GENRE
	Fighting
	DEVELOPER
	Banpresto
	PUBLISHER
	Atari
	NUMBER OF PLAYERS
	1-2
	CONNECTIVITY
	No
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While the successful Dragon Ball series has only graced the Nintendo GameCube in the form of DragonBall Z: Budokai, Atari has released a handful of titles based on the DBZ series on Nintendo’s handheld, the Game Boy Advance. The stream of releases seems a bit eerie while looking back on it. First came DragonBall Z: The Legacy of Goku, which was met with disdained reviews and was met with impressive sales, even though fans were disappointed. Afterwards, the sequel was released, The Legacy of Goku II. This title was so vastly superior to the original it’s hard to even imagine how bad its predecessor could have possibly been. Then Atari released the fighter DragonBall Z: Taiketsu and again, was met with horrible reviews and several complaints from fans. Now, history has repeated itself with the release of DragonBall Z: Supersonic Warriors. This fighter sequel is leaps and bounds ahead of Taiketsu. How is this even possible? Since it’s obviously too much to comprehend, let’s just say that Supersonic Warriors is a great game and an even better fighter on the Game Boy Advance.

visuals

If you took the characters from the TV series and put them into a little GBA cartridge, you’d be left with something close to the look of Supersonic Warriors. The animated 2D sprites look authentic and dedicated to the original source material, which is unprecedented after the last attempts on the franchise. However, it doesn’t take twenty-two minutes to battle the same enemy over and over again. That being said, the special attacks like Goku’s kamehameha looks incredible, although a shorter, less impressive version of the featured trademark move. The environments, portrayed by colorful backdrops, don’t feature a whole lot of detail but they are definitely reminiscent of the anime and seem as if they do belong in the game. There’s not much to say about a smattering of rocks and debris, though.

When it comes to this game, though, you’ve got to hand it to Banpresto for bringing in a dynamic camera system which brings the whole thing to life. While flying around, the camera will zoom in and out, giving a panoramic view of the action. It’s an incredible effect that centers on the intensity of combat.

audio

As in past incarnations of the franchise, the game holds true to most of the authentic sound effects and music featured in the TV series. This time out, though, we’re treated to little voice clips from the American version of the anime which chime in during special moves. You’ll hear Goku performing his Ka… Me… Ha… Zzzz… To help keep the action centered, they’ve kept everything at a swift pace, thankfully. The production values here treat the source material with respect which is always appreciated in a licensed title.

gameplay

You’d expect, in a game like this, you’d be doing a lot of fighting. Since it’s a DragonBall Z game you’d also expect to do a lot of flying. Well, if you had played Taiketsu, you would have been doing no flying and a lot of puking. So maybe it wasn’t all that bad, but the point is that it was. Supersonic Warriors has turned everything around and you’ll be doing a crap load of fighting and possibly even more flying.

The battle system is easy to adjust to since it’s mostly a bunch of button mashing, just like most GBA fighters. What makes this game different from the rest, however, is the ability to hover and fly. It’s a great, fluid system which requires two taps of the same button in order to get into the air and continue on with the heated combat.

There are several modes to choose from including Story, Z Battle and Challenge, all of which have the player against a vast number of battles involving either one-on-one to three-on-three. Free Battle and Training are also available but simply add more options to those already available. Included are around 13 playable fighters, both available and unlockable including Goku, Gohan, Piccolo, Trunks, and Gotenks. In order to unlock these characters, you can buy them from the store in the options menu using points you’ve accumulated over the course of playing the game. Either that or you’ll unlock certain rewards in Story mode. The unlockable content is a great idea that worked well for the Budokai series.

multiplayer

There is indeed a VS Link Battle mode which is available to gamers who have a link cable and a friend with another gamepak. Fighting games are all about competition, so don’t expect any cooperative modes. Multiplayer always extends the life of any game and such is the case with this game. Major props should be given for this extra minor effort.

overall

There seems to be a new rule for Dragon Ball on the GBA, which sort of follows the tried and true Star Trek “evens” rule. Every other Dragon Ball game is great whereas the titles in the middle are flawed and boring. Supersonic Warriors is very fun, if not repetitive, and should hold your interest even if you aren’t a fan of the popular anime series. We’ve got several new DB titles coming soon to grace the Game Boy Advance, though, so let’s hope that they can break the “evens” rule and deliver something spectacular. For now, check out this game and enjoy it before Buu’s Fury hits in October.

7.2/10