Dragon Ball Z Hyper Dimension

"The Best DBZ Fighting Game That'll Ever Be Made."

You heard right. Unfortunately, I'm probably right about that on many levels. We all know how bad Dragon Ball Z: Ultimate Battle 22, Dragon Ball GT: Final Bout, Dragon Ball Z: Budokai 1 and 2 are/going to be, so hoping for a future DBZ game that'll deliver as much as this one did isn't going to happen unless a team of EXPERTS and REAL fans actually get their asses into gear and make one that's WORTH our money and time. Until then or possibly never, we'll always have Dragon Ball Z: Hyper Dimension and our medicore, yet always fun Butodens. But, just how well IS Dragon Ball Z: Hyper Dimension you ask? Well, I'll gladly explain.

Story: (Sighs.) Again, same boring story, but it's a fighting game. Fighting games aren't strong on stories: They're strong on fighting and that's the key element to any fighting game. The story this time is yet again set in the Namek/Frieza Saga. It begins with Piccolo VS. Frieza and ends after the defeat of Kid Buu at the hands of Goku. If you know the DBZ story, I won't need to explain it to you that much and you know what you're in for. If you don't know the story, don't worry, this game gives you a VERY rough summary of what happens inbetween fights before you start the next one.

You'll probably hate the game for the story, since it does a really bang up job telling you what happens, but at least you'll sort of understand what's going on. It gets alot of points for being one of the first DBZ games to actually go PAST the Frieza Saga for once and even go into the Cell and Majin Buu Sagas, which in my book deserves full credit for not boring me or anyone to death with the same old story over and over again. Over all, a ok story for a DBZ fighting game (What else can I say, really? It's from the Manga/Anime. Can't get any different than that.) and it adds new areas to it, so you won't hate this one to death, I promise.

Rate: 10/10

Controls: I have to say, these are probably the most accurate, responsive controls for a DBZ fighting game I've ever seen. Everything works so well and it's easy to fight, execute moves, move around, jump, dodge, you name it. If you input a command, your character does it with no trouble. This is also a really important area of fighting games and without them, you can't fight or have fun with it. But, no worries here, as the controls work perfectly. You'll have a blast with them in this game and trust me, you won't have ANY problems with them. Each character moves differently, some being more agile, some being more heavy set and harder to move, others just normal. Whatever your style, you'll be set with the controls, no problems at all.

Rate: 10/10

Graphics: Holy God, is this a DBZ game? Honestly, these graphics are AMAZING for the Super Famicom. They rival most of Squaresoft's Super Famicom RPGs for that time. I mean, wow, these are just fantastic. If you thought a DBZ game never had good graphics, prepare to be FLOORED by these. Everything from the backgrounds and areas you can fight in to the character designs and attacks, everything is so well detailed, it's amazing. The colors used in this game are more of a darker shade, just like in Super Mario RPG or Treasure Hunter G, since these are dead on accurate examples of the graphics.

For the characters themselves, they're INSANELY detailed this time around and each have their ups and downs, as no fighter is the same as the other. (There's not a whole lot of characters in this, but there are some good ones, even a few people that have never been playable before. Who are they? Heh, heh, heh, play the game and you'll see...) Backgrounds, such as The Tenkaichi Boudouki Tournament Areana, Kami's Lookout and even some random plains are so detailed, you'll swear you're watching the show. Get use to these graphics, as they're probably the best ones a DBZ fighting game will ever have for a long time. (And I'm not going to count the Budokai games, sorry. Those games are just hands down trash.) Over all, the graphics are just the best The Super Famicom has to offer and they stretch this system to its utter limits and you won't be disappointed with them, I swear.

Rate: 10/10

Sound/Music: Well, I can't complain here. The music's ok and there's a few catchy tunes that I actually enjoyed listening to, but other than that, it's a tad above average for a fighting game's music. My only complaint was none of the music was really upbeat or got you in the mood to fight, as fighting games usually should. Most of the music was sort of mellow or on a very average line of an adrenaline rush theme. But, I can't complain, the music was really good, but it wasn't what it should've been.

As for the sound effects, they're really good for a fighting game and even the Super Famicom. Bandai even went as far as to add in voices for the characters, as they say the names of their attacks and even say things after they win a battle. Even though this has been done before in the Butodens, this game doesn't fail to have them and do them as good as possible. The voices are done well and come through clearly, as do the attacks. As for the kicking and punching and everything else, they sound very nice and everything just fits together nicely. I wish I could give it a perfect score, but since it doesn't really give me a hyped up feeling to get in the mood to fight, I have to give it a lower score. Over all, good music and sound effects, but it should've been done right.

Rate: 7/10

Game Play: Now here's where the game shines besides with the graphics. Even though Story Mode can easily get boring, since it never has any variety, except either winning the fights you're not expected to win or just losing them, VS. Mode with fighting the computer or a friend is the reason you should play this game. It never gets old and learning how to use every character's moves and fighting style can never fully be mastered, as there's always new ways to fight with them and ways to create combos and fight some new way. Also, not to mention how many moves each character has. Each one has so many attacks, you'll have a blast playing with each character and coming up with combos. Now, you'd expect a fighting game to have massive replay value for a single player, but unfortunately, this game doesn't have that and instead focuses on you fighting friends or the computer, which is ok, but not the best thing for a fighting game.

Still, it's as close as any DBZ fighting game will probably get (Except Budokai, which did have multiple characters and stuff, but the Butodens already did that.) and playing this game never gets old, so count on that if you're a strong DBZ fan. Also, there's a Tenkaichi Boudouki Mode, so how can you go wrong there? It's a great thing to do with friends, but playing with the computer in that mode isn't really fun. Not to mention, there's also a Practice Mode, which lets you train as much as you want, even with a friend. How cool is that for a Super Famicom game? Over all, the gameplay is just above average, but if they added in more characters to use, in the sense of free choice for each battle, it would've been MUCH nicer and cooler to play, but instead, we don't and we're left with this and it's still not a bad game at all.

Rate: 8/10

Over All: Well, there you have it. A over all above average DBZ fighting that has some REALLY good graphics, great controls, a great fighting system, moderate gameplay and replay value with fighting friends and the computer. If you've never played this game before, definitely give it a try and you may like it. Even if you aren't a fan of DBZ, this game is really a must for any fighting gamer. Though, if you're a fan of DBZ, you have to try this game out, as you'll like it for sure, hands down. (I hope...)

Anyway, even though the game has it's ups and downs, it's definitely worth a try either way. If you want the choice to either rent or buy it, I suggest you buy it, even though it goes for a hefty price nowadays and the fact that I doubt you can rent it, but if you can borrow it from a friend or someone, that works, too. Test it out if you can, but do buy it if you get the chance, as it'd make for a perfect addition to anyone's fighting game collection. Just a fair warning, the game's in Japanese, but you need no experience with the language to enjoy this game, unless you're playing it for the story, which, in that case, you do. But, don't worry, either way, you'll easily be able to enjoy or hate this game. It's just up to you.

Final Rate: 9/10

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 05/31/03, Updated 05/31/03