This is a good time to be a fan of the Dragonball universe. The classic anime and manga series is back in the spotlight, thanks to a new television show, Dragonball Super, which is currently making its way stateside. And as if that isn’t enough, Goku and his friends are getting comfortable on next-gen gaming systems with two new releases in just as many years. Dragonball Xenoverse 2 continues the same approach and feel as its predecessor, with the familiar kinetic fighting style and storytelling techniques we’ve come to expect, for better and for worse.

Like in the first Xenoverse, in Xenoverse 2, you play as the character you create. You can even choose what race you want to be (Saiyan like Goku or a Namekian like Piccolo, to name a few). The beloved Dragonball timeline is in danger, so you’re tasked with being on Time Patrol and correcting unwanted changes to past events in the overall Dragonball story. On Time Patrol, you’re basically a time traveler, and it is indeed a smart and cool approach that fans of the series will appreciate. It gives the player the ability to relive and participate in historic fights.

On the flip side of this, the narrative can be a bit muddled and confusing at times (especially if you’re unfamiliar with any of the characters or events), but at least there’s an effort to make Xenoverse 2 more than just a button-mashing fighting game. That, however, is exactly where Xenoverse 2 gives itself a kamehameha blast in the foot; it often feels torn between what it wants to be and trying to do too much. The open-world aspect and going from place to place to find main missions and other adventures is nothing new – it’s something we see already in most modern games when it comes to storytelling devices that attempt to give a grandiose appearance. But Dragonball, at its heart, is all about the action and fighting, and for a game based on such, there sure is a whole lot of running around. Most Dragonball games of yesteryear skipped all the extra footwork and cut right to the good stuff, but the Xenoverse titles have a knack for testing your patience.

The hook of trying to save the Dragonball timeline is really the game’s redeeming quality, and as such, you can’t really have it without the more in-depth storyline. So, the good and the bad about Xenoverse 2 go hand-in-hand. It wouldn’t be a Dragonball game without the fighting, and Xenoverse 2 does indeed deliver on that, even if it’s nothing memorable or new. Xenoverse 2 has plenty of other things to offer besides the main story missions, too. There are Quest Events and Time Rift Events that will send you to various places, where you’ll run into all sorts of colorful characters. And, of course, there is some of that patented Dragonball humor to keep the mood light in between the epic fights.

Xenoverse 2 isn’t earth-shattering. It’s a continuation of the Xenoverse title that luckily has some elements of the new Dragonball Super television show. The Dragonball story seems to have become immortal, and Xenoverse 2 does a good job of keeping it powered up, even if it takes a while to reach the interesting parts, just like in the television show.

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Jason Savio