In the absence of an anime season, it’s no surprise to hear that Dragon Ball fans have been busy. The enormous fandom has been working on everything from fan art and animations to cosplay and an impressive traditional action game in the form of Hyper Dragon Ball Z. However, there’s a small corner of the community that’s been hard at work on something that looks more untie. Dragon Ball: Demon Breaker is a 3D hack-and-slash game planned to release this year, and it’s been turning some heads.
Developed by the Saiya-Slash team and ATLAS studios, this Devil May Cry-inspired game revolves around the half-saiyan swordsman Trunks. Specifically, this is the future Trunks who has joined the Time Police, a force that features prominently in the Dragon Ball expanded universe. They oppose the demonic forces of the Time Breaker Organization, a group Dragon Ball Xenoverse and Dragon Ball Heroes fans should be intimately familiar with. This is a fine setup for any Dragon Ball game — it’s already been used for Xenoverse, just with a custom player character thrown in the mix — but how does Demon Breaker differentiate itself?
NOTE: It's also important to state that this is a free, non-profit fan project that does NOT accept donations of any kind. Further, it is not affiliated or associated with Bandai Namco, Shueisha, or any Dragon Ball IP owners in any way.
Show Me Everything You’ve Got!
The key difference that separates Dragon Ball: Demon Breaker from an average Dragon Ball game is the focus on combat. That sounds strange in a Dragon Ball context, but it's within the realm of a classic, DMC-like action game, something DBZ hasn't really touched. Trunks has access to two different styles of combat: his fists and his sword. These can be further augmented through his more offensive Super Saiyan form, and, according to the trailer released at the end of last November, his Super Saiyan God form. In that form, Trunks is able to wield the legendary Keysword from the non-canon Super Dragon Ball Heroes manga.
A variety of options are available to players, including launchers, different signature moves, and three different types of ki blasts. These are all meant to increase the number of options the player has while fighting enemies, who, thus far, have only been shown using a couple attacks. It is likely that more types of enemies will be added between the demo and the full launch. One particularly major difference between Demon Breaker and the rest of the Dragon Ball franchise is the absence of flight; outside of Super Saiyan God form, Trunks can only glide in the air while shooting ki blasts and super dash for short distances. This is to encourage Devil May Cry-like combat using ground and aerial combos, rather than enable the near-constant flight other games have.
Rounding out the mechanics is a set of assists in the form of series protagonists Goku and Vegeta. While they likely won’t be playable due to the dev focusing on keeping the scope small, they can transform alongside Trunks and provide a variety of ranged and melee options to keep enemies occupied. Players will learn to appreciate this, as the full game is intended to include a 40-wave survival mode called Saiyan Palace. Harkening back to Devil May Cry’s Bloody Palace, this is intended to be Demon Breaker’s main attraction. A story mode was in consideration, but was officially cut during a January informational video to ensure the small team could provide as polished an experience as possible.
Dragon Ball: Demon Breaker is planned to release some time this summer, though that date is subject to change. Fortunately, a miniature demo is planned for March, so those following the game will still get a chance to play it soon. Updates on the demo’s release date and the game’s development have been steadily releasing on the game’s Twitter account @ProjectTht and Saiya-Slash Team’s YouTube channel. There are plenty of reasons to get excited for this project, and hopefully, it will inspire video game rights holder Bandai Namco to explore more avenues in the future. Fans certainly wouldn't complain about some new, maybe even better Dragon Ball games.
Dragon Ball: Demon Breaker is a fan project currently in development.