Skip to main content

'Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2' brings motion control features to Nintendo Switch

DRAGON BALL Xenoverse 2 - Features Trailer | Switch
Last year’s Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2 released to
Recommended Videos
fairly positive reviews, with critics praising its story, art style, and improvements over the previous game. But it’s 2017, and that means that any game worth its salt better be hitting Nintendo Switch. The game hits the portable hybrid system in just a few weeks, and a new features trailer will get you caught up to speed on the new version’s unique features.

The trailer — narrated with Future Trunks’ signature raspy voice — shows a player doing the one thing every Dragon Ball fan wants to do in a game: launch an energy attack with their hands. By using the two Joy-Con controllers and their straps, you can draw back your arms to charge up a shot and thrust them forward to send it barreling toward an enemy. Piccolo’s “Special Beam Cannon” attack even makes you point the Joy-Con at your forehead as you charge it up. Screaming at the top of your lungs is completely optional during all of this, but are you really getting the full experience if you don’t?

If you want to bring a friend into the mix, the Nintendo Switch version of Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2 is your best option. Using handheld or tabletop mode, you can battle in one-on-one battles, and you can even each use one Joy-Con turned sideways if you only have one system. Have a group of friends who all brought their own Switch? You can do local cooperative play with up to five at a time. The trailer shows these people playing together in either an apartment or a coffee shop. If it’s the latter, you probably shouldn’t use the motion controls or practice your scream.

Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2 is currently the only game in the series with a planned Switch version, but it might not be the last. Dragon Ball FighterZ, out for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One next year, could also come to the system if fans demand it. Producer Tomoko Kiroki said that the system’s lower technical specifications shouldn’t affect its ability to run the fighting game.

Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2 is out for Switch on September 22.

Gabe Gurwin
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Gabe Gurwin has been playing games since 1997, beginning with the N64 and the Super Nintendo. He began his journalism career…
My favorite Switch game of the year is already 25% off
Monkeys smash a robot in Super Monkey Ball: Banana Rumble.

It's been a peculiar year for the Nintendo Switch. The system has gotten a new exclusive every month this year, but few heavy hitters. Remakes and ports have padded out 2024, while smaller experiments like Nintendo World Championships: NES Edition have filled the cracks in between. There's few games this year that would rank on my list of all-time favorite Switch exclusives -- except for one.

Super Monkey Ball: Banana Rumble is that good, and if you don't believe me, you can try it for yourself right now. Sega's platformer is currently on sale during Nintendo's summer Play Together sale, which cuts the price of several multiplayer games. Despite just launching in June, you can now get Banana Rumble for $37, which is a 25% discount.

Read more
Nintendo is coming after Switch modders once again
A person plays Mario Kart 8 Deluxe on a Nintendo Switch in handheld mode.

Nintendo is no stranger to lawsuits these days, and it's filed two more, as reported Tuesday. One is against the owner of a company who allegedly sold modded Switches, while the other concerns the moderator of a subreddit where users could learn how to play pirated games.

According to TorrentFreak, which had copies of both complaints filed in U.S. District Court in Washington, Nintendo is suing Modded Hardware and its owner, Ryan "Homebrew Homie" Daly, for selling Mod Chips, modded Switch consoles, and a memory card that lets people play pirated games. Nintendo's lawyer wrote in the suit that this caused "substantial and irreparable" harm to the console giant. It's seeking damages for copyright infringement, along with other charges such as "trafficking in circumvention devices."

Read more
These underrated 16-bit classics just got new life on Nintendo Switch
A still from the intro cinematic for Rocket Knight Adventures: Re-Sparked.

There is no shortage of all-time greats to choose from when seeking out a new 16-bit platformer to play. SNES and Sega Genesis classics like Super Mario World, Sonic the Hedgehog 2, and Mega Man X are probably the first things to come to mind. During that same era, Contra and Castlevania developer Konami released a series of platformers that rivaled those greats but didn't get as much recognition as they deserved. Now, these titles are getting a new lease on life thanks to a collection that launched earlier this month on PC, PlayStation, and Nintendo Switch.

I'm talking about Rocket Knight Adventures, a 1993 release on the Sega Genesis, as well as its follow-ups on Genesis and SNES, separate titles both named Sparkster. These 2D platformers put players in control of an opossum named Sparkster, who wears a suit of armor with a rocket strapped to its back. These games aren't as widely remembered as many of their peers but are well worth the time of any platformer fan, so they are definitely worth checking out now through Limited Run Games and Konami's Rocket Knight Adventures: Re-Sparked, which came out right in the middle of Summer Game Fest this year.

Read more