Dragon Ball Z: Ultimate Battle 22
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| Dragon Ball Z: Ultimate Battle 22 | |
|---|---|
| Developer(s) | Bandai |
| Publisher(s) |   Bandai Infogrames |
| Platform(s) | PlayStation |
| Release date | July 28, 1995 July 1996 March 25, 2003 |
| Genre(s) | Fighting |
| Mode(s) | Single player multiplayer |
| Rating(s) | ESRB: T (Teen) |
| Media | CD-ROM (PS1) |
Dragon Ball Z: Ultimate Battle 22 (ドラゴンボールZ アルティメイトバトル22 Doragon Bōru Zetto Arutimeito Batoru Towintetzū?) is a video game based on the fictional manga Dragon Ball Z. It is called "Ultimate Battle 22" or "UB22" by the fans because it features a roster twenty two playable characters from the series. It was released in 1995 in Japan and 1996 in Europe. This 2-D/3-D combination PlayStation game features many attacks from the manga. The game is notable for using actual cel drawings from the animators as character sprites and cut scenes before the fights which were a novelty at the time of its original release in Japan (these cut scenes were removed on the European and US releases).
Another fighting game called Dragon Ball Z: Shin Butôden was released in the same era for the Sega Saturn, and is considered by many to be the better between the two games. The aforementioned game never received an American release.
When Ultimate Battle 22 was officially released in North America eight years later by Atari, no English dub track was produced and the pre-battle cut scenes were removed.
[edit] Characters
The 22 characters are comprised of:
- Super Saiyan Goku
- Super Saiyan 2 Gohan
- Majin Vegeta
- Super Saiyan Trunks
- Cell
- Android 16
- Android 18
- Frieza
- Zarbon
- Recoome
- Captain Ginyu
- Dabura
- Goten
- Trunks (Young)
- Shin / Supreme Kai
- Majin Buu (Good)
- Super Buu
- Super Saiyan Gotenks
- Great Saiyaman
- Krillin
- Tien
- Piccolo
There are also 5 unlockable characters. The unlockable characters are:
- Super Saiyan Gogeta (Although in US releases he was mistakenly called Vegito and given his biography. The goof of the character being created through earring fusion exists in all versions of the game, original Japanese included.)
- Hercule
- Master Roshi
- Super Saiyan 3 Goku
- Kid Goku
[edit] Reception
Ultimate Battle 22 was the subject of an overwhelming number of negative American reviews. The original Japanese game came out in 1995, and thus, by comparison to the more recent PlayStation 2 titles, the game paled.
- GameSpot give it a 1.2/10, calling it a "really, really terrible game."
- X-Play said it was "a waste of time and money."
- Official PlayStation Magazine gave it a 1/5, the second lowest score possible.
- Electronic Gaming Monthly said that "someone crapped in a jewel case and passed it off as a game."
- Overall, it has a 32% on Game Rankings.
