The charm of pixelated animation

The devotion that Arc System Works professes to the work of Akira Toriyama goes back a long way: long before we blew our heads with Dragon Ball FighterZ, those of Yokohama dared to bring the tremendous battles of Goku and company to the Nintendo laptops with the two deliveries of Supersonic Warriors and, after a long period of time, Dragon Ball Z: Extreme Butoden, a fighting game that, in addition to continuing the legacy of the Butoden saga, brought out the best of the creators of Guilty Gear.

DBZ: Extreme Butoden is first and foremost a fighting game in its own right in which its simplified commands or autocombos do not detract from the collision of saiyans, earthlings, androids, and space creatures.

An experience that molds itself to offer the player individual or team battles and has been tailor-made for the Nintendo 3DS. With the good and the not so good that that supposes.

Because Arc System Works knew how to take the premise to its terrain, combining sprites elaborated with a great taste with three-dimensional scenarios. Seeing his career with Blazblue, Persona 4 Arena or the aforementioned Guilty Gear, they were in his sauce.

And yet, instead of leaving their mark or sweeping at home, they turned completely to update and continue the legacy of the Butoden saga, entrenched by TOSE and Bandai since the times of the 16 bits. And they did the sea of good at the best possible time.

After all, DBZ: Extreme Butoden arrived in a very sweet 2015 for Dragon Ball and its fans:

• In February 2015, Dragon Ball Xenoverse arrived, an entrance through the Trunks Time Patrol's large door on consoles.
• In April of that same year, the feature film DBZ: The Resurrection of F was released, breaking the Japanese box office.
• And, to top off an exceptional year, the first episode of Dragon Ball Super premiered in June, the animated continuation of the manga with Toriyama himself involved in the project.

An alignment of stars that made Arc System Works' fight proposal even more irresistible. But best of all, they knew how to take advantage of that golden opportunity, giving fans an exceptional Butoden, with a huge number of fighters and assistants and a triple serving of fanservice.

It doesn't matter if you played the classic SNOD Butoden, delivered Kamehamehas on 32-bit systems, or discovered Toriyama's Dragon World through the Budokai series: Extreme Butoden borrows the key elements of each, from very specific animations to whole modes, and ties them to the same solid and well-assembled experience.

All things considered, the Butoden from SNES and Mega Drive were largely the foundation for most 2D fighting experiences starring Goku and company, including the most recent ones. But it is also possible to see generous brushstrokes of DBZ: Hyper Dimensions in giving character and identity to each selectable character.

And yes, the energy collisions caused by an intense competition of buttoning say present.

In addition, and as in DBZ: Ultímate Battle 22, Extreme Butoden makes use of elaborate 2D fighters who operate in polygonal scenarios. Logically, with a much higher level of detail (which does not have a special merit) and even a curious scaling system depending on what happens on the screen much more successful.

Of course, our Z Warriors move on screen with much more fluidity. Even more than that of Saturn's Shin Butoden.

As in Bandai's titles for 32-bit systems, Extreme Butoden has its own animated opening, and yes, like Final Bout, it scrapped the idea of two game planes (traditionally air and ground) although it's possible throw our enemy at a great distance and even throw him into the air with a strong shot after a combo.

Having said that, one of the key elements of Extreme Butoden is the way to execute the Super Specials and the Meteor Attacks: we will have to hit a chain of blows that are executed in a way very similar to that of the DBZ: Budokai. What's more, Arc System Works took advantage of adding to the formula assaults, awakenings (sparkings) and an evasion system that adds an important tactical factor to the set.

With that ahead, those from Yokohama also added something of their own to this successful combination of elements. Or rather, from their Supersonic Warriors titles: taking advantage of the 3DS touch screen we can run relays or request reinforcements from a huge number of attendees at any time during the game.

¿What about playable options? Extreme Butoden offers everything and in no way falters in its own:

• There is a Story Z mode that faithfully reviews all the events from the Saiyans saga to the battle of the planet Kaioshin with intermediate dialogues and illustrations created for the occasion.
• In addition, the Adventure mode goes one step further, offering us the classic map with squares inspired by all the stages of Dragon Ball in which we will have to pass tons of themed tests. And not only that, we will also be scored and we will be able to use and acquire items that will enhance our capabilities.
• If we want to fight freely we have an Extreme World Tournament mode, a free Combat mode and a much-needed Versus that, after launch, added online multiplayer.
• And if all of the above wasn't enough, Extreme Butoden is StreetPass compatible, includes a character gallery, and even offers a combat log.

Perhaps Dragon Ball Z: Extreme Butoden is not the best fighting game based on Dragon Ball, but it knew how to condense Goku's previous legacy in that field, innovate and establish the bases of what is, in its own right, one of the most successful titles. within the entire genre.

Putting all the meat on the grill in terms of possibilities and, most importantly, offering an inexhaustible amount of fanservice capable of satisfying the infinite appetite of Toriyama Saiyans fans.