Namco Bandai powers up Dragon Ball trifecta

E3 2009: Japanese publisher announces Raging Blast for Xbox 360 and PS3, Revenge of King Piccolo for Wii, Attack of the Saiyans for DS; DBZ license holder unclear.

LOS ANGELES--Namco Bandai today announced that it would be hitting the Dragon Ball franchise hard and heavy, revealing three new games based on Akira Toriyama's heralded anime. The first, Dragon Ball: Raging Blast, will see release on the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, while Dragon Ball: Revenge of King Piccolo will be available exclusively for the Wii, and Dragon Ball Z: Attack of the Saiyans will head to the DS. All three games are due this fall.

A fighter in the vein of Atari's Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi series, Dragon Ball: Raging Blast features more than 70 fighters, though Namco Bandai notes that the figure includes fighter "transformations." Fighters will be drawn from the Dragon Ball Z universe, with characters facing off to reenact various moments in the series. Namco Bandai also said that players will be able to "experience alternate universe moments that were left out of the original anime and manga series."

Namco Bandai promises interactive and fully destructible environments as well as high-definition visuals in Raging Blast. Special moves seen in the TV and print series will also be re-created for the game, with developer Spike also adding a new special attack system that lends an increased element of verticality to the battles. Players will be able to control Z-Warriors and their antagonists.

Dragon Ball: Revenge of King Piccolo for the Wii is an action adventure game that follows Goku during his formative years, what Namco Bandai calls a first on home consoles. The game will be set during Goku's Red Ribbon encounters, according to the publisher, as the aspiring martial-arts master builds his strength battling against a variety of enemies, meeting a number of iconic Dragon Ball characters such as Emperor Pilaf, King Piccolo, and the Red Ribbon Army.

Lastly, Dragon Ball Z: Attack of the Saiyans for the DS takes on the turn-based strategy genre, another first for the franchise, Namco Bandai claims. Attack of the Saiyans lets players flesh out their three-fighter squad with a number of Z-Warriors, including Goku, Kid Gohan, Piccolo, Krillin, Yamcha, and Tien.

Namco Bandai's announcements come as a surprise, given that Atari has long been the rights holder to the Dragon Ball game license. Indeed, according to an annual report Atari issued last year, the publisher said that 49 percent of its annual revenues during its 2008 fiscal year came from the Dragon Ball Z license. Last week, CEO David Gardner told GameSpot that Atari needs to strike a balance between working with its own intellectual properties and working with those of others.

Following a dispute with US anime firm FUNimation in October 2007, Atari signed a licensing agreement that would see it retain the rights to make games based on the Dragon Ball Z franchise through January 2010.

Atari had not responded to requests for comment as of press time. "At this time Namco Bandai Games America is officially publishing the 3 Dragon Ball games we announced today at [the Electronic Entertainment Expo]," a Namco Bandai representative told GameSpot.

69 Comments

  • dbzfan007

    Posted Sep 27, 2009 6:17 am PT

    I CANT wait for it!!!

  • ddlcpc

    Posted Sep 12, 2009 3:34 am PT

    is it ture that theres going to be ss3 broly in raging blast.. that woud be awsome..

  • ddlcpc

    Posted Sep 12, 2009 3:26 am PT

    raging blast gameplay looks more awsome than that of blast limit except for the character...

  • DarkSmokeNinja

    Posted Aug 3, 2009 9:19 pm PT

    I'm looking forward to buying this

  • bbymoss

    Posted Jul 14, 2009 5:34 pm PT

    They need to make a good Dragonball adventure game!!! Emphasis on good. Im a big fan of dragonball z and would love to play through an adventure. The arena fighting is fun but i want a developing story.

  • SUPEReeeGO

    Posted Jul 7, 2009 9:21 pm PT

    wow took them long enough lol. destructible environments should be fun. agree with burstlimit514 =D. weird how a lot of composers don't make more games based on anime like Bleach or Code Geass those have fihgting in them too lol

  • burstlimit514

    Posted Jul 6, 2009 1:22 am PT

    hope raging blast has online play.

  • _gamekid_

    Posted Jul 5, 2009 12:59 am PT

    I surely hope this game would be way better than burst limit.

  • axelviiii

    Posted Jul 4, 2009 2:06 am PT

    Im holding out a bit of hope for Raging Blast given Namco's fighting pedigree (Tekken and Soulcalibur for the uninformed), and I'm always happy to see a game based off the original Dragonball. The DS game also seems interesting, and could be really huge given the character count.

    Oops, wrong article.

  • daveneonfarrell

    Posted Jul 3, 2009 1:09 am PT

    Raging Blast looks like crap. Just a re pop of another weak tenkaichi. Bring back dimps and make budokai 4 already. Sheesh

  • ropumar

    Posted Jul 2, 2009 8:18 pm PT

    Naruto ultimate ninja storm is the best fighting game from any anime license.

  • Darryl_Green

    Posted Jul 2, 2009 10:12 am PT

    Hopefully this game goes above and beyond the call of duty of being a game for dragonball fans and becomes something everyone can pick up and enjoy. Also I hope they decide go back to the story mode format that was used in the original Budokai and put actual cutscenes back in the game. An open world story format in the vein of Budokai 3 would be nice too. The graphics really need to step it up though this looks like something I would've seen on my PS2 a few years back Burst Limit was a much better looking DBZ game this generation.

  • YamaBushi13

    Posted Jul 1, 2009 3:17 am PT

    What happened to the people who made DBZ Budokai 3 (not to be confused with DBZ Budokai Tekenchi 3), I think they're better developers (well with regards to controlling the characters)... I am still waiting for Dimps (the developers for the Budokai series) to release a DBZ game with a character list as long as Budokai Tekenchi 3!

    I will see what this one is like though... I dont understand why they keep remaking the DBZ series when they can venture into the DBGT series (ALSO). They should do stories that lead from the beginning of DBZ to the end of DBGT, with hidden characters from the movies!

  • FartMonkey65

    Posted Jun 28, 2009 6:33 pm PT

    I'm so so on the Raging Blast game for 360. I wasn't a huge fan of the DBZ games Spike made, but I love DBZ fighting games.

  • skywalkerforce

    Posted Jun 27, 2009 7:25 am PT

    I just bought Burst Limit yesterday and its great but it def could use some improving. I hope Raging Burst deals with these issues. And a all destructible environment makes for way better gameplay. Very Excited!

  • magintaspiro

    Posted Jun 24, 2009 4:49 am PT

    i can't wait for it

  • DBZMMO-er

    Posted Jun 23, 2009 7:05 pm PT

    DUDE THIS LOOKS AWESOME!!! YOU CAN SMASH THEM INTO STUFF AND BEAT 'EM UP WITHOUT DESTROYING THE FEATURE!!! THIS IS THE UPGRADED TENCHAICHI BUDOKAI GAME!!!

    I can't wait to see the new game mechanics towards this game! I hope you get more than 3 attacks per character... That really ticked me off. And an open world story line would be kick-ass

    and kevin104.......................... this is tenkaichi 4

  • speedy5212

    Posted Jun 13, 2009 12:16 pm PT

    -@damaster101
    How the hell do you think Burst limit's gameplay was like budokai 3 . IMO Budokai 3 is still the best . Budokai 3 was much more challenging and with alot better fighting system

  • heavenboy666

    Posted Jun 10, 2009 3:03 am PT

    I like all fighting game but DBZ the most.

  • ninjamaster209

    Posted Jun 9, 2009 10:28 am PT

    well I hate to say this but i am a fan of fighting games so dragon ball z raging blast to me look cool besides i have the burst limit one for the ps3.

  • chupamelpo

    Posted Jun 9, 2009 12:40 am PT

    Great another same repetitive DBZ game. Those budakai games were just very identical fighting games. Just COPY & PASTE, and lets resell it. Fool me once shame on you, fool me twice shame on me.

  • Greyfox327

    Posted Jun 8, 2009 8:33 am PT

    I wish they would make a new DBZ game in the vein of the Legacy of Goku games. Those were amazing. The Dragon Ball Advance game was really great, too.

  • T3h_M3tal_Biggz

    Posted Jun 6, 2009 8:59 pm PT

    This looks like crap, use NUN:S' engine

  • _AbBaNdOn

    Posted Jun 5, 2009 9:34 pm PT

    Sweet!!! Can't wait for Raging Blast, I love the BT series the most. A new special attack system has me worried, it was freaking perfect before.... Yeah I also want a NEW storyline. One centered around your own custom character. I want you to go from planet to planet and make good or evil decisions while you fight with and against all the classic characters. You end up either saving or destroying the galaxy.



    Its so frustrating to see Spike never try to do somethiing MORE with this series when there is so much potential.



    Anyways...screw tekken, street fighter, and virtua fighter!! HELLO Raging Blast!!!

  • weaselboy300

    Posted Jun 5, 2009 6:19 pm PT

    h all this other crap i dont think there going anywhere

  • Cantius

    Posted Jun 5, 2009 10:32 am PT

    No, Guitar Hero has way more milking than Dragon Ball Z games.

  • xgalacticax

    Posted Jun 5, 2009 10:14 am PT

    Tenkaichi 2 and 3 were amazing. Even though I loved Budokai 3, I cant go back to 2d after tasting the 3d ones. The fights are just like they are in the anime...u see a kamehameha form far away and watch it get bigger as it comes towards u...and of course at the last second u teleport out the way and assault the guy...awesome games. If you know how to play the game, u cant complain about Tenkaichi. The only problem was that moves were recycled and almost everyone had the same moves.

  • nintendoboy16

    Posted Jun 5, 2009 7:23 am PT

    Milking. I like the Dragon Ball series and all, but DBZ and Naruto are being milked worse than what Activision is doing Guitar Hero.

  • creativeminded

    Posted Jun 5, 2009 3:11 am PT

    Not interested. The last GOOD DBZ game was budakai 3. The Tenkaichi series looks great but plays awful and yes I have played and given them a good shot.

  • aura_enchanted

    Posted Jun 4, 2009 7:57 pm PT

    great more cultist fervor garbadge it can sit next to all the pathetic attempts at a gundam game and of course robotech battlecry XD.. i will neve touch any one of thses games so long as i shall live as what ones i ahve played have been gardage rehashed several times over.

  • John_Aguilera

    Posted Jun 4, 2009 6:01 pm PT

    YES!!!!!!!.....I feel like my life will once be complete after owning all three of these games lol....and Dragonball Online of course

  • V-Nine

    Posted Jun 4, 2009 5:37 pm PT

    ...I'm surprised, no mention of Dragonball Online....

  • slayersdeath200

    Posted Jun 4, 2009 12:09 pm PT

    i agree with -AK4786- it dose need a character creation mode and that would be cool for a new story as for playing the same DBZ story yes it is cool but how many times can fans go through it

  • DanieltheDead

    Posted Jun 4, 2009 9:17 am PT

    I didn't like Burst Limit too much, the graphics were nice, but the drama pieces were too repetitive, and I feel that from an overall gameplay standpoint it felt too simple, and was a step back from Tenkaichi.

    Um, Tiago...regardless of what developers and publishers might want to you believe, ALL games are made for cash.

  • kevino014

    Posted Jun 4, 2009 9:13 am PT

    When is dragon ball z budokai tenkaichi 4 coming?????????????????????????????????????

  • -AK4786-

    Posted Jun 4, 2009 8:51 am PT

    pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeese put some boloody caracter creation mode in
    its been years and this deserves it

  • damaster101

    Posted Jun 4, 2009 8:51 am PT

    Is Raging Blast going to be in a tenkaichi style?Burst Limit was cool but it was way to similar to Budokai 3, it was the pretty much the same game except that it had much better graphics and less characters.After playing the hell out of tenkaichi 2 and 3 with over 100 characters and those bigger arenas, it turns out to be play much better i just don't reckon side on fighting suits DBZ anymore because there is so much availability on the fighting style DBZ has. This sounds awesome though if its not like Burst Limit i'm buying this day one.

  • pakhair

    Posted Jun 4, 2009 8:33 am PT

    Looks Good,,,,,,

  • slayersdeath200

    Posted Jun 4, 2009 8:06 am PT

    Awesome I loved Bursts limit just hope this one tops that and comes at Budokai 3 level of enjoyment

  • tenlong

    Posted Jun 4, 2009 5:53 am PT

    A lot of characters in tenkaichi were copies of the same character. If there are 73 characters with no copies except for transformations i be fine with that. If there are same of characters with 2 or 3 copies i 'll be mad.

  • ScionofEntropy

    Posted Jun 4, 2009 3:59 am PT

    Didn't care for the Tenkaichi games, but I've heard Burst Limit is fun. If I end up enjoying that and any of these are like it, maybe I'll grab one.

  • minion715

    Posted Jun 3, 2009 10:00 pm PT

    more DBZ seriously the last best DBZ was Budokai 3 after that it has been slowly diying and i think by now it wants to be put to rest. i think that the only way they can save this game is to make a new season in the anime because how many times can you make the same game with the same story line seriously

  • tiago97

    Posted Jun 3, 2009 9:55 pm PT

    All the DBZ games after tenkaichi 3 were just made for cash including this one period.

  • faceman420

    Posted Jun 3, 2009 9:15 pm PT

    if they can't offer the same amount of characters from tenkaichi (over 100) then whats the point? the alt universe feature sounds coo tho

  • lil_z_95

    Posted Jun 3, 2009 8:43 pm PT

    wow im thinking the exact same thing i thought about burst limit (cant wait for this game/ gonna be the first to buy / gonna preorder it) but this time im gonna try to make myself wait and see wat it can really do this just better not be a let down

  • Red122

    Posted Jun 3, 2009 7:57 pm PT

    Huh will give the game a try seems like they are going a different route again but hey if it works well why not.

  • rodtotalover

    Posted Jun 3, 2009 5:31 pm PT

    Wow!!! Raging Blast seems cool a lot like boudokai tenkaichi but cool.

  • baltimore187

    Posted Jun 3, 2009 5:29 pm PT

    Wow tenkaichi 4! I'm just glad to have another option other than burst limit. I always perferred the tenkaichi series because i felt like the combat was more like the cartoon. I just hope they really focus on the oline aspect and not try to cash in with a oh-hum online mode.

advertisement

Hot Stories

Newsmakers

Featured Stories

Submit News

Got tips? Send them in!

Related Game

Dragon Ball: Raging Blast Boxshot
Dragon Ball: Raging Blast

Game Stats

  • Rank:
    36 of 76,758
    PS3 Rank:
    7 of 924
    Highest Rank:
    7 in 2009
    Tracking:
    516 Track It»
    Wishlists:
    431 Wish It»
  • Users Now Playing:
    60
  • Top 5 User Tags:
    1. blast
    2. raging
    3. dbz
    4. dragon ball
    5. dragon
  • Teen Rating Description

    Titles rated T (Teen) have content that may be suitable for ages 13 and older. Titles in this category may contain violence, suggestive themes, crude humor, minimal blood, simulated gambling, and/or infrequent use of strong language. Learn more

Full Game Details »Close
Also on

Related Games

Recent News

See All News »

Site Blogs