The first GBA game of the popular anime series no where near lives up to Goku's Legacy.
November 14, 2003 | 10:00 PM PSTby: Max Jones
Finally, the game that everyone was waiting for has arrived. Unfortunately, the game hardly lived up to its' hype. Yes, I'm a DBZ fan, and was very disappointed, and in this review, I will tell you why I feel this way.
Storyline- The storyline is almost identical to that of the anime, from the saiyan saga to the bitter end of the Frieza saga. The game is way too short, I thought they would add in more mini-quests to extend the gameplay, but they only added a few extra quests, most of them are about helping people, such as the boy on earth who's toy boat is in the middle of a lake. In return of accomplishing a quest, the person will give you an increase of stat-points, leading to a level-up or a speed-increase. The game is so short that I was only able to get up to level 22. The ending is horrific, yes, you do turn Super-Saiyan in the final battle with Frieza, but don't expect much.
Gameplay and Controls- The gameplay is very similar to The Legend of Zelda, the battle system is virtually identical, you can also use ki attacks as an alternative instead of normal hand-to-hand combat. There are many flaws, unlike Zelda. The characters only move left, right, up and down, meaning NO diagonals! Fighting in this game is a drag, and after five minutes, I tried to just avoid the enemies. The enemies are hard to destroy, being only about two pixels off you can miss the enemy, so it's very annoying. If you and the enemy are face-to-face, you will most-likely miss the villain. Oh, and about the Ki-attacks, I only used one throughout the game, Solar-Flare. Solar Flare temporarily blinds the enemy, giving you a chance to attack it, don't try any fancy tricks. after using Solar Flare, I simply punch the enemy, then use it again, and so forth. Flying is a good way to avoid and enemy, but unfortunately you can only fly for a certain number of steps, the number increases automatically as you level-up.
The gameplay is nothing like the fast-paced cartoon. The one word to sum up the gameplay, BORING. The control-scheme is fine, I had no problem with it, just basic RPG-style controls. The game-ending battle between Super saiyan Goku and Frieza is the dullest battle that I have ever played, in any game, Goku, although SSJ, is still as slow as heck, and he is just as strong! The gameplay is way too linear, and the game is just WAY too short. In just three hours you can watch the never-ending credits. don't expect any special treat for beating the game, that's right, there's no Special Gallery or Alternate quest.
Visuals and Audio- The graphics are nice, maybe somewhat bland, but nice none the less. The character sprites look just like the characters in the show, but with heads that look too big for their body, but they’re okay. The same thing goes to most of the enemies, but this style is big in Dragon Ball’s homeland. It is called SD, super-Deformed. The backgrounds are bright and colorful, and look just like the show’s. barren wastelands, and misplaced overgrown rocks. Infogrames, the company behind this long-awaited crap, stated that most of the music is from the Anime-series, yet all five of the songs were original, and let me tell you something, the songs are crap, corny RPG-style crap. There are hardly any voice-sounds. Three out of the four are Goku’s annoying grunts, The other is Goku screaming "Kamehamaeha!" after releasing a fully-powered blast.
Overall- The game is too short and too boring. I can’t believe I wasted my money on this five-minute piece of crap. I am a die-hard Dragonball fan, and most fans would probably not complain, but feel hurt on the inside. I really hope Infogrames does not make the same mistakes on future Gamecube DB titles, and the next three titles for the Game Boy Advance. This game pretty much ruined my day after realizing that I was on Namek in about one hour of gameplay. I’m sorry to say this, but this is not getting the grade that I was hoping for it to get.
Storyline- The storyline is almost identical to that of the anime, from the saiyan saga to the bitter end of the Frieza saga. The game is way too short, I thought they would add in more mini-quests to extend the gameplay, but they only added a few extra quests, most of them are about helping people, such as the boy on earth who's toy boat is in the middle of a lake. In return of accomplishing a quest, the person will give you an increase of stat-points, leading to a level-up or a speed-increase. The game is so short that I was only able to get up to level 22. The ending is horrific, yes, you do turn Super-Saiyan in the final battle with Frieza, but don't expect much.
Gameplay and Controls- The gameplay is very similar to The Legend of Zelda, the battle system is virtually identical, you can also use ki attacks as an alternative instead of normal hand-to-hand combat. There are many flaws, unlike Zelda. The characters only move left, right, up and down, meaning NO diagonals! Fighting in this game is a drag, and after five minutes, I tried to just avoid the enemies. The enemies are hard to destroy, being only about two pixels off you can miss the enemy, so it's very annoying. If you and the enemy are face-to-face, you will most-likely miss the villain. Oh, and about the Ki-attacks, I only used one throughout the game, Solar-Flare. Solar Flare temporarily blinds the enemy, giving you a chance to attack it, don't try any fancy tricks. after using Solar Flare, I simply punch the enemy, then use it again, and so forth. Flying is a good way to avoid and enemy, but unfortunately you can only fly for a certain number of steps, the number increases automatically as you level-up.
The gameplay is nothing like the fast-paced cartoon. The one word to sum up the gameplay, BORING. The control-scheme is fine, I had no problem with it, just basic RPG-style controls. The game-ending battle between Super saiyan Goku and Frieza is the dullest battle that I have ever played, in any game, Goku, although SSJ, is still as slow as heck, and he is just as strong! The gameplay is way too linear, and the game is just WAY too short. In just three hours you can watch the never-ending credits. don't expect any special treat for beating the game, that's right, there's no Special Gallery or Alternate quest.
Visuals and Audio- The graphics are nice, maybe somewhat bland, but nice none the less. The character sprites look just like the characters in the show, but with heads that look too big for their body, but they’re okay. The same thing goes to most of the enemies, but this style is big in Dragon Ball’s homeland. It is called SD, super-Deformed. The backgrounds are bright and colorful, and look just like the show’s. barren wastelands, and misplaced overgrown rocks. Infogrames, the company behind this long-awaited crap, stated that most of the music is from the Anime-series, yet all five of the songs were original, and let me tell you something, the songs are crap, corny RPG-style crap. There are hardly any voice-sounds. Three out of the four are Goku’s annoying grunts, The other is Goku screaming "Kamehamaeha!" after releasing a fully-powered blast.
Overall- The game is too short and too boring. I can’t believe I wasted my money on this five-minute piece of crap. I am a die-hard Dragonball fan, and most fans would probably not complain, but feel hurt on the inside. I really hope Infogrames does not make the same mistakes on future Gamecube DB titles, and the next three titles for the Game Boy Advance. This game pretty much ruined my day after realizing that I was on Namek in about one hour of gameplay. I’m sorry to say this, but this is not getting the grade that I was hoping for it to get.





















