Dragon Ball Z: Burst Limit (ドラゴンボールZ バーストリミット, Doragon Bōru Zetto Bāsuto Rimitto) is a fighting video game based on the popular anime/manga series Dragon Ball Z, released for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 consoles. It was announced in the Shonen Jump magazine on December 12, 2007, and released in Europe and Japan on June 6, 2008. It was released in the United States on June 10, 2008.
Story Mode
Super Saiyan Goku, after seeing his best friend Krillin getting killed by Frieza
The game's story mode charts the Z Fighters from the beginning of the Saiyan Saga to the end of the Cell Saga, allowing players to take control of the character who won that particular fight. For example, against Raditz, you take control of Goku, however if Cell were to have won a fight in the TV show, you would take control of Cell. In addition, there are two "what-if" storylines where the player takes control of Bardock and Broly in a story that describe what would happen if they were to come to Earth.
Gameplay
Goku and Vegeta fight in the game
The gameplay of Burst Limit is very similar to the other Budokai games; basic kicks, punches and combos are available, along with the "Ki Blast" button and a direction leading to a more powerful version of that attack, for example a Kamehameha or Destructo Disk. The game makes use of a multiple health bar system, with each character having a maximum (determined in the game options) of six health "blocks" that are worn down until the character reaches zero, when they are knocked out.
It also makes use of a "Fatigue meter" - blocking and certain attacks use up fatigue and when this reaches zero, the character is stunned for a few moments while he or she recovers - and the "Ki meter", which is a gradually regenerating bar that provides power for larger energy attacks, transformations, "powering up" and the game's finishing moves, "ultimate" attacks. In order to transform, you press down on R1 (in the PlayStation 3 version) or RB (in the Xbox 360 version).
The game utilizes in fight cutscenes or "drama scenes" in order to make it as true to the anime as possible - for example, if a character is attacked with an energy beam, in some situations it may switch to a cutscene to depict the character deflecting the energy beam and taking no damage, or another character jumping in the way. These Drama Scenes are activated once the fight reaches certain parameters, for example the character is down to 30% health, the fatigue bar is completely filled, or the player's character has just reached his final form.
Any character in the roster can also be picked as a "support" character - support characters are available in every fight and may be activated in a similar way to drama scenes. A cutscene will begin and the character will be shown deflecting an energy blast, kicking the opponent or standing in the way of an attack in order to defend the player, transferring itself to affect the battle in a number of ways, such as enhanced ki regeneration, damage down or fatigue down. The game then returns to normal gameplay.
Characters
The game has 21 playable characters available. Several characters have transformations into Super Saiyan or other powerful forms. The following characters (and their transformations) are available in Burst Limit:
- Goku (Base, Kaio-ken, Super Saiyan)
- Kid Gohan (Base, Unlock Potential)
- Teen Gohan (Base, Super Saiyan, Super Saiyan 2)
- Piccolo (Base, Fusion with Nail, Fusion with Kami)
- Vegeta (Base, Super Saiyan, Super Vegeta)
- Future Trunks (Base, Super Saiyan, Super Trunks)
- Frieza (Base, 2nd Form, 3rd Form, Final Form, 100% Final form)
- Cell (Base, Semi-Perfect Form, Perfect Form, Super Perfect Form)
- Krillin (Base, Unlock Potential)
- Tien Shinhan
- Yamcha
- Android 16
- Android 17
- Android 18
- Saibaman
- Captain Ginyu
- Recoome
- Raditz
- Nappa
- Bardock
- Broly (Legendary Super Saiyan)
Reception and sales
Dragon Ball Z: Burst Limit received generally positive reviews. IGN gave the game a 7.9/10, commenting that "Dragon Ball Z: Burst Limit is a strong fighting game, with combat mechanics that are both simple and deep. There are some issues in terms of variety, however, with a limited number of stages and characters that are fairly similar to one another."
GameTrailers gave the game a 8.2/10 and said that "Drama pieces are a nice touch but can sometimes burden the action." and "Burst Limit should no doubt please fans of the show, thanks to a large cast of characters, a fleshed-out story mode and all the special attacks fireworks you'd expect."
Following its initial release, the PS3 port became the top selling game in Japan for a total of three months. Beating out its Xbox 360 counterpart, which came in at twelve and other games including Mario Kart Wii, which came at four and Ninja Gaiden II, which came in at eight.[2][3] Atari reported that the game along with Alone in the Dark helped to increase the company's net sales.[4] The game was nominated for a Spike video game award for best fighting game,[5] but lost out to Soul Calibur IV.[6]
Along with its sales the game received positive reviews from various gaming critics. Both the PS3 and Xbox 360 versions earned their own aggregated scores of 71/100[7] and 72/100 on Metacritic,[8] 72.37%[9] and 73.23% on GameRankings,[10] and 7.7[11] and 7.9 on GameStats[12] respectfully.
Chris Roper of IGN felt that the combat mechanics were "simple and deep", but had issues with the extent to which many of the characters and stages were similar to each other.[13] Will Herring of GamePro praised the games visuals and felt that the Drama Pieces integrated well within the Z Chronicles. However, he stated that they didn't seem to work well when applied to the multiplayer mode.[14] Justin Calvert of GameSpot stated the visuals and animation would impress regular gamers, despite referring to the environments as bland. He continued, saying that "the overall look of Burst Limit is definitely greater than the sum of its parts".[15] Phil Theobald of GameSpy felt the lack of content made the game feel a little shallow, but called the game a quality fighting game with an improved game engine that couldn't be denied.[16] GameTrailers praised the game by calling it "a well-rounded package in fighting shape", while keeping its paces with plenty of gaming modes. They also stated that its depth might not please hardcore gamers, but fans or gamers looking for a user friendly fighter might enjoy it.[17] Dakota Grabowski of GameZone stated that it was an excellent game with some drawbacks, such as lack of characters and an under refined online multiplayer. While overall felt the game was a critical success.[18] Matt Cabral of Official Xbox Magazine praised the controls and the visuals. He also stated "after countless titles spanning various platforms, we may just have the best Dragon Ball Z game yet".[19]
However some critics were not as pleased with the game overall. Anthony Gallegos of 1up.com was impressed by the game at first but was ultimately disappointed by its lack of innovation.[20] Dale Nardozzi of TeamXbox called much of the games features bare bones. He also complained about the game's sixty dollar price tag, stating that the gameplay didn't justify the game's cost. He recommended that consumers would be better off getting the game as a trade-in, a rental, or as a loan from a DBZ fan.[21]
As of June 23, 2012, the game has sold over 1.25 million units combined worldwide, with over 790,000 on the PlayStation 3[22] and 460,000 on the Xbox 360.[23]
Downloadable content and extras
In an interview with GameSpot, Donny Clay announced that no downloadable content is currently planned for either version of the game.
Trivia
- Kamehameha, the signature move, appears on commercials on TV when saying it. The clips shown for the advertisement are such as arm wrestling, chef, megaphone, office, etc.
- This is the first Dragon Ball Z game on the high-definition generation of consoles and the only game on HD consoles which has Budokai-style gameplay.
- In the opening sequence, when attacking Nappa, Goku is wearing the costume he wore when fighting the Ginyu Force, but he does not have this costume in the game.
- Although Chiaotzu is not a playable character, he does make a brief appearance during the first of two unlockable bonus movies, in which he sacrifices himself in an attempt to defeat Nappa.
- In this game, Frieza's tail whip is white in all his forms, while it is purple in his first three forms in the anime.
- This is the first time in the English version of the games that Goku calls himself by his full name "Son Goku".
- Although both are not playable characters, King Cold and Mecha-Frieza make a short appearance in the second of the two unlockable bonus movies. They are seen flying towards Earth in their spaceship.
- Much like the Budokai series, Cell's voice does not change when transformed, he instead retains his Perfect Form voice in this game.
- This game shows Goku in the Father-Son Kamehameha in his normal stage, not as a Super Saiyan.
- Alternately, Gohan remains in his Super Saiyan 2 stage after his fight with Cell, rather than reverting to his normal form.
- Though this form is not playable, Goku is seen transforming into a Super Saiyan 2 against Broly at the end of game.
Raditz, Vegeta and Nappa striking a pose
- The two bonus movies from the game are played with a lengthened version of the introduction music in the background. However, the second movie uses an English version of the song.
- During the credits of the game, a slideshow depicting key points in each saga runs behind the credits. Every now and then, a still image of a saga's main villains will appear, standing in line and striking a pose, much like the Ginyu Force. Villains like; Raditz, Nappa and Vegeta, Frieza, Recoome and Ginyu, and the Red Ribbon Androids can all be seen in these poses.
Gallery
Screenshots
 European PS3 boxart  European Xbox 360 boxart  Xbox 360 disk      Stage Select   Bardock punches a Saibaman  Bardock throwing his Riot Javelin at a Saibaman  A Saibaman grabbing Bardock   Bardock  Raditz running in a cutscene   Yamcha vs. Raditz  Yamcha punching Raditz  Raditz firing the Double Sunday at Yamcha  Raditz firing the Double Sunday at Yamcha  Yamcha fires an energy blast at Raditz  Yamcha attacking Raditz  Yamcha punching Raditz  Yamcha blasting Raditz  Yamcha facing Raditz  Goku and Raditz facing off  Raditz punches Goku in the stomach  Goku punches Raditz  Goku kicking Raditz  Goku kicks Raditz  Goku fires a Kamehameha at Raditz  Goku uses the Dragonthrow on Raditz  Raditz fires the Double Sunday at Goku  Raditz uses his Shining Friday    Raditz charging up an attack  Raditz about to use the attack  Raditz charging up the Saturday Crash  Piccolo charging his Special Beam Cannon  Yamcha  A Saibaman grabbing Yamcha  Yamcha screaming  A Saibaman  A Saibaman about to use acid  A Saibaman about to use an attack  A Saibaman attacking Goku  Super Saiyan Goku fighting a Saibaman  Nappa 25404.jpg "DragonBallZBurstLimit(undefined)25404.jpg (326 KB)") Vegeta  Krillin and Nappa about to battle  Krillin fighting Nappa  Kaio-Ken Goku vs. Nappa  Nappa  Nappa _pic_5.JPG "Dragon Ball Z Burst Limit (PS3) pic 5.JPG (85 KB)") Nappa punching Goku  Nappa tackling Goku  Nappa about to punch Goku    Nappa      Goku vs. Vegeta Goku and Vegeta about to battle   Vegeta  Vegeta about to fire his Galick Gun  Vegeta firing his Galick Gun  Vegeta firing his attack  Goku using Kaio-Ken   Goku charging a Kamehameha while in Kaio-ken form Kaio-ken Kamehameha     Vegeta fires his Galick Gun  Vegeta fires the Galick Gun  Goku's Kaio-ken Kamehameha  Goku and Vegeta's blasts canceling each other out  Vegeta using an energy attack  Vegeta about to fire an energy blast     Vegeta prepares an attack  Vegeta about to fire an attack  Vegeta blatsing Goku  Goku getting blasted by Vegeta      Vegeta uses his Dirty Fireworks   Goku and Vegeta in a fist fight  Goku throwing Vegeta  Goku about to throw the Spirit Bomb on Vegeta    Vegeta turning Super Saiyan  Goku punching Super Saiyan Vegeta in the gut  Super Saiyan Goku  Future Trunks       Recoome  Future Trunks kicking Recoome  Recoome punching Future Trunks  Recoome shooting an energy blast at Future Trunks       Recoome tackling Goku   Goku blocking Recoome's kick  Captain Ginyu  Tien Shinhan attacking Ginyu    Tien Shinhan about to knock Ginyu to the ground  Captain Ginyu blasting Goku  Captain Ginyu charging an attack       Captain Ginyu attacking Goku  Yamcha punches Frieza  Yamcha attacking Frieza  Frieza punching Yamcha  Yamcha kicks Frieza   Frieza knocking around Vegeta  Frieza in his First Form  Frieza in his Second Form  Freiza in his Second Form  Frieza in his Third Form  Piccolo Frieza fires Death Bullets in a cutscene Frieza firing a Death Bullet at Krillin  Frieza trying to blast Goku  Goku trying to punch Frieza   Kaio-Ken Goku and Frieza about to fight  Frieza blocking Goku's punch Frieza blasting Goku  Frieza and Kaio-Ken Goku fighting  Frieza attacking Goku  Goku prepares a Spirit Bomb  Goku a Super Saiyan Frieza firing more energy blasts at Super Saiyan Goku   Frieza in his 100% Power Form  Super Saiyan Goku and Frieza about to fight  Super Saiyan Goku and Frieza having a stare-down  Frieza uses his Death Crasher  Super Saiyan Goku vs. Frieza (Full Power)  Super Saiyan Goku and Frieza locked in combat on Namek  Goku grabbing Frieza by the foot  Super Saiyan Goku punching Frieza  Goku vs. Frieza  Goku counters Frieza with the Angry Kamehameha  Vegeta fires his Big Bang Attack Vegeta prepares a Shining Rage Attack Vegeta's Shining Rage Attack  Vegeta uses a Final Flash  Final Flash's effect  Vegeta blasting Android 16 with an energy ball  Cell in his First Form  Cell kicking down Goku     Cell's Second Form  Kaio-ken Goku punching Semi-Perfect Cell   Vegeta attacks Perfect Cell Father-Son Kamehameha  .jpg "Dragon-ball-z-burst-limit-20080514105607872 640w (1).jpg (73 KB)")     Goku eating a Senzu Bean     Gohan charging a Kamehameha   Teen Gohan   Yamcha charging his ki   Yamcha punching Goku          Goku blasting Yamcha  Yamcha on Namek   Tien Shinhan  Tien Shinhan  Tien prepares the Neo Tri-Beam  Tien charges the Neo Tri-Beam  Tien charges a Dodon Ray  Tien about to blast Goku  Tien blasting Goku with the Dodon Ray  Tien Shinhan blasting Goku  Tien kicks Future Trunks  Piccolo blasting Krillin  Broly  Android 17 vs. Broly  Broly attacked by Android 17  Goku uses a Spirit Shot on Broly  Goku using the Spirit Shot  Goku uses a Double Axe Handle on Broly  Goku uses his Dragon Fist Rush on Broly |
Characters
 Goku  Kaio-ken Goku  Super Saiyan Goku  Gohan  Teen Gohan  Super Saiyan Teen Gohan  Gohan Super Saiyan 2  Piccolo  Krillin  Yamcha  Tien Shinhan  Saibaman  Raditz  Nappa  Vegeta  Super Saiyan Vegeta  Super Vegeta  Future Trunks  Super Saiyan Future Trunks  Super Saiyan Future Trunks  Recoome  Captain Ginyu  Frieza  Frieza's second form  Frieza's third form  Frieza's Final Form  100% Full-Power Frieza Bardock  Android 18  Android 17  Android 16  Imperfect Cell  Semi-Perfect Cell  Perfect Cell  Legendary Super Saiyan Broly |
References
External links
- Japanese site
- Dragon Ball Z: Burst Limit PS3 version
- Dragon Ball Z: Burst Limit 360 version
- Dragon Ball Z: Burst Limit Official page from PlayStation website
- Primer trailer
- News at jeux-france.
- Trailer with the DBZ Shonen Jump Manga
- Trailer with the DBZ Shonen Jump Manga; part 2
- Trailer with the DBZ Shonen Jump Manga; part 3
- Trailer with the DBZ Shonen Jump Manga; part 4
- Picasa Photos- Burst Limit Uncut pictures