Dragon Ball Xenoverse 3 Unveils Major Gameplay Trailer, Fans Displeased by Significant Nerf

Following the announcement of Dragon Ball Xenoverse 3 in January, Bandai Namco has finally unveiled the first significant gameplay footage for this highly anticipated action RPG. The trailer introduces several new game mechanics, such as Soul Assists and Soul Switch, allowing players to summon iconic characters like Vegeta for assistance during battles.

However, a notable change to the Awakening feature—essentially the game’s version of going Super Saiyan—has left many Dragon Ball fans feeling frustrated: this mode is now time-limited.

Set in a fresh Dragon Ball universe known as Age 1000, which occurs after the main series (with Goku’s birth taking place in the 700s), the game revolves around a player-created avatar. In the trailer, players can see the default Saiyan preset, J. Age, a nod to how fans affectionately dubbed this character John Dragon Ball when the game was first revealed.

After leaving a customizable apartment that acts as a home base, players enter a hub area for online interaction. J. Age then embarks on a mission that highlights the core combat mechanics. Familiar moves from previous entries return, including light and heavy attacks, boost chases, supers, and ultimates. Supers are powerful blasts and abilities that go on cooldown, while Ultimates are massive attacks with longer wait times between uses.

The new mechanics include Soul Assist, which allows players to call upon legendary Dragon Ball characters for support—Trunks and Vegeta make appearances in the trailer. Soul Switch enables players to temporarily take on the form of their Soul Assist character, with J. Age transforming into Trunks, who boasts quicker cooldowns and unique moves.

The controversial aspect that has upset many fans is the modification to Awakening. This feature, an alternative to Soul Assist, allows the player character to enter a power-up state. For Saiyans, this means transforming into Super Saiyan, while other species have their own variations.

The issue arises from the fact that, unlike in previous games, this power-up is now limited in duration: J. Age can only sport the Saiyan’s iconic golden hair for 60 seconds. One Reddit user expressed their hope that the community would voice their discontent until a change is made, stating, “I hope to see the whole community bashing this idea nonstop until they change it, because they won’t do anything if they can pretend it’s only a minority of people.”

Another user chimed in, saying, “Yeah, I’m gonna be honest, this is terrible. One of the best parts of 1 and 2 was being able to maintain your transformations. If they want timers, then there needs to be some sort of mastery mechanic. We know characters can master Super Saiyan to stay in it indefinitely, so let us do the same. Making forms always limited is just going backwards and it sucks.”

While reverting Awakening mode to be indefinite would likely require significant balancing, Xenoverse 3 currently lacks a specific release date. It’s slated for 2027, leaving room for potential adjustments if the development team chooses to respond to player feedback. In the meantime, some fans are urging the Dragon Ball community to rally together, drawing parallels to how Sonic fans successfully campaigned for a redesign of the character in the first live-action movie.

Dragon Ball Xenoverse 3 is set to launch on PlayStation 5, Windows PC, and Xbox Series X in 2027, giving players ample time to digest this change.