Tag Archives: Dragon Ball

Dragon Ball Z Rebirth of F Review

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To celebrate the upcoming DBZ movie, they made a three chapter mini series that covers the first 20-30 minutes of the film. It naturally ends right when the big battles are about to get started so that you can actually see the film. I look forward to seeing is when it is dubbed in the summer, but until then this teaser is pretty fun to check out. The action scenes are good and it gives you an idea of what the film is going to be like. So, it’s brief, but fun.

Frieza has returned and he is preparing to demolish the Earth. First, he wants revenge on Goku for what happened on Namek so he has dispatched an army to attack it. He is now biding his time for Goku to show up. Meanwhile, Goku and Vegeta are training with Whis so that they can reach new levels of power. It’s slow goings though and they simply don’t have enough time to learn as Frieza appears on Earth. The series ends with Frieza about to unveil his new form and the heroes must now be prepared for the fight of their lives!

The art here is very good as can be expected of something in the Dragon Ball franchise. The designs are simple, but effective and likewise with the rest of the art. The pages never feel cluttered and it is always clear as to what’s happening on the page. It’s one of the reasons why I’ve always liked the art so much in Bleach and it works just as well in Dragon Ball. The fight scenes really look great as well, which is a nice combo.

The series is very short so there’s not a whole lot more to say about it. That being said, there are some elements here that should have you a little worried. For one thing, I feel like Goku and Vegeta are being really downplayed lately. We can’t ignore how sad it is that Frieza just trained for a little while and was able to surpass Vegeta and Goku’s normal forms. There’s no way that he should even be close to their level of power no matter how much he trained. Has everyone forgotten that Saiyans are the best at training and getting power ups? Surpassing them is no easy feat and I think that this new movie is really downplaying that feat.

It gets worse when you consider that Bills and Whis are drastically stronger than Goku and Vegeta now. I seriously cannot buy that for an instant. It’s wrong and simply not right. I don’t mind Bills being decently strong, but not after he gave Frieza so much hype last time. Even then, Goku should have utterly stomped him in the actual fight. Since he wasn’t able to do that, the ending was very disappointing. While Goku will likely wreck Frieza more than Bills, it’s still sad that Bills and Whis are shown to be so much stronger than Goku and Vegeta.

The Saiyans actually get nervous around those two villains, which is really embarrassing. Also, this does not just affect those two as Gohan gets hit rather hard by the nerfs as well. He can barely enter Super Saiyan mode anymore and he is shown to be incredibly weak. Even if he never trained, he would never have lost so much power. He’s still Gohan and his abilities were incredible back in the day. Seeing him take on less minions than Krillin and Roshi is a little embarrassing. I’m sure that he’ll look more impressive in the film, but he seems like “just another saiyan” rather than being acknowledged as one of the heavy hitters.

Jaco joins the cast to fight Frieza and it’s cool to have a guest star on board. I’m a little skeptical as to how he can keep up with these guys at all though. Seriously, his power level is just sad and his jet pack can only go so far. Even if his gun can disintegrate the villains, he shouldn’t have a chance of keeping up with them. Dragon Ball’s never been the best in terms of power levels, but we’re really starting to push the envelope here.

Of course, the power levels debate may be a little sad for this part of the franchise, but it’s still a really fun read for the action and excitement. You just don’t want to focus on the logic of it all or you may start to fall into the “Superman is stronger than Goku” trap and we wouldn’t want that! On the bright side, we are finally seeing the Z fighters become Sun busters and they’re even getting cool abilities. Whis can move through time, which is really good since time travel is about as overpowered as you can get. If Goku can learn this trick, that will certainly be fun. It won’t help him feel any stronger to me, but it would still be a fun ability to have.

Overall, This manga will only take you about 10-20 minutes to read so you’ll be done with it really quickly. Naturally, it never drags on and you’ll actually be wishing that it was a little longer. I’m eagerly awaiting the film now. There are certainly a few plot holes involving Frieza’s new strength, but Dragon Ball has never been a series full of logic so we don’t have to take that too seriously. Either way, we’re still getting a new Dragon Ball Z adventure. No matter how the logic goes, the sheer fact that DBZ is still going is always a great thought. I still highly recommend checking this manga out and you will not regret it. Goku better win with ease in the end!

Overall 8/10

Jaco The Galactic Patrolman Review

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JACO
It’s time for a recent one shot by Akira Toriyama. I can safely say that it’s more fun than Sand Land even if it isn’t quite up to par with DBZ. One thing that I’ve always liked about Toriyama’s titles is how clear the art is and the plot is also very direct. No beating around the bush here and the DBZ cameos are very much appreciated.

Jaco is a member of the Intergalactic Patrolmen and he is heading to Earth on his spaceship when he crashes past the moon and breaks his ship. He still lands on Earth, but now he has no way of heading back home or contacting his comrades. To start up his ship again, he’ll need a rare metal that is extremely expensive. Since he is a law abiding hero, Jaco can’t steal it. Luckily, he crashes on an island where an old man by the name of Omori resides. Omori agrees to help and a girl named Tights joins the cast as an ally as well. They all must prepare themselves because a powerful alien is quickly approaching, which is the real reason why Jaco is here. Can they defeat such a powerful fighter!?

First of all, it’s great to see the DBZ multiverse getting expanded here. This series takes place at around the beginning of Dragon Ball so you can probably guess who’s in the spaceship headed for Earth. Naturally, this does result in a cop out since the fight that we had been waiting for never gets to happen. The twist was definitely a double edged blade there and I would have loved to have seen a fight scene. I suppose that it’s worth it since we got to see Goku. Bulma and her folks also appear during the story and Bulma’s just a kid at this point. She still shows off the fact that she is a genius and her laser gun is not to be underestimated.

The DBZ references and cameos weren’t overdone. They were pretty much perfect and I wouldn’t have minded more of them. They certainly helped me enjoy the manga more than I would have otherwise. There is even a bonus story at the end about Bardock (Although the volume translates his name in another way I prefer this spelling. This is the true Bardock!) and Goku’s origins. It takes place a little before the OVA as he gets Goku to his spaceship and sends him off before going to confront Frieza and beginning the events of his second OVA. Frieza’s plan definitely seems a little less precise than usual here as he decides to blow up the planet without waiting for the other Saiyans since he felt like it. The author makes sure not to say how many Saiyans were not currently around so they can be used in the future I suppose. It’s interesting to note that the Super Saiyan God mode was mentioned here besides the usual Legendary Super Saiyan. That’s pretty neat since it makes Frieza appear to be in the know. He’ll be popping up in the new film soon and that will definitely be pretty epic. As always, he’s hyped to be Goku’s greatest adversary in this story and it’s easy to see why. There are definitely a lot of narratives for this fight and it’s where Goku finally liberated the Saiyans.

Back to the main story, it’s essentially a comedy. Jaco’s super abilities continue to shock everyone and his lack of knowledge on human culture can put him in a tough spot at times. Some scenes show signs of the old Dragon Ball humor that we hoped to avoid like sea monsters/fish that aren’t very polite and a random chest comment. Those are definitely not the best moments for the series. Luckily, they are few and far apart. Not to mention that the series doesn’t have any real fanservice, which is a big plus.

Omori is the main character and he dislikes all humans. He’s an old man now and he has been trying to build a time machine for a very long time. A traumatic experience where his wife died still haunts him and he wants to change that. Unfortunately, he hasn’t been able to get it to work and it can only speed up a person’s body so that they can temporarily gain super speed. When Jaco lands on his island, Omori decides to help him so that he can get Jaco out of his hair. As the volume goes on, Omori begins to soften up to the idea of actually having a friend. He’s a pretty likable lead and you can sympathize with him. He’s my favorite character in the series by a longshot.

Tights is the main heroine and she looks pretty similar to the big pop idol who’s going to ride on a rocket as a publicity stunt…intriguing. She believes in the alien story very quickly and she proves to be a very valuable ally to the heroes. She pays for some of the metal and she is the only one who can go shopping in public since the other two quickly become wanted fugitives. She complains a little more often than you would think, but all of the heroes do this a lot. The old man is typically grumpy and Jaco is hyper sensitive so she fits right in. Tights is definitely a pretty likable character and the twist makes her look even more heroic.

Jaco is the alien and his abilities are pretty impressive. It’s hard to tell exactly how strong he is, but Jaco has your basic super strength and speed at his disposal. He can’t fly, but he has jetpacks that are pretty good substitutes. He’s pretty full of himself and he’s actually not a very likable character. Jaco’s heart is in the right place, but he’s way too proud for his own good and he almost fails when it’s hero time. Crashing his ship twice for no real reason is definitely pretty embarrassing as well. I like his design and it will remind you of the androids in the DBZ series. We know that he is a talented warrior so it would be great to actually see him fight. His power level is probably not that impressive since he claims that an adult Saiyan would be stronger than him, but he’s still better than the humans. A normal Saiyan would probably have a power level of 5-10K so his should be somewhere in that range. He also has a weapon that can blow up life on a planet, but it’s specifically calibrated for humans this time so he wouldn’t hurt the Saiyans. It would be fun to see Jaco appear in a DBZ film someday, but mainly so that he can fight. His comedy gimmicks aren’t very funny so I could definitely take a pass on that.

Jaco’s art is pretty great as expected. Few series can really hope to match this artstyle. It’s very simple and yet the designs are all on the mark. The simplicity is probably what helps the fights to be so good since you can really focus on the moves. Most (If not all) of Jaco’s attacks are inspired from DBZ techniques. He uses one of Goku’s kicks and the rest of his attacks can definitely be linked to the legendary series. The energy blasts look as menacing and destructive as in the olden days and the landscapes should feel pretty familiar.

Overall, Jaco The Galactic Patrolman is a title that you will want to read. You’ll get a real nostalgis kick out of reading it. Hardcore DBZ fans definitely can’t pass this up since it expands on Goku’s origins and we get to see that his situation was even more similar to Goku’s than we could have imagined. Finally seeing Goku’s mother is also a pretty big deal. Many fans will be disappointed that it’s a new character and not an established one like Fasha, but that arguably makes things even more epic. Fasha is already a warrior so it’s probably for the best that she’s still on the front lines. If you aren’t a DBZ fan, this can still be pretty fun for you. It’s a lighthearted comedy that stays classy on the whole and it’s easy to read. It’s a fun adventure and it has that 90’s feel that is so hard to forget. It’s just a lot of fun and you may even feel bad that this couldn’t be the next Dragon Ball Z. I’m sure that it would have been great as an ongoing series, especially once the action kicked in. Jaco is one series (One volume series anyway) that you won’t want to miss and hopefully Toriyama can start working on that DBZ sequel manga now.

Overall 7/10

Dragon Ball Z Cooler’s Revenge Review

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It’s been a while since I went back to watch one of the old DBZ films. What better time than Christmas season right? This has always been one of my favorite DBZ films and it’s certainly the best one that didn’t feature Vegeta. It’s pretty short, but it makes for a pretty great film to check out.

The plot takes place after the battle against Frieza. Goku and friends decide to go on a camping trip to have some fun. It’s a chance to get away from it all and relax. After all, they may not get a chance with the Androids coming along to fight soon right? Things are going smoothly until Cooler and his minions arrive. The Z fighters are going to have to fight extra hard if they want to win this round!

This film is under 50 minutes so things have to happen very quickly. Cooler and his minions attack within the first 15 minutes and the fights really start heating up once Cooler joins the fray to fight Goku. Let’s face it…we’re all here to watch these two titans face off. It’s like watching a Justice League film. It’s great to see the other fighters get involved, but you can’t beat a scene with Superman fighting the powerhouse of the month. Titanic clashes like those are not easily forgotten.

The fight does not disappoint as Goku and Cooler wreck the area pretty badly during their fight. Cooler ends up punching Goku so hard that the water all leaves the ocean for a few minutes. That’s certainly impressive and it’s the type of physical feat that reminds me why DBZ is a cut above the comic franchises. They also get to display their speed during this endeavor and then we are treated to a classic beam fight at the end. The fight really had everything that we could have wanted from DBZ as it even included the “This isn’t even my final form” routine.

The animation is pretty solid since Toei always knew what they were doing with DBZ. It naturally won’t look as polished as some of the latter films, (The first Broly film is the only one that was at a total theatrical level compared to the rest) but the animation is certainly above average. You can really feel the blows and the energy attacks look great. I still miss this classic animation from the 90’s. It was solid in just about every aspect of the word.

The soundtrack isn’t so great, but it’s tough to count it as a negative for the film per say since it changes depending on where you saw it. I recently saw it in the DVD (Movie Pack) version and the music is mostly uninspired. We don’t get the techno/rock themes that you’ve probably heard on Youtube and it just can’t keep up with the fights. They’re the kind of themes that make you think you were watching a silent film afterwards. They aren’t bad, but they just aren’t memorable. Of course, it could be that I’ve just heard them so many times while watching DBZ that they fail to register sometimes. Upon closer inspection, they do work sometimes…just not for the fights.

Cooler makes for a pretty great villain. He’s definitely likable and it’s hard to say whether he is…cooler than Frieza or not. They’re both pretty similar in various aspects although Cooler definitely has the better design thanks to his final form. Cooler’s ambitions are clear and he does want to beat Goku in a fair fight instead of just destroying the planet from space. His power is considerable and he wants to bring honor back to his family’s name. As far as the film villains go, he could be second or third. (Broly is naturally number 1)

Cooler’s minions are not very memorable. They strike a lot of poses like the Ginyu Squad, but they simply aren’t very charismatic. They’re seriously outmatched against Goku and even Piccolo can easily subdue them. I do like the concept of a Ki sword, but that’s definitely not enough to turn them into serious threats.

Piccolo is the only ally of Goku who makes himself useful here. Gohan unfortunately tends to get in the way and Krillin doesn’t even try to fight back. Piccolo definitely earns his keep though as he takes out several of the villains. This clears the way for Goku to deal with Cooler. Piccolo definitely looked good here and his fans would be proud.

Goku also looks even better than usual here. This was back during the Arc 1 days so he’s still a super nice guy who cares about the animals. I don’t think we ever see him get worried about the animals safety after this, but I suppose that it simply isn’t brought up. The movie did a swell job of punching the average film in the face by having an anti animal violence scene. That’s just one of the many things that makes this film a pretty big cut above the rest. You don’t really see that kind of thing typically. A bird gets injured and Goku quickly heals him before going off to fight against Cooler. Now that’s what a call a hero! He even gives Cooler a chance to back off before things got serious.

The one thing that is a bit of a stretch is the fact that everyone mistook Cooler for Frieza. They seriously do not look that similar at all. I can understand Goku mistaking him to an extent….or I can at least conceive the idea. I do not believe that Piccolo would ever make that mistake though. I guess they really wanted to cement how similar the two villains were, but that was just too hard to swallow.

Overall, Cooler’s Revenge is still one of the elite DBZ films. It’s only real negative is in how short it is, but that means that the film is mostly just one large action scene. We actually don’t have any annoying Roshi scenes to bog the film down either. This is basically a perfect film and it’s a model for how films should strive to be today. Goku’s Super Saiyan form never ceases to impress me and he looks virtually unstoppable while he is in it. After seeing his strength and speed I don’t see how anyone could say that Superman can defeat him. It’s hard not to bring that topic up whenever I talk about Goku. Either way, I definitely recommend checking this film out since it’s so great. It’s an easy 9 star film and it’s not even the best DBZ film! Stay tuned because I’ll be reviewing another DBZ title in the near future.

Overall 9/10

Dragon Ball Evolution Review

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Dragon Ball Evolution is one of those films that should have been downright amazing. The trailer was decently impressive and the visuals were intense. We were going to see some nice city busting feats and people could finally see how strong Goku is. Unfortunately, the film didn’t really have a lot of budget behind it and the writers forgot to actually read the Dragon Ball volumes. As a result, this is kind of adapting the King Piccolo arc, but very loosely to the point of fanfiction. Was it still an incredible film? Time to find out!

The plot is simple enough as Goku lives an ordinary life with his Grandpa. He is very powerful, but Goku is told not to hurt the bullies. Goku agrees and quickly smashes them into the ground without actually attacking them. Unfortunately, his grandpa is eliminated by Piccolo and Goku must now find the 7 Dragon Balls to stop the world from falling into ruin. He is accompanied by Bulma, a woman who wants to be rich and famous. Will these two be enough to get past tricky bandits and rock creatures of unlimited power? More importantly….can they defeat King Piccolo!!!!!?

Goku is the protagonist of the film and many people around the world have started to call this version of him by the name of Geeko. This is because the bullies of the film called him that and it sums up the universe in general. As a disclaimer, I still like the main character here, I just don’t like him as a portrayal to Goku. It’s even worse than Mario’s live action appearance and America’s first attempt at creating a Godzilla film. Goku simply isn’t Goku and that’s the problem. Unfortunately, one of the few things that they do keep in is the fact that Goku can turn into an Oozaru. This is one of my least favorite parts of DBZ so that was a little disappointing. As expected, Goku just roared a lot before finally transforming back to normal.

Unlike the real Goku, our hero is a very timid person and he lets the bullies have their way in the beginning. Usually the bullying scenes are always sad for the heroes, but at least we know that Goku could defeat them so it’s not as bad. This Goku brags a little more and he always wants everyone to know how strong he is. This Goku is constantly grimacing as if he’s in pain or something and his walk towards Piccolo is now famous. Intentionally hitting a fly into Gohan is also completely out of character and attempting to cheat during training is simply terrible. Goku is also a lot more interested in romance here, which won’t really be helping his reputation.

Now, let’s ignore the fact that this guy is supposed to be Goku. That makes things a lot more interesting. In that case, his personality is basically the same as Peter Parker. Goku’s pretty timid, but he does like to taunt the villains when he has finally had enough. He gets them to knock each other out and destroy a car while using some super acrobatics. I’m glad that Goku taught them a lesson and he looks decent from there on. He doesn’t hold back against Roshi and he confidently goes up against Piccolo. Goku can be a little cheesy at times, but overall he was a solid main character. He always fought to win and he never went down without a fight. This just wasn’t the Goku that I had been expecting and that’s the problem. I could likely go on about Goku, but this is the Dragon Ball Evolution Review and not the Goku comparison story.

Chi Chi is the main heroine of the film and she’s a good fighter. Her role may not be incredible at first, but she’s still a nice person. Her fighting skills are shown once she enters the tournament and then in her fight against Mai. She’s a good character as well and is a little easier to root for than her original counterpart. Chi Chi may be a little overconfident since she believes that she can defeat Goku in a fight, but that’s not necessarily a negative trait. Overconfidence can do wonders and it made Vegeta an awesome character.

Bulma is one of the main characters and her portrayal isn’t bad. She’s usually a good character in the original series as well so I definitely wouldn’t say that she’s better here, but at least Bulma’s character was good. She was one of the few characters who could hold her own in Evolution and I’m glad that they didn’t try to wreck her with a lot of romance. There was certainly some, but it was luckily glossed over. She was a decent fighter with her guns, but the film barely gives Bulma any opportunities to use them. I wouldn’t mind seeing her get some more action in the sequel as the gun fights provide a nice contrast to the hand to hand battles in the series.

Piccolo is the main villain and he’s not that bad. My only complaint with him would be the fact that Piccolo’s goal is vague at best. What does he have to gain from blowing up the world? I have nothing against villains blowing it up for no reason, but I have my doubts that Piccolo could survive this. Piccolo wanted the Dragon Balls and I guess that he would have made a wish, but if they mentioned this, it got lost in the long narration. Piccolo’s voice is appropriately deep and he’s a lot more experienced than Goku. Seeing him fly was pretty intense and he reminded me of General Zod from Man of Steel in appearance and personality. His only sad scene would likely be the post credits moment where Piccolo looks very, very weak. I would have preferred an epic line or a nice zoom in. Unfortunately, we didn’t get that. Either way, Piccolo makes for a solid villain against Goku.

We all knew that Master Roshi would be in the film, but I was still hoping that he would be cut out. He’s not as obnoxious as he tends to be in Dragon Ball, but it could be attributed to his lack of screen time. Roshi is still terrible and his few scenes are pretty bad. He’s easily the worst character in the film and it’s hard to feel bad for him in the climax. He should have trusted in Goku’s supreme abilities. Roshi also says that the heroes must hurry, but then he takes his time in the pit. If he could have jumped out all along….why spend most of the night down there letting Yamcha taunt everyone? The heroes lost a lot of time and Roshi could have prevented it all if he had just jumped. The humanity!

Yamcha is one of those characters who you can’t help but dislike. Yamcha didn’t appear that much in DBZ and while he was a terrible character in the original Dragon Ball series, he got better for Z. In Evolution, Yamcha really has no point and he never looks good. From the beginning, it’s impossible to take him seriously. He’s not a great fighter and he’s mostly there for the one liners and to get thrown around. The film definitely could have left him out and I would have been pretty happy about that. I can’t believe that the heroes fell for his trap.

Gohan doesn’t get a huge role, but Goku’s grandpa rarely does. He was all right and we don’t get many reasons to dislike him. He helps Goku get stronger and that’s really all that we can ask of him. It would have been nice if he could have looked a little more impressive during the big fight, but I suppose that it wasn’t meant to be. The cake that he baked looked pretty great.

Mai is one of the main villains of the film and she’s Piccolo’s right hand man. At least she is actually a solid character and she doesn’t shame her manga counterpart. I dare say that she is more likable than the original Mai from the manga and that’s saying something. I still can’t say that she is a great character since she gets no development. She’s just a villain who is there to take down the heroes and show them what true power really is. Her hand to hand skills are decent since she was doing well against Chi Chi and having a pair of guns always comes in handy.

The film is really devoid of an epic soundtrack. There should have been a good one for something like Dragon Ball, but it was likely not in the budget. It’s too bad because a few good tunes are always appreciated as they make the fights more enjoyable. At least I can imagine some real DBZ music for the fights…it’s a start.

The film has its share of romance as well. We get a little between Bulma and Yamcha while most of it is between Goku and Chi Chi. It may not be a whole lot, but it’s still more than the film needed. They should have spent more time focused on their training instead of being with each other. Why must these films insist on adding romance subplots that do not strengthen the characters or add anything substantial to the plot? It gives the film an excuse for Goku to fall for the fake damsel in distress trick, but that’s not something that I had been looking forward too.

This is one of those films that really could have used an extra hour. The film is just too short and you’re already in the climax before the film has time to do anything. Because of this, we have to skip most of the “Collecting the Dragon Balls” part and just launch into the action. Fighting the lava creatures was pretty fun, but I would have liked for them to have put up a little more resistance. The whole thing just felt a little too easy for the heroes if you ask me.

The film only has a few fight scenes so you’ll want to saver them. The first fight scene will definitely remind you of Spiderman as Goku pulls off a bunch of acrobatic moves to keep the bullies guessing. He beats them without actually attacking and the fight scene was fun with all of the random slow mo moments that would happen. We got to see Chi Chi fight Mai on two occasions, but one of them barely counted since it was all part of the plan. That fight was good although it was a little on the short side. There was a brief gunfight with Mai and Bulma and then the film concludes with a battle between Goku and Piccolo. That one is easily my favorite since you can finally see a little DBZ in it.

Goku and Piccolo attack each other so quickly that their hands are a blur and they also throw around a lot of ki blasts that destroy many of the rocks in the area. The big moment for fans was when Goku fired his Kamehameha, but it’s more of an air bending technique in the film. That means that we don’t get a cool beam and we only see a blast of air that Goku uses to ride through the sky and blast Piccolo. Well, that’s certainly one way to end the fight, but I simply cannot accept that as a Kamehameha. It just doesn’t work.

I have to say that one moment, which stood out was Goku’s house. After being blown up and smashed to pieces, we find out that a few rooms were still kept intact. The guys who built the house should be proud of themselves! Also, Bulma’s Dragon Radar is very strange. At times, it can sense Dragon Balls that are miles away and other times it can’t sense ones that are very near. They were in the tunnel for a long time before it finally located the Dragon Ball. That’s a little too long and they almost didn’t find it.

Overall, Dragon Ball Evolution was not as amazing as I had hoped, but it was still a solid film. You simply can’t compare it to the amazingness that is the DBZ anime or the Broly film in particular. Aside from that, I did enjoy the fighting scenes and the two main characters (Goku and Bulma) were likable. Some of the supporting characters were pretty bad and the film’s pacing is a little off. The romance and lack of soundtrack isn’t good so the film has a lot of ups and downs. In the end, it’s still pretty fun and I recommend it to any action fan. Trust me, you don’t need to know anything about Dragon Ball since the film writers mostly ignored it as well. There are enough plot holes and logical inconsistencies to make you get out the thinking cap. Oh yeah, make sure to stay past the credits for a bonus scene. It sets up the sequel and I’m sure that it would have been much better, but the actual scene is pretty bad and looks like the budget had been long gone by this time. I guess even post credit scenes can lose their epicness sometimes.

Overall 6/10

Dragon Ball Raging Blast Review

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DBZ has had some terrific games in the past! Even the ones that did not hit it out of the park were generally very good so I had high hopes for this one. After all, Raging Blast is known as a (sort of) successor to the Budokai Tenkaichi series, but with PS3 graphics and a large chunk of the roster being thrown aside. I knew that I was going to be in for a treat! I had actually been meaning to get this game for years and years, but it always got beaten to the punch by other games. Well, now I finally got it and the wait was worth it!

This is usually where I would talk about the plot, but it’s DBZ. You already know the plot! It covers all three arcs of the manga along with the Bardock OVA and the Broly films. Beyond that, we also have some good ole What Ifs. Unfortunately, the game plays it very safe with the What Ifs so they aren’t very interesting. Having Vegito battle Gogeta is a good concept, but they make you play it twice so that both characters can win. Talk about a cop out….Nontheless, the game has over 100 levels, which makes for a very extensive Story Mode! At times you may wish that it was shorter, but that’s not my main complaint with it. I don’t like…The Red Star system!

In this game, Red Stars are used to unlock just about everything from costumes to music to levels in Story Mode. Earning Red Stars is the annoying part. Basically, you have to replay a level that you’ve beaten and there will be 3 missions. You get one Red Star for beating the level on Hard Mode and two others for doing certain actions during the fight. This could have been acceptable, but you can’t get the Red Stars from the get go. This means that you have to play each level at least twice and most of them will need a third play through since getting all three in one shot is extremely difficult. Considering that there are over 100 levels….you’ll be playing over 300 fights! (Not counting that some levels have up to 5 fights in them) That was more than a little tedious and I don’t think that the developers did a good job on that one. I’ve earned about 50 Red Stars so far, but playing through those levels so much can get old very fast.

Luckily, not everything is purchased through these Red Stars. You also have the classic D Points and you use them to buy items from the shop. This feature is in just about all of the DBZ games and it’s a good system. The items aren’t unreasonably priced and you should have a good chunk of them by the end. Going to Shenron and getting the D Points multiplier is a must if you’re in a hurry.

To collect the 7 Dragon Balls, you must compete in a Super Battle Trial. This will open up a Dragon Ball fight. After one battle, then it closes and you have to rinse and repeat. This is another tedious part of the game because you have to do at least 14 battles to get the 7 Dragon Balls each time. That’s a little long, but not extremely long. It’s just a bit of a bother. The Super Trials have several modes like Survival, Team Battle, Punch Machine, etc. They’re pretty good and extra modes means extra replay value!

I mentioned that the roster got a lot smaller, but it’s still decently large with at least 50 fighters. We have most of the big characters from the series, although the exclusion of Mystic Gohan is not cool. For that, I would have preferred that they kicked out Videl or Chiaotzu. Mystic Gohan is essential! The game mostly ignores the films, so Broly is the only extra character. Still, I’m glad that they chose him since he’s a Must in any DBZ game. Some of the hype for the game also revolved around the Super Saiyan 3 form that Vegeta and Broly got. It’s definitely fun to play as those guys and it’s a fun addition to the game. I’m hoping that they’ll be mainstays in future DBZ titles although that does not appear to be the case. Hopefully in the next big DBZ game for PS4.

Time to get into the most important aspect of the game…the gameplay! I must say that it is a solid step down from Budokai Tenkaichi 3, but I suppose that was bound to happen. The problem is that you don’t feel the blows as much as you did in that one. Also, it’s tough to link combos to each other because some characters simply cannot do it anymore. You’ll finish a few hits and the character will pause. By the time you can launch the next attack, the fighter is on the ground and your combo is lost. Most of the techniques and combos are similar to BT3.

It took me a while to get the hang of the game, but now I’m pretty confident in my skills. You’ll find yourself using the super attacks a whole lot since they’re so easy to use. Not to mention the fact that it’s a lot safer to just spam them against enemies once you’re playing on hard difficulties. At first I was definitely not crazy about the fighting style, but it grows on you. You just need to give the game a chance and playing through the tutorials may not be a bad idea. (Trophies…) I forgot how to transform, which is too bad, but it’s easy to find out with a quick Google search. Once you feel like you’ve brought your A game, then it’s time to try out your skills online against real players. That’s one of the great things about Wifi. It can definitely add to the experience of a game and the servers are still open, which is pretty amazing! It’s hard not to compare the fighting style to BT3, but once you get past that…then it’s pretty incredible!

Graphics are not ultra important, but they’re always worth noting. They look really good in this game and the character models hold up well. I find Goku’s Super Saiyan character to look the best from the whole cast and his Super Saiyan hair is great. It captures the golden look while also appearing yellow. It’s hard to describe, but it’s how I want a Super Saiyan’s hair to look. The rest of the animation is basically what you may expect from the Budokai Tenkaichi games. The models have less black lines across them and they seem more streamlined. I definitely have to give the graphics a big thumbs up!

The soundtrack isn’t the greatest as far as DBZ games go, but it’s good enough. The tunes can come across as a little generic, but there is a decently large selection so you’re almost guaranteed to find at least one song that you like. The opening is pretty catchy when the game first boots up and the dying Namek stage theme is pretty good. The game won’t be losing any points in this area!

This game has trophies and they’re pretty reasonable for the most part. I don’t care for the online trophies and I never will. Online trophies aren’t practical since the servers will eventually close and you’re doomed if people aren’t playing the game anymore. Beyond that, I’ve gotten a decent amount of the trophies, but I don’t intend on getting the Platinum. Not really worth the time and effort, but the trophies are still reasonable for the most part.

Overall, this was an excellent DBZ game and easily one of my favorites of all time! It’s my third favorite in the franchise behind Budokai Tenkaichi 2 and 3. We have a solid cast of characters and a really large story mode. With all of the collectibles and modes to try out; Raging Blast has a huge amount of replay value. You’ll be playing this game for countless hours and I recommend it to all 3D fighting game fans. Also, what’s cooler than the thought of playing as a Super Saiyan 3 Broly!?

Overall 9/10