Dragon Ball Z: Ultimate Battle 22

Dragon Ball Z: Ultimate Battle 22[lower-alpha 1] is a 1996 fighting video game developed by Tose and published by Bandai and Infogrames for the PlayStation. Based upon Akira Toriyama's Dragon Ball franchise, its gameplay is similar to the Super Butōden sub-series, consisting of one-on-one fights with a main six-button configuration, featuring special moves, as well as five playable modes. It is referred as "Ultimate Battle 22" or "UB22" by fans due to the roster of twenty two playable characters from the series.

Dragon Ball Z: Ultimate Battle 22
Developer(s)Tose
Publisher(s)
Director(s)Ichisuke Hiten
Producer(s)Kazumasa Ogata
Designer(s)Aiko Nakatsuka
Haruse Kataoka
Jiro Inoue
Programmer(s)Shinzo Tokiwa
Artist(s)Aka Yasuda
Atsushi Fujimoto
Composer(s)Kenji Yamamoto
SeriesDragon Ball Z
Platform(s)PlayStation
Release
  • JP: 28 July 1995
  • EU: July 1996
  • NA: 25 March 2003
Genre(s)Fighting
Mode(s)Single-player, multiplayer
(up to two players)

Announced early in 1995 as part of the Super Butōden sub-series, Ultimate Battle 22 shares the same character sprites as with another Dragon Ball Z fighting game developed by Tose for the Sega Saturn called Shin Butōden. The game garnered mixed reception from European critics but negative response from North American critics; Reviewers criticized for the slow gameplay, controls, lack of story mode and visuals but some commended its large roster of 27 playable characters. The title sold approximately between 260,942 and 320,000 copies during its lifetime in Japan.

Gameplay
A match between Vegeta and Goku.
See also: Dragon Ball Z: Super Butōden § Gameplay

Dragon Ball Z: Ultimate Battle 22 is a fighting game similar to the Super Butōden sub-series. Players fight against other characters in one-on-one matches and the fighter who manages to deplete the health bar of the opponent wins the bout and becomes the winner of the match.[1][2] The game features five modes of play, a roster of 22 playable characters and their respective transformations with five additional characters being unlockable via cheat code.[1][2][3] The title is notable for using actual cel drawings from the animators as character sprites and cutscenes before the fights,[2] which were a novelty at the time of its original release in Japan but theses cutscenes were removed on the European and North American releases.

Ultimate Battle 22 uses a customizable six-button control scheme.[1] Special moves are present in conventional format, with most commands consisting of button combinations.[4] Characters can also dash back and forth by pressing L1 and R1 respectively.[1] Players can also charge their Ki gauge by holding the X and square buttons to unleash a special attack.[1] Unlike previous Super Butōden entries and Buyū Retsuden, the split-screen mechanic was omitted and both fighters are now shown in a single screen.[2]

Development and release

Dragon Ball Z: Ultimate Battle 22 was first annouced early in 1995 under the working title Dragon Ball Z: Super Butoden PlayStation Version.[5] Ultimate Battle 22 shares the same character sprites as with another fighting game developed by Tose for the Sega Saturn called Dragon Ball Z: Shin Butōden, which is regarded to be the better between the two games but never received a western release.[2] The title was first released by Bandai in Japan on 28 July 1995 and later in Europe on July 1996.[2][6] Prior to launch, an album was published exclusively in Japan by Forte Music Entertainment on 21 July 1995, featuring arranged songs scored by composer Kenji Yamamoto as well as a vocal duet of the closing theme by Hironobu Kageyama and Kuko.[7][8] The initial Japanese release included a paper for the special "Special Data Memory Card" gift campaign "Dragon Suzuki", which was distributed to 200 people via lottery.[9] It was re-released by Bandai in Japan as a budget title on 6 December 1996.[6] When the game was officially released in North America by Infogrames on 25 March 2003,[10][11] no English dub track was produced and the pre-battle cutscenes were removed.

Reception

Dragon Ball Z: Ultimate Battle 22 garnered mixed reception from European critics but was met with negative response from North American reviewers.[15][21] This is due to the fact that the game launched in North America in 2003, thus appearing much duller when compared to contemporary PlayStation 2 releases such as Tekken 4.[11] The title was criticized for its slow gameplay, controls, lack of story mode and visuals but some commended its large roster of 27 playable characters.[11][4] According to review aggregator sites GameRankings and Metacritic, it holds a 32.03% and received "generally unfavorable" reviews.[12][10] Famitsu reported that the title sold over 126,991 copies in its first week on the market.[22] The game sold approximately between 260,942 and 320,000 copies during its lifetime in Japan.[22][23]

Consoles Plus' Maxime Roure and Killer praised the animated visual presentation, audio and large character roster but both reviewers stated that this aspect was not enough to be a good game based on the Dragon Ball license, criticizing the lack of innovation.[13] Electronic Gaming Monthly's three reviewers heavily criticized the slow gameplay, poor visuals, unresponsive special moves and unbalanced fighting system, claiming that "someone deposited excrement in a jewelry box and made it look like a game."[14] GameSpot's Ryan Davis called it a "really, really terrible game."[16] GameZone's Michael Knutson stated in his review that "This game never should have come out in America." Knutson criticized the lack of a story mode, gameplay, unresponsive controls and overall audiovisual presentation.[17]

Jeuxvideo.com's Rroyd-Y criticized the lack of story mode, presentation and slow gameplay, stating that "Ultimate Battle 22 is one of those promising apps that disappoint from the first moments of play."[18] Joypad's Grégoire Hellot praised the large character roster and pseudo-3D visual effects but felt mixed in regards to the sprite animations and criticized the slow gameplay and issues with collision detection.[3] Next Generation reviewed the original Japanese release, criticizing the lack of innovation and sub-par graphics when compared to other fighting games, stating that "About the only thing this one has going for it is the vast selection of characters."[19] Player One's Christophe Delpierre commended the graphics, animations, audio and playability, stating that "Without being extraordinary, this DBZ brings together enough qualities to satisfy fans of the series. When you are told that love makes you blind..."[20]

Notes
  1. Japanese: ドラゴンボールZ: アルティメイトバトル22, Hepburn: Doragon Bōru Zetto: Arutimeito Batoru Towintetzū

References
  1. Dragon Ball Z: Ultimate Battle 22 manual (PlayStation, US)
  2. "Regreso al Pasado: Dragon Ball Vol. 3 - Dragon Ball Z: The Legend". MeriStation (in Spanish). PRISA. 1 July 2017. Archived from the original on 25 January 2021. Retrieved 5 February 2021.
  3. Hellot, Grégoire (September 1995). "Test: Dragon Ball Z: Ultimate Battle 22". Joypad (in French). No. 45. Yellow Media. pp. 148–151.
  4. "Selection -> PlayStation: Dragon Ball Z". Ultra Player (in French). No. 36. Média Système Édition. July–August 1996. pp. 64–70. Archived from the original on 4 April 2015.
  5. Torishima, Kazuhiko (1 May 1995). "「ドラゴンボールZ」". V Jump (in Japanese). No. 31. Shueisha. p. 23.
  6. "Line Up". Dragon Ball Game Portal (in Japanese). Bandai Namco Entertainment. Archived from the original on 31 August 2020. Retrieved 5 February 2021.
  7. "ドラゴンボールＺ／アルティメットバトル２２/ゲーム・ミュージック". Oricon. 2007. Archived from the original on 10 May 2007. Retrieved 5 February 2021.
  8. "FMCC-5067 | Dragon Ball Z: Ultimate Battle 22". vgmdb.net. VGMdb. Archived from the original on 29 January 2009. Retrieved 5 February 2021.
  9. Torishima, Kazuhiko (1 September 1995). "「ドラゴンボールZ アルティメイトバトル22」". V Jump (in Japanese). No. 35. Shueisha. p. 214.
  10. "Dragon Ball Z: Ultimate Battle 22 for PlayStation Reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. 25 March 2003. Archived from the original on 11 November 2020. Retrieved 30 January 2021.
  11. Corbett, Noelle (23 December 2019). "Dragon Ball Z Ultimate Battle 22: How DBZ Jumped Onto the PlayStation". Comic Book Resources. Valnet Inc. Archived from the original on 26 December 2019. Retrieved 30 January 2021.
  12. "Dragon Ball Z: Ultimate Battle 22 for PlayStation". GameRankings. CBS Interactive. 2019. Archived from the original on 9 December 2019. Retrieved 30 January 2021.
  13. Roure, Maxime; Killer (September 1995). "PlayStation Review - Dragon Ball Z: Ultimate Battle 22". Consoles + (in French). No. 46. M.E.R.7. pp. 124–125. Archived from the original on 8 September 2017.
  14. Johnston, Chris; Elliott, Shawn; Hsu, Dan (June 2003). "Review Crew - Dragon Ball Z: Ultimate Battle 22 - Warning: "ultimate" does not mean "good"". Electronic Gaming Monthly. No. 167. Ziff Davis. p. 114. Archived from the original on 30 January 2021.
  15. "Quickie Reviews - Dragon Ball Z: Ultimate Battle 22". Game Informer. No. 122. Sunrise Publications. June 2003. p. 105. Retrieved 30 January 2021.
  16. Davis, Ryan (25 March 2003). "Dragon Ball Z Ultimate Battle 22 Review - If you're unfamiliar with Dragon Ball Z, you're excused from reading this review and should just know to avoid Dragon Ball Z: Ultimate Battle 22 at all costs". GameSpot. CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on 11 November 2020. Retrieved 30 January 2021.
  17. Knutson, Michael (18 April 2003). "Dragon Ball Z: Ultimate Battle 22 - The dragon has finally come, but was it worth the wait?". GameZone. GameZone Online, LLC. Archived from the original on 29 April 2003. Retrieved 30 January 2021.
  18. Rroyd-Y (12 January 2011). "Test de Dragon Ball Z: Ultimate Battle 22 sur PS1 par jeuxvideo.com". Jeuxvideo.com (in French). Webedia. Archived from the original on 3 June 2020. Retrieved 30 January 2021.
  19. "Finals - Dragon Ball Z". Next Generation. No. 11. Imagine Media. November 1995. p. 168.
  20. Delpierre, Christophe (March 1996). "Tests: Dragon Ball Z". Player One (in French). No. 62. Média Système Édition. pp. 50–51.
  21. "Now Playing - Dragon Ball Z: Ultimate Battle 22". GameNOW. No. 20. Ziff Davis. June 2003. p. 47.
  22. "Game Search". Game Data Library. Archived from the original on 29 January 2021. Retrieved 30 January 2021.
  23. DRAGON BALL スーパーデータ DRAGON BALL VIDEO GAME DATA. 30th Anniversary Dragon Ball 超史集 - Super History Book - (in Japanese). Shueisha. 21 January 2016. p. 216. ISBN 978-4087925050.
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