By now there have been so many Dragon Ball games that they’ve practically ticked off every genre there is. So it shouldn’t come as much of a surprise to know that this isn’t the first time Goku and co. have taken their war of fisticuffs to the world of card-based battles. The franchise has one of the most successful TCG (trading card games) to its name, and it’s been on the virtual card scene since the days of Game Boy Color . So it’s rather fitting that the tactical cardboard skirmishes of Super Dragon Ball Heroes: World Mission should make their way to the intimate handheld realm of Nintendo Switch. It seems like a match made in anime heaven, but can it live up to the other strong new contenders on the collectible card game scene?
With the likes of Warhammer Age of Sigmar: Champions proving that you really don’t need Hearthstone or the latest Magic: The Gathering release on your platform to enjoy a great CCG, World Mission needs to do more than just have a decent battle system and deck building suite. What it does best is take the things that makes Dragon Ball so ridiculously lovable - namely its extensive cast of colourful characters, its vast and complicated story sagas and its penchant for over-the-top violence - and melds it with the basic concepts of a card battler to create something so madcap it’s DB to a tee.
Originally launched in 2010 in various different variants, World Mission boasts cards from the eight - yes, eight - previous versions that launched in Japanese arcades, on iOS and on 3DS. The series is big business in Japan (so much so that’s even spawned its own manga series) so fans of the franchise will get the most of seeing Mechikabura, Putine, Vegeta and more in action. Thankfully, while some of these wider storylines will pass right over the heads of new players, the flow of the main game’s super meta plot - a young boy finds the characters from the game appearing in real-life when he attempts to compete in a Dragon Ball Heroes tournament - is just open enough for DB-agnostic players to enjoy the mechanics for what they are.
So how has Bandai Namco managed to combine the action of a fighting game with a CCG? Well, by opting for an experience that’s more about subtle tactics than real-time inputs. Cards represent characters from the franchise's many branching storylines, and each one you add to your deck will simulate that particular fighter when you begin a match. You can choose up to seven cards, so when you begin a fight you’ll have the same number of muscled-up, giant-haired warriors at your disposal. When you first start out it’s more about working with your starting deck and learning the ins and outs of combat, but as you unlock more cards you soon start to see the benefit of learning how certain characters complement and contradict one another’s strengths.
Battles are automatic for the most part, with all the mid-air uppercuts and flashy signature moves you’ve seen before in, say, Dragon Ball FighterZ, but don’t believe this is some mobile-like affair. There’s not a huge amount of depth to the tactics of a match - this was originally designed for use in arcades with physical cards, after all - but there’s still a great sense of satisfaction from learning when to rest certain fighters and the best strategies for building up the energy needed to pull-off potentially match-ending supermoves.
However, while it might resemble a real-time waiting game, World Mission requires your constant attention. Before each round, you’ll have a Prep Phase in which to move your fighters into battle. Doing so increases the total collective might of your squad. If you get your team ready before your opponent, you’ll get a bonus. If your total is higher, then you’ll unleash your attacks first. Encounters between characters are usually depicting a Charged Battle, which is effectively a QTE where you’ll need to hit ‘A’ at the opportune time to fill a bar. If you bar is more filled than your opponent’s your attack or defence will be bolstered.
In between battles you can roam the streets and shops of Hero Town (think Splatoon 2’s Inkopolis Square, but with a heavy coat of DB paint), unlock new cards in the gacha shop (via currency you earn through completing missions), play mini-games in the Hero Lab to increase your prowess in battle and battle your friends in both local and online multiplayer matches. While its storyline isn’t the most engaging use of DB lore - which is kind of expected with this kind of ‘meta’ plot - with more than 350 characters and over 1,000 cards to choose from there’s enough extra ‘stuff’ to make up for it.
Conclusion
Super Dragon Ball Heroes: World Mission is the best version of the long-running card-battling series yet, boasting a raft of new adjustments, extra cards and fresh missions to keep you coming back for more. It’s packed to the rafters with content, from a heavy-duty story mode to local and online battles, so if you’re a fan of the series you’re going to lap up this entry now it’s finally arrived in the West. While it lacks the deeper tactical nuance of Warhammer Age of Sigmar: Champions, it’s still a fun and unapologetically Japanese arcade experience right there on your Switch.
Comments 26
I feel like this would be more appropriate as a F2P game. No?
Its decent enough for me as a dragon ball fan and a somewhat turn base ish jrpg. i put over 70 hours (or 60 i forgot) what i think is the last boss is kicking my buttocks and i haven't touch the other features around the game yet.
@RyanSilberman Why on earth would you want to give them more money, haha.
The game is pretty meaty, content-wise. Game play is hit or miss but it's cool that we are getting more Japanese arcade games.
@Kalmaro That just usually comes to mind when I think "video card game"
Hopefully this doesn’t convince people to think Goku can still be in Smash
Shallow? Really?
I found the potential for deck combos quite deep actually.
90% of the actual strategy happens during deck building, granted, but it offers quite a lot of depth on that end and a surprising amount of play styles given the relative length (or lack thereof) of the individual matches.
Overall, a 7 is absolutely on point though. Nothing revolutionary, but a solid, satisfying game it ungodly amounts of fan service.
Definitely enjoying it. I felt a little lost right off the bat and felt like I was missing some nuances, but that was because I got some ridiculously complicated cards from the gacha that I tried to use right away.
i quickly discovered using my favourite characters wasnt panning out for me as i got destroyed in story mode when i first started
I’d much rather pay for the game once and have it, than do F2P with small transactions adding up, or serving as a hindrance to enjoyment.
It may be you’ll spend less on Warhammer, but at least with this game you know it’s balanced around a 1 time purchase.
I was super interested in this game initially. But then I did my research and found the gameplay doesn't measure up. Shame considering this is what Xenoverse was based off... What makes it even worse is that this is coming at a time where Xenoverse 2 and FighterZ are already prevalent in the DB community. And then we have that new game on the horizon that we may just see at E3 this year. I can't see many people willingly picking this game up when they have much better to choose from. Cool concept though - if Yugioh didn't already claim that market.
From the comments, I have deduced that some people enjoy certain things, and others don't enjoy certain things! Fascinating.
wish they would knock it off with the dumb card game garbage...
I’ve been having fun with it. Just wish there was a way to play the actual arcade game.
@arekdougy I know right? What a crazy world we live in!
I STILL WANT YUGIOH!
It's a solid game. It may look like a cheap cash in game but it actually has a lot going for it. If you are a fan of DBZ you should consider it (at a sale)
Card games are an instant pass for me.
@Wavey84 Interesting. I found DBS Broly to be top 3 DB movies from the entire franchise, and while they messed up quite a few things during the ToP arc, it was overall pretty good and I loved UI. For now, I like the direction it's heading.
On topic tho: I disagree it being shallow as there's a lot of creativity in deck building and team formations. It leaves room for a lot of different play styles and there's no real "best" deck as everything has counters and many missions require different approaches than only 1 deck. It has well-thought out mechanics, cards and abilities which keep the game fresh and give you freedom to use your favorite cards and characters. If you're unsure about this game wait for the Demo to drop which is hopefully soon (it has been announced already iirc). But for me, who was hesitant to buy first I'd say it's an incredibly deep and fun game with a lot of content that's definitely worth your money. Personally i'd give it a 9/10.
@LetsGoSwitch This summer Legacy of the Duelist 2 comes out for Switch. I've logged some many hours on LotD 1 it's not even funny. But this has been a really fun game to bide my time till it comes out. I have to say the story mode has been great and Super Sayian Rose' Goku Black is crushing it for me.
@akash8899 No thank you, we don't advertise emulators here.
(I also don't understand why you would post this in a review comments section but there we go.)
@Wavey84 Episodes 77-131 of Dragon Ball Super are a better ending to DBZ than the Buu Saga was post-Vegeta blowing himself up to "kill" Fat Buu. Over the course of those Super episodes the animation gets really good (for the most part), tho nothing matches Toriyama's storyboarding. Can totally understand if those first 27 thru you off. 28-76 were all over the place too. But I adore the Universal Survival arc.
@Wavey84 Super is really really imperfect, but let me defend the end a little. I liked how Super ended because every arc or saga before they lost. In the Battle of the Gods arc Beerus pretended to fall asleep and didn't kill everyone after Goku lost. In Resurrection F Frieza blew up the Earth but Whis rewound time and gave them a second chance. In the Universe 6 tournament arc Hit won but let Monaka "punch" him out of the ring as an against doing the will of the gods (specifically Champa, because of something Goku says to him casually about not bending to their will forever). Zamasu won at the end of the Future Trunks arc until Zeno deleted that reality. So at the end of Super the victory feels REALLY earned for a change. Goku's transformation feels earned (seeded with Whis training early in the show specifically talking about such a form). Goku also technically loses to Jiren but is saved by his biggest villain in Z he showed compassion to AND another Z villain that was originally "created" to specifically kill Goku. Android 17 used to be a real person (kind of a vandal but still) before Gero did stuff to him and his sister...and with Krillin wishin him back in Z, etc, 17 getting a family and taking care of animals...I dunno, I felt like overall, any "safe" involved in the ending was earned by them losing every arc before, but winning because of the history the characters had (from DB and Z and Super). Goku standing against Jiren (someone who is a classic Z hero in a lot of ways, a Vegeta or a Goku or whomever, fighting alone selfishly ((see the Kid Buu rock paper scissors moment in Z) with Frieza and 17, people he's trusting they at one point would try to kill him...felt kinda great. Also I like a lot of the new character designs in Super (Zeno, Beerus, Whis, Universe 6 Saiyans, etc) but agree with you on Jiren...though I get what they were going for if you look into the non-mystical psychology of the whole GRAY ALIEN image. I'd talk more but have prob ranting enough!
Edit 1: One other thing...post-Vegeta blowing himself up against Fat Buu, DBZ took a turn peeing and pooping on every character after you spent hundreds (for some) of episodes investing in them. Gohan a disappointment. Gotenks pointless. Piccolo ineffective even as an instructor (Goten Trunks). Vegeta is pointless and even admits Gokus is and always will be better than him, etc. In this Super arc, everyone got SOMETHING. ANd the SOMETHINGS didn't feel super little either. Piccolo and Gohan and ROSHI! and even Krillin (with Goku stealing his new move to nearly defeat Jiren), etc. I'm a stupid dork maybe!
Edit 2: The Pride designs were kinda generic "the Avengers/Justice League with modern SH outfits x Super Sentai," but I really like Dyspo and the Joker and Harley Quinn style angel and God of Destruction, and by the end of Super I thought Toppo was friggin adorable.
The price is a joke right?
Love how people ate acting as though DBZ was ever not a side piece to Pokemon.
Nostalgia is such a strong drug.
Picked this up for sale on Friday, the cut scenes and story is kind of boring tbh, but absolutely love the cards and gameplay when you go into battle, the animations and combat is so much fun. Enjoying it a lot more than I thought I would after reading quite a lot of negative things about it.
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