A great old school brawler but if you've never seen a DB show you wont have a clue.
The gameplay isn't very deep but there are plenty of combos for each character, however just doing the basic combo works great and doesn't require any memorization or complex button presses. Each character has their own attacks and specials. The characters all have a Ki attack with a Ki gauge that runs out as you use it but attacking enemies or getting a pick up fills it back up. Of course you could also use a character's special attack which uses all of his or her Ki. The one problem I found with the Ki attack is that with the majority of bosses you could just blast them with Ki the whole time because it also stops their movement and defeat them without any challenge. Very bad balancing indeed. Speaking of bosses after you defeat a boss Goku says "This is usually where a second more powerful form comes and we fight him". I don't know whether to laugh of feel disappointed because pretty much every boss has a second form.
The game does get very repititve. The formula that the whole game uses is screen lock for no more movement-enemies fall in-kill all enemies-move some-repeat-boss battle-end of level. That's not to say the game isn't fun you just do the same thing over and over, it's great in short bursts. A great addition is a life gauage of the enemy you're attacking down in the lower right of the screen. I'm sure this isn't the first brawler to do this but it is very helpful.
The game is pretty long with 12 levels with them averaging out at about 8 minutes a level, so it's about an hour and a half long but hey what were you expecting from an old school brawler? This was a minor complaint of mine but there are no checkpoints in the levels so when you die you have to start the whole level over but the levels aren't that long so it's not like you're going to get frustrated.
The graphics are great. The character and enemy models are big and detailed taking up about a sixth of the screen. The player model has fluid animations too and each character has their own animations but the enemies show of the same falls and some have unique attacks but most just punch at you. The backgrounds are okay they have two levels of detail and scroll of course.
The music is the dead standard for anthing Dragon Ball related. If you you've seen any episode, commercial or game you've heard it before. That 80's metal sound with synthesized drums and a weird mix of techno thrown in there for good measure. I'm fine with music however it doesn't differ too much from level to level. There are also a few voice clips thrown in there, mainly just at the beginning aof levels saying a beginning phrase or something of the sort.
I never got the chance to play any multiplayer but it's there if you play any GBA games with friends. I assume it's just co-op gameplay through the game. There are plenty of unlockables that will keep you going back to play for hours if you really care, it's just that they range in price from 1000 points to 8000 and for completing a level you get about 150-200, so what I'm trying to say is most wont go back to get them.
It's worth noting that early on I ran into a glitch during a boss battle that froze my game and I had to restart. It never happened again but it was frustrating.
Overall the game is a great addition for any fan of the Dragon Ball universe and to those who don't, you wont have a clue but will still have a fun time with it.