an 8-bit video game console that was released by Nintendo in North America during 1985, in Europe during 1986 and Australia in 1987...
game by the same name and was in turn, made into two video games for the Playdia
Playdia
The was a video game console released exclusively in Japan in 1994 at the initial price of ¥24,800. It was intended for a young audience with anime quiz software and edutainment making up most of the game library. The Playdia uses a single infrared joypad with simple controls...
. Included were design sheets for both Goku and primary villain Dr. Raichi stating that the remake would use current up to date animation methods and would feature about thirty minutes worth of new footage. It also revealed the Japanese release date for November 11. Shortly after, Namco Bandai's Japanese branch issued a press release confirming the feature's inclusion into the game. The following day Namco Bandai's North American branch announced that the feature would be included in that region's release of the game as Dragon Ball: Plan to Eradicate the Super Saiyans.
At the same time the European branch announced the inclusion of the featurette in their release of the game. The following issue of Shonen Jump, a few days later, revealed that the villain Hatchiyack would be a playable character within the game. In September it was reported that that Europe would also get a collector's edition of the game that would include a pop-up cover sleeve, a laser animation cel
Cel
A cel, short for celluloid, is a transparent sheet on which objects are drawn or painted for traditional, hand-drawn animation. Actual celluloid was used during the first half of the 20th century, but since it was flammable and dimensionally unstable it was largely replaced by cellulose acetate...
of Goku from Plan to Eliminate the Super Saiyans, and a set of scratch off card with codes to unlock bonus costumes that would, in turn, add new abilities to specific characters. In the following September 20 issue of Shonen Jump it was revealed that the Japanese release of the game would come packaged with a color booklette filled with the character design sheets from the Plan to Eradicate the Super Saiyans feature. It was also revealed that the game would feature another CG opening introduction with another new theme song by Jpop vocalist Hironobu Kageyama
Hironobu Kageyama
is a Japanese musical artist prominent in the soundtracks for anime, video game, and tokusatsu productions. He is sometimes called Kami by his fans. Kageyama got his big break at age 16, as lead singer of the pop group Lazy. By the early '80s, the band split and Kageyama went solo...
titled "Battle of Omega". On October 6, Namco Bandai released an announcement that the game was near completion for both consoles. The following week, a demo of the game was made available on the 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...
, and was made available on PlayStation Network two weeks after. The November issue of V Jump revealed that Tarble, the character from the feature Yo! Son Goku and His Friends Return!!
Dragon Ball: Yo! Son Goku and His Friends Return!!
is a 35-minute Dragon Ball animated short film that premiered at the Jump Super Anime Tour in September 2008. It is the first animated Dragon Ball feature in twelve years, following the tenth anniversary film The Path to Power. It has not been licensed for an English-language release.- Plot :Two...
, would make video game debut as a playable character within the game. Marking the character's first time being marketed outside of Japan. Shortly after Namco Bandai would also announce that the game would be released throughout North America on November 2. With the company announcing that the game was in stores after the initial release date.
Reception
Dragon Ball: Raging Blast 2 was released in North America on Nov 2, 2010, in Japan on Nov 11, 2010, in Europe on Oct 1, 2010, and in Australia on Nov 4, 2010. The PS3 version would go on to be the second best selling game for November in Japan, beating out Super Mario Collection Special Pack and Pokémon Black and WhitePokémon Black and White
are role-playing games developed by Game Freak and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo DS. They are the first installments in the fifth generation of the Pokémon series of role-playing games...
.
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 60/100 and 57/100 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,...
, 60.85% and 58.52% on GameRankings, and 7.1 and 6.9 on GameStats. Anthony Gallegos 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 mechanics clunky, the controls too complex, each character's AI to be identical to each other, and the environments to be bland and ugly. He go on to commend the game for managing to copy the aesthetic of the series. Henry Gilbert of Xbox Magazine
Official Xbox Magazine
Official Xbox Magazine is a monthly video game magazine which started in November 2001 around the launch of the original Xbox. A preview issue was released for E3 2001, with another preview issue for November 2001. The magazine is bundled with a disc that includes game demos, preview videos and...
felt that players only interested in single player would still a lot to work with. However, he would complain that the story was esoteric to fans and that without a tutorial, new players would not know what they were doing. Brian Rowe of GameZone
GameZone
GameZone is an American multiplatform video game website. GameZone's daily coverage includes reviews, previews, news, hints & cheats, and editorials. Additionally, GameZone offers downloads, a child-targeted website and in association with GameStop, hosts GZGameShop, an online retailer...
felt that the versus modes were the game's real selling points, and that the Power Battle was it highlight. As players could be overpowered with certain characters in battle. In the end his ultimate opinion on the licence was that it need to evolve. Carolyn Petit of GameSpot
GameSpot
GameSpot is a video gaming website that provides news, reviews, previews, downloads, and other information. The site was launched in May 1, 1996 by Pete Deemer, Vince Broady and Jon Epstein. It was purchased by ZDNet, a brand which was later purchased by CNET Networks. CBS Interactive, which...
that the game was merely an expansion of the Raging Blast, citing that enough for $60. She also pointed that the Raging Soul system made building ki worth while. Nathan Grayson of GamesRadar
GamesRadar
GamesRadar is a multi-format video game website featuring regular news, previews, reviews, videos, and guides. It is owned and operated simultaneously in the UK and US by worldwide publisher Future Publishing...
complained about the repetitive gameplay, AI, and the awkward camera, but felt that the game was moving the license a small step in the right direction.