Super Dragon Ball Z

"A Great DBZ Game"

Super Dragon Ball Z, in my personal opinion, is one of the better DBZ games to be released in the modern age. It resembles what made Street Fighter such a great game, with complex moves and techniques and survival modes. It is a shame that the game received such a low rating(7.3) by Gamespot, then again they base everything on graphics on that website (Ex. Final Fantasy VII has a lower score than Final Fantasy VIII, ridiculous). This game, however, does not have bad graphics. The cell shading is great and the environments are beautiful for a PS2 game. How this game received a lower score than Naruto: Ultimate Ninja is beyond my comprehension. That game is just a Super Smash Bros. copy with a few extra abilities and different characters, but this review does not cover that pitiful garbage.

Graphics 9/10- As I said before the graphics in this game are great FOR A PS2 GAME. People need to realize that this is not XBox 360 or PS3. The cell shading is great in this game, but I still think it was better in Budokai 3 seeing how the transformations were so brilliantly articulated. It is, however, better than Tenkaichi. Now on to the environments. These areas are some of the best I've seen from a DBZ game. You can practically destroy anything you want in the area and the backgrounds are not bad to look at during a fight. On Namek, one round the area is fine, but out of nowhere the place resembled how it looked when Frieza destroyed the core. It was crazy, the rocks started to shift and everything was a mess. The graphics are not bad and seem better than receiving a 7 on the scale.

Sound 10/10- Anyone who believes the sound in this game is bad should just give up on presenting reviews. The voice acting is the same as the English version of the show, which is always good in my mind, the music in the game is great, and the impact of your fist and leg on another character is something to behold. The sound of it causing damage gives a true sense of brutality. From Cell's leg kicks to the chest and head to the sword swipes from Trunks, all cause a reaction for wanting to destroy the enemy even further. Another sound that came to my attention was from the ki blasts. Killing every person with the spirit bomb never felt better. Great sound in this game and another disappointing score from Gamespot.

Gameplay 10/10- The game is fun. The destruction and damage made can cause anyone to come back for more. Performing special moves is easy and the beauty of those moves can be addicting. Nothing wrong with the gameplay.

Overall this game gets a 9 from me. It is not perfect due to the fact that SSJ3, fusions, and Super Buu are not in the game, but that is a minor inconvenience since the game is still enjoyable. Foolish comments like the game is repetitive, it does not have online play, it is not like old DBZ games, and it does not have a story mode should be ignored. What fighting game does not get repetitive at times? Find some friends (if you have any) to play the game with. As I recall Street Fighter did not have online play. The game is meant to be different for those who are curious. Also if you know the story from watching the show why do you care? You know what happens, you know who dies, you know who the characters are.

This game can be picked up by anyone whether you are a hardcore fighting game fan who does not care about the story or a DBZ fanatic. It is a great game for the PS2 and should not be degraded by pitiful comments.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 07/27/06