"Wow. Why can't they make a game like this anymore!"

This was one of (if not the) last DBZ games for the NES. It seems like they finally had made a really good one, when the system died. But oh well. I'm surprised the game didn't do well, considering it was launched along with its Playdia counterpart and with an original movie. But somehow, it still failed. It's a bummer really, because this was the only really original and innovative one besides the first game.

The graphics show the peak of the NES. On the overworld, characters are SD, but that can't be helped. Getting into the zoomed in maps, the backgrounds look really great. You can see the physical features on the areas in very high detail, down to the last tiny mountain in Grid Square 12 x 15. In battle, the characters are big and beautiful. All the characters we know and love are there, with their own custom attacks. When characters unleash their special attacks, the graphics excel to a whole new level. The game switches to an upclose shot of the characters, now extremely detailed and colorful, and goes into an anime-like cutscene as they fire. Overall, very good graphics.

What's that? A DBZ game with an original storyline? No no, it's real. Fortunately, it is very real, and so far only existing in this game. Basically, some unknown force has released toxic gas all over the planet. If it is not stopped, it will slowly kill everything on Earth. Goku and friends notice it, along with some new monsters on the planet. While everyone can power up fine, they can no longer use energy blasts! As you destroy the reactors across the planet, you find some old enemies from the movies. Making appearances are Lord Slug, Turles, Kooler, and Frieza. The story leads to the discovery of an ancient scientist, a survivor of the ancient war between Saiyajins and Tsfurujins. In terms of story, its like the ultimate battle fans always want to see. All of our favorite characters are joining to beat one giant enemy.

By far the most innovative area is it’s the battle system. If you have never played one of the DBZ rpg's before, then it will take a little getting used to. They all base around cards, which represent different attacks. In the older games, almost all of the cards were exactly the same, save a KI card, which let you do an energy blast. Cards were numbered from 1 star to 7 stars, then a Z to indicate the strongest attack. Even with that, the games were still fun. This one makes the game a hell of a lot more complex, but by doing that opens a door for alot more interesting combat.

Instead, during battle you are given alot more cards. Each card represents a function. One card may be punch, another kick, another throw, another power-up, another fireball, etc. The purpose of these is to string them together in unique combinations to make up your own attacks. By combining different attacks with different strengths and moves, combat could've been alot deeper and more interesting. What's even better is that everyone had their own special attacks. If you stringed together just the right moves, your character would do a unique special move, usually a very powerful energy blast. As your characters got stronger, they could use more cards at once for an attack, and learn newer special attacks.

All of our favorite characters from the show are there and playable. Goku, Gohan, Piccolo, Vegeta, and Mirai Trunks all serve as the main characters, each usually having their own world to explore. The game remains extremely faithful to the show, listing almost every attack ever seen used by the characters available in battle (save Vegeta and his 4,098 random KI blasts). For characters that didn’t have too many, some interesting new ones were even created! Each character has their strengths and weaknesses, but you can build them up to your heart's desire, allowing whichever one you like the most to prevail as the strongest.

So, with an innovative and customizable battle system, 5 different playable characters, anime graphics, and an original story line, what stopped this game from being the best DBZ game out there? Well, while the combo system is certainly complex, it's a bit too complex for people to figure out. There is no indication of what each attack does, nor is there any guide to stringing them together. With a ton of different symbols to memorize and combinations, it's impossible to pull a good attack off successfully, and any attacks come by sheer luck. Telling us what the symbols meant would've helped. If they had called one card ''Punch!'' or ''Kick'' or ''Charge'', it would've made it much easier. The story, while good and original, loses focus during the middle of the game. And, it's just too hard.

But that doesn't make it bad. The game has a decent sound/music rating. There are alot of sounds for the battle system, although none of them sound very different. The music seems ok at first, but after 3 hours of searching for a Dragonball on a stupid map, you grow to hate it.

It has pretty good replay value though. For people, who want to fight right away with your choice character, there's the tournament mode. Unfortunately, almost none of the characters can do their anime-move with just 3 cards, but it's still a fun mode. And, the game has a special secret ending and a MUCH harder Final Boss, if you can beat the game without using items. So, it's definitely something to work for!

Overall, it came so close to being the best DBZ game around. If only the battle system had been easier to understand, it would've blown everything else away. But alas, it didn't. The creators later took this game and made another game using the same idea, only making it a fully animated ''Choose Your Own Adventure'' game, which later had a movie based on it. This is still the best of those, but it falls just short of beating DBZ: Legend of the Super Saiyajin or Legendary Super Warriors.

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 03/27/02, Updated 09/12/03