Dragon Ball: Advanced Adventure

"Finally! A Dragon Ball game has come!"

Introduction-This game is Dragon Ball Advanced Adventure for the Game Boy Advanced. It is a platforming/beat-em-up and fighting game. As a fan of the Dragon Ball anime/manga I will try to be as neutral as possible for those of you who like Dragon Ball as well as those of you who do not like it.

Controls-The controls are simple to master. They are not complex , and you will not have too worry too much about learning them. I give the controls a ten out of ten.

Sound/Music- The music is pretty good. It is not outstanding however. The sound also is good , but it is not outstanding. You can hear the punches being thrown , and other things like that. I just wish it had more sound effects from the actual anime. I give the music an eight out of ten. I give the sound an eight out of ten.

Graphics-The graphics are really great for the GBA. The characters look great. The environments look nice. You will think you are in the Dragon Ball universe from the graphics. I give the graphics a ten out of ten.

Difficulty- There are several difficulty modes on this game. (easy, normal, hard)
Therefore I will rate each difficulty separately. I give the easy difficulty a two out of ten. I give the normal difficulty a six out of ten. I give the hard difficulty a nine out of ten.

Life Span-This is where the game suffers. You can beat the story mode with Goku in about four hours in normal mode. In hard mode it takes a little longer. There are other modes to play on such as tournament mode , and a mini-game mode. However these still do not dramatically enhance the length of the game. Therefore I give the life span a four out of ten.

Gameplay-This game pretty much shines here. The platforming/ beat-em-up stages are really fun as you have to traverse a level's platforming challenges as well as defeat enemies along the way. The fighting stages are the best though. They put you in a one-on-one matchup against a character. Although it may be a bit on the button-mashing side, it is really entertaining , and it does not get repetitive. I give the gameplay a nine out of ten.

Overall- This game is great. However the short life span of this game really is disappointing. Therefore I have to give this game an eight out of ten. If you are a Dragon Ball fan, then you should get this game. If not then you should probably just rent the game because of its life span. Just remember Dragon Ball fans: Enjoy the game while it lasts......

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 01/02/07