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Dragon Ball Z: Legacy of Goku sold like hot cakes despite getting lukewarm reviews. Atari's DBZ: Legacy of Goku proved to be one of the bigger games of 2002. The sequel, Dragon Ball Z: Legacy of Goku II was supposed to improve the game. Have they done so?
One of the biggest complaints against the original game was its length. Webfoot Technologies, the developers, stated this was because the game was based on a single DBZ saga (Saiyan). The sequel takes place across the Trucks, Android and Cell saga. This alone makes the game bigger because a lot of the major stories from those episodes are represented in the game. If you aren't too big on DBZ, you won't really care about the sagas but at least the game is longer, over twenty hours.
If you missed the original, the basic gameplay is something similar to an action-RPG. There are RPG features like experience, levels and hit points but it is more focused on the action. The combat system is very much improved from the first game. You'll need to master various DBZ attacks and master long ranged fighting. Occasionally, you'll need to use close combat as well.
The game begins with Gohan although other DBZ characters join you as you continue. You can change between characters whenever you want to, although they all control the same. Granted, they all have unique specials but that's it. Also, some areas are only available to certain characters. A unique trait the characters have is their experience system, they all get experience and levels differently. Fighting isn't the only way to get experience since you will find capsules to get more power as you progress. Certain areas of the map are locked unless you have a specific level.
The game's presentation was also overhauled. Webfoot reworked some basics which do add a lot. The first game was pretty rushed and didn't push the GBA very far in neither sound nor graphics. One of the first things you notice is that characters move around a lot better now thanks to much improved animation. This even makes the combat portions of the game more fun. Aside from the animations, the map is more detailed now, which is always a good thing. Nothing really pushes the GBA except the Mode7 fly sequences, although those look out of place.
On the sound part, it is pretty standard. There is no voice acting which seems odd since the developers had a lot of resources from the series. The background music is fitting to the game.
This game was obviously made for the DBZ fan. There are a lot of references to the series that you don't really need to understand to play but it would make the game more enjoyable, I imagine since I'm not too big on DBZ. If you haven't watched a DBZ episode in your life, you won't really get the full value but its still a solid game. For DBZ fans though, this is a must have. It takes all the great parts from last year's best selling game, and makes it all better. -- Jose Liz, PGNx Media
---- Aug 25, 2003
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