Licensed anime games have entered an experimental period. The past few years have seen the space diversify with titles like a Black Clover arena shooter, Naruto to Boruto: Shinobi Striker with an unusual MOBA format, and Dragon Ball Xenoverse fully integrating RPG and arena-fighter mechanics. Now, a JoJo's Bizarre Adventure battle royale hit arcades in Japan, One Piece is getting a turn-based RPG, and Dragon Ball is receiving an asymmetric multiplayer game called Dragon Ball: The Breakers. After arena fighters dominating the anime game space for decades, it seems license holders and developers have finally begun pushing for a change.
There is no other licensed anime game like Dragon Ball: The Breakers. The game is capitalizing on Dead by Daylight’s team-versus-killer approach, with seven Survivors fighting against one Raider in the form of an iconic Dragon Ball villain. Given the Survivors are mostly normal humans, Dragon Ball: The Breakers will host less fighting than most Dragon Ball products. Even so, the player-made Survivors have a lot of tricks up their sleeves to repel and escape the Raiders.
The Survivors' Goals
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As is common for a Dragon Ball game, the setup for Dragon Ball: The Breakers involves the series' convoluted timeline, but it's a simple premise fit for a game that's light on story. Temporal fluctuations have created a mysterious phenomenon called the Temporal Seam, and major Dragon Ball villains are wreaking havoc in this paradoxical space. Many regular civilians have been transported to this nightmarish world, and the player controls regiments of them trying to escape.
At its core, the goal of the Survivor team is to escape the Raider’s wrath and leave the Seam using the Super Time Machine. Survivors must find and set a group of power keys while staying away from the Raider. After that, they must defend the Super Time Machine in the center of the map as it boots up. With the Raider attacking Survivors, the Time Machine, and even entire sections of the map, this is easier said than done.
Fortunately, even if the Super Time Machine is destroyed, there is still one final chance to escape. Beacons on the map allow Survivors to spawn a single time machine, but it will be up to a given player's discretion if they want to take this easy out or strive for a team victory.
How The Survivors Can Eke Out a Win
Surviving Dragon Ball: The Breakers is difficult with a steadily strengthening Raider flying around the map, destroying everything in sight. However, with teamwork and resourcefulness, the Survivors can pull through. Having seven allied players instead of the usual five is useful, and for all the abilities that Raiders’ different forms can use, Survivors have even more. Survivors have access to skills that help them do everything from move around the map quickly with Saiyan Pods to Oolong's ability to change into inanimate objects. Combined with a grappling hook and whatever weapons or vehicles are lying around, the Survivors can defend themselves a lot better than one might think.
That goes double for characters using Dragon Change. After collecting enough Change Power, players can gain the power of Dragon Ball heroes including Krillin, Piccolo, Vegeta, and Goku. These are temporary measures that likely won't be enough to deplete the Raider’s massive health bar, but they could be used as effective distractions. Furthermore, gathering the seven Dragon Balls and placing them on an altar can summon Shenron to grant a wish. Various wishes can benefit the team, but a confident Survivor can also wish for Ultimate Dragon Change that essentially makes them a Z-Warrior with the power of a fully leveled Raider. However, players will need to think carefully about whether it will help or waste resources. In this high-stakes take on Dragon Ball fighting, Survivors need to rely on wits over power to win the day.
Dragon Ball: The Breakers will launch on October 14 for PC, PS4, Switch, and Xbox One.