is a

role-playing video game Role-playing video games, also known as CRPG (computer/console role-playing games), comprise a broad video game genre generally defined by a detailed story and character advancement (often through increasing characters' levels or other skills) ...

for the

Nintendo 3DS The is a foldable dual-screen handheld game console produced by Nintendo. Announced in March 2010 as the successor to the Nintendo DS, the console was released originally on February 26, 2011 and went through various revisions in its lifetime, ...

, based on the ''

Dragon Ball is a Japanese media franchise created by Akira Toriyama in 1984. The Dragon Ball (manga), initial manga, written and illustrated by Toriyama, was Serial (literature), serialized in ''Weekly Shōnen Jump'' from 1984 to 1995, with the 519 indi ...

'' franchise. It was released in Japan on August 4, 2016 with a localized version being released in North America on November 22, 2016. ''Dragon Ball Fusions'' was released in Europe, the Middle East, and Australasian territories on February 17, 2017.

Gameplay

''Dragon Ball Fusions'' allows players to create their own character, build teams, and collect ''Dragon Ball'' characters to fuse and create new ones to use during battles. It also allows players to take a photograph of themselves or their friends and

fuse Fuse or FUSE may refer to: Devices * Fuse (electrical), a device used in electrical systems to protect against excessive current ** Fuse (automotive), a class of fuses for vehicles * Fuse (hydraulic), a device used in hydraulic systems to protec ...

them.

Development

North American localization

In the game's North American release, all swords in the game had been replaced with sticks. Though no explanation as to why this change was made, a representative of Bandai Namco told

Operation Rainfall Operation Rainfall, commonly known as oprainfall, was a video game-oriented fan campaign founded to promote the release of games not available in North America. Initially aimed at promoting the North American release of three games on the aging ...

that the decision was made by Nintendo and Bandai Namco.

Manga

manga are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long history in earlier Japanese art. The term is used in Japan to refer to both comics ...

adaptation titled was serialized in ''

Saikyō Jump is a Japanese monthly Shōnen manga, ''shōnen'' manga magazine published by Shueisha. The magazine was started on December 3, 2010 with three completely original titles and seven spin-off (media), spin-off manga from series in ''Weekly Shōnen J ...

'' magazine from its May 2016 issue published in April 2016 to its May 2018 issue published in April 2018. Written and illustrated by Hiroshi Otoki, the story followed Tekka as he and his friend Pinich gather the Dragon Balls to wish for a "Number One in Time Space Martial Arts Tournament."

Reception

The game received "mixed" reviews, according to the

review aggregator A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews and ratings of products and services, such as films, books, video games, music, software, hardware, or cars. This system then stores the reviews to be used for supporting a website where user ...

website

Metacritic Metacritic is an American website that aggregates reviews of films, television shows, music albums, video games, and formerly books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created ...

, receiving a rating of 72/100 based on 37 critics. Kyle Hilliard of ''

Game Informer ''Game Informer'' (''GI'' is an American monthly Video game journalism, video game magazine featuring articles, news, strategy, and reviews of video games and video game console, game consoles. It debuted in August 1991, when the video game reta ...

'' awarded ''Dragon Ball Fusions'' a 6.75 out of 10, praising the gameplay and graphics while criticizing the battles and requirements for EX Fusions as "time-consuming". Heidi Kemps of

GameSpot ''GameSpot'' is an American video gaming website that provides news, reviews, previews, downloads, and other information on video games. The site was launched on May 1, 1996, created by Pete Deemer, Vince Broady, and Jon Epstein. In addition ...

awarded the game a 6 out of 10, criticizing the lack of English voice acting, the battle animations for being "repetitive" and the game itself for feeling like a companion to ''

Dragon Ball Xenoverse is an action role-playing fighting game based on the ''Dragon Ball'' franchise developed by Dimps and published by Bandai Namco Games. It was released in February 2015 for PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360, Xbox One, and Microsoft Windows. ...

''. The game sold 77,509 copies within its first week of release in Japan. As of October 13, 2016, it has sold 174,184 copies in the region. By 2018, it had sold 240,568 copies in Japan.

Notes

References

{{Authority control 2016 video games Bandai Namco games

Fusions Fusion, or synthesis, is the process of combining two or more distinct entities into a new whole. Fusion may also refer to: Science and technology Physics *Nuclear fusion, multiple atomic nuclei combining to form one or more different atomic nucl ...

Ganbarion games Japanese role-playing video games Nintendo 3DS eShop games Nintendo 3DS games Nintendo 3DS-only games Shueisha franchises Single-player video games Video games developed in Japan Video games with gender-selectable protagonists