Dragon Ball Z Hyper Dimension

"A super cool fighting game that rivals some of arcade's bests"

Dragonball (and later Dragonball Z) was one of the most successful Japanese comics (mangas) ever. Even though it was never as popular overseas as some of its colleagues (for example, Ninja Scrolls), it was one of the top mangas that had devoted audiences in the majority of the Asian countries. This in turn ensured that video games were to be made of the manga, and many of them made their way onto the Nintendo machines (NES, SNES and Gameboy), and they were also distributed amongst some of the other consoles (Sega Genesis, Sony Playstation etc). Hyper Dimension was the last Dragonball game released on the Super Nintendo, and claimed by many to be the best one. Below is an analysis of why I think it is such a brilliant game:

Story: In many one - on - one fighting games, the story is either seriously weak, or even non - existent. Hyper Dimension was able to draw upon the manga storyline and use that. Which is a good thing as this meant that devoted readers of the manga will get double the pleasure playing this game and even newcomers might be encouraged to read the series. Basically, for those of you who have read the manga, Hyper Dimension focuses on the Freeza saga, the Cell saga and finally, the Buu saga. A short story is played out before each fight so the player has some idea why he / she is about to kick the crap out of the other opponent.

Characters: Always an important factor in these games, Hyper Dimension presents some solid characters for the players to choose from. Although there aren't that many of them (less than, say, Street Fighter 2 Turbo), those that are present are all major figures of the manga. None of the characters are replicas of others and they each contribute individual strengths and weaknesses. One gets to pick from Goku (the main character), Gohan and some of the big - time baddies (Freeza, Cell, Buu) etc

Moves: Some of the moves are excellent! Sometimes one really feel like one is actually playing the manga! There are some moves that can knock your opponent into another screen, big air blast type of attacks and, best of all, moves from the manga! For example, for Goku's Desperation (which can only be executed when he is short on energy), he transforms into Super Saiyajin 3, kicks some butt and then launches a Genki Dama on the enemy! How cool is that??? Fans of the manga will really appreciate this.

Graphics: The graphics are awesome and definitely are amongst the best on the SNES. The characters are well - drawn and the moves are displayed with smooth animation. Even though the backgrounds are fairly standard, the crisp delivery of the characters animations more than makes up for this.

Sound & Music: Again, nothing grounbreaking but still excellent. The music is standard fighting music but there are some nice sound samples such as the characters calling out their moves. No complaints in this department.

Overall, this game is a must play for any Dragonball fan or any fighting fan. This game can definitely rival some of the fighting games found on the other machines and in the arcade. The characters are well - crafted and are not clones of other game characters. The moves are cool to watch and even more fun to execute. The graphics and sound are great for the SNES but even for those of you who have been surrounded by 32- and 64- bit graphics, come and play the game for its deeper meanings. Dragonball fans - this is your last chance on a 16 bit machine to fight Buu using Gotenks!

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 11/04/00, Updated 11/04/00