Super DBZ

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The never ending deluge of Dragon Ball Z titles continues unabated, but this time Super DBZ follows up with an entirely new fighting engine, a few unique features, and a whole lot of old school arcade fighter-inspired butt kicking action.

Pros

  • Awesome fighting techniques that date back from 2D arcade fighting games, simple and easy to pick up controls

Cons

  • Ground to mid-air collision detection

Bottom Line

Super DBZ is an awesome fighter which pays homage to the old school 2D arcade fighters of yore while also brining another engaging Dragon Ball title the PS2. IF you haven't owned any DBZ games before, this one is the one to pick up. If you're a diehard Budokai gamer, you might be surprised by the level of balance and quality Super DBZ sports compared to the other DBZ games. Either way, check Super DBZ out, it's really fun.

Would you buy this?

  • Price

    $ 49.95 (AUD)

The initial press barrage surrounding Super DBZ concentrated on the fact that key people responsible for the arcade fighting masterpiece Street Fighter II are working on Super DBZ's development team and this latest Dragon Ball Z game would play and feel more like the fighters of the bygone Street Fighter era than the home console brews of today's standards. For once the press releases got it right; Super DBZ not only pays homage to the old school fighters, but it also brings an entirely new and refreshing take on the 3D fighter genre.

Kaioken times one million!

Super DBZ features a multitude of familiar DBZ characters and stages, prerequisite modes, and an easy to use character customisation mode. You'll be able to play as 18 of your favourite DBZ characters, including Goku, Gohan, Vegeta, Krillin, Piccolo, Trunks, Android 16, Android 17, Android 18, Frieza, Cell, Chi-Chi, Ultimate Gohan (from the Trunks future), Videl, Majin Boo, Cyborg Frieza (a newly designed character by Akira Toriyama specifically reconceptualised for this game), Majin Vegeta, and King Picocolo (from the original Dragon Ball universe).

You'll also be able to customise your characters by creating a Character Card (very similar to a player profile). Once you've created the card, you can select it and go through the Original mode or Z Survivor mode and accumulate Battle Points (which gradually buff your characters attributes), Experience Points, and collect Dragon Balls. The Experience Points can be traded in at the Customize mode to train your chosen Z warrior to acquire deadlier attacks, or adopt an attack from your characters rival. Collecting all seven Dragon Balls will allow you to call on the eternal dragon Shenron for a single wish. The wishes range from character buffs, new attack moves, to unlockable outfits and playable characters.

Senzu beans make me gassy

While all this is great, the gameplay is where Super DBZ truly shines. From the first time you load up and play Super DBZ, you'll notice the game religiously pays homage to the Akira Toriyama Dragon Ball universe, including long lost characters like Goku's wife Chi-Chi (who sports Goku's original magical staff, Bansho Fan, and the Flying Nimbus Cloud), and the evil King Piccolo, but also plays almost exactly like the classic 2D Street Fighter II arcade game.

The second thing you'll notice is that the controls are simple and easy to pick up. You have two primary attack buttons (light and strong), a jump button (double tapping the jump allows you to float in the air), a block button, a throw button, a parry button, and two dash buttons.

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