Let’s be real for a second. Most licensed anime games have the shelf life of an open carton of milk. You play them, you see the flashy ultimate moves, you beat the story mode in six hours, and then they gather digital dust in your library. But Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2 PS4 is different. It’s weird, actually. We are talking about a game that launched back in 2016. In tech years, that’s basically the stone age. Yet, if you log onto the Conton City servers today on your PlayStation, the place is still buzzing with Time Patrollers sprinting around on floating logs and hoverboards.
It shouldn't work. By all accounts, the industry should have moved on to the next big thing. We've had Dragon Ball FighterZ, Kakarot, and even the massive launch of Sparking! ZERO. But Xenoverse 2 just refuses to die. It’s the "Everlasting Gobstopper" of fighting RPGs.
The Secret Sauce of the Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2 PS4 Experience
What actually keeps people coming back? It isn't just nostalgia. It’s the fact that Dimps and Bandai Namco turned this into a platform rather than just a standalone title. When you boot up Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2 PS4, you aren't just playing a fighting game. You’re playing a "What If" simulator.
The core loop is brilliant: you create a character—a Saiyan, Namekian, Earthling, Majin, or Frieza Race—and you fix a timeline that’s being sabotaged. You know the drill. Raditz dodges the Special Beam Cannon. Frieza goes Full Power too early. It’s fan fiction, but the high-budget kind.
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The PlayStation 4 version specifically holds a weirdly nostalgic spot. While the game has since migrated to PS5 with 4K upgrades and 60 FPS, the PS4 community remains the bedrock. It’s where the most "sweaty" PvP players live. It’s where the legacy saves are. Honestly, the game runs surprisingly well on the older hardware, even when things get chaotic with six-player Raid Bosses.
The Customization Rabbit Hole
Let’s talk about the avatars. Your "CAC" (Create-a-Character) is your digital identity. People spend literal hours—I’m not joking, hours—fine-tuning their height and weight. Why? Because it actually matters for your stats. A taller character has more health but moves slower. A thinner character deals more blast damage.
You’ve got thousands of combinations of clothes, souls, and moves. Want to give a tiny Majin the Spirit Bomb and a tuxedo? Go for it. Want a Namekian that specializes in sword fighting? Sure. This granularity is why the game stays fresh. Every time a new DLC drops—and they are still dropping them in 2024 and 2025—the meta shifts. Suddenly, a move like "Beast Gohan’s Special Beam Cannon" becomes the must-have tool for PVE experts.
Why Does It Still Cost Money?
One of the biggest complaints you see on Reddit or GameFAQS is the price of entry. Even years later, the base game and its mountain of DLC can be pricey. But here’s the thing: you can’t look at Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2 PS4 as a $20 game. It’s a massive ecosystem.
There are over 120 characters if you count the DLC. We are talking everyone from Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero characters like Orange Piccolo to deep cuts from the movies like Tapion.
- Extra Passes
- Ultra Packs
- Legendary Packs
- Conton City Vote Packs
It’s a lot. If you’re just starting now, honestly, wait for a sale. Bandai Namco hits those "Big in Japan" or "Publisher Sale" events on the PlayStation Store almost every other month. You can usually snag the base game for under $10.
The Performance Reality Check
If you are playing on a base PS4, you might notice some frame drops in the crowded hub world of Conton City. It happens. The hardware is pushing a lot of avatars at once. However, inside the actual 1v1 or 3v3 battles, the game targets 60 FPS. It feels snappy. The input lag is minimal, which is why the competitive scene, though niche and sometimes toxic, is still incredibly active.
If you've upgraded to a PS5 but are playing the PS4 version via backward compatibility, you'll get those rock-solid load times. Transitioning from the hub to a mission takes seconds instead of the minute-long wait times we suffered through back in 2016.
Facing the Grind: What Most People Get Wrong
New players often think they can just power through the story and be done. That’s a mistake. The real game starts after the credits roll. You have to handle the Parallel Quests (PQs). These are the meat of the game.
You’ll find yourself grinding PQ 122 or PQ 150 dozens of times just to get a specific move or a "Super Soul." It’s basically Monster Hunter but with Kamehamehas. Some people hate the "RNG" (Random Number Generation). It can be brutal. You might finish a mission with a Z-Rank and still not get the drop you want. It’s frustrating.
But that frustration is what makes it satisfying when you finally see "Skill Acquired" flash on the screen. It’s a dopamine hit.
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The Community and Modding Scene
While the PS4 version doesn't have the "wild west" modding scene of the PC version (where people literally add Marvel characters or ultra-realistic textures), it does have a very dedicated community. The "Photo Mode" community on PlayStation is massive. People use the game’s lighting and effects to create digital art that looks like it came straight out of the anime.
There is also a dark side: the "Modded" saves in PVP. Occasionally, you’ll run into someone with giant characters or illegal stats. It’s a known issue on the PS4 ecosystem. Usually, the community just avoids these players, but it’s something to be aware of if you’re planning on climbing the ranked ladders.
The Future: Xenoverse 3 or Just More DLC?
Everyone wants to know if a sequel is coming. As of early 2026, the answer is... "Maybe?" But why would they make a third game when the second one is still printing money?
Bandai Namco recently released the "Future Saga" DLC chapters. This proves they have a multi-year roadmap still in place. They are updating the graphics, adding new cross-gen features, and keeping the events fresh. Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2 PS4 has become the World of Warcraft of Dragon Ball games. It’s a living thing.
Actionable Steps for New and Returning Players
If you’re looking to dive back in or start fresh on your console, don’t just wander aimlessly. The game is too big for that now.
- Prioritize the Guru’s House: As soon as you can, do the missions for Nail at Guru’s House. This is the only way to unlock your level cap and get the ability to have 125 (and later 200) points in a single stat attribute. If you don't do this, your character will hit a wall very early.
- Use the Tosok "Cheat": There is an NPC named Tosok in the city. He’s a Namekian who levels you up in exchange for Zeni and TP Medals. Don’t waste hours grinding XP on low-level missions. Just farm Zeni, talk to Tosok, and buy your way to level 80. After that, it costs TP medals, which are harder to get, but it's a massive time-saver.
- The 40-Ton Weights Soul: Go to the top of the Orange Star High School area after beating the main story. Talk to the NPC Nit near the roof. She gives you a Super Soul called "40-ton weights!" which doubles your score/XP at the end of every mission. Equipping this is non-negotiable for leveling up secondary characters.
- Join a Team: Don't play alone. The Raids are where the best rewards are. Crystal Raid battles and Expert Mission Tours (especially the Broly or Goku missions) are the fastest ways to farm TP medals and Demon Realm Crystals for crafting 6-star QQ Bangs.
- Fix Your QQ Bangs: Stop worrying about the stats on your clothes. Clothes are just cosmetic if you use a QQ Bang. Go to the Capsule Corp time rift, talk to Bulma's robot, and mix high-level items (like Bardock’s top and Beerus’s top) with a Super Mix Capsule Z to get a 6-star QQ Bang. This gives you massive stat boosts without ruining your character's outfit.
The game isn't perfect. The camera still gets stuck in walls during local split-screen, and the "netcode" for online fights can be hit-or-miss depending on your region. But in terms of sheer volume of content and the feeling of "living" in the Dragon Ball world, nothing else on the PS4 comes close. It’s a giant, messy, beautiful love letter to Akira Toriyama’s work that just refuses to quit.