Introduction

Gather 'round, anime aficionados and button-mashers alike. Today, we dive into the calamity that is Dragon Ball Z: Ultimate Battle 22. Released in the twilight days of '95 when baggy jeans were a thing, and so was questionable gaming design, this gem appeared right before we collectively decided that PlayStation could handle more than just simple 2D fighters.

Gameplay

Ultimate Battle 22: the fighter that promised the world and delivered an expired coupon instead. Infamous for its one-on-one duels, the game allows players to select from a staggering 22 characters, plus five unlockables via cryptic cheat codes from your uncle who probably didn't actually know what he was talking about. Matches are simply about depleting the opponent's health bar - nothing too revolutionary, until you realize that watching your opponent's health bar disappear feels like waiting for your pizza to arrive, slowly. Expect a customizable six-button control scheme, making it feel like you are playing Twister with your fingers. However, good luck performing a special move without accidentally sending your character into a mini dance-off instead. Dash techniques were included as well, but with all the speed of a sloth trying to find sunglasses in a dark room. Forget split-screen because now everything is crammed into a single screen - just visualize and squint, it'll work eventually. Battles cease to be exhilarating the moment you realize the gameplay is, well, slower than a dial-up connection. Instead of feeling like Goku, you might feel more like a turtle trying to catch a jet plane.

Graphics

Graphically, the game tries to harness the beauty of cel-animated sprites, perhaps foreshadowing greater things to come, but ends up looking like a PowerPoint presentation gone wrong. While playing, you might spot some well-drawn cels (if you squint hard enough), only to have your hopes and dreams crushed when you realize the visuals have been skimped on in the North American and European releases. Ah, removing features for localization: a classic move and a way to earn player ire. Backgrounds might feel like they were hastily assembled during a lunch break. They're like the IKEA furniture of gaming - just lines of brown, almost captivating, but mostly just the backdrop for the drama unfolding on the battlefield of mediocrity. All this aside, one can still appreciate the ambitious attempts at animation during its era, serving as a sad reminder of how far we've come in the gaming world.

Conclusion

In summary, Dragon Ball Z: Ultimate Battle 22 might just be at the bottom of the barrel when it comes to 90s fighting games, making even the franchise's loyal fans question their life choices. Critics savaged it with a score of 32% on GameRankings. What could have been Buu-level amazing turned out to be more like 'meh'. Some attempts at diverging from the known gameplay norms fell flat - far flatter than Goku's stomach post-Namekian feast. Sure, a large character roster exists, but having 27 characters doesn't even bridge the gap between fun and frustration. You'd have a better time trying to convince your cat to play than spending an entire afternoon with this game. So, whether you're a die-hard DBZ fan or just someone craving combat thrill, perhaps it's time to power up and look elsewhere. Unless you enjoy long bouts of absolute confusion and the sort of suffering that only old-school gaming can provide. In that case, welcome to Ultimate Battle 22: the game that tests your patience more than your reflexes.

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