Dragon Ball Z: Ultimate Tenkaichi is a game based on the and franchise . It was developed by and published by under the label in late October 2011 for the and . Despite its English title, it is not actually a part of the series.
The game is a 3D fighter that allows players to take control of various characters from the Dragon Ball Z franchise or created by the player to either fight against the , or with another player locally or online.The game was first announced under the working title Dragon Ball Game Project Age 2011 in the early May issue of magazine. The announcement featured several screenshots with and , in both normal and Super Saiyan forms, highlighting the game's mechanics. The announcement stated that the game would feature superb visuals and would be released in Japan sometime in autumn of 2011 for both PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 gaming consoles. A few days later the North American branch of Namco Bandai released a press statement announcing that they would be releasing the game throughout North America. They also confirmed that Spike would return to work on the game. The June issue of magazine showcased several screenshots of Goku and Vegeta, in his Oozaru form, demonstrating a type of timed button action mechanic. It also confirmed the return of the destructible environments mechanics from previous Budokai Tenkaichi and Raging Blast games
- Dragon Ball Z: Ultimate Tenkaichi received mixed reviews. gave the game a 7.5 out of 10, praising the graphics and combat, but criticized the storytelling and the repetitive nature of the battles.
- gave the game a 4.0 out of 10, praising the graphics, but detested the game's combat system as there is no sense of originality; the boss fights due to the frustrating stages; and the character creation system due to the limited amount of items given.
- gave the game a 7.5 saying "While combat can be a bit on the repetitive side, there's still that hint of satisfaction when you decimate your foe with an canyon-creating power move.
- There's a lot here for fans to enjoy, and while the story may be streamlined for new fans of the franchise, I can't really recommend it to anyone but the hardcore.
