Super Dragon Ball Z
Score: 98% ESRB: Teen Publisher: Atari Developer: Crafts & Meister Media: DVD/1 Players: 1 - 2 Genre: Fighting/ Themed
Graphics & Sound: Super Dragon Ball Z brings some much needed fresh air to the DBZ fighting games. Super DBZ brings out the classic arcade cabinet feel and steers away from the lengthy story-driven fights we saw in the Budokai series, thus making it more manageable and not just another romp through the extensive storyline of the anime. Like most other console-based DBZ titles, Super DBZ uses cel-shading to pull off a look that is very similar to the TV show. Whether that visual effect is the Super Saiyan transformation or the Destructo Disc or the Death Ball, all of the various moves and flashy anime attacks are dead on and straight from the show. The game's voice acting is fairly solid as well. As you would expect, the game's limited character set is voiced by the show's cast. What really grabbed me, though, were the character's statements before each fight. For the most part, it seemed like the lines the characters spouted off were actually directed at the opponent (as opposed to just some random statement). For example, when Chi-Chi beat Gohan in a fight, she said "Now finish your homework." There are several other cases where the comments just wouldn't make sense if they were said to someone else, and it was a nice touch. Of course, with a much more limited set of characters to deal with, this feature was much more feasible in than some of the other, more extensive, titles.
Gameplay: Super Dragon Ball Z definitely has a different feel than most of the other DBZ games to come out on consoles. The first thing you will probably notice is the number of characters you can choose from. Instead of the dozens of people from the show like you see in many of the other fighters, you only get a small sampling of the toughest, or most recognizable, characters from the anime. These characters come down to Goku, Gohan, Vegeta, Piccolo, Chi Chi (one of the few times you can play as her), Cell, Freeza, Majin Buu and Androids 16, 17, 18. Well that isn't all, but that is the bulk of them - the others have to be unlocked. Unlockable characters include King Piccolo and a newly revamped version of Mecha Freeza. Gameplay comes in only a few flavors. Original mode is the arcade mode. Here you choose a character from the roster (or one of your customized characters) and play through seven battles located around the DBZ world. Locations include Kami's Lookout, The Cell Arena, Namik and several other scenes found throughout the show. This mode feels a lot like playing through Street Fighter II, which isn't too surprising considering Noritaka Funamizu's involvement in both games. Z-Survivor mode sends you through battle after battle without giving you your health back between matches. What you do get after winning a fight is a chance at the roulette wheel where you can gain anything from Dragon Balls to various statistic enhancers for up coming rounds. Versus mode lets you go up against an opponent, either human or computer, while Training mode lets you try out each of the game's unlocked characters and their various powers. The last two modes go hand-in-hand. Customize and Dragon Summon are both there to help you define the character you play best with. Custom characters not only have set statistics that transcend battles, but as you gain experience, you can choose specific paths of powers for your character to learn. As you play through the other two modes, Z-Survivor and Original, you will get the opportunity to collect Dragon Balls. Once you have gathered all seven starred orbs, you go to Dragon Summon and call forth Shenron. Shenron then presents you with a series of wishes that include everything from learning new specific character moves, learning moves of other characters, increasing various stats and even unlocking new characters.
Difficulty: Once you get into the arcade mindset, Super Dragon Ball Z becomes a game that you can just pick up and play for hours on end without getting frustrated or aggravated. The only time the battles get really annoying is when a particular opponent just starts playing cheaply. You know what I'm talking about, those people in the arcade that know one or two special moves and use that constantly until you die -- well, the developers have put that person in this game and he shows up occasionally and he can be a real pain at times.
Game Mechanics: You can tell that Super Dragon Ball Z came from an arcade cabinet when you look at the game's fairly simple control scheme. While you have your basic moves mapped to the four face buttons, where the game really shines is when you start trying to pull off various combos. Unlike most console-based fighters, many of the moves involve quickly juking the analog stick up and down or left and right or rotating it a quarter turn or some other movement that was obviously designed for a joystick. So does this translate well into the gamepad world? Well, you are given the choice of using either the D-Pad or the Analog stick to perform these actions, and, as you might expect, control is more precise and definitely feels better with the stick. If you have been shying away from the last couple of DBZ releases because you saw them as just more of the same, then this is definitely the game you've been waiting for. On the other hand, if you were looking for the most comprehensive Dragon Ball fighter with all of the characters, locations and story elements -- then go back to the Budokai games because that isn't what Super Dragon Ball Z is about.
-J.R. Nip, GameVortex Communications AKA Chris Meyer
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