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©Bandai 1994
Release : 1994-11-11 (¥8800)
SuperCDRom² BNCD4001
Fighting game
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Dragon Ball Z is a fighting game based on the first Dragon Ball TV series,
itself adapted from the popular comic created by Akira Toriyama. The game
follows the adventures of the young and monkey-tailed Son Goku with
outstanding full-screen animated cutscenes and gets
the player to fight the boy's first enemies of the series, some of whom
will later become his friends - Tao Pai Pai,
Tienshinhan, Piccolo, Vegeta, Freeza and finally the
evil Cell. However, Dragon Ball Z is not your usual
fighting game and the player will need some training to get used to the interface
and game mechanics. Controls are not what anyone would expect - no punching
nor kicking. Instead, each fight uses a sort of 'real time/round based'
recipe where most of the game's strategy is about charging up energy (by pressing
both buttons at the same time) and avoiding being hit by constantly moving
in the opposite direction of the opponent, or by blocking any attacks
by pressing the (II) button. Then, at the right time,
the player moves in and attack with the (I) button.
But things are not that easy and straight forward -
the up and down directions allow to switch from four different
color coded action modes - Attack (Red), Accumulate Energy (Green),
Blocking (Black) or Energy Blast (Blue).
Finally, when the opponent has received enough damage, the player
is able to unleash a special attack by combining two Kana signs. The game
offers a lot more unique features but only time and patience will let non Japanese
speaking players fully enjoy the rest of them.
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Add your Pov here !
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Dragon ball Z is a gorgeous, and yet unusual game. Controls and gameplay
are really different than anything you'd expect,
and some players may not enjoy this very unusual way of playing...
everything feels awkward at first but it all ends up being quite an enjoyable
experience - despite a lot of head scratching.
But if you manage to spend the time and crack open the game's mechanics, then
Dragon ball Z reveals some impressive potential and a lot
more strategy than traditional one-on-one fighting games.
Cutscenes are on the amazing side of the spectrum
and the whole game probably offers a good hour of animation with perfect voice acting.
All in all, this game is not for everyone, far from it. You will either love it,
or hate it, it's that simple. This is why I only gave Dragon ball Z three stars,
it deserves more if you give it time and attention, and, in my opinion,
won't disappoint fans of the series who are patient enough to give it a chance.
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