Dragon Ball Z: Supersonic Warriors

"Arguably the best DBZ game ever made..."

I don't personally own a GBA, I usually just play them on an Emulator or something of the sort. When I heard about a DBZ fighter on the GBA I decided to check it out, and I couldn't believe what I saw... Suffice to say, I swiped my sisters SP and bought this game. Haven't stopped playing it since...

Graphics/Sound - 8/10
The graphics in this game are amazing for the Game Boy Advance. Each character looks exactly like there counter part from the series. The backgrounds aren't mouth dropping, but they get the job done. All the beams look and sound about how they should, and they sound about how they should as well. Background music also isn't outstanding, but it isn't hard to listen to or anything. It works. But the best part is that all the American voice actors are in the game. Weather it's Goku yelling Kamehameha! or Vegeta yelling Final Flash!, you won't be disappointed.

Story - 9/10
Normally, i'd say something like "It's a fighting game so the story doesn't matter" usually to make an excuse for the game having a bad one. XD. However, there is no need here... For the GBA, the story mode is massive. It goes from Namek saga straight through to the end of the Buu saga. That's right, from Goku vs Vegeta (first time) to Goku vs Majin Buu. It's all here. And you'd think that would be enough right? So would I... But there's more. Each character has there own "What if?" story mode. And not a quick little one like in Budokai 1. Each of there story will span from when they entered the series to where the series ends in the Buu saga. Example: What if Vegeta killed Goku originally? Then it would proceed through from there. Then there are other modes such as tutorial, vs mode to play with friends, challenge mode where you fight set teams, and Z Battle Mode where you fight a series of battles trying to get a high score. (Teams can be anywhere from 1 to 3 people) DBZ fans couldn't have asked for more.

Gameplay - 9/10
The most important part of a fighting game no doubt, and it's the best part as well. This game emulates the fights in the series better then any I've seen before it. There's punch, kick, ki blast, charge ki (power up) etc... But the best part of the game is that it's free flight. Remember the horrible game Final Bout? Well this game did it right... No slow down what so ever. You can make circles around your opponent, and it's quite satisfying. Other then that, each character has more much more moves then you would expect in a GBA game. Without getting to in depth, they all have a throw, ki blast, big ki blast and then the punching and kicking which they can make into combos if done correctly. But then they all on average have 3-4 of there trademark moves. Vegeta will have Big Bang and Final Flash, Goku will have Kamehameha and Spirit Bomb, that sort of thing. And although there are no in game transformations, you can choose between normal Goku, Super Saiyan Goku or SS2 Goku for example. Each version will be stronger, and have different and stronger attacks. Also, some characters can still power up further. IE: Goku can use Kaioken. To top things off, you can charge your opponent with great speed, or do that super fast thing you always see in the series where they disappear and appear again elsewhere in the blink of an eye. The only thing that could have possibly made this game better are beam fights, but since even game like Budokai haven't been doing that, I won't be fussy about it. All in all, it's fantastic...

Final Recommendation
This will mostly depend on how much of a DBZ fan you are. I myself am a Hardcore one, so I'll enjoy just fighting aimlessly for a long time to come... (My bus rides have gotten a lot shorter since I got this game.) But if you aren't that much of a fan, you may be happy just renting this game. If you tryed hard enough, you could probably unlock all the characters, story modes and whatnot in a few days. So it's up to you guys...

Final Score (Not an Average) 9/10
I love this game, and I recommend it to all who enjoy DBZ even a little.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 10/20/04