Tag Archives: Dragon Ball Z

Dragon Ball Heroes: Victory Mission Review

Posted on by
Reply


This is definitely a very different kind of Dragon Ball manga. It follows the adventures of a bunch of kids who have read the old DBZ stories and just want to have fun with their arcade machine. What they do not realize is that these adventures are more real than expected. The series ends rather quickly with there only being 30 chapters and the first half of the series is comprised of 5 page chapters.

The story enters around a kid named Beet who is rather good at Dragon Ball Heroes. He’s been training under Sora for a long while and is finally ready to start entering tournaments professionally. He gets to go up against some of the greatest players in the world. The best part? Beet is actually holding his own! Unfortunately the tournament is interrupted when a mad scientist activates the dragon balls and accidentally summons the 7 Shadow Dragons. Beet and the other tournament contestants will have to destroy them, using their temporary super powers thanks to their forms within the game. This won’t be easy but Beet is not the kind of guy to give up without a fight!

It’s always an interesting twist to make it so that the DBZ characters are actually real. That being said, I do think the writing could be a little weak at times. For example, Beet has been playing this game for a long time and knows various characters across the mythos. How does he not immediately recognize characters like SSJ4 Broly and Baby from GT? There are a few times where it just feels like shock value that wasn’t taking the context into consideration.

Additionally, it can be a little cheesy that Beet doesn’t know a lot of the rules or players within the game and yet he is already a top 5 fighter in the world. I guess you can make the argument for natural talent but that can really only account for so much. I would have not escalated the stakes to being that of a global tournament so quickly. I get that the pacing had to be fast but Beet’s wins didn’t always feel earned. He’s a nice guy and all but you need some strategy.

It’s why I was able to root for Note a whole lot more. She is someone who has lived her whole life with studying the decks and getting a proper strategy in. It’s easy to see how she has found a whole lot of success here. Despite that, Beet surpasses her almost immediately. I was glad that Note still got a big fight at the end of the series along with her rival though.

She certainly did more than the mentor Sora who just dips when the going gets tough. It’s implied that he had to head off to stop some other threats but it’s still a rough look to see him leave all of the kids alone to deal with evil monsters that are trying to murder them. It’s made clear that if you die in the game, you die in real life. So these stakes are really quite real and the kids may be familiar with the video game, but their combat experience is minimal.

Also the series does have an ultra rushed ending here. We don’t get to see the final fight and then there is a giant time skip that comes out of nowhere. Not the ideal way to end the series so the climax is really weak but at least before that it’s just a bunch of nonstop fights. Pretty much every chapter has a bunch of action going on so that’s fun. Even if the various DB characters are soulless avatars, it was also nice to see all of them mixing it up.

The side characters probably take the brunt of the damage from the series being so short. It feels like the author had clear character personalities and dynamics in mind for all of them but they just don’t have a chance to do a whole lot. I still liked them for what it’s worth. Note’s rival was definitely a worthy foe who was always ready. Then you have the #1 fighter in the world who is very calm and does his research on everyone. He ended up being a super strong opponent.

That guy has his own rival who is rather strong as well. Then you have the Main kid who is super timid and doubtful of himself but gradually learns to get past all of that. Even the Shadow Dragons get little moments here and there. So as long as you’re mainly reading the series for the vibes and action, then you should absolutely walk away satisfied.

The artwork is really good, the fights definitely stand out. The character models are always on point and there is a good amount of variety here. It’s always easy to understand what is going on as well so the artwork certainly didn’t feel rushed. On the whole I would say that the series didn’t really have any technical issues here. If they ever revived this series for more of a longform adaption, I would definitely be on board. With the references to the Supreme King of Time, you could easily have this merge into the more traditional Heroes stories. Have Beet and Note actually team up with the real Goku and friends like in the animated trailers.


Overall, This was a pretty fun manga. It does end up feeling incomplete because of how much progress it had to go through and how quickly this had to happen. A whole lot feels like it was skipped over and this should have been a proper 7 volume series. You could have really gotten a whole lot of adventures in it if that had been the case. I would still recommend checking this one out though. The artwork is solid and I did enjoy the action scenes. The DB Heroes game always seemed like it would be a whole lot of fun and I definitely enjoyed playing the console port on the Switch.

Overall 6/10

Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Review

Posted on by
Reply


It’s time to look at one of the oldest DBZ titles out there. Budokai is a true classic title that doesn’t even have the Buu saga contained within it. So the game goes by very quickly. It’s fun to play through the first two sagas again and the game gives a decent amount of context for the levels. That said, there’s just not a whole lot of battles here. How could there be when most of the characters aren’t even playable? You’ll be done with this in around 2 hours or so.

The gameplay is your classic 2D fighter. You use your close combat moves and energy moves to try and take down all of the health your opponent has. If you play better than your opponent, you will have won the round. There’s nothing complicated or tricky about the gameplay so it’s all about execution. If you lose then you know that you were outplayed. It’s really as simple as that and I can appreciate this. You have to lock in and mix up your combos if you really want to win. You learn more and more combos/attacks as you play through the game.

In general I wouldn’t say that I ever really got too good at learning all of the attacks. I would try to find one or two that would work really well and then I kept on using them. This seemed to be the perfect balance for me. Just spam the Kamehameha and the normal attacks and you would do pretty good. In general the Super Saiyan fighters really had crazy fast moves too. When I was using them I didn’t have to worry quite as much about strategy or anything like that. I do like how you would go back to base mode if you took too much damage though. The enemies would have the same thing happen to them too. I liked that the game was fair about it as others would just stack the deck in favor of the villains which is always a bit iffy.

The hits are satisfying and so I have no problems with the gameplay. Maybe it wasn’t the fanciest out there but this is an older game. Every character does have a combo move that triggers a whole animation with a lot of blows and good background damage. That was definitely a lot of fun. I didn’t get to land a whole lot of them to be honest but each one that I did get was very satisfying. You really have to time the attacks just right in order to land these special moves. Trust me when I say that it’s not easy.

The graphics have that retro feel which works really well here. Everyone is super blocky like an N64 title but the character designs are really handled well and you still recognize them from the show the whole time. Everything is fully voice acted which is always really nice as well. The soundtrack is fun enough, I enjoyed seeing the English theme song even if it’s not one of the all time greats. Everything about this feels like they put a lot of effort into the game back in a time when things weren’t as advanced as they were back then.

You also don’t have to worry about replay value. The campaign may have been very short but there is still the vs mode which is the main reason people would stay playing the game anyway. You can keep having fresh games with your buddies forever since the core gameplay is so solid. It’s why that part of the game is so absolutely critical. If it had not been up to snuff then the whole experience would have been hurt big time. Fortunately that was not the case so that’s why I can recommend this one.

Now the final question is, can you dive into this one without any prior knowledge of the DBZ universe? I would say yes. While the game has to skip a whole lot due to the limited amount of characters, they give you just enough story before and after each fight to know what is happening. I actually think it would be a very interesting way to get into the franchise that’s for sure. Still, this game is so old that by this point I doubt it will be the intro point for anyone.

Overall, Budokai is definitely a really nostalgic game to dive into. It’s pretty nice seeing the retro animation and having the theme song before every story saga really makes it feel like watching the show. It does a good job of tackling the story but is a really short game without a ton of characters to play through. Ultimately there aren’t too many reasons to play this over any of the newer ones. They will all have more things going for them but now I feel like I have really gotten to have more of the full Budokai experience so that alone was worth the trip. I eagerly await seeing what comes next with Sparking Zero although I will have another DBZ review up before then as my gaming marathon continues!

Overall 7/10

Dragon Ball Z: Sagas Review

Posted on by
Reply


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

Posted on by
2


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

What are the Top 20 best Manga Series?

Posted on by
2


Originally this was just going to be a Top 10 list but there are so many great titles that I ended up expanding this to 20. Sure, you could just keep expanding it until it’s a Top 100 but that’s a lot tougher to pull off although it would make for a fun article. In this list I’m really just thinking about series so you have to be at least 2 volumes long. One Shots don’t count although I doubt I would have any this far up either way.

I’ve read close to 500 different manga titles but of course hidden among those are a bunch of one shots. In terms of series I’m not sure how many I have read although I expect it should be around 300 or so. My favorite manga genre tends to be action, but I’ll enjoy a great sport or mystery title as well. There’s usually something to be enjoyed in most titles. Most being the key word of course because when you have a series called Go Go Monster that bores you to tears then you have a problem….

Before getting into the Top 20 titles I’m going to give out some honorary mentions.

Best Harem: Nisekoi They say there is a gem in every genre and I suppose that is true. The very concept of a Harem usually leads to disaster so I wouldn’t say there’s a great track record here but Nisekoi pulled it off. In part I would say this is due to the fact that the main character actually has a backbone and isn’t just playing the field the whole time. Ultimately he has to make a choice and does this without any fake outs or cop outs. The art is really solid and I would say almost every character got a satisfying resolution.

Start of the Road: Dragon Drive

This is here simply for being one of the very first manga titles I ever read. I would say it was the first long running title I read for a series I was unfamiliar with. In a lot of ways you could say this is the title that really got me into manga as a medium so it will always be a very fun manga title to read. It’s nowhere close to the top 20 to be honest but still worth putting some respect on its name.

Best Mystery: Detective Conan

Spiral is right up there though and if you count Death Note then that is technically above Conan but I consider it to be more of a thriller since we know who the villain is. Conan’s had a very impressive run over the years as it’s even longer than One Piece. While it would be nice if the plot could move forward a bit quicker, each mystery is always a blast so you can’t really fault it. This one couldn’t crack the top 20 but as King of its genre it’s definitely worth a mention.

Generally strong titles that missed out
Kuroko’s Basketball
Beelzebub
Medaka Box
Nura Rise of the Yokai Clan

These three don’t own their categories or anything but they were the 3 titles left over when I was constructing my Top 20. I guess that’s not to say they are necessarily numbers 21-24 but at least they were top of mind. Kuroko’s Basketball brought a new intensity to the sport genre that was only previously seen in Prince of Tennis. The story arcs were excellent and if anything it’s just a shame that it couldn’t be longer. From all of the sport titles it probably has the most complete cast on a team. Yes, that’s even including Prince of Tennis.

Beelzebub is one of those titles that had a very shaky beginning but only kept getting better and better as it went on. I could have done without some of the crude humor with the baby and that’s really what keeps it from being a little higher. Still, it was a tremendous action series that had a very impressive run. Nothing can ever take that away from it.

Then you have Medaka Box. It’s only issue is that the fanservice could be a bit excessive at times, otherwise this would be a lock for the Top 20. It had a very colorful cast of characters and strategies in the fights that could even match Hunter X Hunter. The power scaling of the series was also very unique with how it would go up and down with the gifted and the unlucky. Each have their own advantages and disadvantages. It’s a shame that it never got a full anime version.


Nura was really impressive when reading it. The main character’s journey is similar to Yugi/Tsuna’s in many respects and he also has to deal with living in a demon gang. There’s a lot of great action here and all of the super forms are really done right. The fact that you have 3 generations of Nura fighting out here made for a great climax so this was a really high ranking action title.

Now these are honorary mentions for titles that are still going and could realistically make the Top 20. After all, as long as you live you have a shot right? That said, some are more realistic than others. Take Black Butler for example.

The only top ranking this horrific series has a chance of reaching is the title of worst manga of all time and Black Bird would have a lot to say on that. Birds of a feather flock together and all that right? Ah man, those titles are so bad….

sooooo…baaaaaadddddddd-Anyway lets go on to the ongoings that are quite solid and should have a bright future ahead of them.

Dragon Ball Super

The original Dragon Ball Z made it to the top 20 so there is already a precident for this. Ultimately since the manga would fall behind the show at times, Super hasn’t been as consistent as it could have been with arcs like the Tournament of Power being abridged. That said, the Moro arc was quite solid and the Granola arc is off to a great start. If this one can just keep going on a consistent level it’s certainly possible for it to achieve such a high status. I don’t see it ending anytime soon either so it will have a lot of opportunities.

Boruto

I wouldn’t say Boruto’s chances are as good as Dragon Ball Super’s since it will need a little more time and has more ground to cover. That said, when we do have action scenes they have held up quite well. Bortuo is starting to get quite high tier with the power scaling so we definitely can’t count it out. What would really be nice is if Sasuke and Naruto could de age or something but even without that there is a lot that the series can do.

Twin Star Exorcist

I hesitated about putting this one in because the series seems to be in its final arc. If so, there is really no time to jump high enough to make it to the top 20. I would say what it has going for it is that it might be one of the very closest to make it to the top. The artwork is one of the best for any ongoing series right now and I continue to be impressed at those fight scenes. If it can survive for another arc it could really pull this off but unfortunately I do see the end goal in sight.

Jujutsu Kaisen

Jujutsu Kaisen is the next big Shounen Jump title. As this point it is quickly gaining ground on its seniors within the magazine and you could say as soon as one of the Big 3 end, (Black Clover, My Hero Academia, and One Piece) that it will automatically assume the vacant spot. It’s a lot newer than the others though so it’s really just a matter of time for this one to start climbing up the ranks. This series shouldn’t be anywhere near its end so there’s no rush.

My Hero Academia

My Hero Academia is certainly a big title and it’s just entered a critical arc. Right now the forest arc is still my favorite in the series but this one is hitting the right notes. I am certainly on board with Deku’s character arc as I would say he is easily at the best he has ever been. While there are theories that this could be the final arc of the series I’m going to bank on this being the end of “Part 1” as the next part follows Deku as the world’s number 1 Hero. There’s a lot of ways this can go though so we just have to watch out.

One Piece

I know this one’s a long shot but the fact that One Piece is so long just means you really need to put it here. After all, I would say on average One Piece is a very good series that has had its moments of greatness. It was never able to be as consistent as Naruto or Bleach but it is still going which is a feat in itself. Additionally, if it’s true that we’ve barely just passed the halfway point of Wano then it doesn’t matter that the series may only have 1-2 arcs left because it’ll still be on going for years.

With the honorary mentions out of the way it’s finally time to stop and take a look at the Top 20. These are the cream of the crop. The ultimate titles that reign atop the food chain of the entire manga Kingdom. Out of the 20 on the list, 6 are still ongoing so who knows how much higher they can rise. Or of course they can do the unthinkable and crash but that’s fairly rare. Most series I would say end on a high note or at the very least even if it’s not the best arc, it’s one that is comparable to the rest. So lets dive in!

20. Saint Seiya

Saint Seiya is a manga as old as time and you can tell that to an extent. The art has an old look to it and the arcs tend to have the same story beats over and over like a classic superhero comic. (Check out the ole JL Archives and you’ll see how each story has them split up into 5 teams to beat their enemies and return) Saint Seiya doesn’t change things up a whole lot but it doesn’t really need to. The core premise is exceptional and the fights never hold back. Why change something if it isn’t broken right? That’s Saint Seiya’s methodology and it works.
19. Hunter X Hunter

It’s always crazy to think that without hiatuses Hunter X Hunter could be around One Piece’s length right now. Well, no time for What Ifs, when the manga exited we were in the middle of a great arc. The boat trip could even become the best arc in the series due to how almost literally every big character has found their way onto it. Hopefully this series returns someday because things were going really well.
18. Naruto

Naruto is one of those series where I mostly remember Part 1 through the anime as I didn’t get serious on the manga until Part 2. It’s a very nostalgic series and one that really brought the hear ton the Big 3. (One Piece had the popularity, Bleach had the skill, and Naruto brought the emotional punch) It’s just a very solid all around series that makes for a great first recommendation to any manga fan.
17. Death Note

Now this series takes me back. Light was easily one of the most ambitious main characters of all time. A mass murderer psychopath as the main character? It was very interesting and made you ask a lot of tough questions. It was the first big battle of wits manga that I read and it holds up extremely well. Light’s battle against L had to be one of the most impactful moments across just about any series.
16. Rurouni Kenshin

Kenshin made for a fairly unique main character as he was already older when the series first starts. He doesn’t take a lot of joy in fighting the way that most characters do and really does it out of necessity. The art here was top notch and while I usually do not care for the past as a time setting, this series pulled it off.
15. Prince of Tennis

Okay so the image is from the sequel but it was too cool not to pick. Prince of Tennis is the definitive sports title across all of manga and has never relinquished the throne. Part of why I got into Tennis is likely due to this manga’s influence. It’s a shame that the sequel hasn’t gotten big in America yet but this is a title I could easily recommend to anyone.
14. Kaguya-Sama Love is War

Kaguya-Sama may look out of place next to the others here since it’s a psychological romantic comedy. It’s quite unique and I still recall thinking it was a series about vampires after seeing the iconic volume 1 cover. Still, it’s ended up being one of the ultimate manga titles out there and has continued to rise. It’s one of only 3 series that have ever caused me to binge into the wee hours of the night when I would usually be asleep. (Tower of God and RWBY the animated series are the only other two) What really makes this title stand apart is the fantastic writing and its unique look into the power dynamics of a romance.
13. Beet

Beet is in a similar boat to Hunter X Hunter where it would be even bigger if not for the hiatuses. The artwork was stunning and the series was preparing for a DBZ type adventure. I would still consider it an elite but due to how abruptly it stopped I can see why a lot of people would avoid it. Hopefully the continuation gets big soon so everyone can really relive the adventure.
12. Black Cat

Black Cat was at one point in my literal #1 position for all of manga. Of course I read it a long time ago before most of the other titles so it was natural that others would show up. Still, Black Cat is still notable for having one of the best romances in the entire medium as well as having a top tier main character. Train Heartnet has a lot of style and the manga did a good job of always ramping up the stakes.
11. Yu Yu Hakusho

This one was very close to making the top 10. It was a tough fight but it just barely loses out to the next one. Yu Yu Hakusho has a ton of amazing action and characters. It ended up getting an anime that was so amazing that even the manga couldn’t keep up. Hakusho will always be known as a top tier contender regardless though and if any series above it end up slipping this one will be right there to take their spot.
10. Gamaran

Gamaran was never formally licensed in America so it was unable to get as popular as it should. Think of it like Kenshin only with whole schools of swordsmen fighting each other. The fights are crazy and while the abilities are mainly grounded the manga isn’t afraid to give them superhuman feats all the time. It has a certain intensity that very few titles can match.
9. Black Clover

At this point it’s easy to see why a lot of people call it GOAT Clover. Black Clover is just amazing in that it burst out of the gate as an amazing series. A lot of titles need some time to pick up but this one was superb from Volume 1. A good amount of credit for that goes to Asta as he is such a likable guy. Part of what makes him shine is the fact that he never gave up on working out and training his body even though he didn’t get magic. He didn’t let the unfairness of the world drag him down and just kept on fighting until he became a member of the Black Bulls. Hopefully this title doesn’t end any time soon.
8. Liar Game

I had to debate with myself a while on if this should really be ahead of Black Clover. It’s close but I would give it the slight edge. Mainly what helps it win out is that I just love analytical series like this. Each game causes you to think a lot on what the right strategy is. The best part is that the series never cheats. You can really get the answers yourself but it is incredibly difficult. The writing here is phenomenal so you will be sucked in to each event.
7. Reborn!

Reborn probably has some of the best fight scenes in all of manga. That’s a good part of why the series is ranked so highly. It’s also versatile as the manga initially started out as a full comedy which was very humorous and then seamlessly turned into a battle manga. This showed that the author was able to handle each genre which is very impressive. This is a series you do not want to forget.
6. Dragon Ball Z

The original Shounen Jump legend! Dragon Ball Z is one of those huge franchises that everyone knows about and that’s because it is just so good. The series has no weaknesses and the art style is simple but extremely effective. The fights are easy to follow and the story is a lot of fun. It really came into its own during the Android Saga and never looked back. The series also has a ton of replay value since it’s so easy to read.
5. Bleach

Bleach is one of the most intense action series I’ve ever read. While a lot of people didn’t like the final arc I was definitely on board with it. The series just kept escalating everything higher and higher until it just ended. Now I will say that parts of the ending are a little on the rushed side but there was definitely a lot to wrap up. All in all I would say it did a fantastic job and Ichigo is such an awesome main character. The experience wouldn’t be the same without him.
4. Yugioh Duelist

Out of all the Yugioh titles this one stands head and shoulders above the rest. The Battle City Arc is iconic because it brought in the best duelists in the world and made for a lot of great duels. Kaiba and Yami’s rivalry can hold its own with any other pairing out there. Both of them will never surrender or give up. Mix that in with the sheer enjoyment of Duel Monsters as well as the excellent art and you have a top contender.
3. Tower of God

Yeah technically this is a Manhua but that’s close enough. Besides which I haven’t read enough of those for it to be a different category. Now this was fun to marathon though as there are around 500 chapters in the series and each one is monthly sized. If it ever got a physical release I wonder how many volumes that would be. Seems to be like it would possibly even reach 100 already. Everything about this title is just absolutely top tier. The artwork is amazing and the cast of characters is next level. You’ll be sucked into the various story lines and the general lore that surrounds it. I just couldn’t put this down and just kept going from chapter to chapter. If you like action and adventure then this is an absolute must read.
2. One Punch Man

One Punch Man has hands down the greatest artwork of all time. It’s incredible how realistic everything looks and not in an overly detailed/gritty kind of vibe. I’m talking in a detailed approach where it still feels like DBZ but with a ton of extra elements. Each page you can pause and use as a background because of how HD it is. Every 2 weeks you really look forward to seeing what the next update will bring.
1. Megaman NT Warrior

Now we’re at the ultimate manga. The appearance of Bass EXE, the greatest character of all time. It’s no secret how incredible I’d say this guy is. The series has top tier art as well with all of the fights and the author had a clear understanding of what makes for a good action series. Each story arc kept on getting more and more interesting with all of the characters mixing things up and getting in on the action. If you think Megaman is for kids or isn’t a strong verse then you definitely need to check this one out.

And there you have it, that’s my Top 20 manga of all time! With so many ongoing series and tons of completed ones I have yet to read, I’m sure the list will remain rather dynamic. Some more than others of course as the Top 10 likely wouldn’t change much but titles beyond that would probably move a lot more. Nothing beats the feeling of discovering a new manga title that is top tier after all. We’ll see which is the next one to break out! Who knows, maybe it’ll be that Kaiju No. 8 everyone’s talking about.

Dragon Ball Z: Harukanaru Densetsu Review

Posted on by
Reply


It’s time to look at a DBZ game that I’ve been working on for quite a while at this point. It was the second big attempt at a card game version of DBZ based on the real one. The problem is that this is the kind of game that works better in person than in a video game. When you’ve got a game that’s completely luck based like this one, you can’t trust the computers not to cheat. Of course they’ll do whatever they can to win and that’s the problem. It’s never an even playing field with them and then that just makes the journey feel futile. 20 hours in and it was time to call it a day on this title.

The game adapts the first two arcs of DBZ. We get to wage our war against the Saiyans and Frieza’s Army in the first and then Cell and the Androids strike after that. I made it as far as the Ginyu Force showing up before I was ultimately forced to call it a day. Those guys are a lot tougher than you would suspect at first glance. There are also a lot of levels to even get that far. This game makes sure that even the briefest of skirmishes in the manga are turned into full blown boss battles in this one. You can expect a very long experience here. Honestly I don’t see how you could possibly complete it in under 30-40 hours. This game is definitely a long one so I do appreciate that the developers were trying to make this a complete experience.

The problem is that it’s long for all of the wrong reasons. One of the issues the game has is that each match takes forever. You have to wait for the cards to load, then you pick the cards and you get a little animation as the cards group up. If you win the encounter then the game plays a cutscene of you blasting the opponent. Rinse and repeat in every turn until one of you goes down. As you progress through the game you’ll deal less and less damage due to your level not going up quickly enough. If you want to fix that then you’ll need to go back and play the old levels again. Also if you lose during a level you don’t keep any of the XP from the fights. This can be tough as some levels can have up to 8 boss battles and if you lose to the last one you have to start all over again from your previous level. That means you’ll be stuck in a loop unless you go to an old level and do more grinding.

It’s not very fun either because in the last level the enemies just aren’t that tough so you’re not getting a lot of XP here either. It drags the game out even further. Still, I worked on doing a lot of grinding because I figured it was all worth it to beat the next level. Eventually I got Vegeta to level 23 to try and handle Captain Ginyu and to my dismay he started pulling out reverse cards. Now to understand how bad this is lets quickly recap the game’s controls. It’s very complicated so I’ll do my best to give a very condensed version of the rules. You have to use power or ally cards to attack your opponent and this works if your attack is higher than the other player’s power points. So if you roll a 7 and they have a 4 then you’ll get to attack and the damage will be based on their defense so for example the opponent may have a defense of 6. So just go for high numbers right?

Well, starting in this level the opponent has a reverse so if you have an 8 and they have a 2, it flips and they get your high number. The issue with this is that you’re now never sure of what to do. Do you try to go for a number higher than the opponent or lower? It’s a big issue because the computer always manages to somehow guess the correct number to dish out. I was far stronger than him at this point in the story yet he countered all of my blows until I eventually lost. That’s when I realized that there wouldn’t be much of a future in this game. It took the card mechanics one step too far to the point where there was just no return. You can’t use card game tactics like this and then also throw in a reverse card. If you’re not sure how to even aim your points then the whole thing feels futile.

It’s a shame because I do like the idea of the various characters having their own stories so you keep on alternating. The game has 4 main characters: Goku, Vegeta, Piccolo, and Gohan. Each character has their own fights and because of that you can also see why Arc 1 is so long. Some of the stages are also very long and can last for 20 turns or more. Each turn takes a while too. On average I’d finish a level in around 20-30 minutes I’d say. I’ve seen games with longer levels but that’s still a lot of time for a card game. It’s why the best Yugioh games are the ones that have low loading times since you’re really able to get into the action without having to slow yourself down.

The graphics are okay. They’re classic sprite animations which look fun enough. It’s got a very retro feel to it. The soundtrack is less impressive though. It’s not bad, the game is clearly going for a bit of a peaceful theme that you won’t mind hearing over and over again. I definitely see the logic in this approach because with this gameplay you can bet that you’ll be hearing the theme effectively on loop forever. So I’d say the game succeeds in that respect. I’d like more tunes but if this is the one we have to have it could definitely be worse.

In terms of replay value the game technically has a ton of it. The main campaign is huge and then after that you’ve also got extra leveling up you can do and things of that nature. You won’t be finishing this game anytime soon but with the gameplay as it is you’re unlikely to want to play through the whole adventure. This game really should have just tried being more fun. I should mention that you are able to exploit the quick save mechanic so that you are actually able to save within the levels. It’s extremely handy because this game would be even trickier otherwise. 2 quick fixes the game could and should have done would be to add actual save points and also to allow you to keep your XP when you lose. Those two things would have made a world of difference in the game.

Overall, The game’s design just isn’t very good. It makes a whole lot of mistakes and ultimately is not able to come back from them. DBZ games need action and excitement. If you’re going to go for a card game format then you need to make sure it’s fun. Dragon Ball Heroes uses cards to a much greater effect. This one still beats the GBA game though. That one had similar controls but the execution was ultimately even worse than this one. At least this one tried a lot more with the story and such. There is a huge amount of dialogue in this game. I recommend playing Attack of the Saiyans instead.

Overall 4/10

Positive Trope: An Even Stronger Villain Appears

Posted on by
Reply


One of the things I really enjoy about anime and manga is seeing how the arc after a big power up starts. This is something that can appear in any medium to be fair, but I feel like it is especially prevalent in anime/manga. The title’s a bit vague so let me get more specific on what I mean. This is the trope where the hero has just gone through a lot of great ordeals and unlocked a new level of power which was enough to stop the villain. Then the next arc starts and all of a sudden the hero is managing to get wrecked by the new opponent. That’s always one of the most hype kind of moments for me because it means the heroes are going to have to train up yet again. It’s particularly effective when the main character was considered to be absolutely crazy in terms of strength. I will be using examples from Yu Yu Hakusho’s Sensui arc, Dragon Ball Z’s Android Saga, Bleach’s Arrancar arc, and for a reverse look at a villain scenario, Fate Stay Night’s Unlimited Blade Works’ Grail War. So it goes without saying that there will be mild spoilers for each of these titles. The spoilers only encompass the beginnings of these arcs and for Fate, the beginning of the second act of the series. If you have not yet read/watched these titles I’d advise you to do so as they all are perfect examples of this. Other instances that are references through images include Luffy vs Kaido, (One Piece) Yami Yugi vs Rafael, (Yugioh) and Estarossa vs Meliodas. (Seven Deadly Sins)

This kind of plot can happen in a few different ways. The image I showed above is one of the great fakeouts from Hitman Reborn where after the heroes finally dealt with the Funeral Wreaths it turned out they were actually fighting some weak imposters. The real ones were significantly tougher. Medaka Box did this as well. It’s a slightly different variation from what I’m talking about since that affected the whole group and really a specific villain appearing. More like a group of them, but in a way that makes things even more dangerous for the heroes. The examples below are of a specific villain showing up.

First up, I’m going to start with Yu Yu Hakusho’s example as it’s a little different since it actually plays up the defeat with a bit of a mystery angle to it. So this takes place after Yusuke had just survived the Dark Tournament. He finally gained complete mastery over his spirit power and is feeling pretty invincible. He literally was able to defeat some people while tied up and unable to move so you get a feel of just how powerful he was. The Sensui arc starts with some mysterious teenagers showing up asking to pick a fight with Yusuke. Yusuke obliges them since he’s always ready for a good fight and then from there he vanishes which kicks off the arc. Somehow or another they were actually able to take Yusuke down . Part of what makes this really work is because Yusuke was built up as being pretty unstoppable. No demon could handle him so how could a bunch of human teenagers bring him down? It was a great moment for sure.
https://gfycat.com/cavernouslavishfunnelweaverspider
Next up we have the famous Goku vs Android 19 fight. I don’t even need to go into great detail here since everyone knows this example. Goku just took down the mighty Frieza with new Super Saiyan form. Goku’s also gotten stronger since then and handled Trunks with ease. Additionally Goku had some time to train before the Androids showed up. Yet, when they did, Goku was powerless to stop 19. He might as well not have even been fighting back because Android 19 gave him the work. To date this is one of my favorite fights in all of DBZ because of how 19 just stepped in and handled business. I like how nonchalant the whole thing was and 19 is heavily underrated. It’s easily one of the most shocking fights in the series because at this point Super Saiyan was still seen as invincible. It’s probably one of the earliest example I can think of with this trope appearing in full force and it was handled masterfully! I know people bring up valid points about how an Android should not have been able to be that powerful and I agree with that, but at the same time the scene was so hype I don’t even mind.
https://gfycat.com/glossyunnaturalhound
Bleach is no stranger to power creep so it makes sense that it would have a great example. It’s got quite a few to be honest but the best one I’d say is coming into the Arrancar arc. Ichigo just got done taking down a Captain and being acknowledged as one of the greatest Soul Reapers of all time. He takes out one of the random Arrancars and is feeling pretty good about himself. That’s when he is confronted by Grimmjow who turns out to be more than a match for the Hero. Adding insult to injury is the fact that Grimmjow is *only* ranked as number 6th among his group so he isn’t even the strongest. Ichigo is unable to do anything against Grimmjow and is completely crushed during this fight. This was a massive jump in power the likes of which we hadn’t seen. Not only did it establish Grimmjow as a serious threat (Who would go on to be my favorite character in the series) but it also showed that Ichigo and the other heroes were in deep trouble. They were definitely not ready to handle this.
https://gfycat.com/blissfuladorableconure
Finally as mentioned lets look at a villain version of this example. It’s time for Gilgamesh vs Berserker. Part of why this one works is because Berserker is introduced as a servant so powerful that he could destroy the other 6 combined. At least in terms of pure mana output he beats the rest with ease. Now Fate does have a habit of throwing a little too much hype at everyone so they don’t live up to it (coughSaberalwayslosescough) and I’ve got an editorial coming up which will reference a fighter there but this is the whole lore behind Berserker. It’s very rare to see him be defeated in a straight fight. That’s all well and good until a new Servant decides to throw his hat in the ring. The King of Heroes, Gilgamesh. Want to talk about upping the stakes and hype? Gilgamesh is said to be the strongest Fate character in the whole Nasuverse. Granted, there are certain limitations to that quote. I believe it only applied to the base characters, once you reach into the spinoffs (Particularly the mobile game) there are some characters who could take him down. That being said, his abilities are in a world of their own. This fight shows that clear as day. It’s just about impossible for any hero to take him down because Gilgamesh has limitless Noble Phantasms. Additionally should anyone try to counter him with a world of their own, he has a weapon that perfectly nullifies it.
https://gfycat.com/bogusspecifickakarikis
Gilgamesh’s only real weakness is that he tends to be overconfident so he doesn’t tend to try until he’s losing. That said, it makes his power that much more intimidating as he humiliates Berserker without even trying. Without a hostage Berserker would have done better although I don’t believe he would win. So there you have it, those are 4 examples of solid moments where this came into play. This definitely happens to villains quite a lot to be honest although in a slightly different context as it tends to happen within the same arc as opposed to the next one. The true leader tends to not show his hand until the main one is defeated. A good villain always waits until the perfect moment to strike.

I know what you’re thinking. No examples from Black Clover or Sword Art Online this time? I know I use those constantly, but I wouldn’t really say they’ve had an example like this. Certainly not Sword Art Online although Clover has some in the most recent arc from the manga. It definitely could have made the list but I figured I’d keep this editorial pretty short. Just a few examples and explaining why I enjoy this element so much. It really just a great way to take the show/manga to the next level. I always think the next villains should continue to get stronger and stronger. You will run into some issues if the power creep doesn’t stop after a while but the easiest way is to just have the strongest villain show up first to mess up the heroes and after that you have the weaker ones appear to let the heroes gradually improve to take them all down one after another. I feel like any good action series should throw this in at least once. It doesn’t have to be this directly, but in some way or another.

I’ve got more editorials like this coming up at some point with things I like to see in anime or character traits that I want in a hero. It’ll probably be a little while though as I try to balance this along with the reviews and fights on the site. Right now I’ve been doing 1 editorial a month at least. Stay tuned for July’s editorial as I talk about what makes for a good villain. Specifically I’ll be talking about what I like to see in a villain and not so much what I don’t want to see although I may reference those points. As with any character, there are a lot of factors in making a good villain. Just because I list around 10 traits or so, doesn’t mean a villain needs all of them. Of course if the villain does have them all, that’ll likely turn out pretty great for me.

Dragon Ball Z Collectible Card Game Review

Posted on by
Reply


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

Posted on by
Reply

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!