Review: Dragon Ball Z – Ultimate Tenkaichi (PS3)

There’s always a new game on the horizon. We get teasers, we get screens, we read previews and reviews and then – sometimes – we see enough to convince us to actually buy the game afterwards. It’s the great big circle of life. No, wait – that was The Lion King. My bad. I mean the circle of gaming.

I’d been aware of 3D Dot Game Heroes – a faint, dull throb in the back of my brain. I’d read a little about the Japanese release, and I’d seen a screen or two. And because I’m me, I’d kind of shrugged – meh – and moved on. There are prettier games. Smarter games. Funnier games. Sure, it looks fun – novel, even. But nothing special. Right?

Wrong. To see just how wrong I was, join me after the break …

3D Dot Game Heroes is a classic case of not judging a game by its pixels. But thanks to a brief web presentation by Atlus earlier today (well, tonight in my time zone), I have now seen the error of my dismissive meh-ing. An intelligent, nostalgic action-adventure, 3D Dot Game Heroes not only nods back fondly at the 8-bit games of yesteryear, it jumps up and down and SCREAMS for their attention.

To begin, we see firsthand how one can design one’s own 3D hero in what appears to be an intuitive 3D grid. Better yet, if – like me – you have the pixel design skills of a dead donkey, you can select from a gallery of cute little characters who are ready to grab their unfeasibly-gigantic sword (no peni-sorry, I mean, sword envy in this game, my friends) and kick ass.

What smacks you over the head with obviousness is the game’s similarities to Zelda et al, a deliberate and tongue-in-cheek homage to the RPG games we veterans grew up, with according to Atlus PR Manager Aram Jabbari. Dungeon levels, weapons, dash boots – hell, even crab-like overworld enemies – all of them carry a wisp of nostalgia. The bright, vibrant overworld carries all of the hallmarks we’ve come to love, including puzzles, combat and easter eggs, and all the environments look vaguely familiar, as though we’ve been here before at another time, another age, maybe another game. The screens simply don’t do it justice. And whilst you’d expect a pixel world deliberately themed around the technology of yesterday to sit on its laurels when it came to visuals and gameplay, it actually doesn’t. 3DDGH runs away with the PS3′s technology to provide dynamic, immersive environments.

In addition to the main narrative, there are a number of mini-games, including Blockout, Dash Circuit and Block Defense. There are surprises, jokes and puzzles galore. Whilst you may be able to complete a straight-run in 10-12 hours or so, to finish up completely – including all the side quests and easter eggs – you’d need to invest three times that much.

Without getting my hands on a preview (*cough*), it’s difficult at this juncture to talk in any detail about gameplay. But right now, there’s little to criticise. I’m not sure how this’ll translate to the young(er) generation, for you might have had to have been there to first time around to fully appreciate some of the in-jokes and references, but Atlus remain confident that anyone – without any prior RPG history – can pick this up and have fun. And I’m inclined to agree.

Regrettably, at this time it seems unlikely that the game’s going to ship with any interesting pre-order specials, which is a shame because the soundtrack – a delightful 8-bit blend oh-so-similar to that other RPG – is incredible. But as the game still aspires to retail for a shockingly-reasonable $39.99 – yes, that’s a brilliant new game entering the market at $39.99 – I’m happy to strip off the bells and whistles. This game doesn’t need gimmicks to sell. Trust me – just look at the 105 loading screens (which are proudly displayed in a gallery) to see what I mean.

Scheduled for a NA release on 11 May 2010, 3D Dot Game Heroes is a PS3 exclusive. And it is much, much more than just a bunch of pixels.