The Dragon Ball universe has featured a large number of games in recent months, but until now, we hadn’t seen the saga enter the MOBA realm. With the release of Dragon Ball: Gekishin Squadra, this changes, providing the gaming community with the great news of being able to access the game in a free-to-play format. In this way, Bandai Namco Entertainment seeks to avoid the problem suffered by Dragon Ball: The Breakers, a game that has lacked community support due to not being distributed for free.
Dragon Ball: Gekishin Squadra is developed by Ganbarion, a Japanese company founded on August 13, 1999, which has actively collaborated with Bandai Namco for decades. Although they work independently, their day-to-day work is linked to the Dragon Ball company, having been responsible for creating some of the best games not only in the Goku saga, but also in franchises like One Piece. Thus, his track record includes titles such as Jump Super Stars, Dragon Ball Fusions, and even works for Nintendo such as Pandora’s Tower.
With this new Dragon Ball game, they’ve changed tactics and demonstrated that they know how to adapt to market demands, opting for a MOBA that meets all the requirements for a solid game. As we’ve just told you, although Dragon Ball: Gekishin Squadra isn’t intended to be the definitive MOBA, it delivers what it offers with solidity and good results.
Gameplay
If you’re familiar with League of Legends, you’ll already know what’s going on, and if you’ve never played LoL, you don’t have to worry either. One of the reasons for this is that Dragon Ball: Gekishin Squadra has been created to be enjoyed by all types of users, regardless of whether you have more or less experience with the MOBA genre. Both experts and beginners will have a great time. A good example of this is that the game has in-game help guides that, although they are deactivated after the tutorial period, can be easily reactivated for those who need them.
Starting from the very beginning, Dragon Ball: Gekishin Squadra offers a 4-on-4 online battle system where the objective is to steal the Dragon Ball from the opposing team. To do so, players must defend their god-territories while advancing, gaining ground in the opposing team’s field and completing scenario missions.
Characters are divided into three classes: damage, tank, or technical, depending on their characteristics, skills, and strengths. The game encourages you to try out the different classes to complete missions, so you’ll soon be able to try them all. However, it’s important to note that at the beginning of the game, only some characters will be available, as Goku, Vegeta and Piccolo. From then on, you can unlock more fighters through gameplay, both with micropayments and without spending any money. In this regard, it’s worth noting that progression is very well-tuned, making completing missions and unlocking content a great experience. Furthermore, you can acquire not only fighters, but also assistants and customization items.
In terms of gameplay, Dragon Ball: Gekishin Squadra strictly follows the essence of the most classic MOBAs, and that contributes to a formula that works. Of course, it has the same drawback as other games in the genre: finding allies who play well. Because this is a team game, it’s essential that the four players collaborate, divide the workload across the two lines of play, and be able to respond to the needs of the game at any given moment. For beginners, the good news is that the community is quite respectful and allows beginners to acclimatize to the pace of the game in their own style. However, as the level of the matches and the matchmaking increases, you can see that the challenge grows in proportion to the tension that can be experienced in the matches.
Having tested the game on both iOS and PlayStation 5, we can say that the experience is rewarding and that, if you’re looking for a Dragon Ball MOBA, it will be an ideal choice. The combats can be a bit chaotic, but that’s the essence of the genre and what will make you enjoy matches full of excitement and special attacks.
Graphics
The visual representation of the Dragon Ball universe is more than adequate, with the bright colors of the anime predominating and creating a nice experience for fans. The animations are satisfactory and represent the different moves from the series well, and even with the sprites’ small size, it’s easy to see the animations and enjoy the fights.
The stages aren’t particularly large, which helps create a good gameplay dynamic thanks to the characters’ fluid movement flying, but the most beneficial aspect is the small visual details in each stage. Both the secondary characters and enemies and other creatures that appear do so with all the characteristic essence of Dragon Ball. Added to this is the inclusion of small animations for special moves or for the finishing moves the fighters perform when finishing off their opponents in various short bursts. Everything is very fluid, and since it’s in the side, it’s not a problem for viewing.
The only drawback we could mention about the visuals of Dragon Ball: Gekishin Squadra is that the interface menus could be a little clearer. While it’s not always easy to fit so many options on screen, sometimes it can be a bit complicated to know where each of the available game types or menus is located. In battles, the interface is comfortable in both versions we tested, although playing with a controller seemed to be a superior experience.
For more fluid navigation through the menus, the console version would benefit from being able to use a pointer across the screen instead of using button combinations to open menus.
Music & Sound
The development team hasn’t taken any risks and has gone all out with the sound. The soundtrack is lively and has that characteristic Dragon Ball touch that all fans will love. The songs remain in the background, but they add a heroic and epic touch that encourages successful combat.
The voices are in Japanese, and the text is customizable in all languages. Featuring the work of the original actors from the series, users will encounter the usual Dragon Ball shouts and phrases, so, in that sense, the work is very faithful.
Conclusion
As a MOBA, Dragon Ball: Gekishin Squadra is a refreshing offering that follows the foundations of the genre, but introduces some unique features. For example, we liked that the characters move quickly through the environments and that, by flying, they can cover great distances in a short time. This makes chases moments filled with tension.
It’s also appreciated that, despite being a MOBA, the option to play by constantly mashing buttons is maintained. Players can choose to strategically press buttons to launch attacks, calculate damage zones, and play more technically, but they can also rush into battle by pressing techniques and the basic attack button. This makes the essence of Dragon Ball more present than ever and helps make the matches somewhat unpredictable.
As a good online game, we’ll have to see how Dragon Ball: Gekishin Squadra progresses and what its status will be in a year, both in terms of the community and in terms of events and content. But, for now, the game looks good and is highly recommended.
