Dragon Ball Z Collectible Card Game

"Hard to learn, requires patience"

Dragon Ball Z: Collectible Card Game (DBZ:CCG) is quite fun if you're into that sorta thing. Hard to learn, but all my opinions are later in the review.

Controls
You can't really talk about controls for a card game, but I guess they're pretty good, except when you're building a deck and you're not really concentrating, and you hit B instead of A and end up erasing all your hard work. Otherwise, they're fine, but they could have used the L and R buttons more.

Graphics
The graphics are fine. They aren't spectacular, but they're just fine for what you have to do. The card images are a little grainy, and the card list screens aren't eye catching, but they do their job.

Speed
This game is a little slow, especially when switching cards in the detailed view. That, when you change screens in the Card lists, and when it says ''Attacking'' or ''Defending'' are the only times when you rapidly press a button, thinking that it'll go faster. Otherwise, entering and exiting a battle is very fast.

Sound
The sound for this game isn't that great. They've only got one main track, and it just keeps playing over and over and over, no matter if you're in a battle or changing your name. Just turn the volume down.

Plot
The plot for this game is awful. In the booklet, it says that you're part of The Cell games, and you want to defeat Cell. Other than the fact that there are Tiers and The last Boss is Cell, The plot isn't developed any further. On top of that, people who are definitely are not supposed to be there are.

Learning Curve, Instructions, & In-game descriptions

The instructions for this game are awful, and sound like they haven't been read by anybody except DBZ:CCG veterans. They use a lot of abbreviations, and often don't explain them. It took me about fifteen minutes to figure out what PUR meant, and from there it took me half an hour to somewhat understand the game. When I started playing, I must've looked back in the book about ten times, as I was very often confused.

The learning curve is also awful. The ''Tutorial'' as they call it, only tells you what the attacking and defending screens mean, and how to view and use cards. It doesn't cover anything about rules or gameplay,and is only three minutes long.

In game descriptions are very confusing. A lot of them say discard after use, but isn't that what you do anyway? And Non combat cards- do they become discarded after you use them? Everything in this game is confusing.

Early Gameplay
This game is obviously very hard in the beginning, especially since your beginning deck is awful, no mater who you choose. You'll spend most of your time trying to defeat opponents who are way too hard with no cards, and the little cards you get don't contribute to your gameplay. There also isn't any other way to get cards, and Ten cards for half an hour of play is a little disturbing. Even if you have the best deck you can make, the game is still very challenging.

Late Gameplay
The game is a lot of fun in the very late stages, where you have all the cards, have three ultimate decks for every character, and you can beat your friends again and again. Eventually though, you're going to want to play again, but with all you cards.

Overall
Overall, this game was fun and challenging but hard to learn. I guess it'd be great for DBZ:CCG fans, and for young kids who have to have everything that's related to the word DragonBall, but for just picking up and playing, don't invest. If you plan on playing for short periods don't buy, as if you turn your GBA off in a round, you return to the Main Screen. It's a little hard even for Trading Card Game fans, but you might get a little more out of it.

Reviewer's Score: 6/10, Originally Posted: 08/18/02, Updated 10/29/02