Despite being around for more than a decade, Dragon Ball Xenoverse is still one of my most-played games of all time, and its somehow still thriving sequel isn’t much further down that list. As much as I love Xenoverse 2 and respect how long it's managed to be supported by Bandai Namco, I’ve been dying to see the series finally move on to a new game.

A third Xenoverse has always been inevitable considering how massive Dragon Ball is, but the reveal that it takes place in Age 1000 and seemingly focuses more on telling an original story and not just slightly changing the past was a massive - but welcome - surprise. Don’t get me wrong, I love my self-inserted Saiyan, but Dragon Ball has such a rich universe that deserves to be explored outside of Goku.

I say new, but Age 1000 is when Dragon Ball Online was set. It doesn’t seem like Xenoverse 3 is taking too much from DBO beyond the date, though.

Outside of the new setting and my beloved John Dragon Ball, I wasn’t expecting Xenoverse 3 to stray too far from what made the first two games so beloved. After getting a first look at gameplay through a hands-off preview, though, I’m happy to say that Dragon Ball Xenoverse 3 looks like a massive leap forward that’s changing far more than you might expect.

Xenoverse 3 Is Making The Most Of Its New Setting, But Don't Worry About Classic Characters Being Gone

The gameplay demo started with our new hero waking up in the very messy apartment that was shown in the first trailer. While the demo only had two preset heroes to play as, one being the GOAT John, Bandai confirmed “many races”, and I saw the returning Majin, Namekian, and Frieza races scattered around throughout the demo.

One of the first major surprises of the preview came when our hero jumped down into a lobby and came face-to-face with Cell Saga Future Trunks and then even Saiyan Saga Vegeta. Bandai didn’t go into Xenoverse 3’s story, but it looks like iconic Dragon Ball characters are still going to be a big part of West City, even if there’s more emphasis placed on a new age.

Speaking of West City, I didn’t get to see too much of it aside from one area outside of the apartment complex, but Bandai promised that there’ll be plenty for players to do and confirmed that it acts as a new hub for the game. Even if I have no clue how extensive West City is going to be, it’s already a stunning sight for sore eyes after nearly a decade of knowing Conton like the back of my hand.

West City isn’t the only looker, as Xenoverse 3’s new style is a huge improvement over the last game, especially when it comes to character models. Gone are the glossy action figures, and I couldn’t be happier.

Soul Switching Is One Of Xenoverse 3's Biggest Additions, But Transformations In General Have Been Changed

After taking in the sights for a bit and talking to Brett and Gamma 1, the demo quickly moved on to a mission set in an icy tundra reminiscent of the one seen in Dragon Ball Super Broly. This is where things really got interesting as, although this is still a flashy Xenoverse game at heart, there are some very interesting changes, both big and small, that I wasn’t expecting.

On the smaller end, the number of AI partners you can have has increased from two to three, and Ultimate moves like the Super Kamehameha now being aimed before firing. It also looks like Ultimate moves are charged up over time instead of being linked to ki.

One of the big new additions is a mechanic called Soul Switching, which lets our protagonist briefly transform into another character. In the case of this demo, our hero turned into Future Trunks and was able to use all of his moves, including sword swings and his Heat Dome Attack ultimate. Xenoverse places so much emphasis on custom characters that it’s easy to forget its massive roster, something that Soul Switching could completely sidestep by letting you treat other heroes and their abilities as a power-up.

If you’re incredibly basic like me and are already planning to play as a Saiyan, you’ll be interested to know that Super Saiyan transformations have seen some big changes as well. For starters, your hair finally changes and spikes up when you transform, with Super Saiyan 3 even getting a unique animation showing your hair growing out. It may sound like a minor aesthetic change, but it’s easily the most requested Xenoverse feature out there and must have taken a lot of effort with all the hair options, so I’m really glad to see it.

What I’m slightly less sold on right now is that it looks like Super Saiyan is a timed transformation that needs to be earned, instead of being usable whenever and kept going by charging ki. On the one hand, it makes sense since you really had no reason not to transform straight away, but it’ll be a bit of a shame if you’re not able to maintain it once transformed. Of course, this is just my impression from a brief section of a hands-off preview, so there might be more to it than that.

From what I saw, Dragon Ball Xenoverse 3 looks like it takes everything we all loved about the previous games and makes them more cinematic and faster-paced. It’s tough to say for sure in a hands-off preview, but the interesting new world, gorgeous reworked visuals, and both significant and minor additions to gameplay have me incredibly excited to lose even more of my life to Xenoverse.

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Dragon Ball Xenoverse 3

Action RPG Action RPG Adventure Fighting Systems Released 2027 ESRB Rating Pending Developer(s) Dimps Publisher(s) Bandai Namco Entertainment Prequel(s) Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2, Dragon Ball Xenoverse Franchise Dragon Ball , Dragon Ball Z
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DIGITAL
Genre(s) Action, RPG, Action RPG, Adventure, Fighting Powered by Expand Collapse Next

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