Joseph Bradford Posted:
Category: Editorials 0
I am not good at Fortnite.
Seriously, I'm terrible. The act of running and shooting is hard enough, throw in construction projects and I'm just doomed. It's because of this that I don't typically play the battle royale unless my friends have hopped in for some reason.
However, yesterday's update has me installing it, whether I have friends playing or not.
You see, when Dragon Ball Z launched in the United States, I was the perfect age. Every day after school I would rush home from the bus and quickly do my homework so I could watch DBZ on Toonami by 4:30.
God, I even remember the exact time it was on the TV on the Air Force Base's cable network.
If I missed an episode, I was relegated to just the recap on the next one to find out what happened, so it was imperative I was free and able to watch on time.
I grew up loving the escapades of Goku, Gohan, Vegeta, Piccolo, and gang. One of my most memorable moments as a kid growing up was being at a friend's house to watch the episode where Goku finally transforms into a Super Saiyan for the first time. It was legendary, and our reaction of surprise and just sheer excitement is forever etched into my brain.
I mean, I was such a DBZ fan I styled my hair for years after Trunks, even going so far as to hang myself upside down while a friend sprayed gold hairspray into my hair to be a Super Saiyan for Halloween one year.
So when DBZ crossed over into Fortnite, I knew the moment it was teased I would be reinstalling this. It's not just the skins that are doing it for me - I mean, from what I can tell there is no Trunks skin. No. It's the entire loving care taken by the Epic Games team to recreate a full map and environment that screams Akira Toriyama's anime.
From Adventure Island coming later this week, which will allow players to explore iconic locations such as Kami's Place, Goku's house, and the Room of Spirit and Time, I'm guessing I'll be spending most of my time lazily wandering the map to soak it all in. Epic even promises players can take part in their own Tenkaichi Budoukai, which I cannot wait to do.
Jumping into my first match as Son Goku, I was actually pretty giddy. Knowing that Epic had placed the Kame House somewhere on the map, that was the first place I looked. When I landed there, I thought I was alone, able to simply explore the tiny island and speak with Bulma, who is wandering back and forth along the beach. Using Gold Bars you can find throughout the map, you can buy the ability to fire off a powerful Kamehameha technique, or simply float around the map on your very own Flying Nimbus.
However, my brief exploration of the house was interrupted by a player who decided I was speaking with Bulma a little too long for their liking. I ranked 97th in that first match purely because I couldn't get over this iconic DBZ location in Fortnite.
My next few matches went better, though I was once again confronted with how bad I am at Fortnite. I didn't care, though. I was running around, transforming between the different Super Saiyan modes of Goku, settling on Ultra Instinct because, I mean, it looks really rad. I stumbled upon a helpless player who didn't see me, getting my first PK in quite some time in this game. However, while I was fumbling around with the transformations again, I was set upon by a player who already had their own Kamehameha.
Poetic justice or something? I don't know. All I know is I was having a blast.
I can't wait to explore Adventure Island as well as try out the bounty system, letting me 1v1 players on the main map. I'm also looking forward to working on my Power Unleashed! tab, which will unlock rewards that could see me finally trade my santa sleigh from a few years ago to the awesome-looking Shenron glider.
At the end of the day, Fortnite has had a lot of crossovers. From Marvel, Star Wars, Rick and Morty and more, I've not really been that excited to hop in for one. Nothing grabbed me as a must-see event, personally. However, Dragon Ball Z represents such a formative part of my teenage years - and it's something I've shared with my daughter as they have grown up over the years. It's a special part of my life and, while the event won't be around forever in Fortnite, I'm pretty stoked be able to take part while it lasts.
Joseph Bradford
Joseph has been writing or podcasting about games in some form since about 2012. Having written for multiple major outlets such as IGN, Playboy, and more, Joseph started writing for MMORPG in 2015. When he's not writing or talking about games, you can typically find him hanging out with his 10-year old or playing Magic: The Gathering with his family. Also, don't get him started on why Balrogs *don't* have wings. You can find him on Twitter @LotrLore