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%.
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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.”
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The game is utter PERFECTION
*Perfect Cell theme starts playing*
ouh yeah!!!!!!
A 2018 game an old 680 is able to max out at 60fps?!?
Great job arc system!
I mean its a 2d fighting game, it’d be sad if it couldnt run on an old gpu
2d in gameplay but the game use unreal engine 4
UE4 has paper2D, which allows for 2D creation. Its what my game is using right now. However, this game is 3D, yes.
I think you are correct. When it comes to these fighting games, I think the graphics are a blend of 2D and 3D (having 3D models) ?
Gameplay is obviously 2D.
It is technically a 3d game but it does not have to render a 360 degree environment. It’s 2.5D in that regard which is very light in terms of performance requirements.
Actually, the models are 3d, they are just designed to perfectly simulate a 2d cartoon/anime style, which Arc system does amazingly well. Everything is 3d in the game despite not looking like it.
excellent recap of what i said.
Yep, even consoles manage a stable 60fps with this game.
But after all, aren’t most of the 2D fighting games supposed be very LIGHT and easy on system/PC specs, in the first place (regardless of the release date) ?
Unlike other RPG, FPS, TPP titles which can be demanding on the PC, depending on the Game engine though ?
.
Tekken 7 and Injustice 2 can be pretty demanding.
The game is utter PERFECTION
“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.”
So 8K. That makes sense. I mean my G1 970 can run this game at 4K 60 fps with my I7 4770K at stock clocks.
i wonder where is Denuvo hater comment
maybe cant blame Denuvo because perfomance good on this game
I’m more baffled on why Namco decided to add Denuvo in the first place…
I mean, for crying out loud, a lot of people will get this game for the multiplayer alone… which you can’t get on the pirated version… Why the need to this DRM on top.
I was really looking forward to DragonBall FighterZ and I’m not even that big a fan of DBZ… I refuse to buy any game that uses Denuvo…
yes you refuse to buy any game that isn’t crack from your beloved torrent site for free
Which part of “I want to buy the game for the multiplayer” didn’t you get?
I know you’re trying really hard to troll and label people as filthy pirates here… something that I actively do not like or encourage myself… but I find it incredibly ironic how this antipiracy measure encourages even more piracy…
If Bandai Namco announces they’ll remove Denuvo soon after release, I’ll go buy Dragon Ball FighterZ as soon as it happens, I swear.
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/55f9b96444a3f669bf66ea7207faebcf712b37b0eacd77cf9b22666620bc7ca0.jpg
that filthy pirate durka durka is probably whining in his mother’s basement
have you guys tried turning down the scaling? it looks like a 3ds game, its hilarious.
“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.”So 8K. That makes sense. I mean my G1 970 can run this game at 4K 60 fps with my I7 4770K at stock clocks.
The game is utter PERFECTION
I’m surprised that at no point in the article was the 60 fps hard cap ever mentioned. You can clearly see this from the charts.
Well you are not going to want to play over 60 fps anyways in a fighting game…. It would break everything.
fighting games are supposed to be 60 FPS. It’s a core component of the genre.
A core component established due to conslow limitations.
Fighting games don’t have their roots on consoles… but arcades i.e. hardware that was traditionally leagues ahead of both home computers and consoles.
The limiting factor is the cost and sourcing of screens back then, and also, the consistency factor required of a baseline (since 60Hz has traditionally been the maximum for TVs it makes sense to set the baseline at 60fps, otherwise only people with high refresh monitors can play the game correctly).
There’s no good reason not to allow higher than that on “offline modes”.
Yeah… there is. Because fighting games are played using a consistent set of rules. One of those rules is consistent frame data between two players.
Say I come to a tournament, used to playing a 240fps version of the game, and you come used to playing a 120fps version of the game. We sit down at the same screen to play offline multiplayer and neither of us can hit our combos correctly because the tournament standard is 100fps.
See the problem? Unlike FPS games (where everyone has their own screen), the shared screen becomes the consistent baseline. So it makes sense to make that baseline as low as possible, whilst still being conducive to responsive gameplay i.e 60fps.
There`s been a lot of debate on this but the general consensus is that switching to ms over frames would simply balloon the numbers required to understand framedata. So a frame-based implementation makes sense.
Theoretically a fighting game locked to above 60fps could work, but it would severely limit its target audience.
It makes no sense.
CS:GO first major this year was last week, it was the first time they used 240Hz monitors, and probably the first time a lot of pro players tried them out, nobody complained. People adapt.
But fighting games are mostly played on the consoles, guess which machines can’t do more than 60fps?
There’s no good reason as I said, it’s the usual console limitation factor. If consoles next gen were suddenly upgraded to run 120Hz, we would start seeing fighting games at that refresh rate.
No… if you think I mentioned anything about system power you didn`t understand my point at all… It had nothing to do with power, or consoles.
Fighting games were mostly played on arcades. Not consoles. Arcade machines were more powerful than both consoles and PCs (as you`d expect from the huge price tag they came with).
THAT is what defined how they are played. Fighting games run at 60fps because most arcade monitors ran at 60 Hz.
Today the modern living room display is still 60 Hz, so the fps target becomes 60fps.
The scenario you therorised wouldn`t happen because power is not the issue. If it was non-demanding fighting games that use only 2D art would have already been running at 120fps last gen.
They weren`t and aren`t (not least because all but the newest of HDMI standards don`t support it, and when the most common displays and standards don’t support it then the no. of people who can use it becomes very limited).
NAMCO loves PC gamers, other software house like CAPCOM should learn from them
So why has SF5 been on PC since day 1 when it launched on PS4?
And what about Monster Hunter World? Anyway SF5 at the first (in 2016) was not a perfect port
Mouse support for a Fighting Game? Really? Even even if the keyboard did not work it would be alright since the game is unplayable without a controller or arcade stick. No1 is gonna drop the controller to run around with their avatar using a mouse… not every PC game needs keyboard/mouse support, get over it…