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Dragon Ball: Raging Blast (ドラゴンボール レイジングブラスト, Doragon Bōru Reijingu Burasuto) is a 2009 video game released for the Xbox 360 and the PlayStation 3 consoles developed by Spike and published by Bandai Namco.

It is the second Dragon Ball game on the high definition seventh generation of consoles, as well as the third Dragon Ball game released on Microsoft's Xbox brand. A Limited Edition was released, however it is exclusive to Europe and Australia. Its sequel is Dragon Ball: Raging Blast 2.

Overview

RB gameplay basic

An in-game screen-shot of the fighting gameplay. The border around the each character's profile portrait are the health and ki meters. The green bars are health and the yellow bars are ki

Dragon Ball: Raging Blast was first mentioned in Bandai Namco'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.[1] 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 Budokai Tenkaichi series, polished character models, and revealed the official title.

On October 22, 2009, a demo was released on Xbox Live, however only in the United States.[2] The PlayStation Network Demo was released later that day as well, also only available in the United States. In the following week, the demo was available as well in the European region. The demo features three characters to choose from: Goku (Base, Super Saiyan), Piccolo, and Raditz. Each character has two costumes to choose from and the playable stage is "Plains".

The game is one of the first games in the Dragon Ball franchise to be published by Bandai Namco in North America, as the company would acquire the gaming license from previous license holder Atari in July of that same year. Free downloadable content packs were revealed shortly after release and were released until April 2010. As of now, they have all been released and are available for download.

Gameplay

Dragon Ball: Raging Blast features high definition graphics and audio, fully destructible environments, and advanced character features. Characters now have features such as facial expressions. Battle-damage has returned, and characters appear with damaged clothing as well as scratches and bruises after a large amount of health is lost. Players can now also utilize a new feature called "Super Rising", which allows players to quickly fly upwards throughout large-scale battle stages. Players can also fight together, freely switching between each other and assisting one another with supporting actions. Players can customize characters using item and Super Attack customization. "D-Points" can also be earned to unlock abilities and items. The game will feature 60 fps (frames per second), both online and off. There are ten stages to battle on, all of which are far larger than those of the Budokai Tenkaichi games . An environmental "sky change" effect is in the game, which occurs when a character of great power apparently powers up. "Ultimate Attack" cut scenes are also featured.

New features

Vegeta traps Goku, Raging Blast

Vegeta traps Goku in a mountain utilizing the new environmental feature where players can trap enemies into landmasses and then inflict further damage

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.[3] The capsule system from previous games also returned, allowing players to customize their characters.

Cancel System

This game features a feature called "The Cancel". Like the Budokai series this game has a feature where you cancel out of animations to do attacks, but it's not quite the same. Some basic cancels are canceling into melee and into Super/Ultimate Attacks. Each character has their own cancels that are different from most characters. The game itself does not tell you the cancels, as you must find them yourself.

Game Modes

The story mode of Dragon Ball: Raging Blast is called Dragon Battle Collection. Players can play through the original events of the Dragon Ball Z story, but their actions in battle can change the story in many different ways, with many different tasks available to try in the story mode, such as "Do not get hit by a Super Attack", which gives the player more points to unlock additional content such as costumes, music, and additional story mode battles. Over 100 "Battle Frames" can be selected at any time, regardless of chronological order to which they appear in the series. Each Battle Frame is usually shown with an inconic moment in the battle itself. 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, and completing all of them will unlock a special ending. 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.[4] Split-screen multiplayer is also featured for the game.

Characters

Name Playable Transformations Available at Start
Android #16 Yes
Android #17 No
Android #18 No
Android #19 Yes
Android #20 Yes
Bardock No
Broly
  • Base
  • Super Saiyan
  • Legendary Super Saiyan
No
Broly (Super Saiyan 3) No
Burter Yes
Captain Ginyu Yes
Cell
  • Imperfect Form
  • Semi-perfect Form
  • Perfect Form
  • Super Perfect Form
Yes
Chiaotzu Yes
Dodoria Yes
Frieza
  • First form
  • Second form
  • Third form
  • Final form
  • 100% final form
Yes
Gogeta
  • Super Saiyan
No
Gohan Yes
Goku Yes
Goten
  • Base
  • Super Saiyan
No
Gotenks
  • Base
  • Super Saiyan
  • Super Saiyan 3
Yes
Guldo Yes
Jeice Yes
Kid Buu No
Kid Gohan Yes
Kid Trunks
  • Base
  • Super Saiyan
Yes
Krillin Yes
Majin Buu Yes
Nappa Yes
Piccolo Yes
Raditz Yes
Recoome Yes
Super Buu
  • Base
  • Gotenks absorbed
  • Gohan absorbed
Yes
Teen Gohan
  • Base
  • Super Saiyan
  • Super Saiyan 2
Yes
Tien Yes
Trunks (Sword)
  • Base
  • Super Saiyan
No
Trunks
  • Base
  • Super Saiyan
  • Super Trunks
No
Vegeta
  • Base
  • Super Saiyan
  • Super Vegeta
  • Super Saiyan 2
Yes
Majin Vegeta No
Vegeta (Scouter) Yes
Vegeta (Super Saiyan 3) Yes
Vegito
  • Base
  • Super Saiyan
No
Videl No
Yamcha Yes
Zarbon
  • Base
  • Monster
Yes

Battle Stages

Raging blast screen

Title screen

Versions

Raging blast le contents

The European and Australian Limited Edition bundle, showcased with the PlayStation 3 version.

A Limited Edition was released exclusively for Europe and Australia, reasons for never releasing in North America or Japan were never specified. GameStop and EBGames offered "bonus" for those who pre-order the game from their stores. The "Raging Blast Special Pack" contained customized Goku, Vegeta, Gohan, Piccolo, Trunks and Gotenks in-game characters, as well as the ability to immediately play as Super Saiyan 3 Broly, one of the unlockable characters in the game.[5] GameStop and EBgames Australia also offered a pre-order "bonus" for those who pre-order the game for their stores. The pre-order pack is DLC (downloadable content) and contains "Unique character key effects and powerful abilities for: Gohan (teen), Super Saiyan Gohan (teen), Super Saiyan 2 Gohan (teen) and Piccolo.[6]

Downloadable Content

On November 25, 2009, Bandai Namco announced a series of free series of downloadable content that will release biweekly. Each pack will include customized versions of popular characters, each with different powered-up abilities, which can be used in versus battles in the game.

• Nov. 24, 2009 (PlayStation Network): Warriors on Earth Pack – Krillin, Yamcha, Tien and Chiaotzu

• Nov. 26, 2009 (Xbox LIVE Marketplace): Warriors on Earth Pack – Krillin, Yamcha, Tien and Chiaotzu

• Dec. 10, 2009: Alien Warriors Pack – Vegeta (Scouter), Raditz, Nappa, Zarbon and Dodoria

• Dec. 22, 2009 (PlayStation Network): Ginyu Force Pack – Captain Ginyu, Recoome, Burter, Jeice and Guldo

• Dec. 24, 2009 (Xbox LIVE Marketplace): Ginyu Force Pack – Captain Ginyu, Recoome, Burter, Jeice and Guldo

• Jan. 7, 2010: Androids Pack – Android #16, Android #17, Android #18, Android #19 and Dr. Gero

• Jan. 21, 2010: Warriors of Justice Pack – Kid Gohan, Gohan, Kid Trunks, Goten and Videl

• Feb. 4, 2010: Revived Warriors Pack – Majin Buu, Kid Buu, Broly, Super Gogeta and Super Saiyan 3 Broly

• Feb. 18, 2010: Saiyans Pack – Majin Vegeta, Trunks (Fighting Teen), Vegito, Bardock and Super Saiyan 3 Vegeta

• March 4, 2010: Ultimate Warriors Pack 1 – Goku, Teen Gohan, Piccolo, Bardock and Super Gogeta

• March 18, 2010: Ultimate Warriors Pack 2 – Majin Vegeta, Frieza, Android #17, Android #18 and Cell

• April 1, 2010: Ultimate Warriors Pack 3 – Vegeta (Scouter), Vegeta, Trunks (Sword), Vegito and Super Saiyan 3 Vegeta

• April 15, 2010: Ultimate Warriors Pack 4 – Majin Buu, Super Buu, Kid Buu, Broly and Super Saiyan 3 Broly

Reception

Publication Score
IGN 6.2 of 10
GameSpot 6.0 of 10
Gamezone 6.0 of 10
Game Trailers 6.6 of 10
Review compilations (PS3 Version)
Game Rankings 61.5% (based on 17 reviews)
Metacritic 57% (based on 26 reviews)
Review compilations (Xbox 360 Version)
Game Rankings 57.9% (based on 22 reviews)
Metacritic 56% (based on 29 reviews)

Dragon Ball: Raging Blast was met with generally mixed reviews from game critics. IGN stated "Sure, there's lots of content, but the stories are poorly told (which alienates people who don't already know them) and the gameplay mechanics have numerous, numerous problems." It gave both versions of the game a 62/100.[7]

GameSpot gave the game a 60/100 and stated "The huge assortment of characters, stories, costumes, and other aspects of Dragon Ball lore cannot hide how shallow and uninspired the fighting mechanics are."[8]

GameDaily reviewed the game as a 50/100, and noted that "While Raging Blast has a likable presentation and lots of options, the stale fighting and infuriating camera are hard to ignore."[9]

TeamXbox awarded the Xbox 360 version of Raging Blast with a 74/100 and stated, "While the game’s got plenty of flaws that will bruise the experience for the average gamer, fans will likely look past the technical issues and enjoy reliving the series again…at least long enough for the next inevitable Dragon Ball game to come along."[10]

PlayStation: The Official Magazine (US) awarded the PS3 version of Raging Blast a 60/100 and stated "So, baring the possible glory or failure of Raging Blast's online mode, this is a rather predictable entry in the tale of Goku and Gohan."

The game had sold 700,000 copies across Japan, Europe and the United States by March 2010.[11]

Trivia

  • Even though Raging Blast revolves only around Dragon Ball Z, it is called "Dragon Ball: Raging Blast" and not "Dragon Ball Z: Raging Blast". This is in contrast to other Dragon Ball Z games, especially those with "Dragon Ball Z" in their title but with characters from all spectrums of the Dragon Ball universe (the preceding Budokai Tenkaichi series being a prime example).
  • This is the second game to be exclusively released on the high definition next-gen consoles, the first being Dragon Ball Z: Burst Limit in 2008.
  • On August 19, 2009, a Super Saiyan 3 version of Broly was shockingly revealed as one of the two bonus characters in the game. A Super Saiyan 3 version of Vegeta would follow suit as the second shocking bonus character on October 8.
  • DLC is available for both versions of the game, making this the first Dragon Ball game to receive any downloadable content.[12][13]
  • Super Saiyan 3 Broly and Vegeta were both said to be game exclusive characters. However their first appearances were in the Japanese-only arcade game Dragon Ball Z: Dragon Battlers, released in Spring 2009.[14]
  • In two Japanese commercials for Raging Blast, the commentator mistakenly says "Dragon Ball: Raising Flast" in English.
  • For reasons unknown, Gohan does not have his Ultimate form, even though Super Buu has his Gohan absorbed state. However, Ultimate Gohan is briefly seen during Super Buu's transformation into his Gohan absorbed state, although his face is not shown.
  • In an early trailer, Broly was stated as "Legendary Super Saiyan 3", but for unknown reasons, this name was simply changed to "Super Saiyan 3."
  • This was the last Dragon Ball game to feature Daisuke Gōri's voice acting in the Japanese voices before the voice actor's tragic death.
  • It is stated that Future Trunks did receive his sword from Tapion. This is the second such claim in official media.
  • There is 1 ultimate attack in this game that can be changed with different items, this move is the Spirit Bomb used by Goku in his base form. The different forms are Spirit Bomb, Large Spirit Bomb and the Super Spirit Bomb.
  • This is the last Dragon Ball game to use the original FUNimation DBZ cast. All the games released after this one use the Dragon Ball Z Kai voice cast instead.
  • Some of Raging Blast's cutscenes were recycled in Dragon Ball Z: Ultimate Tenkaichi, with the old voices and new voices of certain characters swapping around randomly.
  • While wearing his regular costume, Goku's hair as a Super Saiyan is exactly the same as his hair in his Super Saiyan 2 form. While in his alternate costumes, Goku's hair as a Super Saiyan has its proper design. This is the same for the game's sequel.

Gallery

Scans

Screenshots

Characters

References

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