Dragon Ball Z: Sagas

"Ahahaha. You gave me a laugh there. Now where's the finished product?"

'Hurrah! A DBZ RPG you say? Hell yeah!' Were my words as I found the game sitting on the shelf of a local Hollywood Video. I was quick to snatch the rental, and, denying all of the bad reviews and incessant, displeased critics, I spent a good six dollars to rent this oh-so-hyped (unfortunately, the hype was negative) game. I rushed home, clicked the button on my X-Box, and slipped the disc in. A rather boring start, but I got passed the blatant start screen and continued on. Oooh...how interesting!! A mechanical-like set-up resembling a monitor in green coloring? Meh.

So many options, too! I don't believe how much I have to choose from! The start, a closed off section for later in the game, options, extras (which contain nothing other than the game's cut-scenes. Nope, no sneak peaks here.) and some other random stuff.

--- Review Time ---

Game-play 3/5

Yeah, yeah. The beginning was dull and uneventful, but I passed it without a second thought. Here comes the beginning...A large group of scenes from the actual uncut show begin to blink, with a fake narrator resembling the voice of the original speaking about the development of Goku, Earth's savior. It's the basic storyline so far. Raditz appears, kidnaps Gohan, and Goku/Piccolo rush off to save him. You expect to be able to choose between the two, or have separate missions for each Goku and Piccolo, but quickly find out when the game begins for real.

An awkward...lanky armed man stands before your screen, hunched over strangely as if he's looking for a lost penny, or maybe trying to stare off into the horizon. You begin to walk, and find quickly how strangely video-game characters can move. But I'll leave that out in the fray for another time. The fighting is pretty basic. X is to punch, Y is to kick, and B is to unleash your deadly Ki Blasts. All you really ever need is a single button to fight, though. There's no mandatory need of blasting or kicking yet. All you need to do is punch through an onslaught of crazy yellow Saibamen that never appear in the show. Ever.

There are far too many enemies in this game that don't make sense. Like these giant Saibamen you find later. There is no relevance in them to the normal Saibamen. But that's beside the point. The fact is there's quite a bit of variety, but little creativity. You can find enemies exactly like them in other games such as Fable. (For example, weaker enemies that can spawn more. Sound familiar?!)

Unfortunately, the levels are so extremely short, or so extremely boring, there's no actual enjoyment until boss battles. The normal enemies are so irritating it's hard to not be distracted from the actual game-play, which is only average anyway. But, seriously, the levels only last 5-15 minutes max if you actually focus on what you're doing. The bright side of things is that bosses usually all have different techniques, and you'll have to adapt to each style. Luckily, this somehow makes you act better later in the game. You'll know what I mean when you first face Vegeta. You'll actually have to use skill and smarts, rather than blunt smacking. So, yes, the game-play does require strategy in some aspects.

BEWARE, There are a terrible amount of glitches in this game. Endless pits that characters randomly fall into, the oh-so-notorious get-stuck-in-the-wall glitch, and invisible characters. There are more, but those are the most common!

Graphics 3.5/5

I give them credit for doing better than some games out there. Unfortunately, it seems the makers decided to slack off half-way through the game, because the android models (particularly 17 and 18) look like crap. In my eyes, anyway. The models in general stand awkwardly, and as said before, hunch over. Apparently the makers felt they should get the feel of a monkey's fighting stance or something. Fortunately, the attack graphics saved this rating from complete failure. Yes, attacks like Kamehameha and Galick Gun do look noticeably great. Not only that but the avatars aren't too shabby themselves. Transformations are pretty nifty in appearance too, especially since they had to keep a constant aura flowing.

The surroundings are usually bright and well crafted, but the textures aren't too great. The henchmen must've not required much effort, either.

Sound 5/5

I gotta' say...this is the best part of the game. The ki blasts, the voicing of the characters (though sometimes a tad choppy. Sometimes the voice skips an entire sequence. Such as the Kamehameha chant or the other basic ki specials) and the destruction in the background. All of it is pretty nice. Definitely a bright side in a bunch of darkness.

Overall 3.5/5

It's an average RPG, overall. If you love the DB/Z/GT series, then you'll probably enjoy this game. If you though DBZ Budokai 3 was average, you'll absolutely HATE this game. Just an average RPG if you ask me. =p I'd give this game a 3.5 total, but I can...so...=(

Final Judgment! Rent...or...Buy!?

Rent it. Seriously, this game won't even last the five days you'll rent it for. In fact, it won't last more than a day, even if you take various breaks. I'm serious. It's a very short game. Rent it for the cheapest amount you can find, and for the shortest amount of time you can find.

Enjoy your gaming! This has been EXI.

Reviewer's Score: 4/10, Originally Posted: 07/13/05