Technical Questions
How do you play online?
Online play is conducted through a special netplay build of PCSX2 and ZeroTier VPN. Be sure to join the Discord server to ask questions, get help if you need it, and most importantly, organise games!
How many versions of the game are there?
There are two primary versions of Super Dragon Ball Z -- the arcade version, and the PS2 version. While there are three PS2 releases (NTSC-J, NTSC-U and PAL), there aren't really any notable balance differences between them. The PAL version is generally not recommended, though, as there are some unintended bugs and poor behaviour stemming from the jump to 50Hz.
Are there any differences between the arcade and PS2 versions?
There are no real character balance changes between the arcade and PS2 versions of the game, but there are some differences worth taking note of.
Differences in the PS2 version include:
- Six exclusive characters (U.Gohan, Videl, Buu, C.Frieza, K.Piccolo and M.Vegeta)
- Five new System Skills (The "Dragon" Series) can be inherited from Shenron
Omega Charge provides greater bonuses to ATK and DEF compared to the arcade version- Skills inherited from Shenron now take up an existing skill slot instead of their own skill slot, i.e. you cannot have a skill inherited from Shenron and a skill inherited from another character at the same time
Why is some of the terminology on the wiki different than in-game text?
In-game, the moves listed on the wiki as 'Supers' are written as "Ultimate Attacks" and likewise moves listed on the wiki as "Special Moves" are written as "Supers" in game. This is to standardize some of the terminology to be more in line with other games which use similarly basic meter systems. In general a lot of the in game text in the USA and PAL releases can be misleading because of poor translations.
Gameplay Questions
Do I have to grind to set up my character?
The netplay PCSX2 build linked above comes with packed in cheats that give every character infinite EXP and Dragon Balls, allowing you to immediately spec your character however you want.
Which skills should I pick?
Generally speaking, you should pick your skills based on what you think sounds good for the character and how you want to play them. That said, if you're completely unsure, each character's Skill Tree page will have a Skill Recommendations section which will showcase an example skill set that your chosen character will benefit from.
I picked the wrong skill/I don't like my character's skill selection! Can I change it?
Yes! On the main menu, select "Dragon Summon" and select the character card for the character you want to respec. Your character card must have seven Dragon Balls attached to it, but this shouldn't be a problem if you're using the cheats included in the netplay pack. Select "Your wish has been granted", and then scroll to the "Etc." category, where you can pick "Train like I used to!". This will completely reset your character's learned skills and refund all of their EXP, allowing you to start your skill tree progression from scratch.
How do I inherit skills?
From the character customization menu, select your character card, and then from their menu select "Skill Inheritance". Then, select another character with a completed skill tree. You will be able to preview which Battle Skill and System Skill are available to you from that character, and you can choose to inherit one or the other.
How do I open people up?
If you're in range, you can easily play a basic strike/throw mixup, as the only way to escape a throw is to move out of the way, and much of the time you can catch movement options with an attack.
However, the main way to open people up comes from applying cross-ups. While SDBZ does use a guard button, a very important detail about blocking in this game is that if your opponent crosses over or under you, you do not automatically turn to face your opponent while you are blocking, and can be hit from behind. This effectively means that you can set up "left-right" mixups that make your opponent guess as to whether or not they should release block to re-orient towards you or not.
There is a very complex metagame around breaking down defenses in SDBZ, especially when you factor in flight situations and how the Action Gauge fits into it, so the best thing to do is play, get a feel for it, and start experimenting with different options.
Is there a tier list for this game?
Below is a tier list devised by top Japanese player Kiru (aka Whitefreeza). Characters are not ordered within tiers.
S: Cell
A: Goku, Ultimate Gohan, Trunks, Majin Vegeta, King Piccolo
B: Android 17, Android 16, Android 18, Vegeta, Frieza, Cyborg Frieza, Piccolo
C: Chi-Chi, Videl, Krillin, Majin Buu
D: Gohan
Generally speaking, most characters are seen at high levels of play, as a strong understanding of the game systems and your character's options is more valuable than the overall strength of each character themselves. Top players such as Kabe, Nyakki and Kiru frequently do quite well with lower-tier characters (Kabe in particular is infamous for tricking people into thinking Chi-Chi is top tier). The only outlier is Gohan, who is seen to be notably weak compared to every other character. While he does occasionally see play, it's mostly for jokes.
A tier list for the arcade version of the game from top Japanese player Kabe can also be found here for those who are curious.
