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The next Dragon Ball game won’t be on your PS3 or Xbox 360, nor will it require any Wii waggling. Dragon Ball Z: Infinite World is a PS2-only release, so we naturally had a few questions, such as why go back to the last generation? Why not make Budokai Tenkaichi 4 instead? And just what color makes for the best energy blast? So we asked Riyo Mito, one of the producers for Infinite World, just what the heck’s going on.
GamesRadar: What does it feel like moving back to PS2 hardware after creating Burst Limit, the 360/PS3 fighter often praised for its better-than-the-cartoon visuals?
Riyo Mito: We have released 360 and PS3 versions [of Dragon Ball games,] but many fans haven’t got a 360 or PS3. Therefore, we decided to release the game on PS2 for those fans. Also, we wanted to make a kind of compilation of Dragon Ball titles on PS2, which we released previously.
GR: Budokai 3 spanned the entire Dragon Ball universe, with characters from Z, GT and several of the movies. Based on the current roster for Infinite Worlds, it looks like you might be scaling back the fighter diversity. Is this is the case or are there some brawlers we've yet to see?
RM: We have not scaled back. In this title, there are more than 100 characters, including the transformed patterns from Z, GT and movies.
GR: Why the name "Infinite Worlds?" That sounds more like an RPG to us.
RM: The main mode of this title, Dragon Mission, allows the players to experience a variety of not only battles but actions from stories of the Saiyans, Majin Bu and GT. We named the game for the epic Dragon Ball universe, which can be experienced by playing the game.
GR: There have been a ton of Dragon Ball games in the past five years. We don't mean to sound cynical (we're fans of the show, after all), but what's left to explore in future games, let alone the aging PS2?
RM: We always receive a lot of requests for different kinds of games the DB fans all over the world want to have, so we actively want to develop DB games as long as the fans send us requests. As for Infinite World, this could satisfy the fans as a kind of compilation of DB on PS2.
GR: What lessons have you learned from creating the previous DBZ fighters, and how have you implemented those lessons into Infinite World?
RM: This title recaptured various episodes, which the traditional battle games could not deliver - like chasing Babbles or running on Ja no Michi - as action games for the first time. It could be a fun element for the fans.
GR: There'll undoubtedly be plenty of ways to fight, but what other modes will you offer?
RM: The game offers the main mode, Dragon Mission, in which the players are challenged by more than 130 missions, and a mode for playing in-depth.
GR: What will we see in the way of character customization?
RM: There are many kinds of customization items and the players can get them as they go on the main mode.
GR: What're the odds we'll see a Wii port down the road? Hasn't been much for Wii since Tenkaichi 3.
RM: Currently we don’t have a plan, but will consider if the fans ask us.
GR: Why do you think GT has been largely ignored in favor of Z, both as a series and as games? What does it lack from a developer's perspective?
RM: We don’t think anything’s lacking, but from the development point of view, we consider Z and GT totally different things.
GR: Finally, if you could shout really loud and summon enough energy to hurl a planet-cracking energy ball at your opponent... what color would that energy ball be?
RM: I guess it is light blue which is same as the cartoon series (laughs).
Oct 21, 2008
