Dragon Ball Z Super Sonic Warriors Review

Fight the Good Fight

The gameplay is incredibly fast-paced, and that is what gives this game its charm. The title,Super Sonic Warriors, is quite fitting given the incredible speed found in this game. You are given little time to react to the situations, and you'll likely find yourself getting into a "button-mashing" mode as you fight against Cell, Buu, and other Dragon Ball villains.

As such, they've kept the controls simple. The B button is used for weak attacks, A for strong attacks, and R for charging up your Ki (which is represented by a percentage in the top corner of the screen; Ki, of course, is necessary to shoot projectiles). The tutorial in the game is thorough, encompassing nearly all of the attacks you can perform, and jumping from one character to the next is easy because they are all controlled the same way.

As expected with a Dragon Ball fighting game, the battle will inevitably take to the air. There is no jump button; you simply push up on the directional pad and up you go. Double-taps allow you to quickly dash in all four directions (up, down, toward, away), and you'll need to dash if you want to keep up with your opponent.

Classic Clash Between Good and Evil

There are six personalities available right from the get-go, all of which are immediately recognizable faces from the Dragon Ball Z universe: Goku, Gohan, Piccolo, Vegeta, Trunks, and Frieza. As you earn points for successfully defeating your opponents, you can "buy" new characters (and upgraded levels of them; there are three levels in all) in the Shop. These "unlockable" fighters are Krillin, Captain Ginyu, Dr. Gero, Android #18, Cell, Majin Buu, and Gotenks. There are two more that can be unlocked, probably Android #17 and one other, because it is said this game contains fifteen characters in total.

Choose Your Destiny

The main menu is a somewhat creative set up. The seven dragon balls each represent a game mode in Super Sonic Warriors, and they cycle through in a three-dimensional circle. The game modes are as following:

• Story Mode is, of course, the focus of this game, and it will be where you will spending the majority of your time. Each character has their own plot, in addition to a few "sagas" for you to choose from. Most of the battles fought here are one-on-one, although there are a handful of team battles to be had also. The stories consist of a number of "scenes", which encompass static cutscene sequences and their ensuing battles.

• Z Battle Mode more closely resembles your classic fighting game. You fight your way through a series of competitors, either one-on-one or in a team battle situation.

• Challenge Mode puts you into a handicap situation, where you get to select two of your favourite Dragon Ball Z characters, but you must face off against three enemies in a team battle. As you progress through the teams, more teams become unlocked for you to challenge.

• Free Battle Mode, as its name implies, is a single match wherein the size of both teams can be openly selected depending on your preferences. Of course, there must be a minimum of one character per team, and the maximum is three.

• Training Mode consists of two "modes". "Practice" is where you can hone your skills against a dummy CPU opponent, and "Tutorial" teaches you all you'll need to play the game, including basic movement, power shots, and combos.

• Link VS Mode connects you with another Game Boy Advance for some intense head-to-head action against a friend.

• Option Mode is where you can set your difficulty level and review high scores, as well as purchase new characters, higher levels of characters, higher difficulty settings, and story scenarios in the "Shop".

Sights and Sound

Overall, the graphics in this game are adequate. The character models are immediately recognizable, and each fighter, although not really having a unique set of "normal" moves, has individualized "super" moves -- the Certain Kill projectiles. Goku and Gohan, for example, fire off their famous Kamehameha Wave. In fact, they've even thrown in special effect sequences for the most powerful of these attacks, and they look great. The backgrounds are quite simple and unvaried, but you will be spending very little time admiring the backdrops in this fast-paced fighter.

The voice acting is acceptable, but it would have been nice if the music library was a little expanded. In Story Mode, you'll be hearing nearly the same tune every time you hit a cutscene sequence.

Save the Earth or Reduced to Rubble?

For a Game Boy Advance title, Dragon Ball Z: Super Sonic Warriors is an simple, but incredibly addictive fighting game. For fans of the series, you'll already be familiar with many of the plots presented in the story mode, but there are others that present alternate endings to famous storylines. The characters are varied, the action is heart-pounding, and well, this game is just fun. Definitely recommended.