The ‘Dragon Ball’ franchise has a long history in video games, dating all the way back to 1994. It was only natural that the Z warriors would be blasting their way onto mobile devices and have had many titles on iOS and Android devices, with the most popular being’ Dragon Ball Z: Dokkan Battle’ and ‘Dragon Ball Legends’.

A brand new Dragon Ball game is on its way to not only mobile, but also home consoles. Published by Bandai Nampo and developed by Ganbarion, ‘Dragon Ball: Gekishin Squadra’ is now at full power and ready to be unleashed on PlayStation 4|5, Nintendo Switch and PC, as well as iOS and Android devices.

There isn’t much of a plot, but the theme is that Lord Beerus and Lord Champa, brothers and Gods of Destruction of their respective universes, have chosen their strongest warriors to pit them against each other. Dragon Ball: Gekishin Squadra is a free-to-play, top-down action RTS online multiplayer game that features 4v4 battles where players must utilise heroes’ abilities to turn the tide of battle.

Beginning the game, players will be taken through a tutorial explaining the game mechanics, and this can be accessed anytime to help players perfect their skills. The overall gameplay mechanics are simplified, making the game easy to learn and play, but it can be hard to master, especially against opponents online. Each battle will have you in a team of four against another team of four. Players can be paired up with three random teammates or can invite their friends to join the battle.

There are three main game modes to participate in, including Standard Battle, Land Grab and Finders Keepers. In Standard Battle, players will fight to grab the Dragon Ball by eliminating the Gods of Destruction from other universes. Aside from battling the other team, there are also common enemies and four CPU-controlled bosses that spawn in at certain times, and if players can defeat them, they’ll gain an advantage for their team.

Before the match begins, “Divine Draw” will randomly choose two special rules that will impact the battle. At certain ranks, players can also use “Divine Combo Cards” during battle that give perks to characters.

In Land Grab, players will have to hold three plots of land on the map to generate points. The first team to reach 500 points wins the match. In Finders Keepers, players are split into two teams: one attack and one defence. The attack team must find hidden treasure chests, while the defence team must prevent the attack team from finding the treasure by defeating them and setting traps.

There are currently 22 playable characters representing every series of the Dragon Ball franchise. They include three versions of Goku, Vegeta, Piccolo, Krillin, Gohan, Trunks, Uub, Frieza, Cell, Android 17, Android 18, Baby, Bojack, Caulifla, Kale, Cooler, Dabura, Gamma 1 and Gamma 2 (who work as a duo), Hit, Majin Buu and Zamasu. Many other fan favourite characters, unfortunately, aren’t playable at this time, but could always be added later on. Various other characters also appear either as helpers to assist in battle or as common enemies and bosses.

Each playable character has their signature moves, so fans can enjoy seeing Goku performing his Kamehameha, Vegeta with Galick Gun and Piccolo with Special Beam Cannon. Certain characters also have different forms, such as the Saiyans becoming Super Saiyans and Cell and Cooler achieving their final forms and remaining that way for the rest of the match.

Kale is the only character who can transform into her Legendary Super Saiyan form, but changes back to her base after the time is up. Strangely, Frieza is only available in his base form, so hopefully his perfect form will be added later.

There are three different character classes, including Damage, Technical and Tank. Damage characters focus on inflicting damage, Technical characters are the all-rounders and Tank characters are best for taking the brunt of the damage to protect the rest of the team. The game seems to match you up with specific players to make sure the three classes are evened out, but if playing with friends, you may need to work out who gets which role. Each player will control one character and have access to their moveset.

The overall game may seem a little confusing at first, but it won’t be long before players are getting straight into the heat of the action. There is more to the game than just diving in and throwing hands with the opponents. Players will also need to think of strategies and positioning. For example, if a teammate is attacking from the front, the opponent’s back is left open for you to attack. Certain moves can also cover areas, so any enemy caught in the attack zone will take damage.

When setting up a special move, the area that they cover will be highlighted to show where your attacks will land and help you time your attacks. You’ll not only have the opposing team of human players to worry about, but also common enemies and CPU-controlled bosses to keep you busy.

Mobile games often get a bad rap in certain countries, but no one can deny that this game can provide hours of pure fun thanks to the wide selection of characters from the world of Dragon Ball, familiar and famous moves from the show, being able to team up with up to three friends and its addictive and competitive gameplay.

In my personal experience, the online play has been smooth with no noticeable lag at all, and crossplay is available between all relevant consoles and even mobile devices. As long as you have internet access, you’ll be able to play the latest Dragon Ball game from the comfort of your home or on the go. Cross Progression is also available by using the same Bandai Namco ID, so players can log into different consoles or mobile devices and continue their game with everything they have.

The graphics are kept simple so it has the same consistency across each platform and so mobile devices can handle them. Dragon Ball is also known for its unique art style and character design, and that is well represented in this game. The character models use cel-shaded graphics, making the characters look like they were taken straight from the anime, while environments look more 3D but still have that signature Dragon Ball look and feel.

The way the characters animate also recreates the hard-hitting action incredibly well, making it feel like you’re watching scenes from the anime. Adding to all this, voice actors in both Japanese and English reprise their iconic roles and can be heard throughout the game, which will certainly please diehard fans.

There is plenty to keep players coming back, such as rewards, ranking up and collecting various badges, titles, outfits, new characters, new moves and more. A lot can be earned through game progression, but even more can be achieved by opening loot crates in the form of Capsule Corp capsules. Dragon Ball: Gekishin Squadra is a free-to-play game, but there are certain things that can be paid for, such as more capsules or in-game currency. The paid content is completely optional, and thankfully, the game is not pay-to-win, so players will have to rely solely on their skills to achieve victory.

The Dragon Ball franchise has a long list of fantastic games packed with fan service, and the latest game is bringing more of it. At its core, it is a mobile game, but it works just as well as a console or PC game and having crossplay and cross progression between all the relevant devices opens it up to many more players worldwide. Dragon Ball fans have no excuse to not try this free-to-play game featuring their favourite Z Warriors.

The game is easy to play and tough to master, but its addictive and competitive gameplay will keep players coming back for more. Whether you’re at home or on the go, Dragon Ball: Gekishin Squadra will have you ready for battle!

Written by: Sammy Hanson