Dragon Ball FighterZ Reviews

Robert Ramsey

Push Square

January 11, 2023

9/10

Republished on Wednesday, 11th January, 2023: We're bringing this review back from the archives following the announcement of January 2023's PS Plus line up. The original text follows.

Alice Bell

Videogamer

June 5, 2021

8/10

More online testing to be done, but so far Dragon Ball FighterZ is indeed pretty... super [pause for riotous applause and laughter]

Peter Brown

GameSpot

September 29, 2018

9/10

Shout, shout, let it all out.

Mike Fahey

Kotaku

September 28, 2018

Unscored

Dragon Ball games are for Dragon Ball fans. Fighting games are for fighting game fans. Dragon Ball FighterZ is both of those things, and it’s for everybody.

Nathan Brown

PC Gamer

February 6, 2018

83/100

Arc System Works rethinks the basics of fighting games.

Gavin Jasper

Den of Geek

February 5, 2018

That burp you heard was Majin Buu after eating Marvel vs. Capcom's lunch.

Jeff Ramos

Polygon

February 5, 2018

Unscored

Dragon Ball as a series has always forefronted epic battles. In each episode of the cartoon, godlike warriors transformed the landscape in fantastic one-on-one fights with ease. In FighterZ, anyone can feel like that in any fight. I’ve been waiting for a Dragon Ball game like this ever since I first saw the cartoon in grade school, and I’m so happy this day has come.

Ryan Meitzler

DualShockers

February 1, 2018

9/10

Aside from having an incredibly solid fighting game structure at its core, Dragon Ball FighterZ is a title that Arc System Works clearly treated with respect and love for the franchise that it is inspired by, and it stands toe-to-toe with the iconic anime and manga because of it.

A.J. Maciejewski

Video Chums

February 1, 2018

8.1/10

When it comes to fighting games, few franchises have strayed as far from the genre's 2D roots as Dragon Ball. Thankfully, Dragon Ball FighterZ is here to make the manga fighting series great again with spot-on 2D gameplay and plenty of eye candy.

Dave Irwin

TheSixthAxis

January 29, 2018

9/10

2018 is off to a strong start with Dragon Ball FighterZ an early contender for this year’s best fighting game.  By shattering some boundaries, Dragon Ball FighterZ has combat that’s more than worth getting into, but also a diverse roster and some phenomenal presentation. The Story Mode could have been improved if it were more streamlined, but it’s a mere blemish on an otherwise spectacular game.

Karl Smart

The OuterHaven

January 29, 2018

Dragon Ball FighterZ looks pretty as hell, almost as good as the anime these days. However the game has a serious balancing issue, the company has a serious greed issue. Overall the more you play the game, the less you’re going to like it unless you enjoy grinding against people who will combo lock you into hell. Single player gets boring quickly, leaving a terrible online experience. Expect this game to disappear into the next dimension when the next flashy anime-style fighting game arrives.

Suriel Vazquez

Game Informer

January 26, 2018

9.3/10

Dragon Ball FighterZ accomplishes a difficult task: Taking two insular genres (fighting games and licensed products) and broadening the appeal of both. With its gorgeous characters and explosive combat, it wonderfully captures what has made Dragon Ball such an enduring power fantasy. With a steady learning curve and simple-but-varied combat, it is immediately rewarding as a fighting game, but also has the potential to turn average players on to the fun of learning, adapting, and improving through competition.

StuffTV

Stuff

January 26, 2018

Defending the Earth from intergalactic space fighters, hunting down wish-granting dragons, and more spiky hair than a 90s boy band.

Michael Chow

COGConnected

January 25, 2018

85/100

Dragon Ball FighterZ is the culmination of a legendary franchise, packing fast-paced combat and graphics faithful to the source material. With a legacy that spans decades across all forms of media, Dragon Ball is one of the largest Japanese media franchises around. With fighting game titans Arc System Works at the helm, Dragon Ball FighterZ has all the requirements to be a hit on paper.

Casey Scheld

Gamers Heroes

January 25, 2018

NaN%

Dragon Ball FighterZ’s rock-solid fighting engine is both accessible and deep at the same time. The paltry selection of modes and repetitive Story Mode somewhat take away from the game, but this is one fighter worthy of any Saiyan warrior.

Bill Gallon

GameSpace

January 24, 2018

8.9/10

Even though I’m not the greatest at fighting games (and usually even despise playing them), Dragon Ball FighterZ manages to make the game feel easy to get into, and quickly become rewarding by learning move sets and counter plays.  While the story mode allows a bit of the customization that was found in Xenoverse, FighterZ is much more focused on being a balanced fighting game rather than an RPG, and it’s all the better for it.

Kieren Munn

Checkpoint Gaming

January 24, 2018

Unscored

After the announcement of a Dragon Ball FighterZ and seeing its 2D stylised form of combat I couldn’t wait to get my hands on this latest iteration. Dragon Ball games have taken on many forms in years past, each series with its own unique spin on the popular anime’s style of battle.  FighterZ, for me, has to be by far one of my favourite renditions of the series’ gaming legacy since playing my first Dragon Ball Z Budokai on the PlayStation 2 many moons ago. It’s clear that developers...

AOTF Staff

Attack of the Fanboy

January 24, 2018

Dragon Ball FighterZ is both an incredible game to look at and to play. Arc System Works has done right by the Dragon Ball name giving fans of the source material plenty to be happy about.

Sam Prell

GamesRadar

January 24, 2018

Dragon Ball FighterZ is not only true to its source material, but ranks among the best as a 2D fighting game. How long you stick with it might be entirely dependent on how much you love the series, though.

Ty Arthur

Game Skinny

January 23, 2018

9/10

Slick combat, plenty of modes, and the best visual representation of the franchise in a video game yet make Dragon Ball FighterZ a game you definitely want to play!

Dave Aubrey

WCCFtech

January 22, 2018

9/10

When I first read the words “Dragon Ball game developed by Arc System Works” I thought; “Ha, yeah, I’ve been wishing for that since I first saw Guilty Gear Xrd’s art style.” But as it turned out, this wasn’t a wishful tweet from a fighting game fan; this was basically an announcement. The trailer debuted at E3 and it was glorious. The anime art style was brought to life, ki blasts and attacks looked flashy and impressive, and more than anything, it looked like a “proper” 2D fighting game, made by one of the most experienced fighting game developers of...

Alex Santa Maria

TechRaptor

January 22, 2018

8.5/10

Dragon Ball FighterZ is no mere licensed game or anime fighter. Sporting a fan-friendly story mode, a robust online experience and a host of other ways for you and your friends to trade ki blasts, it's clear that Arc have delivered a 2D fighter that's worthy of respect.

Mitchell Saltzman

IGN

January 22, 2018

8.5/10

Between the accessible auto combos, homing attacks, and simplified command inputs, Dragon Ball FighterZ is an inviting gateway into the world of fighting games for newcomers — whether you’re a Dragon Ball fan or not. Those easy controls can open the door to some spammy behavior, but just as often it’s satisfying in a way that does right by the Dragon Ball name. Dragon Ball FighterZ has enough depth and complexity to glow as brilliantly as a Super Saiyan.

GameCentral

Metro GameCentral

January 22, 2018

9/10

A dream come true for Dragon Ball fans, but also a highly competent fighting game that is a front runner for the best fighter of the generation.