Game Boy Advance
Dragon Ball Z: The Legacy of Goku II
| Graphics: Sound: Gameplay: Overall: |
9.08 9.24 9.08 9.00 |
| Votes: | 37 |
| Reviews: | 1 |
Rate this game
Review this game
| Reviewer: goku is a superhero | Date: Feb 22, 2024 |
| Dragon Ball Z: The Legacy of Goku II is not without its flaws, but it's still EXTREMELY, EXTREMELY good. It's without a doubt, THE ultimate non-fighting Dragon Ball Z (henceforth abbreviated DBZ) game. The Legacy of Goku 2 (henceforth abbreviated TLoG2) is absolutely, criminally, underrated. TLoG2 is downright EPIC in both size and scale. It perfectly captures the emotions of DBZ, the greatest Shonen Anime/Manga ever made, at least in my opinion.
Graphics: 10 Beautiful 2D Sprites. This is pinnacle GBA graphics IMO. The game never once overstays the graphical limitations of the GBA. 3D is used only in the overworld flying, which is a perfect decision. Other than that, it keeps to artistic 2D sprite work that covers up the whole of the game's visuals. The sprite work of which is absolutely beautiful! Seriously, this game absolutely reminds me of the top, most absolutely beautiful 16- and/or 32-bit 2D games of the 4th and 5th generations. The art style SHINES. My only complaint in this department would be the questionably and oddly drawn character portraits, with Goku's being especially infamous for his creepy smile. However, I barely even noticed this, hence the perfect score of 10 remains. Sound: 10 Bruce Faulconer's score inspired the soundtrack of this game, which is extremely catchy and fantastically captures the atmosphere. Unfortunately, I am not a musical adept in terms of terminology, so I'm not sure how to describe the sounds themselves. Regardless, here goes nothing: they are "extremely fitting" to the atmosphere of the game and "wonderfully appealing" to the ears in general. Bruce Faulconer is a genius composer, and the synths sound absolutely perfect. I have searched out the Original Soundtrack (OST) of this game, so I can have it with me to listen wherever I go, because it is just so amazing and pleasing to the ears. I cannot stress enough how good this game's music is! Wow! Anyways, in regard to the sound effects, they are crisp and to the point. They get the job done and then some. Firing a ki blast, destroying a rock, transforming into a Super Saiyan, it all just sounds so right. Damn, they really nailed it with this game! Overall, yeah, it is the GBA, so compromises had to be made, and I wish there was voice acting or something as well, but for what it is, and for what the developers were working with, this is INSANE quality. Gameplay: 10 Wow. Imagine a Zelda-like gameplay experience, but with the overworld and dungeons integrated together and more RPG elements at least in the sense of grinding, leveling up, and unlocking characters and moves. Also, some backtracking a-la Metroidvanias. Buu's Fury improved upon this game by having a better item and equipment system, as well as better Super Saiyan mechanics (yes, golden/yellow Ki!) AND better random encounters in the overworld, but still, this game deserves the credit for laying the foundation for all of that. Also, to all those who say Buu's Fury is strictly better, it isn't. This game has charged melee attacks, Super Namek, and the enemies bounce off of walls when you back them into one, unlike Buu's Fury where the enemies simply get helplessly wedged against walls, allowing you to abusively punish them (because of this exploitative mechanic, Buu's Fury is often criticized for being too easy). The only tedious section of this whole entire game is the dinosaur egg retrieval, which occurs in the Northern Mountains when attempting to access Dr. Gero's lab, in the earlier-middle part of the game. It is a weird filler activity which necessitates bringing three eggs over to a brontosaurus. So annoying, but this is the one and only bump in the road, and not enough to even bump my rating down one point. Overall: 10 My biggest complaint about this game is that there isn't enough of it. It is kind of short and the post-game especially leaves much to be desired. Saving all of the Namekians, finding all of the Golden Capsules, and grinding all of the characters (besides Goku) to level 50 to unlock Hercule and get his ending does sound like a lot on paper, but in practice, it isn't very much. There ought to have been more locations. There ought to have been more fights. More playable characters. Tien, Krillin, and maybe even Yamcha. More moves. Solar Flare, Destructo Disc, Instant Transmission, Galick Gun, Final Flash, and Buster Cannon. More bosses. Garlic Jr., Mecha Cooler, Android 13, Bojack, and (non-canon, Z) Broly. Instead, we are given filler and garbage like the "Triceratops King". Other than the limited content, my other largest complaint would be as to why there isn't more Goku. Why is he not playable until the very end of the game? We do not have access to him until level 35 (in comparison we have Gohan available from level 1 and Level 50 is max level). Why is he not playable as soon as he appears in the story? This weird design decision makes it feel less like the "Legacy of Goku" and more like the "Legacy of Gohan, Piccolo, Vegeta, Trunks, and maybe a little bit of Goku". If you are a DBZ fan, this is a must-play. If you are not, it is still extremely recommended. The often compared (and rightly so, because it is the following game in the series) Buu's Fury has a better item and equipment system and a better Super Saiyan system, but that's about it. Oh yeah, also random fightable encounters (submarines and airships) whilst flying around in the overworld. This game, however, has better melee attacks (charged melee attacks) as well as Super Namek (Piccolo)! Therefore, close call, but this is still better overall than Buu's Fury, at least in my opinion. The best 2D DBZ game IMO, and one of the best games on GBA. One of the best 2D games ever made, PERIOD. Do yourself a favor, stop reading this review, and start playing the Legacy of Goku 2!!! |
|