Dragon Ball Z: The Legacy of Goku II

"Is this some kind of joke they've been pulling on us with the previous game?"

Yeah, that's right. Is this some kind of joke? I mean it's no secret that the first game was laughable: the controls were no good, the game was too short. Then when I heard They were making an sequel on this game, I was asking myself 'Why are they doing this when the first game wasn't that good at all'. I mean, how good can a game improve. Not that much. Well Legacy Of Goku II is a huge improvement on it's pre decor. And I'm talking about an improvement on each and every way of the game. Read on to find out why...

Gameplay 10/10
The gameplay, that's what it's all about in a game and I have to say that the gameplay in this game is incredible and definitely an improvement on its predecessor. As I said before the first game was too short and the controls were no good.

The story mode (main quest) is much bigger than the first game. There are much more battles and there are more cities for you to explore. There are also more characters that you can play as in this game beside Goku. That also means that there are more moves in this game. This all greatly expands the story line in the game.

In the first game the battles were kind of repetitive, since you were fighting as the same person against the same persons in the same areas all the time. By adding all these cities and characters, the game isn't repetitive at all. If the game still is to short for you, there are tons of side quests to be completed in this game. This all gives you game of 20+ hours.

There also is an improvement in the levelling system, which also gives you some kind of RPG feeling, since you want to keep levelling and get stronger, but it also has a function in this game. You must be at some kind of level if you want to get further in this game and if you don't level up that much, you will have a hard time fighting the bosses.

The flying mode in this game is very good and unlike the first game, this time flying actually has an function. However you can't fly at will or in battle like in the first game. In this game there are some kind of stones you must stand on and they will let you fly to another place. Another way to fly is by going to some kind of wooden plate which brings you on the world map. From here you can (manually) fly from city to city.

The battling system also improved in this game. In the previous game you could just punch/kick the enemies or shoot an energy ball at them or fire a Kamehameha Wave at them. In this game you have all this as well, but every character (5 characters in total) also has a special melee attack and two special energy attacks. This makes every character unique in its abilities.

When a character uses a power up, like turning into a Super Saiyan, you really can tell the difference. They really become faster and stronger.

What also has improved is the controls of the game. Now you can also move diagonally, which greatly improves the gameplay, because it ads more freedom.

Story 10/10
I loved the story of Dragon Ball Z on TV and the story is the same in this game. It follows the storyline of Dragon Ball Z. It continues its story from the first game; that is right after the Frieza Saga.

The story of Legacy of Goku II contains the Trunks Saga, the Androids Saga, the Imperfect Cell Saga, the Perfect Cell Saga and the Cell Games Saga.It also has tons of side quests and you can play as five characters in total in the story mode.

Audio/Video 10/10
Yes indeed, the graphics and sound. They are incredible.
First of all I'd like to say that the graphics are superb. It's very nicely animated. The background of each area is also very well done, they've done a good job putting the background from the show into the game.

The audio is magnificent. Not only did the make the fighting sound more realistic, but the game also includes music from the show and that's what made me very happy when playing this game. They have done a got job with the background music. It really sounds like the show.

Replayablity 8/10
Well there isn't much to do when you've beaten the game. Almost all that you can do, could be done on your first time. But some still think it is fun to play the game again, fight some battles with other characters. But after you've beaten the game, there isn't much extra unlocked. However there is a secret character that can be unlocked, but that's about it.

Buy or Rent?
I know what you're thinking, the first game was laughable and you're not going to spend your money on this game, but believe me, I once thought the same way. Until I bought it and came to the conclusion that this actually was a good game.
I recommend to rent it first if you're new to the series, if you're not I recommend you to buy it since Legacy of Goku II has improved very much to disappoint you.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 06/29/03, Updated 05/26/05