Welcome back! This is going to be the first of another new series of posts, where I talk about a game… that I’ve already talked about elsewhere. My idea is to go back and look at a game’s extra content, like DLC or an extra mode that you can unlock post-game or something. Depending on the game and the extra goodies it has, certain posts will be shorter than others, but I will do my best to hit as many points as I can. In this first one, I will be talking about the DLC packs for Dragon Ball XENOVERSE 2, specifically the major ones that included more story missions, though I will go over the details of the DLC before the major story ones as well.
Of course, before reading onward, it may be a good idea to watch my video review of the regular XENOVERSE 2 game. In the review, I cover the basics and my general experience playing the game on my PS4. Mechanic-wise, the DLC doesn’t add anything that wasn’t already changed in the patches, but if you’ve never played XENOVERSE 2 then it might be more interesting to read if you know about the game at its basic version.
The character choices were mostly logical. Obviously, Namco would take a lot from Dragon Ball Super, which I think was a good move. At the same time, as a hardcore fan, I love seeing anybody and everybody in the Dragon Ball universe. At this point (it’ll make sense near the end of this post) the only non-Super character released was Bojack from the ninth film. He is a good choice, but I was hoping for more. Besides him, I was the most curious about Super Saiyan Rose Goku Black and Zamasu. There were also additions to existing characters, such as a version of Super Saiyan Blue Goku that includes SSB Kaioken. To me, those additions were almost more exciting than the new DLC characters, mainly because they were stuff that should have been included anyway.
Besides the characters, the big piece of DLC was the extra story missions, which there are currently two “Arcs” so-to-speak. The first one covered the “Universe 6 Tournament” arc and the second one on the “Future Trunks/Goku Black” arc. The plot of both involves a disturbance in the timeline, with Goku being late to the tournament to kick things off. The first arc teases a connection to the second, with Trunks stating that someone else may have interfered with the timeline. It ultimately ended up being Zamasu, although it sounded more like he was just aware of what the Time Patrollers were doing, rather than actively controlling time or something. I think it would have been cool if it was a new character, possibly a tease for the eventual XENOVERSE 3, which we all know they’re going to make in the future. The main timeline difference in the second arc is the inclusion of various movie villains, such as Broly and Janemba, to aid Goku Black and Zamasu. That was kind of cool… I guess? There weren’t any major realizations at the end of the second arc, besides Trunks questioning himself and wondering if he should quit the Time Patrol. This is quickly dealt with, using the power of friendship.
The main reason why I was interested in Zamasu the most was because I was curious about who his English voice actor would be. The current rumor, and one that is very likely if you ask me, is that he is voiced by James Marsters, who is best known as Spike in Buffy the Vampire Slayer. From what can be heard in-game, I think he does a good job. He sounds like a higher being with a stern tone, as if he is looking down on everybody, even though he definitely shouldn’t with me because I kicked his ass without even going Super Saiyan. Because of James Marsters’s status as a big actor, I’m expecting a big reveal within the next few weeks (As I’m writing this, the latest dubbed episode of Super revealed Zeno.) Voice over-wise, I think everyone else sounded good. A lot of fans have criticized Sean Schemmel’s perfomance as Super Saiyan Rose Goku Black, primarily (if not completely) due to the fact that he changed to a different voice than what he did for Goku Black’s regular form. Personally, I can see why people are upset, but Sean Schemmel changing voices for the various transformations of his characters is hardly anything new. Schemmel also stated during a Q&A at a convention, I believe it was the South Texas Comic Con of 2017, that they were not given much information on Goku Black’s character due to leaking concerns, so Schemmel performed the role at its face value. My theory is that, once he started recording for Super Saiyan Rose, the recording crew and actors were given the full story, for at this point, the series had been a bit past the “Future Trunks/Goku Black” arc of Super. In my opinion, I think Black will sound best if Schemmel does a mix of the two voices. I think we will get to hear more of how he will sound in Super very soon.
|source|
Now, based on recent reveals, it’s likely we will get another major DLC pack for the game in the near future. Admittedly, it does feel like they are trying to catch up with characters that, frankly, should have been in the game to begin with. I mean, Dabura I can understand since he’s Towa’s brother, but Super Buu with Gohan absorbed (or “Buuhan” as he is often called) should definitely have been in the base game. The characters that are revealed after will likely be from the latest “Universe Survival” arc, probably Toppo or Jiren. In terms of other characters I want to see, I think seeing Caulifla or Kale would be cool. I wouldn’t mind also seeing any of Cooler’s Armored Squadron, like Salza (or Thousa, depending of how you feel about translations.) Other than that, I’m more or less satisfied until the next game, where they would have more reason to add more characters. If they add some Dragon Ball characters like King Piccolo or Tambourine, that would be cool, though the pool they could pick from would be small. Granted, if they are able to get Bear with Sword, then that would be pretty sick!
Overall, it was a good batch of DLC. Based on the DLC trends of XENOVERSE 1, the choices they made for characters made sense for the most part, though adding in Bojack from the movies was also a nice touch. The extra content from the free DLC that would come before the big new DLC packs was also a welcomed addition. Besides those, my favorite parts were the new story missions that gave us twists on the arcs in Super. I look forward to seeing more cool DLC in the future! Thanks for reading! See ya!
The Wheneverly Journal Place 