# Dragon Ball Z: Ultimate Battle 22

Dragon Ball Z: Ultimate Battle 22 is a 1995 fighting video game developed by Tose and published by Bandai and Infogrames for the PlayStation. Based upon Akira Toriyama's Dragon Ball franchise, its gameplay is similar to the Super Butōden sub-series, consisting of one-on-one fights with a main six-button configuration, featuring special moves, as well as five playable modes.
Announced early in 1995 as part of the Super Butōden sub-series before dropping the Butōden title, Ultimate Battle 22 shares the same character sprites and roster with another Dragon Ball Z fighting game developed by Tose for the Sega Saturn, Shin Butōden, released months later in November 1995. The game garnered a mixed reception from European critics but a negative response from North American critics. Reviewers criticized it for the slow gameplay, controls, lack of story mode and visuals, but some commended its extensive roster of 27 playable characters. The title sold approximately between 260,942 and 320,000 copies during its lifetime in Japan.

## Gameplay

Dragon Ball Z: Ultimate Battle 22 is a fighting game similar to the Super Butōden sub-series. Players fight against other characters in one-on-one matches, and the fighter who manages to deplete the opponent's health bar wins the bout and becomes the winner of the match. The game features five modes of play, a roster of 22 playable characters and their respective transformations with five additional characters being unlockable via cheat code. The title is notable for using actual cel drawings from the animators as character sprites and cutscenes before the fights, which were a novelty at the time of its original release in Japan but theses cutscenes were removed on the European and North American releases.
Ultimate Battle 22 uses a customizable six-button control scheme. Special moves are present in conventional format, with most commands consisting of button combinations. Characters can also dash back and forth by pressing L1 and R1 respectively. Players can also charge their Ki gauge by holding the X and square buttons to unleash a special attack. Unlike the Super Butōden entries and Buyū Retsuden, the split-screen mechanic was omitted, and both fighters are now shown in a single screen.

## Development and release

Dragon Ball Z: Ultimate Battle 22 was first announced early in 1995 under the working title Dragon Ball Z: Super Butōden PlayStation Version dropping the Butōden title. Ultimate Battle 22 shares the same character sprites and roster with another fighting game developed by Tose for the Sega Saturn called Dragon Ball Z: Shin Butōden, which was released months later in November 1995 and is regarded to be the better between the two games but never received a western release. The title was first released by Bandai in Japan on 28 July 1995 and later in Europe in select territories in July 1996. Prior to launch, an album was published exclusively in Japan by Forte Music Entertainment on 21 July 1995, featuring arranged songs scored by composer Kenji Yamamoto as well as a vocal duet of the closing theme by Hironobu Kageyama and Kuko. The initial Japanese release included a paper for the special "Special Data Memory Card" gift campaign "Dragon Suzuki", which was distributed to 200 people via lottery. It was re-released by Bandai in Japan as a budget title on 6 December 1996. Bandai Europe reissued the title in Europe on 4 October 2002 with Infogrames handling distribution. This was the first release of the game in most European territories. The game was also released in Australia on 14 March 2003. When the game was officially released in North America by Infogrames on 25 March 2003, no English dub track was produced and the pre-battle cutscenes were removed.

## Music

Dragon Ball Z: Ultimate Battle 22 Game Music Birth Compilation (ドラゴンボールZ アルティメイトバトル22 ゲームミューヅック 誕生編, Doragon Bōru Zetto Arutimeito Batoru Towintetzū Gēmu Myūjikku Tanjō-hen) is the licensed soundtrack of the video game. It was released by Forte Music Entertainment on July 21, 1995.
This album features arranged versions of the game's music, composed by video game composer Kenji Yamamoto, as well as a vocal duet of the game's closing theme, Eien no Yakusoku, by Hironobu Kageyama and Kuko.
Track listing:
* 永遠の約束・オーバーチュア Eien no Yakusoku Ōbāchua/Promise of Eternity: Overture
* アルティメットバトル22・オープニング#1～#2 Aruteimeito Batoru Towintetzū Ōpuningu #Wan~#Tzū/Ultimate Battle 22 Opening #1~#2
* 戦場を駆ける Senjô wo Kakeru/Running onto the Battlefield
* Suite 5人の超戦士 Suite Faivu no Chôsenshi/Suite: The 5 Super-Warriors
* 集う超戦士たち Tsudô Chôsenshitachi/The Super-Warriors Gather
* 限界!!超サイヤ人3 Genkai!! Sūpā Saiyajin Surī/The Limit!! Super Saiyan 3
* ロイヤルガード Roiyaru Gādo/Royal Guard
* 絶体絶命!! Zettai Zetsumei!!/Absolute Death!!
* 最強の挑戦者!! Saikyô no Chôsensha!!/The Strongest Challenger!!
* TRUNKS
* 戦いは続く･･･ Tatakai Tsuzuku.../The Fighting Continues...
* 最凶を賭けて！ Saikyô wo Kakete!/Wagering On The Worst Luck!
* 地球の救世主!? Chikyū no Kyūseishu!?/Savior of Earth!?
* Suite 名場面シナリオ Suite: Nabamen Shinario/Suite: Famous Scene Scenario
* がんばれ！正義のヒーロー Ganbare! Seigi no Hīrō/Do Your Best! Hero of The Righteous
* 死神の降臨･･･ Shinigami no Kôtan.../Birth of a God of Death
* 永遠の約束 デュエットバーション Eien no Yakusoku Duetto Bājon/Eternal Promise Duet Version

## Reception

Aggregate scores :
| Aggregator | Score |
| GameRankings | 32.03% |
| Metacritic | 25/100 |
Review scores :
| Publication | Score |
| Consoles + | 70% |
| Electronic Gaming Monthly | 1.83/10 |
| Famitsu | 24/40 |
| Game Informer | 5.0/10 |
| GameSpot | 1.2/10 |
| GameZone | 3.5/5.0 |
| Jeuxvideo.com | 9/20 |
| Joypad | 86% |
| Next Generation | |
| Player One | 79% |
| GameNOW | D− |
| Ultra Player [fr] | |
Dragon Ball Z: Ultimate Battle 22 received "generally unfavorable" reviews according to Metacritic, holding a 32.03% rating on review aggregator site GameRankings. This is due to the fact that the game launched in North America in 2003, thus appearing much duller when compared to contemporary PlayStation 2 releases such as Tekken 4. The title was criticized for its slow gameplay, controls, lack of story mode and visuals but some commended its large roster of 27 playable characters. Famitsu reported that the title sold over 126,991 copies in its first week on the market. The game sold approximately between 260,942 and 320,000 copies during its lifetime in Japan.
Consoles Plus' Maxime Roure and Killer praised the animated visual presentation, audio and large character roster but both reviewers stated that this aspect was not enough to be a good game based on the Dragon Ball license, criticizing the lack of innovation. Electronic Gaming Monthly's three reviewers heavily criticized the slow gameplay, poor visuals, unresponsive special moves and unbalanced fighting system, claiming that "someone deposited excrement in a jewelry box and made it look like a game." GameSpot's Ryan Davis called it a "really, really terrible game." GameZone's Michael Knutson stated in his review that "This game never should have come out in America." Knutson criticized the lack of a story mode, gameplay, unresponsive controls and overall audiovisual presentation.
Jeuxvideo.com's Rroyd-Y criticized the lack of story mode, presentation and slow gameplay, stating that "Ultimate Battle 22 is one of those promising apps that disappoint from the first moments of play." Joypad's Grégoire Hellot praised the large character roster and pseudo-3D visual effects but felt mixed in regards to the sprite animations and criticized the slow gameplay and issues with collision detection. Next Generation reviewed the original Japanese release, criticizing the lack of innovation and sub-par graphics when compared to other fighting games, stating that "About the only thing this one has going for it is the vast selection of characters." Player One's Christophe Delpierre commended the graphics, animations, audio and playability, stating that "Without being extraordinary, this DBZ brings together enough qualities to satisfy fans of the series. When you are told that love makes you blind..."