Dragon Ball Z Collectible Card Game

"KamehameHALLELEUJAH! A good DBZ game at last.?"

A disappointing streak of sub-par DBZ games has finally ended. After a disappointing Dragon Ball Z premiere on the Game Boy Advance, should you even take a second look at this one? Yes, you should.

Dragon Ball Z: Collectible Card Game is far from perfect, but it's fun, long, and even slightly addictive.

Story
-7/10

The game has no story. It's just you, playing as a DBZ character versus another DBZ character. Fortunately, there's a simple tutorial. And, as in all card game to video game conversions, the card battles are set up like real battles, with Goku and Frieza yelling out ''You're going to pay for this with your life!'' from behind their decks of cards.

Graphics
-8/10

Sharp visuals taken directly from the Anime are sure to please fans, and the menus are very smooth and shiny. Besides that, though, there are almost no animations. No card spinning, no little Goku sprite popping up and slashing his sword, nothing. However, it's a card game. The visuals aren't as involving as in the Pokemon TCG.

Audio
-7/10

The audio isn't very involving. There are only a couple of battle themes in the game, and most of the battle music is the same as the menu music. The sounds consists of punches when damage occurs, and a guy screaming when the anger level increases. Oddly enough, the same screaming sound was used for the ''AAH! Real Monsters'' Nickelodeon cartoon. Don't ask me how I know that.

Gameplay
-8/10

Like all card games, luck of the draw is a major factor in the game. You'll spend most of your time doing this:
-Attacking
-If your opponent has a defense card, your entire attack is cancelled.
-Your opponent attacks
-If you have a defense card, their entire attack is cancelled.

This is basically how the game is. So you better hope you have an Attack Card and a Defense Card in your hand. if you have both, you'll probably win the round.

So why does it get an 8/10? Because it's simple. The recent Yu-Gi-Oh game was too complicated for its own good.

It's pure, clean fun.

As for Deck Building...it's what made me deduct an entire point from this category. You win cards, and make decks, but it's not as rewarding as it was in Pokemon TCG. You move from battle to battle via a menu, not a world map, so it's all like a table tourney. But it can't be helped.

Replay Value
-7/10

The sheer amount of cards to get keeps you coming back. And there's a link mode, too. With so many character cards and interactions, it should keep you busy for a good while.

Buy or Rent or what?

Unless you're a big DBZ or DBZCG fan, it's not worth an immediate buy. However, it's a must-rent for GBA owners. Even if you don't know that much about DBZ (like me), it can still be a good rental. And let's not forget about emulation...but I won't get into that.

Overall Score
-7.5
Rounded up
-8

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 06/01/02, Updated 06/01/02