The Dragon Ball Z Game We Deserve?

When I first saw screen shots of Dragon Ball Xenoverse I was extremely skeptical. And why shouldn't I be? Every game with DBZ in the title has been pretty average to terrible since the release of Burst Limit.

The most recent release, Battle of Z, was plagued by horrific team AI and mediocre gameplay. Needless to say it sucked, but for some reason when I read about Xenoverse it gives me hope and fills me with excitement. An excitement I haven't felt since the original Budokai games. Probably because this game is being developed by DIMPS, who were the masterminds behind some of the best DBZ games ever made. To anyone that has been following this franchise since the beginning this is awesome news. I have no problem putting faith in the development team to put together a DBZ game where the fighting lives up to its name. They've done it before. The big question for me is whats going to be new? As with all anime/manga based games they will attempt to cram as many characters in the game as possible for fan service, but what else will DIMPS do to make this feel like a new experience? I think the answer will come in the form of the new "what if" story mode being used in Xenoverse.

What we know so far is that Trunks send your created character back in time to intervene in different parts of the DBZ timeline. This is a creative way of keeping the story line fresh and new for gamers used to the normal story telling routine. The showstopper for me though is the character creation. This isnt Ultimate Tenaichi's shallow attempt at a create a character mode. From the available screen shots of the game the creation process is surprisingly deep.

It might be hard to see from the above picture, but just on this screen you can customize your character head, body size, eye shape, pupil shape, nose, mouth and ears.

Upper Costume, Bottom Costume, Hands, Feet, Z Accessories( sword, cape?)

This game is looking great so far, unfortunately there is not a release date set for it as of yet. We do know that it will be available for Xbox 360/One and PlayStation 3/4( no mention of Wii U...). As a huge DBZ fan I'm stoked for this game, and I'm hoping that the character creator is as deep as it seems from these screenshots. With DIMPS at the helm we should be getting a game that plays as good as it looks,and if the new twist on the story mode is as exciting as it sounds we might finally get the Dragon Ball Z game we deserve.

Credit goes to SaiyanIsland for posting and translating the screenshots.

The Death and/or Rebirth Of Capcom?

I love Capcom, but the company has become a shell of its former self. Lately the only thing we can count on from Capcom is a new variation of Street Fighter 4, and while that is one of the greatest fighting games ever it is also a six year old title with at least six iterations. No amount of of additional characters sprinkled on is going to make this a new game. Besides Dead Rising 3 I cant think of another notable release from Capcom that was not a re-release or a hd remastering of an older title. They've recently announced they are remastering the GameCube version of Resident Evil, which itself is a remake of the PS1 original RE. I wouldn't normally have an issue with this, but since there is zero original content coming from Capcom at the moment, the fact that they are doing a hd port of a port is kinda annoying.

 Why not remaster Resident Evil 2 then? Its the only one of the original titles that has yet to be redone, so why not go that route? Im hoping that this maybe their way of attempting to bring the franchise back into good graces with the fan base, and maybe somewhere down the line well get an announcement for a new RE with a new direction from the previous games. The series is in desperate need of returning to its roots(before RE5), as RE6 almost killed the franchise. And speaking of killing franchises, what the heck is up with Capcom's dislike for Mega Man? Yes, they have been releasing the classic Mega Man games on Nintendo's Virtual Console with regularity, and Mega Man is one of the combatants in the new Super Smash Bros. Wii U/3DS, but there hasn't been a new game in the franchise since Mega Man 10 in 2010!Lets not forget all of the scrapped Mega Man projects over the last 5 years like Legends 3, or Mega Man Universe. Thank goodness for Keiji Inafune or we would never see another "Mega Man" game again. Mighty Number 9 needs to be the swift kick in Capcom's ass we all want it to be, hopefully proving to Capcom that there is still a market for these types of games, and that the fans will support them. 

One of the more interesting stories to come out from Capcom's financial woes are the rumors and talk of potential buyouts from other companies. Like Nintendo. When I had first heard about the idea, I didn't know what to think, but after a quick Google search I saw that there are a ton of places talking about this. Nothing official of course, mainly just fan discussion of the idea, but what an idea it is! Why not? If the situation over at Capcom is as dire as the media has made it out to be, then it is only a matter of time before someone made a move, and this is an opportunity Nintendo definitely would not like to let slip through its fingers.

Hey bro, lets team up!

For a company historically known for having the least in 3rd party support, what better way to fix that than to have one of the largest 3rd party companies in the world working only for you? Capcom has been digging their own grave these last few years by doing their best to destroy the image of its most popular character, Mega Man, ruining the iconic Resident Evil franchise, and beating the hell out of the dead horse that is Street Fighter 4, but we've already touched on their poor use of those properties, lets take a look at how Capcom could possibly help Nintendo as it wages war against Microsoft and Sony. 

Lets start by resuscitating the Mega Man franchise with new games on both the Wii U and 3DS.  Capcom is already re-releasing a ton of the older Mega Man games on Nintendo’s virtual console, this is the perfect time buyout or not to release Mega Man 9 and 10 as downloadable titles on both Nintendo's systems. Street Fighter 4 was released as a launch title for the 3DS, how about you take one of those 100 different versions of the game and put one on Wii U? As far as fighting games go, there isn't much of anything to compete with ( Smash Bros. isn't out yet), so why not release one for Nintendo's home console? Same thing goes for Resident Evil. The last game in the franchise to hit a console for Nintendo was Resident Evil 4 Wii Edition, which by the way was one of the better received versions.

If a buyout does happen, no matter who ends up doing it Capcom will no doubt be much better off.  But, if it does, and Nintendo comes out on top, this could be great for Wii U owners everywhere. This is, however, a rumor, and one that I'm taking with a huge pile of salt. Its just fun to think about the possibilities the idea presents. One thing is certain, Capcom needs to go back to the basics, and start releasing great games again. Find a way to reignite the spark in the Resident Evil franchise the same way RE4 did ten years ago, and find a way to make your number one blue bomber relevant again. His appearance in the upcoming Smash Bros. is a good start to introducing Mega Man to a new generation, and reminding the rest of us why he is such an iconic character in the first place.