In the absence of an anime season, it’s no surprise to hear thatDragon Ballfans have been busy. The enormous fandom has been working on everything from fan art and animations to cosplay and an impressive traditional action game in the form ofHyper Dragon Ball Z. However, there’s a small corner of the community that’s been hard at work on something that looks more untie.Dragon Ball: Demon Breakeris a 3D hack-and-slash game planned to release this year, and it’s been turning some heads.
Developed by the Saiya-Slash team and ATLAS studios, thisDevil May Cry-inspired game revolves around the half-saiyan swordsman Trunks. Specifically, this is the future Trunks who has joined the Time Police, a force that features prominently in theDragon Ballexpanded universe. They oppose the demonic forces of the Time Breaker Organization, a groupDragon Ball XenoverseandDragon Ball Heroesfans should be intimately familiar with. This is a fine setup for anyDragon Ballgame — it’s already been used forXenoverse, just with a custom player character thrown in the mix — but how doesDemon Breakerdifferentiate itself?
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NOTE: It’s also important to state that this is a free, non-profit fan project that does NOT accept donations of any kind. Further, it is not affiliated or associated with Bandai Namco, Shueisha, or anyDragon BallIP owners in any way.
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The key difference that separatesDragon Ball: Demon Breakerfrom an averageDragon Ballgame is the focus on combat. That sounds strange in aDragon Ballcontext, but it’s within the realm of a classic,DMC-like action game, something DBZ hasn’t really touched. Trunks has access to two different styles of combat: his fists and his sword. These can be further augmented through hismore offensive Super Saiyan form, and, according to the trailer released at the end of last November, his Super Saiyan God form. In that form, Trunks is able to wield the legendary Keysword from the non-canonSuper Dragon Ball Heroesmanga.
A variety of options are available to players, including launchers, different signature moves, and three different types of ki blasts. These are all meant to increase the number of options the player has while fighting enemies, who, thus far, have only been shown using a couple attacks. It is likely that more types of enemies will be added between the demo and the full launch. One particularly major difference betweenDemon Breakerand the rest of theDragon Ballfranchise is the absence of flight; outside of Super Saiyan God form, Trunks can only glide in the air while shooting ki blasts and super dash for short distances. This is to encourageDevil May Cry-like combat using ground and aerial combos, rather than enable the near-constant flight other games have.
Rounding out the mechanics is a set of assists in the form ofseries protagonists Goku and Vegeta. While they likely won’t be playable due to the dev focusing on keeping the scope small, they can transform alongside Trunks and provide a variety of ranged and melee options to keep enemies occupied. Players will learn to appreciate this, as the full game is intended to include a 40-wave survival mode called Saiyan Palace. Harkening back toDevil May Cry’s Bloody Palace, this is intended to beDemon Breaker’s main attraction. A story mode was in consideration, but was officially cut during a January informational video to ensure the small team could provide as polished an experience as possible.
Dragon Ball: Demon Breakeris planned to release some time this summer, though that date is subject to change. Fortunately, a miniature demo is planned for March, so those following the game will still get a chance to play it soon. Updates on the demo’s release date and the game’s development have been steadily releasing on the game’s Twitter account @ProjectTht and Saiya-Slash Team’s YouTube channel. There are plenty of reasons to get excited for this project, and hopefully, it will inspire video game rights holder Bandai Namco to explore more avenues in the future. Fans certainly wouldn’t complain about some new, maybe evenbetterDragon Ballgames.
Dragon Ball: Demon Breakeris a fan project currently in development.
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