Tag Archives: DBZ

Super Dragon Ball Heroes: Meteor Mission! Review

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Saddle up boys because it’s time to take a look at the final Super Dragon Ball Heroes title that ran with the show. I’ll definitely miss this part of the series because it was so much fun. It’s a pretty quick adventure with 12 chapters at the ready but it was a really fun way to wrap things up. We pretty much got to see all of the Heroes characters as they teamed up against a common enemy. The legendary Ozotto, destroyer of all creation. If the heroes can’t defeat him then it’ll be all over.

The manga starts off on an ominous note as everyone is gone. Goku and friends split up to look, only to find out that Ozotto has been absorbing them all. Slowly but surely he has begun to absorb everybody and won’t stop until all universes are dealt with. Even Goku and Vegeta are no match for him. They will have to work with the time patrol to end this threat but even then victory is not assured. One thing’s for sure, if they lose this round and there will be nobody else to save them. Can one single villain really challenge all of the strongest fighters like this though?

First up, how is Ozotto as the main villain? Well, he’s a tad on the generic side but I still liked him well enough. I think it’s all the trash talk. Yeah he may be a little cheesy but he still has all the good dialogue about how he’s going to destroy everyone and all of that. He gloats a whole lot and acts really smug a lot. I’m a sucker for that kind of villain. So he’s not going anywhere near my top villains of all time for DBZ but at the same time he works well as the final boss. The fact that he can absorb fighters and then transform into them also gives an excuse for a lot of classic battles to have once again. The manga gets to do a whole lot more with this premise than the anime could after all.

His power level is also rather crazy. The guy can spam almost infinite clones that have powers comparable to their real forms and as soon as they lose he just summons another one. He pretty much can’t be stopped until the heroes sabotage him from the inside and start pulling people out. Otherwise this guy was just not going to go down so you could really say that he is one of the most dangerous fighters to be up against. Even someone as powerful as Mystic Gohan is absolute fodder next to this guy. That may sound a bit harsh but that’s just how it goes. He looks pretty bad in this one.

As always the manga gets props for extending a lot of the fights and subplots here. It was nice seeing things that were only hinted at in the anime and characters like Hearts get a considerable increase in screen time. It also makes sense why the villains would oppose Ozotto because if he wins then there won’t be anything to rule. He will simply continue to absorb everything until it is all gone. At that point, there is really no merit in teaming up with him right?

Ozotto doesn’t strike me as a team player either way though. Now as far as the story goes, there isn’t much more to this than the objective of beating Ozotto. So if you are looking for a really deep plot then I suppose you may end up being a little disappointed. I would question your decision to be going into a Heroes manga expecting that though. The whole point of Dragon Ball Heroes is to place familiar characters into fresh matchups and show you a lot of super forms that are rather out there. This is stuff you would never see in the main series and that’s where the fun comes from.

So you’re here for the nonstop action scenes and the manga definitely delivers on that. Vegeta gets a really big selfless moment where he makes a sacrifice to save everyone. GT Goku shows his maturity as he distracts Ozotto and doesn’t just lose himself in the fight. Super Goku uses a brand new attack based on the movies, etc. Every characters get their big tribute moment and it’s just really awesome. We also see their tenacity as this arc takes place right after the last one so a lot of characters are still super weakened as well. Remember, heroes never get a day off.

Meanwhile the art is also still really good. The characters are all on model and the fights really hold up. The pacing allows for some longer fights as well which is always good. Of course the catch is that the series becomes even faster to read through as a result since it’s so clear. That’s less of a catch and more of a bonus though. It just speaks to the really high quality of the series. This really could be a mainline title if they ever wanted to do that. Just from the art at least you would never know the difference.

I do hope that some of these characters like Hearts do return at some point though. There is just a lot you can do with these characters and to have them closed off for all time because Heroes has ended would be super disappointing. You have to bring these guys back and it’s why I hope the next Arcade game is still ambitious so it can bring these guys in at some point. Hey, a guy can hope right?


Overall, Meteor Mission is definitely a great title. It’s a really epic story and a fitting end to the series. You don’t need a substantial amount of plot when the main premise is this good after all. Also, who else could the final fight contain but a team up of SSJ4 and Ultra Instinct Gokus? Definitely fun stuff all around and everyone gets a little something to do here. Even if you’ve never checked out the Heroes part of the franchise before, you should check this one out. It works pretty well as a follow up to DB Super if you squint and it can tide you over until the series comes back someday.

Overall 8/10

Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero Update

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I now own the movie on Blu Ray! It looks like it’s still going to be a long while before we get to the Granolah saga so for now you’ll need to keep this film close as the final Dragon Ball experience. The power levels definitely get real intense here!

Dragon Ball Z: Burst Limit Review

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It’s time to jump back into the world of DBZ. Things definitely get rather intense there so you can be sure that this would be another great game. While I do think it is completely inexcusable to not have the Buu saga, the rest of the game is still really good. It’s interesting to see which fights were made into stages and which weren’t. The game is fairly short so it definitely won’t last very long but you will have a good time throughout the adventure.

This story mode is definitely made with DBZ veterans in mind more than the average DBZ game. While it has more battles than the original Budokai, this one rarely gives you any real context to the battles. You’re thrown right in, sort of like a best hits kind of compilation to the title rather than a true story mode. Each arc has around 20 levels in it. There are also alternate paths/stories where you can relive the Broly movie, the Bardock special, and then a few random fights thrown inside. That does help extend the story play time a little bit although it’s still fairly short in the end.

Most of your playing time here will likely be in the vs mode which makes sense. This is a fighting game after all so that is mainly why you are here. The character roster is fairly small but all of the core characters are here which is what counts. It is interesting to hear Cell’s first form with his Perfect voice since they seem to share a character slot though. In the cutscenes he sounds normal so I’m surprised they couldn’t set it up that way in gameplay. Unless maybe it is and this is just a glitch in the story mode. I can’t say that I went into the vs mode myself to test this out.

The graphics are really good. I like the dynamic designs and artstyle used for the characters. The game places a heavy emphasis on the aura that each character admits, so you should get ready to see a lot of bright colors. I imagine this might be tough if you have any vision issues so keep that in mind. It can be a bit overdone at times but all in all I would say it ages pretty well. I don’t always get the point of spiking up my aura but I’m sure that’s more of an advanced gameplay mechanic.

As for the soundtrack, it’s fairly decent. There aren’t many memorable tracks here so I can’t give it a higher rating than that. It works well for the scenes that it is in but the whole time you do feel like they could have some richer tunes. Something more along the lines of Xenoverse 2 which sounds amazing in all of the levels. DBZ on average should be leaning towards hard rock music that really gets you into the match.

One thing this game does which is fun is throw in a quick fight that is pre rendered before every story battle. You quickly see how there are only 3-4 variations that are looped to each character model but I still liked the effort. I always like seeing the characters mix it up before the actual battle starts and it adds more of a cinematic flair to the fights. These are battles that all DBZ fans will be super familiar with since every game has them so this helps the game to stand out a little more than it would otherwise.

There are no PS3 trophies to add to the replay value for single player content but you could try to unlock all of the special conditions in each fight. There are a bunch of them based on different techniques or actions that you need to take. I’d say that would be a fun way to test your limits and everything. Ultimately the unlimited replay value is in the vs mode but it’s still important that there is some more single player content to have past the initial hours. How long it takes to get the complete requirements in each level will likely vary dramatically with your skill level but for even the best of players this should at least double the run time.

I will take one last shot at not having the Buu saga though. This is something that you absolutely need to have. To say that there wasn’t enough space or budget in a PS3 game is something that I would have a hard time with. Saving it for the sequel is also not a good enough excuse because that is the devs getting really greedy. I could see this absolutely lowering the hype for a lot of people because cutting out one of the biggest arcs like that is crazy. I still can’t get over that part. I’d still be playing the game right now if there was a whole other big arc of battles left to play like that.

Overall, Burst Limit is definitely a great game. It is one that feels like it was made with a rather narrow budget at times but all in all it’s still a lot of fun which is the important thing. The gameplay is rather advanced so it is difficult to craft the combos that you want. You will really have to study up in this game and learn all of the moves if you want to pull that off. It’s not an easy feat by any means. I suppose in that way it is definitely a lot more like a true 2D fighting game. You can have endless fun with friends here which definitely keeps the title at a high level.

Overall 8/10

Dragon Ball Z: Sagas Review

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All right, buckle up folks because we’re diving into the really nostalgic days of DBZ. We’re talking classic dub with the famous narrator and it’s just got that retro vibe to it. The game certainly doesn’t compete with the average DBZ game in really any way but the series has set an extremely high bar for video games. As a title in its own right I would still say Sagas is pretty good. It takes you through the first two main arcs of DBZ (If you’re a super big DBZ fan you’d probably argue it’s more like 4-5 sagas but in general I consider the series to be Frieza, Cell, and Buu. Those are the 3 arcs) and it’s fun to beat everyone up.

The game introduces each level by playing scenes from the anime with the narrator talking over it and stills being thrown in as well. It’s like a compressed clipshow version of the episode which is pretty interesting. You’re then thrust into the level and after beating it you get a second set of clips. There are a decent amount of levels, around 25 or so. Some of the levels can be a bit on the longer side while others are really short. So it varies but the total game length would be around 5 hours or less I’d say.

So it is a short game and there is really no replay value to be found here. I suppose you can go through the levels again as different characters like Broly but there is surprisingly no multiplayer option here. Now that would have helped boost things up further. There is co-op mode for the story apparently which would be pretty interesting with these gameplay mechanics. Still this is mainly a single player experience through and through and so you really have to jump in and prepare yourself to be taking down scores of enemies. Can you succeed?

The 3D gameplay is a little hard to pick up at first but once you get the controls down you will be completely steamrolling through the rest of the game. Seriously, the first few levels really got me nervous but by the end I was winning with almost full health. You have your punches, kicks, ki blasts, and you can block. You can hover around but it’s rather useless in the game so don’t worry about that. The idea in the beat em up levels is to destroy all opponents in your way while the boss levels just have you beating someone. Occasionally there is a special condition like use a Kamehameha to clash beams in order to win but I was able to beat the final level without that. Not sure if it’s a glitch or something but that was neat.

All right so at first where you might get overwhelmed is with the minions. When you punch one, you’ll get hit by another and take a lot of damage. Part of what confused me at first was I kept trying to lock onto them before attacking. Don’t bother with lock on at all. Just rush in and land a bunch of blows. Move onto the next one. If you try to block and dash towards them, this will trigger the enemy to attack so it’s not worth it. If you just run up to them without lock on or anything like that then they typically won’t attack until you attack first. This is exactly what you want to happen. It puts you in the driver’s seat here because once you land an attack you can keep on chaining it.

Normal game logic would tell you to finish a combo right? The trick is to stop your combo midway and then start it up again. You can do this endlessly until your opponent’s health goes to 0. By the very end of the game they will start blocking and using combo breakers to try and stop this combo but it only delays the inevitable. It never actually stops the attacks which is the key part here. You absolutely will claim victory in the end by doing that and this is the key.

Sure you can finish a combo once in a while if you really want to, but the lost time often isn’t worth it. The only reason to end a combo is when you need a second to power up into Super Saiyan mode. You get that later on in the game and it is very useful. All of your attacks deal massively more amounts of damage with each hit to the point where you may not even believe your eyes. It’s super impressive. So definitely use Super Saiyan whenever you can. Beyond that, you should never use your super attacks. They take too long to load and every boss will block the hit 100% of the time without exception. It makes the attacks super pointless, same for ki blasts to be honest.

I’d say that’s where you could tell that the gameplay was not super refined. It definitely had its share of issues and limitations there. So you gotta exploit the gameplay with the infinite combos that I talked about. In terms of extra content you are able to collect coins in order to buy new moves and combo attacks. They’re decently helpful so buy whatever you need but for the most part you won’t be using them anyway. The game also gives you senzu beans in the levels and you can hold up to 3 of them. Think of them like extra lives so when you die, you automatically consume a senzu bean. I ended the game with all 3 of them in my storage so again I do emphasize that the game is fairly easy. You likely won’t need to eat them but it’s still nice to have them around.

Meanwhile the graphics aren’t the best. I would say it still looks pretty good but it’s clear that for a Gamecube game it could have looked way better. The soundtrack is also not super memorable. There are some good tracks but the main theme is way too somber for this title. This is a beat em up, why is the music so sad? It would have worked perfectly for an emotional scene but there aren’t really any scenes like that in this game anyway. This one is definitely way more focused on adapting the best fights and action moments of the series.

Overall, Dragon Ball Z Sagas is a game that would likely be many times better if it came out nowadays. With a good amount of extra polish and more context it really could have been an early version of Kakarot. In a way that game is like the spiritual successor to this title. Still, I had a good time with Sagas. It’s a pretty fun game. It may not be a great title but once you start the game you will be sucked in until the end. You just can’t help but really get engaged with the content. Especially seeing the anime scenes really brings on the nostalgia. So if you can get this for a good price then I would recommend it.

Overall 7/10

Super Dragon Ball Heroes: Big Bang Mission! Review

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The next Dragon Ball Heroes manga has ended so it’s time for another review. I have to say that it’s quite impressive how long Heroes has gone on. If you merge the various Heroes titles together then we’re likely already at double digits. If this keeps up, someday it might even become longer than DBZ. There’s a ways to go until then but I don’t see any reason why this can’t keep on going. As far as I know it sells well enough and is popular so that’s what counts. There’s a ton of action and things going on here so lets get right to it.

The saga starts with Fuu making his big move. The entire franchise has led itself up to this so we have made it to the climax. He is allied with Dogi-Dogi and is intent on kidnapping Toki-Toki, the legendary bird of ultimate power. With these two he can bring the ultimate tree back and if his plans succeed then he will be able to end all of reality. The threat is so grave that all of the gods show up as well as the time patrol. The gods are naturally unreasonable and want to just destroy Toki-Toki. Goku and friends will have to stop them as well as Fuu and all of the various enemies that the guy has managed to recruit across the cosmos. Fight hard Son Goku!!

Now, as always one of Heroes’ greatest strengths is also its weakness. There are a ton of battles going on and numerous characters show up at the drop of a hat. The good thing about this is that there is never a dull moment around. The bad part is that some plots don’t end/will never finish and some battles have to be done off screen or ended real quick. There are only 15 chapters here after all so even though the length is rather long for each chapter, there is only so much you can do. For example, the gods were getting a lot of hype for this arc as we would finally get the big Goku vs Beerus rematch but the gods are written out after the first chapter. The fight that we did get was fun but I really wish it was longer.

The artwork is definitely really good though and I dare say that the artist has been getting better and better. Sometimes the dark color from the energy being produced can be a little overwhelming so you can’t see much but it isn’t done as much as in the first Heroes arc. At this point the art has really been cleaned up and it could hold its own with DBZ and Super.

For the characters there are quite a lot here but the writer does a good job of always distinguishing the two Goku and Vegetas. The Super versions of these characters are eager to fight at all times and have that youthful optimism. The Time Patrol Goku and Vegeta seem a lot older and wiser to the point where they’re really just here to complete their business and move on. At times you may see some of that old cheerfulness with Goku but it’s rare as the guy is just so serious now. You get the feeling that he would pack Beerus away if they fought but then again I think the same thing about the normal Goku too.

In the first arc of the series which is the first 6 chapters, we get to see quite a lot of fights so lets go through them. I’ll at least go through the big fights like Dr. W vs Goku and Vegeta. This was a really solid fight. While W was on the defensive for most of it, we got to see how he used his intelligence and gadgets to his advantage. His constant teleporting around was handy and of course he also had Janemba to send after the villains. Ultimately this turned out to be a new version of Dr. Wheelo and a big improvement over his first appearance. I was really pleased with how he turned out here.

Janemba also looked powerful as it took limit breaker SSJ4 forms to take him out. The guy definitely got his due respect. Bojack and Turles also appeared to give Goku and Vegeta a good run for their money. For returning villains they were really good picks to bring into the mix. Particularly Turles as I always liked that guy. Bojack’s cool as well of course and with their big power ups they were able to buy some time.

I should mention there was also a subplot with the demons showing up. As always they appear to get some action and help out but you always feel like they are a rather random group that doesn’t ultimately get to do a whole lot here. The demon side has a few factions as well so it can be hard to keep them straight. One day I’ll know all of their names by heart and that will make it easier. In the meantime it’s always nice to see them but I don’t have much of an opinion on their individual members. They all seem like useful fighters and solid characters though.

Broly randomly shows up near the end but random or not, I was glad to see him. The guy adds some extra energy to any scene that he’s in. It’s also impressive that his power level is so high that he can go up against Vegito and Gogeta level fighters. You have to admit that this is really impressive. He gets to appear a lot but he’s really earned it so I hope he’s in the next saga too.

Then of course there is Fuu who gets several super forms here. The guy really doesn’t give up and he did well to make it this far in his quest. Making enemies out of the gods and the saiyans would usually leave you dead by now. He’s done well as the mastermind and even more importantly, he proves that he could fight up close and personal when needed. As a result this is a villain that everyone can respect and there are few who could even try to stop him anyway. At this point his abilities are just far above most others.

His parents Towa and Mira also get to appear here. They look good and have his back the whole time. He probably still shouldn’t trust them too much since demons can rarely be trusted, even when they’re family. Towa has powerful barriers and Mira is a solid close combat fighter so they really make for a good pair. It was nice to see them and of course they also get to fight against some of the other demons which made for some good battles.

That about wraps it up for arc 1. Before heading into Arc 2 I can definitely say that this was an excellent way to kick things off. There is no down time in the chapters and the fights were a blast. While there will always be some power level concerns when every character is a universe buster at this point, the arc mainly did well with this. I would make the case that Goku should have easily crushed Beerus when they fought though. There’s no way they’re still on the same level.

In the next arc, well Fuu’s plan worked and a new universe was born. So Goku wakes up there with his only ally being Hearts. The two of them have to fight their way out while finding the other heroes and then perhaps they can undo Fuu’s time stop and take him out for good. Everyone else also finds themselves in sticky situations on this new planet and may have to team up with unlikely allies.

The first big fight here is with Goku and Hearts vs Cooler and Frieza. Now you may wonder why Goku doesn’t wreck them immediately but remember that Goku just came out of his fight with Hearts so he’s super weakened. Still, with Hearts they are able to come out on top (And the help of a mysterious Saiyan) so things worked out well. It was a good way to kick things off and with two mysterious Saiyans running around, there was a nice sense of excitement in the background. Were these guys friend or foe?

Vegeta and Turles had an even tougher opponent in Cumber. Cumber was able to take out Vegito back in the day and even stalemated Ultra Instinct back to back. As you can imagine he was definitely winning this fight for a while. Turles got to have some really emotional moments as he helped Vegeta though and this ended up being one of the more satisfying fights. ONe really fun thing about this arc is how many Saiyan battles there are. They just kept on coming which is a very good thing.

One of the Saiyans turns out to be Zamasu in the end while the other one keeps his mystery. They end up fighting but it’s clear that Zamasu had the edge. That guy is definitely still one of my favorite Dragon Ball villains. He’s just so cool and always has a ton of confidence. That’s exactly what I want to see in my villains and apparently he even took down 99 other Gokus across the timelines. That’s extremely impressive and he also gets what might be the longest fight in the series aside from Fuu. That has to count for something.

The series gave him his proper respect and even a cool SSJ3 form. Goku and Vegeta even had to enter the hyperbolic time chamber to train for a while to beat him. After that was the only fight where you had to seriously question the power levels. Krillin has to go up against Dr. Wheelo. Now, Hearts did provide some backup support here but mainly it was Krillin all the way. I feel like that guy would lose immediately against Wheelo.

Krillin’s no longer in the same leagues as the others and hit the limits of what a human could do a long time ago. Throwing in Hearts at least helped a little though like when he pinned the guy to the ground with his cubes. At least it showed that Wheelo was not going to get hit otherwise. It doesn’t excuse the fight but at least an attempt was made. It made more sense to have Gohan win. Gohan’s fight was against Bojack instead and it was a fairly easy win. I don’t think Gohan really needed that rage power up and should have won anyway but the outcome’s the important thing.

One of the shorter fights is Omega Shenron vs Cumber. It comes out of the blue but it’s tough to see the final boss of GT going up against the strongest villain in Heroes. Cumber has really been getting a lot of screen time lately and I’m glad about that. He’s really a lot like Broly and I’m a big fan of Broly too so including both of them is genius. That leads to the climax with Fuu where we get the true final battle. There are quite a few big power ups and super forms at the ready as well.

It will satisfy you as the ending to the arc. It’s a great payoff for all of the waiting that we had to do as well as the hype behind Fuu. In the end, his plan lived up to the hype that he had been giving it the whole time. He really ended up being one of the strongest fighters in the whole Dragon Ball franchise even outside of Heroes. I suspect that this will finally be the end of him for a while but he definitely had a good run. He basically got to appear and be doing a lot in 3 different series. Now that’s impressive.

I didn’t talk about him much here but I should quickly mention Trunks. Previously he has been the unofficial main character of the series. As the main time patroller and someone who’s just really invested in this, the series always finds a way for him to appear. He’s the first to defy Beerus and then he also shows up to help against Fuu in the end. While he can’t compete with the other powerhouses for long periods of time, the series gives him a lot of hype in these moments. Trunks ends up being a very valuable ally to the team and he’s a fun character so that’s always nice to see.

Overall, Dragon Ball Heroes continues to be a very strong part of the Dragon Ball brand. The fact that they can just grab anyone from any part of the series is what makes the possibilities endless. The art is also very good here and the plot is strong so it feels like a very valid part of the verse. I certainly hope this keeps on going for a very long time. The latest saga just started after all and it looks to be another winner. Of course this title is nonstop action so if you don’t like big battles then it may not be for you but who doesn’t like big battles right? It gets your heart pumping as you see how hype this is and at the end of the day the series is also just a bunch of fun. It always leaves you with a grin.

Overall 9/10

Dragon Ball Z Collectible Card Game Review

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It’s time to look at a DBZ game that I’ve had for a very long time. Part of why I kept it in the backlog is because the game just wasn’t very interesting. I would play it a bit from time to time but the controls were confusing and since there wasn’t even really a story I didn’t see the need to keep on playing. Well, I gave this one another whirl and the game is as confusing as ever. It’s hard to ever make any headway here.

The game is based on the actual card game. Unfortunately it is hard for that to translate well to video game format. Unlike Yugioh or Duel Masters this game feels very clunky with matches that go on forever. Literally almost all of my matched went to time, which is the full 7 turns that a duel can take. Matches should not be going to the equivalent of sudden death every round. That tells me that there is something at least a little weird with the game. Since I don’t get it then the A.I. should at least be able to beat me up pretty quick.

Here’s the gameplay in the simplest way I can describe it. When you start the game you draw 5 cards. If you go first then you get to play any non combat cards you have. After that you choose to attack or pass. If you pass then you discard all but one card and draw a fresh 5. Once the opponent has done so as well then they will attack and you will pick a card to defend with. You have to try and take down all of the Life cards that the opponent has and they will do the same to you. You can win in one of 3 different ways. You can take all of their life cards away which will be a complete victory. You can also win via technical win by exhausting the opponent of all cards or maybe you can even grab the Dragon Balls and win via super victory. A final way you can win is also by raising your power level and anger level to the max setting. If you do any of these things then you will have claimed victory.

The problem is that the opponent will never let you do this. They block all of your hits and always seem to have more cards than you do. They don’t run out despite playing so many and every time you raise your anger level they reset it back to 1 using a spell card. As a result you just can’t claim the advantage and the rounds take forever. I was somehow able to beat Krillin and the second guy, but Guldo is where I met my match. After dozens of fights I still couldn’t conquer him and that’s where my DBZ card adventures concluded. It was time to throw in the towel. After all the only way to improve your deck is to keep on re-fighting the first two opponents, but I was only able to beat them once after a ton of tries. Doing so again just to hopefully get a useful card to make a comeback feels like such a long shot that it is barely worth it.

Then you’ve also got the fact that the game has no real effort put into it. There is only one piece of music in the entire game which keeps on looping over and over for every action that you take. You can only hear the same song so many times before you just have to take a break for it. How is it possible that the game wasn’t able to get more than one tune? It’s just crazy to only have 1 in the entire soundtrack if you ask me. There’s not much to say about the graphics either since there barely are any. You’ve just got the one illustration for each character as the squares match up with each other over and over again. The cards don’t look all that flashy either.

This game feels like a total cash-in and that’s not too surprising considering how long the loading times are. Each match takes forever in part because you can’t go through the turns quickly enough. You can spam the A button to at least get rid of the drawing phase and it speeds up the attacks but it also skips card effects so then the catch is that you’ll lose further track of what’s going on. It’s a pretty unfortunate situation all around. The length of the game is quite long as a result although it feels artificial. In theory you can probably get a good 20 hours out of this one and maybe more depending on how often you lose. There won’t be any real replay value, but at this point you wouldn’t need any since the campaign is so long.

Overall, Dragon Ball Z Collectible Card Game is the weakest of the DBZ games. It’s hard to picture any game losing to this one although since the DS also had a title based on the Card Game it is possible. What the title really needs is a better explanation of the rules and to speed up the gameplay a bit. I know the computer was able to use his avatar card at some points when the tutorial never even referenced how to do so. I tried using mine a bunch but every time I tried the game said that it wasn’t the right situation to do so. That’s not entirely helpful to be honest but it may not have mattered much. My deck simply wasn’t strong enough to beat my opponent’s so no matter how many times I would draw some cards it just wasn’t going to make up the difference. The only way you should get this game is if you are a really big fan of the official card game.

Overall 3/10

Dragon Ball Z Collectible Card Game Stats and Records

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No stats this time. I wish it would at least show a win/loss column next to the opponents so you can see how crazy tough this game is. My record was something like 2-60. Kudos to anyone able to take out all of the fighters in this one!

Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot Review

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It’s time to look at the DBZ game that came out recently. It definitely looked like a real game of the year contender from the instant that we got the first teasers. Interestingly the game kept focusing on the first two arcs so for a while there I was wondering if Arc 3 would be included at all. Fortunately it is here so the game ends up feeling pretty complete. The story took me around 20 hours which is pretty good for an action title. It’s quite rare for any to rank all the way up there. It’s an excellent game and one I definitely recommend.

The story follows the events of the DBZ show/manga. If you don’t know what that is, here’s a quick recap. Goku is a hero who has saved the planet many times. He ended up marrying Chi Chi prior to the game’s start and they had a kid named Gohan. That’s when an alien named Raditz arrives and kidnaps Goku’s son. Goku has to then team up with Piccolo to stop him. Along the way more aliens show up such as Vegeta and Frieza as well as androids like Cell and even mythical beings like Majin Buu. Goku will have to keep on training in order to keep up with these guys, but he believes that he will be up to the task. Goku’s never turned down a challenge before and he doesn’t intend to start now.

The gameplay is similar to the Dragon Ball Z Budokai Tenkaichi series although styles in more of a single player fashion. You’re using less advanced combos here and more flashy moves to take the opponent down. It’s fun using all of the signature attacks from the show and you can learn new moves/upgrade old ones as you go through the game. I didn’t touch the upgrading part until deep in arc 2, but it’s a handy feature. You won’t be able to upgrade all that much without going through some Roshi training though. Once you beat the game you can unlock all of the training lessons and then you can make your characters really strong. If you want to beat a powerful enemy without leveling up then just buy a lot of health items. Those come in handy although of course it will make getting S ranks a little more difficult. I got an S rank on almost every level but I don’t believe there is much of a reward for doing so here so it’s not a big deal.

In combat you’ll be fine if you just go with your instincts. Typically I like to just stick to physical attacks and don’t use the special moves much unless the opponent is shooting a laser and I don’t want to wait for it to end. Sniping the enemy with a laser of your own is a really good way to counter such a technique. If the opponent is blocking your hits a lot then I would recommend landing a few hits, teleporting, and then attacking more. The opponent is forced to either drop his guard and get hit or let his shield be broken. Either way works out quite nicely for you. There is a good amount of depth to the gameplay so you have the liberty of finding what method of fighting works best for you. The toughest fights for me were the ones where you have to fight multiple opponents. The Cell Jrs that launched at you were no joke.

Meanwhile the graphics here are definitely top tier. There are a lot of animated cutscenes to watch where the characters duke it out and even the normal cutscenes look really good. The engine works really well for a game like DBZ and it feels like you are back in the TV show. The most impressive cutscene was probably Vegito’s battle against Super Buu. The animators definitely had a lot of fun with that one. The scene of Vegeta and Kid Buu punching each other was also styled really well. It keeps up with FighterZ as the two best looking DBZ games. Then you’ve got the soundtrack which is really great. You’ll recognize a lot of the themes from the anime which is a nice touch. We also get an insert song at the very end of the game which was pretty neat. There was certainly no corners being cut in this title.

The sheer amount of content here is also impressive. As I mentioned I beat the game in around 20 hours. That’s considering that I didn’t stop to do any side quests or things like that. I just plunged right through the story. If you consider the side quests, extra boss, and leveling up then you’ll be here for quite a while. The Platinum trophy in this game actually sounds pretty achievable so if I start trophy hunting again then this would be one of the first games that I would focus on. I’d estimate that the game should take you around 40 hours to complete everything. That’s a lot of time and really helps to justify your purchase. Even just wandering around the hub world driving your car and fishing can be a lot of fun. The game did a good job of adding a lot of different gameplay options to have fun with. The game even let you play Baseball for a second which was nice.

Kakarot is a reasonably challenging game, but not one where you will ever be stuck for long. It all feels pretty fair and balanced in part because there are always workarounds. If a boss is too difficult for you right now then you can go and train somewhere, unlock new attacks, re-position your stat medals, cook some food, buy potions, etc. There is no way you will actually be stuck for very long but at the same time you may enjoy just retrying the battle a few times when the opponent is hard to beat like this as it really helps you learn the fighting style. Before long you’ll be racking up S rank after S rank.

Overall, Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot is a superb game. It’s easily one of the best DBZ games I’ve played. I’ve seen it compared to Attack of the Saiyans quite a lot. While that game is also very good, I would have to give this one the edge. I’d put it in third place right behind FighterZ and Budokai Tenkaichi 3. I hope we get a sequel to this game which adapts GT, the movies, and Super. I’m sure they could also do that through DLC as well, but a sequel would be ideal because then it could be a full 20+ hour experience with a lot of cutscenes. I feel like you are slightly more limited with what you can do when it’s DLC but that’s not necessarily true. If you haven’t gotten this game yet then I’d recommend changing that. It’s one of the most complete DBZ adaptions you’ll ever see. When you finish the story you’ll feel as though you just scratched the surface of what the title has in store for you.

Overall 9/10

Dragon Ball Z: Attack of the Saiyans Review

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It’s time to look at a DBZ game that has always been quite well known as an underratted classic. Just about every threat I go to about great DBZ games there is at least one person naming this game. People seem to love just how in depth it went as well as the solid gameplay. While I’m not ready to call it the best DBZ game I will say that it is great. Ir’s too bad that they couldn’t have covered more of the story than just the Saiyan Saga, but you’ll likely never see such a detailed lookthrough in any other game. It’s impressive how much is shown here and the gameplay is pretty tight.

The story actually starts with some adventures from Dragon Ball. The main part starts when Raditz shows up halfway through the way though and we learn that more Saiyans are on the way. Goku and friends will have to surpass their limits if they want to beat these guys, but the problem is that time is not on the hero’s side. They will only have an hour to get ready and that’s a really short time table. Still, the heroes have been through worse odds before and come out on top so they won’t let this get to them.

So the gameplay is similar to the turn based style of Pokemon, but more interactive. I’d say that the Mario & Luigi series is a good benchmark for this one. The reason for that is because you can click buttons at the right time to minimize damage which is always an interesting change. If you get really good at blocking then you’ll need to do less grinding than someone who isn’t able to react in time. It adds some strategy there. Then you’ve also got the line-up strategies. You can have 3 people in the front and up to 5 in the back although you’ll never get a full party of 8 in the game. You will probably figure that having 3 people in the front at all times is your best bet, but there is actually a good reason to only have 1 at times. The EXP you get in battle is evenly split up between the characters in your active party with the backups only getting 10% of it. So if you’ve only got 1 guy in the front then he will get massive amounts of EXP. It helps a lot with leveling.

Typically I kept my whole group of 3 in the front though. If the other members die in one hit for the boss fights then you’d be in trouble anyway so at least this way it kept the fighters close. At first in the game I would lose to the boss each time which would then require more grinding. The game can be difficult so expect to have to level up quite a lot. There are numerous strategies to try out though and a vast level up tree. What abilities you decide to improve and rank up will play a huge factor in how your character turns out. Personally I decided to just max out attack power for everyone and I always ignored the other stats. Good attack will go a long way right? That’s the way I figured it. Unfortunately when you beat the game you are taken to right before the final boss so you can only control Gohan, Krillin, and Goku. Everyone else that you trained up is lost forever unless there is some way to find them again. That part’s a little unfortunate.

Most of the game you will just need to figure out on your own as you play through. I personally say you should max out one special attack for each fighter first. Then work on unlocking ultimate attacks by powering up other techniques and you should be good to go. Definitely buy a good amount of potions for the end game because you’ll be going through 5-6 boss battles in a row. Losing in the middle of those would have definitely been rough if you ask me. I recommend being around level 50 to make the battle go smoothly and be careful with the Kaio-Ken. It’s the best move in the game but if you can’t finish the opponent off before it runs out you are most likely doomed to be defeated since you can’t move or block for a few turns.

There is a lot of content in this game and it took me around 20 hours to conquer the main story. Should you decide to do the bonus content like fighting Broly and maxing everyone out it’ll take even longer. This is not a short game so you’ll have a lot of replay value here. Even without playing any side quests you’ll be here for a while since I didn’t really do any of them myself. The game can be a bit pricey online but at least you know you’ll be getting a great game.

Meanwhile the game doesn’t cheap out on any other areas. The graphics here are quite good. One thing that might drag on for you are the explanation points and other symbols that show up after every line in the cutscenes. Hold down the R button to speed things along, but let go when clicking on the dialogue or otherwise you’ll skip some lines. Doing this helps to make the cutscenes go by pretty quick. All of the attacks are flashy and I like that you can see the improvement as you level them up. Then you’ve got the soundtrack which is pretty good. The boss battle against Vegeta was great and I also liked the general danger theme that plays constantly. The basic boss theme is also sound. It’s just a very well rounded array of tunes.

Overall, Attack of the Saiyans definitely lived up to the hype. It’s a classic DBZ RPG that can hold its own with the best of em. I managed to beat the game on Friday the same day that Kakarot arrived so it was good timing. Now I can effectively take a look at the PS4 version of the RPG. I already know it’s going to be a top notch game for sure. While I’m sure most of my readers will be picking this one up, I’d say you should also buy Attack of the Saiyans if you’re a big fan of the series or if you just like RPG titles. It’s a lot of fun with really sound gameplay mechanics.

Overall 8/10