Dragon Ball Z: Attack of the Saiyans (2009)

Here is the deal: If you love Dragon Ball Z and totally want to rewatch the Saiyan Saga, then absolutely play this game.

Gameplay

This is a turn-based RPG that allows you to take control of six characters: Goku, Gohan, Piccolo, Krillin, Yamcha, and Tien. Following the sequences of the original storyline, you will be prompted to control the different characters in the scenes given. This does mean that when the fight with Raditz comes, you will only fight with Goku and Piccolo as the others are not canonically involved and so on. You will find treasures, buy items and capsules, complete missions, and visit all the familiar/new places in the DBZ world.

Characters

If you have never read/watched DBZ, I cannot really speak for how much you would enjoy this game or find any of the characters appealing. It is designed that you are already intimately familiar with the storyline and characters, so there are no backstories or additional content provided. As for actually playing the characters, it is painfully obvious that Goku and Gohan are the best characters to play, while Yamcha and Tien are the worst. By design and by original story, it is just simply the way it is.

Story

This follows the Saiyan Saga very closely while also adding side missions, new places to explore as dungeons, and fighting numerous types of monsters and enemies. It is interesting to think about each character you gain control in context of the story because you will want to make sure you use items and gain experience as needed for the next chapter. There are 15 chapters total, so it can drag quite a bit with side missions (all for the sake of being strong enough to fight Vegeta in the final chapter). However, I think the games does well to keep it interesting enough to keep you going.

Overall

Because I am such a fan of DBZ, I did not feel that I experienced anything new or innovative through this game. I did have to take quite a break from it because I got pretty bored in chapter 13 with the repetitive nature of grinding. It can be beaten probably between 30-35 hours, depending on your need to grind and if you choose to do some side missions before the big Vegeta fight (collect dragon balls, collect carrots, find all the treaures). You can also unlock the secret boss through the dragon balls so if you are still itching for more after Vegeta. I definitely recommend this for a fun, easy game to play when relaxing.

I just finished a 99% complete playthrough on Attack of the Saiyans - doing everything but defeating a super powerful but optional sideboss at the end of the game.*

Just to give a bit of a background to what led me to this game and eventually writing this review. I am a HUGE Dragon Ball Z fan. For fifteen years, I've watched the show, collected figures, and kept up to date with all things Dragon Ball / Z / GT / Super. I'm also a HUGE video game player, and would identify RPGs as my favorite genre.

One day, I found myself browsing the Dragon Ball subreddit and read a post in which the poster asked if there were any, "Turn-based Dragon Ball RPG video games." Sure enough, another user linked Attack of the Saiyans. Without reading any reviews or considering the worthwhile-ness of my purchase, I bought the game and set out to play it. Even it if were a horrible game (not out of the question for DBZ games), I hoped my affinity for the IP and the genre could carry me through.

Now, roughly 30 hours later, I can say that I was pleasantly surprised by the experience that was AotS! I'll write my thoughts from two different angles: for the RPG fan and for the Dragon Ball fan.

For the RPG Fan

Alright. I'll be honest here: if you're looking for a stellar turn-based JRPG, this is not going to be groundbreaking. Don't get me wrong - the RPG mechanics are okay. After all, the game was developed by Monolith Soft, the gang behind the critically-acclaimed Xenoblade series. Xenoblade Chronicles is one of my favorite RPGs - and games - ever. Thus, in AotS, I wasn't surprised to find the RPG elements function well. There is great balance to the characters, items are interesting, leveling is at a healthy pace, and attributes are compelling. There is balance between the party members that create great synergy in combat. The combat takes an "active combat" approach, requiring players to press defensive block buttons in response to visual and audible clues from the opponent. The game is actually hard at some points - which I enjoy. Cool stuff.

That being said, there's nothing quite special. Remember the first time that you experienced the Materia system in FF7 or the Relics/Espers in FF6? Those were new customization systems that took the genre to new territory. Needless to say, AotS provides none of that. It may not be fair to compare this game to the greats, but I hope I can get my point across through the comparison: the combat is interesting, but bland after awhile. The RPG held my attention, but it definitely did not blow me away.

There are also some super annoying RPG elements that I could have done without. Dialogue is very long, slow, shallow, and pointless. The maps are cool, but are (largely) linear. The environments are all the same only with different skins. If you play, you'll see what I mean. These are small gripes - I would have preferred to have the option to speed the dialogue up just a bit.

For the Dragon Ball Fan

Because you're reading my review, I'm assuming that part of you is a Dragon Ball fan. In fact, I reckon that the IP is so strong that one would only consider playing this game if he or she were a fan. Well - as a fan, I will suggest that you will NOT be disappointed. The game takes place in the year leading up to the arrival of Vegeta and Nappa, episodes 01-35 in the uncut version of the show. Indeed (spoilers, but this is made clear very early!), Vegeta and Nappa are the game's final bosses.

The typical Dragon Ball video game features ULTRA POWERFUL SUPER SAIYAN SIX BLARGAWARG POWER LEVEL INFINITY stuff...but this game doesn't. Because of the placement of the game in the Dragon Ball storyline, the player is forced to explore parts of the Dragon Ball story that is very rarely, if ever, explored! For example, the player is invited to level up an early Yamcha and Tien. There is no super-saiyan Goku. Gohan is just a boy, and the player works with Piccolo to make him stronger. In other Dragon Ball Z games, Tien and Yamcha are NEVER strong enough to be used! In Attack of the Saiyans, they were some of my stronger fighters.

The DBZ fan-geek in me really, really appreciated my time through this one because of just this. I like seeing the "untold stories" of certain characters. Just what were Tien and Yamcha doing while Goku was on Snake Way? Just what did Piccolo and Gohan do in their training together? Not only are some of these questions explored,** but they are given to the player in a video game RPG format that is seldom-seen by DBZ fans.

As I played, I found the nostalgia cranked really high, so I played the last half of the game while sitting on my couch and watching some of the early Dragon Ball Z anime. Sitting on the couch, playing my portable Nintendo system, watching 1990s Dragon Ball Z, and drinking a beer - does it get better?

Final Thoughts

If you're a Dragon Ball fan and an RPG fan like me, then this game is a must play! But let's not fool ourselves. I recognize this is a very niche audience. If you are a Dragon Ball fan but not a JRPG fan - or vice-versa - I'd go ahead and let this one pass by. Attack of the Saiyans was a fun, entertaining, challenging experience for me, but only because I walked in with high infinity and realistic expectation.

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*If you are interested, the sideboss is: SPOILER: Broly, the legendary Super Saiyan!

**NOTE: This game is NOT confirmed as Dragon Ball canon.