Dragon Ball Switch Games - Dragon Ball
The ongoing mega success of Akira Toriyama’s Dragon Ball Z franchise continues to spawn a massive array of manga, anime, toys, merchandise and of course video games.
Over 80 video games featuring the Dragon Ball Z storyline and its characters have been produced by companies such as Bandai or Namco Bandai since the 1980’s.
The hybrid video game console Nintendo Switch was released worldwide in 2017. Since then a handful of Dragon Ball Z titles have been released for it. Although none of the titles were made exclusively for Nintendo Switch, titles which enjoyed popularity on other game platforms such as PS4, Xbox ONE, Nintendo 3DS, Microsoft Windows and others have been translated for release on Nintendo Switch.
These video games allow fans to jump into the world of Dragon Ball Z and become Goku, Gohan, Goten or other Dragon Ball Z characters as they train and battle in the martial arts while searching for the seven wish granting Dragon Balls.
Dragon Ball Z Xenoverse 2
The first Dragon Ball Z game released for Nintendo Switch was Dragon Ball Z Xenoverse 2 in late 2016. This fighting/role-playing game developed by Bandai, QLOC and Dimps was a sequel to the 1st Dragon Ball Z Xenoverse.
The storyline is a continuation of DBZ Xenoverse 1.Now the Supreme Elder Kai, the watcher of time, bestows the mission of going back in time in order to set a new pattern to previously established events with the intention of putting the future in its correct balance.First up on the menu is Goku’s battle with Raditz…
The game itself was said to have a similar feel to the first installment Dragon Ball Z Xenoverse. However this time players are given greater freedom to explore the world of Dragon Ball Z. The game is set in RPG style, laced with many hard-hitting 3-D battles. The scope of the game was expanded while keeping almost all game play options from the first Dragon Ball Z Xenoverse. The sequel however, also includes hidden hubs and powers, many of which need to be unlocked. There have been at least 13 downloadable content packs made available.
This game has been widely praised by many reviewers and has sold over 5 million copies worldwide.
Dragon Ball FighterZ
The following year in 2018 Bandai Namco released Dragon Ball FighterZ, its second major Dragon Ball Z game translated for play on Nintendo Switch. Many critics at the time deemed it “One of the best fighting games released in the eighth generation of video game consoles”. The plot fills in some of the gaps left between “Universe 6” and the “Future Trunks” arcs of Dragon Ball Super.
The fighter selection includes 21 characters with the potential to expand that roster to over 40. This includes hidden, unlockable and paid downloadable fighters. The Nintendo Switch version combines the original game released for other platforms as well as a handful of special edition versions released since then.
The playability of battle function has been expanded by offering multiplayer tag-team style combat. Players select and create a team of 3 fighters. They are controlled one at a time but have backup assist moves available from the other two members on demand. This creates a potential for a large amount of creative combos with tag-team style action. The battle is not over until every member of the team has been defeated.
Special moves and techniques can be executed and acquired such as the Ki Charge, Vanish Attack, Super Dash and Dragon Rush. Take all of this and add special screen endings that can happen at the conclusion of a fight. These occur only when certain conditions are met which unlock them from the game. This includes the combination of characters as well as what stage they are on etc.
Dragon Ball FighterZ has won and been nominated for several awards and has sold over 4 million copies worldwide. Some of the most positive of its reviews have proclaimed it “One of the best fighting games in years”.
Super Dragon Ball Heroes World Mission
Popular Japanese-style card game meets Dragon Ball Z in this arcade trading card game by Bandai Namco. Released as “Dragon Ball Heroes” several years earlier, in 2019 fans finally got an upgraded version on Nintendo Switch. The game itself has received numerous anime and manga adaptations.
Super Dragon Ball Heroes World Mission offers players a choice of eight different races as well as being able to choose the characters battle virtue such as hero, elite or berserker. New Dragon Balls can be collected apart from the standard seven. These include: Ultimate Dragon Balls, Namekian Dragon Balls, Dark Dragon Balls and Super Dragon Balls.
The Nintendo Switch version combines over 350 characters and more than 1000 cards. All characters and cards from the first eight Super Dragon Ball Heroes arcade games as well as the first two versions of Super Dragon Ball Heroes: Universe Mission were included in this version.
Each player uses an IC hero license card in addition to a 7 card hand to create their own avatar seeking to become the world champion of Super Dragon Ball Heroes. Usually played by single players it offers a multi-player mode of up to 6 players. The game is playable online or offline.
Differing vastly from the other fighting-game style Dragon Ball Z titles available up until its release on Nintendo Switch, Super Dragon Ball Heroes World Mission is a tactical card game requiring complex strategies and a story rooted in the Dragon Ball Z multiverse. Its predecessor Dragon Ball Z Heroes was deemed the number one digital card game and has sold over 500 million copies.