Dragon Ball: Origins 2
Score: 80% ESRB: Teen Publisher: BANDAI NAMCO Games America, Inc. Developer: BANDAI NAMCO Games America, Inc. Media: Cartridge/1 Players: 1 - 2 (Multicard) Genre: Action/ RPG
Graphics & Sound: Dragon Ball: Origins 2 continues the classic adventures of Goku as a child as he once again takes up the quest to hunt down the magical Dragon Balls. At first, just to find the one his grandpa gave him, but by the end of his adventure, he will have a much better need to find them all and ask for a wish. Dragon Ball: Origins 2's graphics are pretty solid considering the system. Cinematic sequences are really well detailed and the facial expressions going on during these events are just priceless. They definitely heark back to the light-hearted nature of the original series, as opposed to the more fight-oriented one of Dragon Ball Z. As for in-game graphics, Origins 2 does a good job there as well. The top-down isometric perspective gives you a good view of the area, and the various character models are large and have a good bit of detail in them as well. The sound effects and music also help a lot. The music during the various cinematic sequences fits the mood of the story perfectly and really has that classic Dragon Ball feel, while the various blasts and pows of your characters' attacks also sound dead-on while running around and fighting various enemies.
Gameplay: Dragon Ball: Origins 2 picks up just after Goku's first attempt at the World Martial Arts Tournament, where the previous DS title ended. For those familiar with the anime, this game covers Goku's second hunt for the Dragon Balls, and spans the Red Ribbon Army arc where he will compete with an entire military force for the possession of the seven magical balls. Dragon Ball: Origins 2 fits the mold of classic action-RPGs perfectly. Not only does the game take on the top-down view that this genre has used so well, but fights stay on the map, instead of some staged arena that handles turn-based attacks. While the game will lock you into the screen, I've always preferred this style of RPG combat since it doesn't pull you out of the overall game quite as harshly ... plus menu-based combat systems just don't feel right to me anymore. Outside of the game's main Story Mode, there is also the Survival Tower, where you, with a friend if you like, try and work your way through a series of boss battles. While a nice distraction and a good co-op mode, I found this generally wasn't a good scenario to tackle until you've worked your way through a good part of the story to begin with. For the most part though, the toughness of this Survival Mode, or at least how far you could go up the ladder, depended heavily on how much you've leveled up your characters.
Difficulty: Of course, that's how most RPG games work, isn't it? The toughness level is based primarily on how much work you put into the game before tackling the big bosses, and how much you've leveled up your fighters along the way. Well, Dragon Ball: Origins 2 is no different. Dragon Ball: Origins 2 does, however, do things a little atypically. Instead of simply doling out experience and letting you decide how you want to level up your characters whenever you actually level up, one of the drop-items from fallen enemies is Training Points. These blue orbs can be applied to any of three properties, Heart, Skill and Health. Heart increases Goku's Super Gauge (for his big attacks). Skill relates to his other abilities, while Health is, well, health. Eventually you will level up individual properties of your character. The only detail I have to complain about this aspect of the game is the inability to apply your points while in a mission, but I guess that adds a bit of strategy to the game.
Game Mechanics: Dragon Ball: Origins 2 uses the stylus and touchscreen in a smart and enjoyable way. While most of your fighting can be done simply by tapping on the enemy you want to take down, you can perform a fairly wide variety of moves by doing things like slashing next to Goku in the direction you want to attack, double-tapping behind an enemy to dash out of the way and perform a counter-attack and even drawing a line between Goku and the enemy, which works great if you have the Power Pole equipped and you want to hit the foe at a distance. What's nice is that each of these tap and slash-based commands have a button alternative. This means that those who aren't comfortable with the stylus will still be able to enjoy the game, or, if you are like me, found a middle ground where I was using a combination of stylus and buttons. Mainly I did this by moving Goku around the screen with the D-pad (the stylus equivalent is simply dragging the stylus around the screen where you want your character to move) while using the other hand to tap and slash my way through enemies. Dragon Ball: Origins 2 does a great job of exploring a piece of the Dragon Ball franchise rarely explored, at least here in the U.S. While DBZ is undoubtedly an energetic part of the series that can spawn many fighting games, I just don't know how many more times I can go through the Saiyan Saga. It's just nice to see something a little different every now and then.
-J.R. Nip, GameVortex Communications AKA Chris Meyer
Related Links: Game Vortex's Dragon Ball Coverage
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