Dragon Ball

"The Story Of Goku Retold And Even Better This Time!"

Well, well, well. Another Dragon Ball game, huh? I know what you're saying. ''When will this damn series die?'' Who knows, frankly, but, obviously it's not today and even with the nearing death of the WonderSwan Color, Bandai decided to produce a remake of Dragon Ball 3: Gokuuden for the Famicom, the second RPG in the Dragon Ball series that spawned the entire 17 chapters of the Manga. Remakes of old and classic games aren't something foreign to most gamers today, as most are good, though some are bad. Although, there's many who prefer the original over the remake and there's nothing wrong with that, as I find myself drawn to the originals sometimes myself.

Despite all that, most gamers aren't too fond of the Dragon Ball titles, fans and non-fans alike. Not much appeal to them, since barely any hit our shores and the ones received are long forgotten and weren't the best pick of the litter anyway. That or America made their own which sold like hot cakes because Goku's Mug was slammed on the cover in a random pose and fanboys had to have it and even though they turned out to be horrid games, despite one of them, they adored it because it was DBZ. Today, I'm going to show you, right here in this review, that there IS good Dragon Ball games out there for alot of the systems, but for now, I'll cover this one, as it's recent and something worth looking for to get you started and filled in on the series from the get go.

Why? Because I feel it's one of the top games made of Dragon Ball. Before hand, no, I didn't think the original was 100% amazing, but, the remake has changed my outlook on it. So, enough of my babbling and let's delve into it and get started, shall we?

Story: Unfortunately, all but one of the Dragon Ball games (I count this as all one, since there's technically 3 games, but they're all the same story.) was original and didn't go off the Anime/Manga. Ok, no problem, since games based off the Anime/Manga usually ARE off the story. Anyway, the story takes place from the very start of Dragon Ball with Goku and Bulma first meeting up until Goku and Ma Junior's fateful fight at the 23rd Tenkaichi Boudouki. For those of you not familiar with this, as that's really all I need to state for the fans, the story is about 7 magical orbs called Dragon Balls, which when gathered, a Dragon named Shenlong will grant you any one wish.

It's also about Son Goku, a remarkable young boy/man with unimaginable strength, will power, talent and a soul so pure, it's crystal clear, who has adventures with his friends. Always wanting to get stronger, he and his friends are always in competition with one another to one up each other and outdo everyone at each Tenkaichi Boudouki, which is a World Tournament where the greatest fighters around gather to see who is #1. Along the way, different beings of evil usually step in wanting world domination and it always ties into Goku, the Dragon Balls and them all coming together for one spectacular showdown and story.

That's the jist of it all and the game covers as I said the first 17 chapters of the Manga or the entire Dragon Ball Anime until it became known as Dragon Ball Z. Goku starts as a kid at 12 and ends when he's just barely 18. So, yes, there is definitely some story in this game and although it doesn't have the insane Battles or rough and tough Enemies from Dragon Ball Z, you'll get to see what Dragon Ball was all about and what started the craze. When I first reviewed the game, I gave the story a 7/10, but now that I look at it again in full light and see the updated version with them fixing some things a little, I'll throw the score up a notch, since, it's really still not the perfect story around and honestly has been done to the death at this point.

Rate: 8/10.

Controls: They were near perfect last time and they got even better now. With the addition of the WonderSwan Color's Buttons, as apposed to the Famicom's, shortcuts have been enabled for you now. Such as, hitting on button will bring up the Item Menu or another shows you Goku's Stats and so forth. Like before, though, using the controls and getting use to the game are as easy as pie. As before, the game is a Menu RPG, so you have all the time in the world to input your commands and never worry about the Enemy attacking you until you are ready.

Movement as well is easy. You control Goku around the World Map in a board game like style, using Cards that let you move a certain number of spaces, with the chance of landing on a object and either entering a Battle, getting a Card, playing a Minigame, etc. Just really simple, as most RPGs have near perfect controls and all and with the addition of shortcuts, it just adds an even nicer touch to the game. The learning curve is maybe 5 minutes tops, not even, as you should have zero problems with it. Hopefully...

Rate: 10/10.

Graphics: Before they were amazing for their time and this time, they're even better, touched up, filled with vibrant colors and there's even backgrounds to boot in Battles now. I'll start with the Battles, though, as they're the ones that've been touched up the most. Basically, there's now backgrounds to the area you fight in, instead of just seeing Goku and the Enemy at all times, it's done in a sort of Phantasy Star type way now, but once you actually fight, it goes back to the original way. Another thing added to the Battles is most of the special attacks have some REALLY amazing graphic scenes for them. Before hand, they just had the character do the move and you saw a normal scene and that was it, but this time it's more dramatic and interesting to watch as Goku pulls off a Chou Kamehameha or something of the like.

As for the Enemies and such, they look just like they did in the original, only with touched up colors and such, but other than that, they are the same, animations, attacks and all. The game's animations are unfortunately the same, with Battles done in a slide show type fashion, which is unique and all, so, it gets no complaints from me. For the rest of the game's graphics, instead of character's icons displayed for each scene, their bodies are seen, in a Fire Emblem type style when they talk, with text below them. Nicely done, I might add, especially with the totally redone World Map in a Breath Of Fire III type way. Over all, the graphics are really good for the WonderSwan Color and since they were improved upon and still keep alot of the old game's familiar things around, this game shows it can't do much better than this.

Rate: 10/10.

Sound/Music: Well, before hand, the game didn't have that good of a soundtrack in my opinion and this time around, the music is slightly better, thanks to them re-mastering it, but it's nothing new or amazing. I'd say it's probably a bit above average and decent at most, so, you can listen to it without going nuts. As for the sound effects, they're good and like before, they were decent, nothing that'd make you stand up and applaud or anything, but they're good enough. Not much else to really talk about, since it's just over all decent and for a Dragon Ball game, it fits at least and isn't some loud techno or nails on a chalkboard sound.

Hell, even for the WonderSwan Color's solo speaker, it sounds really good, so, yeah, don't worry about muting the game, as I doubt you'll want to. Either way, you should have no problems listening to the game's music, but if you do, you know how to solve it. Again, it's not perfect, but it'll do just fine and over the original, I'll definitely take this soundtrack anyday.

Rate: 7/10.

Game Play: Well, Bandai has certainly improved this area alot. Apparently, they removed all the instant Game Overs, which REALLY helped this game and made it oh so much more enjoyable. Instead of the instant Game Overs, you just take a few damage on your HP, which is worth it, trust me. Although, what's stupid is they still use the old Password Save system, which is so old it dates back prior to The Legend Of Zelda for the NES. I don't see why they didn't throw in at least ONE Save file, which would make more sense than copying the password down each time you want to save. Perhaps it was there for the old school feel...? Anyway, besides that, the gameplay is virtually the same as before and nothing much else is new, save some VERY small details which you won't notice unless you played the original.

You play as Goku going through the entire Dragon Ball Series and playing out and reliving his adventures. The object of the game changes based on what's going on at the time, so your Enemies go from Boss Carrot, to The Red Ribbon Army, to Piccolo Daimaou, so, as you play, you'll definitely always have something to do and somewhere to go. It's your standard RPG, really, only you have to go from place to place, train, beat the bad guys and do the next objective. Yes, it's sort of repetitive, but thanks to Bandai boosting the speed of each Battle and making Battles less frequent, the game becomes much, much more enjoyable than how it was previously. The game is meant for fans of the series, though, but even for the non-fans, it's a decent game for the WonderSwan Color that you should at least check out once before you decide what your final thought is.

Since the gameplay has been incredibly fixed upon, though in a sense made easier, since the instant Game Overs are gone, it opens itself to all gamers this time and allows for you to complete the game without getting frustrated. Over all, the game's gotten better, although a bit repetitive here and there, but if you can look past it, it's a decent thing to play while on the road and it'll keep you busy for at least a week or so at most. Bandai, though, has definitely made this game more enjoyable and so far, it's one of the remakes I prefer over the original. The game's not perfect, though, but it is much better than it was before and it's now one of the better Dragon Ball games out there for you to play.

Rate: 8/10.

Over All: So, there you have it. The game's much better over the original now in every way and it's something that any fan can enjoy, possibly even a non-fan now, who would like an old school RPG to play. The challenge is still around in the game, so, don't worry about that and it may seem like a kiddy game to you at first, but, if you can beat it without having any real problems, then great, perhaps it was too kiddy. But for the rest of us, it'll definitely hold your attention for a while. With a solid story that covers Goku's entire childhood and part of his adult years, some perfect controls with shortcuts added for the Menus, graphics that are very appealing to the eyes and Battles that are fun to watch, music that's a bit above average, nothing mind blowing at best and sound effects that are also average, with gameplay that's been heavily improved upon, damn, it makes for one great Dragon Ball game for a dying system.

In the end, if it comes down to you renting or buying it, I'd say buy it if you're a fan, test it out if you're not. It's one of the better Dragon Ball games out there and other than the Super Famicom game, this is the only game that documents all of Dragon Ball, which even then the Super Famicom one only went up to the end of Piccolo Daimaou. Either way, it costs a pretty penny, but it'll be well worth it in buying it before it becomes rare, so, play it, see what you think, decide on it, then do as you will. In closing, Bandai, you just bumped this game up my list near the top of ''Best Dragon Ball Games'' and unfortunately, you should've thrown this on the Gameboy Advance, but, eh...maybe it'll get ported? One can hope, eh? By the way, you WILL need some knowledge in the Japanese language to play this game, so, don't say I didn't warn you.

Final Rate: 9/10.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 03/21/04