Simple but good. (Review contains detailed pros and cons list)
Attack of the Saiyans is an enjoyable turn based RPG. The game mechanics are nothing revolutionary but comfortable enough for today's gamer tastes and they have some interesting elements. E.g. there is the active guard system which lets you stay alert to minimize damage from opponent attacks by pressing the right button at the right time. ( I found myself trying this in other RPGs after playing DBZ AotS.)
You have a fair amount of character customization options through plenty of different accessories, freely assignable ability points and some freely assignable status points.
Still the battle and character system is not very deep and after a few hours RPG fans will wish for a bigger challenge.
The game tells the story from the end of the Piccolo storyline to the fight with Vegeta and puts quite some subquests in it to lengthen the game. You will meet A LOT of familiar or even long forgotten characters from the Dragon Ball series which is really nice for fans. On the downside gamers who don't know the series will constantly think that they are missing plot parts. Also this games doesn't have as much humorous scenes as in DB Origins.
What I really liked where the graphics. 2D, clear, yet detailed, colorful, with varied and well drawn backgrounds, funny enemy sprites and nice still images for story telling. The game looks just right on the DS.
The music score is ok, too. Can't say a lot about it because I had to turn the volume off most times I played.
Here are the pros and cons of the game for a better overview:
Positive
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- Features as many of our beloved characters as possible
- Beautiful 2D graphics
- No grinding required
- Some interesting battle mechanics
- Generally a solid battle and character development system
- Optional content (not much but at least some areas and an optional hard boss)
Negative
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- No quick save option
- Frequent random encounters
- A bit too simplistic for RPG fans
- Could be more humorous
- Makes only sense for fans of the series