Dragon Ball Z: BUU's Fury Review

Dragon Ball Z: BUU's Fury

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Publisher: Atari

Developer: WebFoot Technologies

Category: Role-Playing

Release Dates

N Amer - 09/10/2004

Official Game Website

Dragon Ball Z: BUU's Fury Review

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Picking up where Dragonball Z "The Legacy of Goku" left off, DBZ Buu's Fury allows players to experience the last major story arc of the cartoon series, that being the Buu Saga.

I like DragonBall Z, the cartoon that is. It is amongst the finest of the action cartoon series' out there and it's run on the Cartoon Network proves how popular it was. Character's developed over the course of 200 plus episodes and we saw how they aged and got better with time, while saving the universe over and over from the likes of Cell, Freiza, King Cooler, Dr. Gero and tons of other bad guys that left most super heroes' rogue's gallery quaking in their shoes. While we American's have Superman, the Japanese had Goku and the Z Fighters and thankfully they shared this wonderful story.

However...

Most video game translations of the DBZ mythos has been met with a tepid response, not all of the games are bad mind you, but on average, the DBZ fan has always wanted a rock solid game that quite frankly I don't know if they could make with today's video game technology. We're talking about a fighting game where character's would be able to fly, run on walls, teleport, use fireball-like attacks and layer the whole thing with RPG elements involving finding the DragonBalls spread out all over this and other planets. The game would be huge and quite frankly I hope it gets made. In the meantime, we can play Buu's Fury, the subject of today's review.

Playing as the Saiyan contingent, Goku, Gohan, Vegeta, Goten and Trunks (all Saiyans in some way or another) Atari has done a decent job of letting you play out many of the episodes with some surprise extras thrown in for good measure. And if this isn't enough, DBZ purists will finally have a game where core characters can complete the fusion technique where similarly powered characters merge together to form an even stronger character, as it is, this is something that pretty much is a requirement to beat the game.

There are other heavy elements borrowed from the cartoon series as well, and quite frankly, I would have to say that you need to be up on your DBZ knowledge in order to get the game's full effect. And herein lies a small problem. If I were an avid gamer who did not know jack about Dragonball Z, then this game would essentially mean nothing to me. Since it's an RPG style game, you are required to read text throughout. Comments made about other characters, in general, to characters, etc., simply will make no sense to those who just aren't in the know.

The game controls are done as well as possible considering the GBA's simple button setup. Item's can be found and used/equipped while running around and during combat. Several known and famous attacks are available from the get go. The Kamehameha wave, teleporting, energy ball throwing, etc., can be accessed quickly by using the left trigger button and executing it with the "A" button. Otherwise only the "B" button is used for fist and foot attacks.

I was surprised at how nice the game looked visually. The characters are small and squat as they run around the scenarios, but I could tell easily who each one was without difficulty. Plus as they spoke, a small window appeared and a portrait of the character appeared that looked like it was lifted straight out of the cartoon. Nice. The same could be said of the audio. It's been a while since I didn't mind the musical accompaniment while playing the game, this one has a nice solid stream of music ported right form the show. Not to mention the smacks and electrical attacks the heroes unleashed during combat. The speaker may be tiny on the GBA, but it was up to the task.

The game can be beat in 15 to 17 hours if you stay on task, since the game is an RPG, you always have something you need to do, and if you don't you soon will. Exploration is a must and can eat up some time while you look for obscure treasure boxes and other hidden item. If there is one universal truth to this game, it's that time gets away from you. When I first started playing, my intention was to just pop it in and get a quick look at it. Well an hour and fifteen minutes later I realized that this game has a way of making time somehow advance quickly.

Review Scoring Details

Gameplay: 7.6

Fairly tight and easy to use. The quick clicking of the left trigger helps you power up other attacks quickly and the fighting, while a little bit contrived, seems to get the job done. Considering the characters all possess powers that could blow up the planet, it doesn't make much sense that fighting bank robbers and circus thugs could even hurt them, yet they do.

Graphics: 7.0

A good use of color and detail. I liked the character profiles when they spoke and the in game sprites are vibrant and alive. Some slowdown when too many things are on the screen at once.

Audio: 7.5

I liked it, the hard rock strum of the hero music instantly invokes the cartoon, and that's what I felt they were going for. Good attack noise and sound.

Difficulty: Easy

It is a fairly easy game. Smart players may not even be stopped at all. It does take around 15 hours to beat, and that's good for me, but others may have hoped for a longer game since this title essentially covers around 100 episodes of the story arc.

Concept: 6.8

Taking a game directly from a popular cartoon is nothing new, but Atari does a decent job of remaining faithful to the core story and should be thanked for doing a decent translation. So, thanks!

Multiplayer: 7.0

Using a second GBA and copy of Buu's Fury you can link up and play against a buddy in a combat situation. It's pretty cool, but nothing that should be viewed as a deciding factor for purchase.

Overall: 7.0

Not too bad, there will be plenty of people out there that will eat this title up, and just as many people scratching their heads as they don't know what is going on. But decent gameplay and good story should make for an enjoyable gaming experience for most.