Dragon Ball FighterZ released recently to critical acclaim and commercial success. Easily becoming one of the best fighting games of this generation. Thanks to incredible visuals, simple to learn combat mechanics, and high-speed combat Dragon Ball FighterZ creating an excellent adaption of the popular Dragon Ball franchise. However, compared to other notorious fighting games how does it hold up. Does Dragon Ball FighterZ have what did take to surpass the latest installment in the Street Fighter franchise?

1 Whole Story or 3 Perspectives of a Single Adventure

Both games provide an adequate story for their fanbase. Each adventure offers canon event that helps push their series forward with Dragon Ball FighterZ added a new character and Street Fighter V provides insight into the events between Street Fighter IV and Street Fighter III. Neither game's story tries to cater to those outside their fanbase.

Each game provides an excellent array of character animations, dialogue for both English and Japanese voices, and a story worth experiencing. Street Fighter V's story campaign is more engaging than Dragon Ball FighterZ's since much of FighterZ's story focuses on repetitive battles between clones enemies. Street Fighter V's provides a much more varied cast of opponents over the course of several locations.

The story of Street Fighter V is much more direct. In Dragon Ball FighterZ you're told the same story from the perspective of 3 different story arcs. While this offers more context to what happened during events specific characters were not part of, it also creates more repetition. Street Fighter V constantly introduces new plot points that further the story as a whole.

Winner: Street Fighter V: Arcade Edition

How to Fight

You'll spend the entire game fighting in both of these games and fortunately, Arc System Works provides a system a more beginner friendly system than Street Fighter V. Auto combos are at the center of Dragon Ball FighterZ, allowing newcomers to easily grasp the basics mechanics of the game while attempting to learn the more advanced tactics. The best addition being that every character in Dragon Ball FighterZ shares a similar command list.

By learning the move list of one character you can play as any other character in Dragon Ball FighterZ. This doesn't mean every warrior in Dragon Ball FighterZ plays the same, each one has their own unique set of moves and tactics that require adequate training to fully understand. This system makes the learning curve much easier to grasp thanks to the simple execution of high-powered attacks to boost the morale of players. Despite this veteran fighting gamers can easily anticipate and counter novices who rely on the auto-combo system too heavily. Giving a surprisingly equal playing field for both experts and casual players.

Street Fighter V does offer a robust tutorial to give players a basic understanding the systems at hand but still require much more memorizing to perform the more desired attacks. Unlike Dragon Ball FighterZ executing high-power attacks will require training with each individual character since move lists are unique. Fighting games can be very intimidating and Dragon Ball FighterZ provides a more much welcoming atmosphere than Street Fighter V.

Winner: Dragon Ball FighterZ

Welcome to the Virtual World

Most of us will spend a significant amount of time within the online section of both Dragon Ball FighterZ and Street Fighter V. Both provide a variant selection of modes for casual and ranked matches, allowing players to fight others based on their desired skill level. However, Dragon Ball FighterZ gives a lot more in terms of unlocks.

All the fighters, including SSGSS Goku and Vegeta, can be unlocked with relative ease. Simply complete the campaign to unlock Android 21 and play enough matches to purchase Goku and Vegeta's Super Saiyan Blue forms. Other unlockables are earned through loot boxes and given out pretty generously without a way to purchase them using real-world currency. Street Fighter V is a different story.

In Dragon Ball FighterZ all future characters must be purchased, either separately or through the season pass. In Street Fighter V these DLC characters can be obtained by earning enough Fight Money, the game's currency, or by purchasing them. This may seem like a positive system, the ability to purchase DLC characters by earning premium currency within the game, however, it's the opposite. The absurd grind needed to earn enough Fight Money for 1 DLC character, which cost 100,000 Fight Money or $6.

The modes that offered one-time batches of Fight Money were discontinued. Instead, players earn Fight Money through experience points gained from playing, online matches, and recurring Missions. In the end, simply purchasing the character seems like a much easier route unless you play the game for days. Turning the experience into an endless grind.

Winner: Dragon Ball FighterZ

Winner: Dragon Ball FighterZ

Dragon Ball FighterZ's welcoming combat system, diverse cast of characters, and straightforward system provides a well-rounded fighting experience. The array of characters coupled with the shared move commands allows players to quickly understand and experiment with each of the 26 characters available. Whether you're a season fighting gamer or a newcomer Dragon Ball FighterZ provides an environment that caters to all.

Adam Siddiqui, NoobFeed
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