The Dragon Ball series is one of the
most popular and well-known anime series in the United States. This series has
spawned three TV shows, many movies, various merchandise, and games on several
of different systems throughout the years. Well it is time for the GameBoy
Advance to receive a new Dragon Ball game, and the one it gets is based off of
the Dragon Ball GT franchise. I must say that out of all of the Dragon Ball
games that I have reviewed this is one of the best done yet. Read on to find out
why that is the case.
Dragon Ball GT: Transformation is
the first part of a two-game series that covers the beginning of Dragon Ball GT
all the way up to the Baby saga. If you are unfamiliar with the story, let me
explain what has happened up until now. Basically ten years have passed since
the end of Dragon Ball Z, and Goku and Uub have gone off to train and hone their
skills. One day Emperor Pilaf accidentally wishes that Goku be transformed into
a child by the black star Dragon Balls. After the wish the balls scattered all
over the galaxy, and if they are not recollected on Earth before a year, the
world will be destroyed. SO it is up to Goku, Trucks, and Pan (Goku’s
granddaughter) to find the Dragon Balls to prevent the destruction of the Earth.
Unlike a lot of other games that
this franchise has spurred on, Ball GT: Transformation is a beat ’em-up game,
similar to Battle Toads or Streets of Rage. Players will get to select their
team of three and then go down to a world. Then you will fight myriads of
enemies, getting to freely switch between their characters, to eradiate them and
their boss to progress on to the next level to repeat this process all over
again.
There are two different game modes
that players can take part in. The first one is the story mode which will take
players throughout the different levels of the game and follows the story of
Dragon Ball GT’s first two sagas. After you finish story mode you can play in
single-player mode. In this mode you can play through the levels in story mode
at your leisure; in this mode you can choose between nine different characters.
There are two really bad things in
this game. The first one is that this game can get extremely repetitive. The
developers really should have put some other factors in the game to make it have
a little more variety in the game play. All you do is land on planet; beat up
people on various stages until you get to the end. Then you will have a big boss
fight. After all of that is complete you just go to the next planet and repeat
the process. One of thing that saves this somewhat is the different environments
the players will go through but this game needed just a little more variety. The
other thing is that this game screams for is a nice co-op mode, which is
mysteriously not included. A game of this nature demands a co-op mode and we are
left without one. It is such a shame.
One of the first things you will
notice about Dragon Ball GT: Transformation is how crisp the graphics are. This
game makes every use of the power for the GBA and it definitely shows and is
greatly appreciated. The game is rendered in 2.5D backgrounds and each level has
multiple levels that you will be able to walk around which gives each level more
depth. The characters are also really well created in this game. Each of the
characters looks exactly like their cartoon counterparts and has a very nice
level of detail. If you think you have seen it all then wait till you get to
some of the boss battles, you will be truly impressed.
Unfortunately the sound on the other
hand, did not receive the same treatment as the visuals in this game. Each of
the levels that you will go through has its own set of music, which helps with
the variety. The explosions, attack “grunts,” and various other noises are very
generic and get the job done. While the sound for this game is not bad it is
just not as refined as the graphics section in this game. The audio could have
been better, but what we have is palatable.
Dragon Ball GT: Transformation is
rated E10+.
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Gameplay: 6.5
The game is fun, but it gets really repetitive. Even thought you will
be fighting many different types of enemies you still do the exact same thing on
each level just with new backgrounds and enemies. There needs to be a little
more variety in the game to really make this a must-have game.
Graphics: 8.6
The graphics for Dragon Ball GT: Transformation is one of the best
things about this game. The backgrounds and characters are crisp, clear, and
move very fluidly.
Sound: 7.0
The sound for this game is palatable but it is not in the same league
as the graphics.
Difficulty: Medium
This game can be pretty challenging at times, especially against some
of the later bosses you encounter in the game.
Concept: 6.9
The game really doesn’t innovate this genre any, but I did really like
having the option and ability to freely switch between any of my characters
during the course of a mission.
Multiplayer: N/A
I was not able to test this feature out at the time of the review.
Overall: 7.2
Dragon Ball GT: Transformation is a really decent beat ’em-up game. It
is a shame that the developers didn’t include a co-op mode, which this game
screams for it. If you are a fan of this series, then you will enjoy this game.
