"Is this a "Super" DBZ game? Close, but not quite."

The Dragonball Z franchise has seen its share of games throughout the years, ranging from horrible to amazing, with most erring on the side of horrible. Undoubtedly the best games in the DBZ series(in terms of fighting games) would have to be Hyper Dimension(SNES) and Budokai 3(PS2). HD is loved because of its traditional fighting game feel and Budokai 3 because it plays how the anime looks and is a good fighting game to boot. Super DBZ was announced as a game for hardcore fighting game fans and it's popularity in Japan would, in fact, lead us to believe this. But despite being created by the people who brought us Street Fighter II, Super DBZ is far from being a fighting game with a lot of depth.

Graphics: 8/10
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The game is modeled after the Manga, which is why the characters look a little different than you would expect after playing the Budokai games. With that in mind you really can't consider the graphics bad. Characters are bright and colorful, backgrounds look good, accurate to the series and there is a lot of destructible stuff in the environment. You'll see a ton of comic book style sound effects splashed on the screen like "KRAK" and "BLAM", again, borrowing from the Manga.

The only problems I have with the graphics are the black character outlines, because this game is on the PS2 you can expect some jaggies and this directly effects outlines by making them look not so solid, save for extreme closeups. Sometimes the outlines are kind of faded when they shouldn't be as well. Overall the game does look slick and for the most part runs smooth though there are framerate issues when energy attacks are flying at a distance.

Sound: 7/10
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The soundtrack is pretty good, it's techno/electronic but it really fits the game. Upbeat and full of energy, it makes you want to play and the beats are pretty catchy. I would really liked to have had Cha-La Head-Cha-La used as the DBZ intro stateside because it's just so good, but other than that the soundtrack is solid and you'll find yourself bobbing your head to the music whenever you aren't hearing ki blasts and shouts drowning it out.

That brings me to the sound effects and voices. Attacks and energy blasts sound great. When someone gets knocked into a wall or the ground you hear what you'd expect to hear, a big crash. Character voices are done by the North American VAs and all the characters sound good. Some funny quotes here and there, though it doesn't really sync up with some mouth movements. Most notably Cell.

Gameplay: 8/10
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Now we get to the real issue. This was dubbed as a game for hardcore fighting game fans, when it most certainly is not. Moreso, it is a game for anyone. It offers some depth, but not enough to call this a serious fighting game(as of yet, new discoveries can be made I suppose). It's pretty easy to learn and not so hard to master, is this a fault? That depends on your priorities.

The core gameplay is that of most average 3D fighters: you can sidestep around your opponent, move toward and away from them, jump, and attack. Since this is a DBZ game you can fly, until your Action Gauge(expended by certain things) runs out. It's not free flight though, it's the same movement and even attacks that are capable on the ground. Characters have simple Ki blasts, and then super moves which are now executed via more traditional fighting game means(Down-Forward motions, 360s, etc..) and Ultimate moves which are executed much the same. The general button layout includes; Throw, Guard, Light Attack, Hard Attack, Jump, Light Homing Attack, and Hard Homing Attack. All of these moves are unique to each character(for the most part) with different risks/rewards. The homing attacks open up the possibility for air combos after a launcher or for quick punishment of an open enemy, while at the same time closing ground. There are a lot of cool Super moves which take advantage of the full 3D movement, such as area attacks, range attacks(think half moon), homing blasts, and guided blasts(pressing a button changes the Ki blast direction). But aside from the simple mixup game there isn't much to offer for people seeking a lot of depth. Though, for those seeking a fun, solid fighting engine featuring that DBZ touch, this is exactly what you're looking for. And it's way better with a friend.

On the single player front there is a customization mode, in which you gain experience from fighting and can learn new skills and moves for your character. This experience is earned in either Original, Z-Survivor, or VS. mode. Regardless of whether you win or lose though you seem to get decent experience, but perfects and ultimate finishes seem to grant a sizable amount more. Besides skills and moves for your character you can inherit opponent moves via a wish or if there's a character card with the desired move in your Memory card, but you cannot inherit ANY move. They're specific for each character, but there is a nice number of characters to choose from so you should find something interesting.

In Original mode you fight your way to Cell. For the most part every time you defeat an opponent you get a Dragonball(sometimes 2) these Dragonballs are saved on your Custom Character Card and are individual to each character, because once you have gathered the 7 Dragonballs(does not have to be in one sitting, or even one mode) you can then go to the Dragon Summoning mode and make a wish which is either specific to your character or unlocks some feature in the game. Take note that extra Dragonballs do not stack, so if you have 6 and win 2 you will still only have 7.

Z-Survivor is where you'll spend the most of your single player time, earning BP and Experience for your Custom fighter. BP is Battle Power/Points. The amount you have represents how strong of a player you are(win/loss ratio,skill) and seemingly nothing more(though it is speculated to have a minuscule effect on stats). At the end of each 1 round fight you will get to play a game of Roulette, where the prizes vary from getting a Dragonball(or 2, or 3) to getting a 10% Attack bonus for the next fight. You go on and on until you've either gathered 5 sigils(special requirements), or have gotten to opponent 10. Opponent 10 is Cyborg Freeza. When the 5 sigils are collected you'll fight one of the console exclusive characters at random. Regardless of which way you get these encounters you will be given the option of playing for double or nothing. You either get double the BP and EXP you earned since you started this sitting of Z-Survivor or lose it all(not what you have gained previous). That's pretty much the extent of what Z-Survivor has to offer, but trust me, once you get to opponent 9 you'll be glad its not endless(though it doesn't really matter as opponents have random character cards). The CPU gets vicious, but at the same time not cheap, they just start playing damn well. Though it varies on the tactics you use.

In closing I'd have to say that Super DBZ is quite an enjoyable game. Whether you play serious or casually you should have a lot of fun with it. Each character is a unique experience and the ability to inherit moves adds for some fun matchups. This being said I cannot wait to see what Super DBZ 2 will have in store(assuming it gets made), as we have seen DBZ fighters tend to build substantially on their previous efforts so maybe we'll see some of that promised depth next time around. Still, this game will be a great way to keep yourself occupied until that day comes.

Overall: 8/10

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 07/31/06