It’s a great time to be a fan ofDragon Ballvideo games.Dragon Ball: The Breakersis still pushing forward with its experimental asynchronous multiplayer and could stick around for a while longer.Dragon Ball FighterZandDragon Ball Xenoverse 2are both winding down, but still have forthcoming updates and improvements. Finally, after years of waiting,Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 4is now on the horizon. The game’s shape is still unknown, butBudokai Tenkaichi 4is undoubtedly one of the biggest sources of hype in theDragon Ballcommunity right now.
WhenDragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 4comes out, there will need to be a couple of torch passes by the older generation. The basic arena fighter competency ofDragon Ball Xenoversemakes for good inheritance, andBT4could also grabXenoverse’s “What If?” story scenarios. No one expectsBudokai Tenkaichi 4to surpassFighterZas a competitive fighting game, but there are lessons to be learned from the Arc System Works title as well. Picking the right ones could be a major boon toBudokai Tenkaichi 4’s gameplay, especially if that helps its tag team scenarios reach their full potential.
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Budokai Tenkaichi 4 Should Lean Into Its Team Battles
Up until this point, theBudokai Tenkaichiline has been predominantly duel-focused. A team system was added inBudokai Tenkaichi 2, andTenkaichi Tag Teamwas explicitly a 2v2 game, but the gameplay format always favored two combatants reenacting climacticDragon Ballfights. The team system also allowed transformations andfusions to occur duringBudokai Tenkaichigameplay, pushing itsDragon Ballsimulation even further. Still, the long transitions when combatants switched made it clear how much of a bonus feature tag teams were.
It’s been over a decade sinceBudokai Tenkaichilast graced players' screens, and a lot has changed since then. Series developer Spike Chunsoft has refined its tag gameplay in subsequent arena fighters, allowing for smoother transitions between characters and more integration of switched-out members in fights. While theBudokai Tenkaichi 4development team is currently unknown, these innovations couldfold back into the oldDragon Ballseries. However, if there’s anyDragon Balltag fighter thatBudokai Tenkaichi 4should be drawing inspiration from, it is its fellowDBZtitleFighterZ.
Dragon Ball FighterZ’s Tag Super System Is Too Good To Leave Behind
As a spiritual successor toMarvel vs. Capcom,Dragon Ball FighterZis built around tag fighting like no other game. While fusions are out due to logistical reasons and team sizes have been shrunk from five members to three,FighterZstill makes the best use of its combatants. Things improved even more once assist options were patched into the game, but that may bebeyondBudokai Tenkaichi 4’s scope. What should definitely carry over is the concept of said assists, which have been well-proven to work in arena fighters thanks to theNaruto Ultimate Ninja Stormgames, and the team super combo mechanic.
By inputting the appropriate motion and pressing an assist button during a combo or super, another character will jump in and use their level 1 or level 3 super. This can be done with both teammates, making for safe tags and massive damage. In the name of increasing mechanical depth, team synergy would be agreat addition toBudokai Tenkaichi 4. Characters would be studied closely for their different super properties, and whether their supers could cleanly combo into each other. This would also give team battles a distinct identity from traditional 1v1 fights. All in all, inheriting the older game’s various team mechanics would be the best wayBudokai Tenkaichi 4can pay homage toFighterZ, and it would be all the better for it.
Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 4is currently in development.
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