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Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2 Producer Listens to Fan Feedback for Sequel’s Improvements

In an interview with Siliconera, Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2 Producer, Masayuki Hirano, discussed some of the changes that are being made to the fighting game sequel and how many of the new additions were based on fan feedback.

“Based on user feedback, we got responses from fans who said they were playing online and the opponent does long range attacks and then keeps running to try to win with a time out,” said Hirano.

Hirano and the others at work on the title are hoping to fix this issue with a new system mechanic.

“…with Xenoverse 2 we are adding a new system called the Reverse Dash, which you can use to automatically pursue an opponent,” stated Hirano.

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“During this dash if you put in a special command after you dash towards the opponent you will be able to change the direction you’re flying to get behind them. You will be able to dodge and prepare for a counterattack at the same time.”

There will also be a new mechanic called the “Stamina Break.” This will allow players to take away an opponent’s stamina while following up with a quick combo. This addition to the system was created after fans said it was too difficult to pull of combos due to the quick teleportation mechanic in the previous title.

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Hirano was then asked about how the development team handles different kinds of feedback from competitive players and more “technically light” gaming fans.

“It may be a little difficult, but we want to listen to both,” said Hirano. “In terms of Dragon Ball Xenoverse, we wanted to make it easy for everyone to join in and fight, but keep the combat system deep. This way people that are hardcore fighting game fans will be able to enjoy the game as well.”

Hirano later confirmed that the game would include the same number of playable races from the previous game, but that they “are going into each race and expanding the experience with each one.”

The interview ended with discussion around the hub world, Conton City. Hirano stated that there will be a variety of side quests, and that players will be able to teleport to different areas within the Dragon Ball world to explore.

More recently, Bandai Namco UK announced that Frieza’s brother, Cooler, will play a role within the game’s story mode. Taking what Hirano said into consideration, this is likely to be one of the quests that takes players to other explorable locations, this quest’s being the planet Namek.

If you are interested in seeing further breakdowns of the new combat system, YouTuber Ndukauba, has a video showcasing a few of the new mechanics.

Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2 will release on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC later in 2016.

Sources: Siliconera, Bandai Namco, Ndukauba

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Line Up Wacky Kill Setups with Back Air Cancelling in Super Smash Bros. for Wii U

As the meta for Smash 4 expands to include more and more tricky tech, it’s only natural that players would discover certain techniques that are very useful but only available to certain members of the cast. One such tech is Back Air (or Bair) Cancelling, which was recently documented by r/smashbros user MdFalcon. This tech can only be used by Mario, Dr. Mario, Luigi, and Peach, and it involves a player rolling towards a ledge, holding the direction so you go offstage and then inputting a back air as soon as your character falls off. If done correctly, the character should do an instant back air and then reset to their standing position with hardly any landing lag.

MdFalcon is not quite sure what causes this unique interaction, but suggests that these characters’ back airs shift their hurtboxes above the stage for a split second as you roll off, causing them to appear back on stage once the back air has finished. Out of the tournament legal stages, Back Air Cancelling can be performed on Duck Hunt, Town and City and Final Destination reliably. It can work on Lylat Cruise as well, but the stage tilting can mess up the cancel and just make you fall offstage.

So far, the usage of this tech is to set up for jab locks, with characters like Mario being able to back air to cause a hard knockdown, then follow up with a fireball to charged forward smash for a potential kill. It can also force situations where characters are forced to tech in order to avoid extra damage. Compared to other stage or character-specific techs, Back Air Cancelling seems very useful and like something which can be easily added into someone’s repertoire without having to change to a new control scheme or fundamentally change the way that they play.

Sources: r/smashbros, MdFalcon