Dragon Ball FighterZ is undoubtedly the most anticipated fighting game of 2018. Created by Arc System Works, Dragon Ball FighterZ is the closest we’ll ever get to the anime and it’s time now to see how this title performs on the PC platform.
For this PC Performance Analysis, we used an Intel i7 4930K (overclocked at 4.2Ghz) with 8GB RAM, AMD’s Radeon RX580, NVIDIA’s GTX980Ti and GTX690, Windows 10 64-bit and the latest version of the GeForce and Catalyst drivers. NVIDIA has not released an optimized driver for this game and as such, there is no SLI profile for it yet. This basically means that our GTX690 performed similarly to a single GTX680.
Dragon Ball FighterZ features a respectable amount of graphics settings, although they are not as extensive as those found in Injustice 2. PC gamers can select their resolution and windowed mode, enable/disable VSync, and adjust the quality of Anti-Aliasing, Post-Processing, Textures, Shadows and Effects. There is also a Resolution Scale option that goes up to 200%.
[nextpage title=”GPU, CPU metrics, Graphics & Screenshots”]
Dragon Ball FighterZ does not require a high-end CPU or GPU in order to be enjoyed. In order to find out how the game performs on a variety of CPUs, we simulated a dual-core and a quad-core CPU. And we are happy to report that even our simulated dual-core system was able to push constant 60fps at 1080p (and 4K) on Max settings.
Even though there is no SLI profile, our GTX690 was able to run the game with constant 60fps on Max settings at 1080p. In 4K, our GTX980Ti and Radeon RX580 had no trouble at all running it with constant 60fps. Even when we increased our Resolution Scale at 150%, our GTX980Ti was still able to run it with 60fps. When we set the Resolution Scaler at 200%, our GTX980Ti was unable to offer an optimal experience in 4K as we had framerate drops below 45fps.
It’s pretty obvious from the above that Dragon Ball FighterZ will run without performance issues on a variety of PC systems. However, and if you own a really old PC system, you can use some pretty amazing Low settings. Arc System Works has managed to replicate the looks of older 2D fighting games on Low settings, making Dragon Ball FighterZ look super-retro-cool. Believe it or not, this is one of the coolest Low settings we’ve ever seen, so kudos to the development team for offering something like that.
Now while the PC version of Dragon Ball FighterZ runs incredibly well and looks great, there are some minor issues with it. For starters, there is no mouse support for the Lobby areas. In Lobbies, players can explore a small environment and while there are menu options to immediately get you to specific locations, we would have loved to see proper mouse support. Furthermore, there are no keyboard on-screen prompts. Not only that, but the game only displays the default buttons. For example, the default button for the Light Attack is A. If you assign A to the Assist Move, the game will still display the A button for all the “Light Attack” moves. As such, even those with controllers that decide to use some custom layouts will have trouble as the game does not display the correct buttons.
And then there is the online mode. Arc System Works has introduced some really small lobbies, supporting up to 64 players. As such, players – at least for now – will have to constantly switch regions in order to find servers with Lobbies that have a respectable amount of empty places. Moreover, I had trouble getting to an online match. I had to wait for more than 10 minutes in order to find a match, even when I set my online preferences to “3 bars connectivity and up” and “Stronger opponents than me”. For comparison purposes, I could find – with the same settings – an online match in Tekken 7 in less than 8 minutes, and that game has a noticeable lower playerbase right now than Dragon Ball FighterZ. Hell, even in regions and lobbies with less than 50 people I had to wait over 5 minutes in order to get a match. And this is simply unacceptable for a brand new game.
All in all, Dragon Ball FighterZ performs and looks great on the PC platform. The game can literally run on a potato-machine, and that is amazing news for all PC gamers. However, Dragon Ball FighterZ does suffer from some issues (like the absence of mouse support and keyboard on-screen prompts). Not only that, but the online mode is seriously messed up right now. The inclusion of numerous lobbies and regions has actually a negative impact on matchmaking. And even though Dragon Ball FighterZ is a fresh title, we could actually play online matches quicker in older fighting games like Tekken 7 and Street Fighter V. And that says a lot about the online mode of DBFZ. Do note that this seems to affect all versions of the game and not only the PC. So here is hoping that Arc System Works will improve things sooner than later!
John is the founder and Editor in Chief at DSOGaming. He is a PC gaming fan and highly supports the modding and indie communities. Before creating DSOGaming, John worked on numerous gaming websites. While he is a die-hard PC gamer, his gaming roots can be found on consoles. John loved – and still does – the 16-bit consoles, and considers SNES to be one of the best consoles. Still, the PC platform won him over consoles. That was mainly due to 3DFX and its iconic dedicated 3D accelerator graphics card, Voodoo 2. John has also written a higher degree thesis on the “The Evolution of PC graphics cards.”
Contact: Email