Kamehamehas
A couple of years ago (well, a bit more perhaps, but bear with me) people became obsessed with a particular Japanese cartoon, Dragon Ball, which revolved around the life of Son Goku and his family and friends. Like many other similar cartoons, this one was martial art-themed, smart, funny and action-packed. However, I have to admit that, even though I have always been a huge – and I mean HUGE – anime and manga fan, I never really got into DB or any of its sequels: Dragon Ball Z and Dragon Ball GT. I truly don’t know why; as I have mentioned, the series is quite similar to plenty of cartoons I am passionate about, and it is quite awesome in its own right: many amazing series have been inspired by it. That is why I made an honest attempt at warming up to it by reviewing all the Dragon Ball games I could find.
Dragonball Z Pong was a nice surprise, because I kind of as expecting 100% action games. Actually, that may still be true, for if there is something this game is, is action-packed. In this mix of Pong and a fight game (any fight game) you control Trunks, playing against Raditz. Other than trying to get him to miss the ball, you can also shoot him to reduce his points (and, of course, he can shoot you as well). There are different levels, and you can only miss the ball three times – this is Dragon BALL after all.
Click to play Dragonball Z Pong
Dragon Ball Z was closer to what I expected, with a twist: this game can only be played in a Player 1 v. Player 2 mode. Player 1 is inevitably one of the good guys, choosing among Goku, Gohan and Picollo (sure, Picollo was one mean bastard back in the day, but that’s what the ‘Z’ in the title is here for), and Player 2 is the villain, with Freeza, Cell or Vegeta (ok, so he is actually with our heroes… right; I bet even himself would protest if I called him a good guy). Controls are in the keyboard, and you sort of have to figure them out yourself, since there is no tutorial, but let’s just call that part of the fun.
However, only now is when things start getting interesting: we have Dragon Ball Z 2. This is a fight game through and through, in which you can choose one of seven different characters and face the rest in a fight to death. Of course, things would be a lot easier if the game was actually in English, but that should be no big obstacle, right? Once you figure out that this game works in the same way that fights in RPG traditionally do (taking turns), it is all good fun.
And finally, the cherry on top: Dragon Ball Kart. See? This is the kind of pure, unadulterated fun one might get while visiting the Kids Games section. You can choose one of the four main adult characters (Goku, Picollo, Vegeta and Mr. Satan) and race the others for the seven dragon balls. Controls are extremely easy to use, and each character has a special move with which you can take advantage and win the competition.
Click to play Dragon Ball Kart
Now I even feel like watching *that* movie!
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