Difficulty:

Just Right

Time Spent:

40 to 100 Hours

The Bottom Line:

"Great multiplayer"

To start off, I am a huge fan of the DB and DBZ series but i will not let that get in the way of my review and I will expose any flaws in the game. This is also my first review so it may be a little rough.

Story:
Not much i can say about the story. It follows the Dragon Ball Z, GT, and the original Dragon Ball storyline. It also includes all of the DBZ movies. Although playing this game will bring back some memories for fans, sometimes it will get very repetitive.

Graphics:
As a Wii game it doesn't look too bad, but as a representation of the original anime it is very good. The cell-shaded style really helps keep the "cartoonish" aspect of the show intact. The game also has also stepped up a notch from it's predecessor in the effects department, the aura of the characters, their moves and other minor things really do look better and more resemble that of show.

Gameplay:
This is the aspect of the game that really shines. The combat system is really simple but leaves a huge amount of things for the player to get better at over time, such as move timing and dodging. The main point of each battle (excluding some story missions) is to defeat your opponent and you have many different types of moves at your disposal, such as standard punches and kicks, ki blasts, special combos, and of course special moves such as the kamehameha. But sometime the moves used in-game do not resemble that of the the show and makes you wonder why. Also each character is only limited to 3 special moves (one being an ultimate blast in which a character must be in full power mode) which is really disappointing considering that most characters use alot more than three moves in the show. This means that only the "Major" moves are included in the game while alot more of other cool moves the character used are overlooked. But the game partially makes up for this by having multiple versions of some characters.

Replay:
Another area where this game really nails it. There are a lot of different things you can unlock like characters and items, which brings me to my next point. There is a character customization system that lets you change a character any way you want from making him stronger to cutting his energy use in half. This really adds time to the game considering you have to pay Z points (earned in-game) to open up more item slots for each character. Aside from the main storyline there are alternate modes such as mission 100, sim dragon and of course multiplayer which also has many different modes you can choose from. If you have a friend who is into Dragonball Z you will find your self playing this game together all the time, considering all of the different character combinations you can have fighting against each other.

Controls:
The game can be played using two different controller types, the Wii remote and nunchuck combo or the Gamecube controller. The Wii controls really help draw you into the game by requiring you to perform special actions in order to use a characters special move. Fox example to perform the kamehameha you have to move the Wii remote and nunchuck to one side of your body and then quickly thrust it forwards. Although these controls are very fun sometimes it can become frustrating when you do the right action but the Wii doesn't pick up on it. But that does not happen that often. As for the Gamecube controls, they are pretty simple and anyone using this controller type should be able to pick up the game fast, the only drawback being it doesn't "place" you into the game as much as the Wii remote does. Another great thing about this game is it will detect what type of controller you are using and under the character skill list, it will show you all of the moves your character has in the control type you are using.

Overall:
I would recommend this game to anyone, DBZ fan or not you should still find this game enjoyable and although this game likely will not be remembered for its main story mode its incredibly fun multiplayer and great replay value will always be remembered.
9\10