As we all know, Dragon Ball is one of the most famous and acclaimed anime of all time; exciting fights combined with a humorous storyline made this show and manga a success. There are plenty of Dragon Ball games, from the original Dragon Ball ones to Dragon Ball GT. Some of these games were really good, while some of them lacked a lot of things.
Dragon Ball Origins is another one of these games that narrates Goku’s adventures from the very start of the series; will this meet the fans' expectations or will it be forgotten under the shadows of failure?
Console: Nintendo
DS
Release Date: JP: 09/18/08, US: 11/04/08, EUR: 12/05/08, AU: 12/16/08
Publisher: Nintendo, Japan/Europe: Bandai, US Atari
Developer: Game Republic
Players: 1
ESRB Rating: T (Teen)
~INTRODUCTION~
So as I just said, this game spans from the beginning of the series when Goku was still living by himself deep in the mountains, until the end of the first Martial Arts Tournament.
This means it does not go as far as other games of this series, such as Dragon Ball: Advanced Adventure for the Game Boy Advance; nevertheless, it does not mean it is short, as it goes deep into every part of the stories that take place in these two sagas.
~STORYLINE~
As the story begins, we are introduced to our hero, Goku, a young boy living in the woods apart from society; fishing, chopping wood, training, a standard hermit life.
This is what he always did with his deceased grandfather, who passed away in a mysterious night Goku can't remember.
But one day, Bulma, a young girl traveling around the word arrives to Goku’s place and tells him about how she is looking for seven star-numbered spheres that were scattered around the world. The special thing about these Dragon Balls is that if gathered all together in one point, a wish would be granted to the person who did so.
Goku happens to have one of these balls, but as it was a gift from his aforementioned late grandpa, he does not want to part with it.
Bulma notices that Goku is actually really strong, so she persuades him to go with her in the search for the Dragon Balls.
That way, she would have the ball that belongs to Goku and a reliable bodyguard.
And that’s how the adventure begins!
~GAMEPLAY~
If you ever played The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass, you will notice it has a similar style, as you move, attack and perform any actions with the touch screen by performing the correct commands.
In this game however, the use of buttons was implemented, so you can move Goku either with the stylus or with the D-Pad and perform some other actions such as viewing the map or changing the fight mode.
However, every combat action is performed via touchscreen, so you will always have to keep your stylus in your hand.
While fighting, you have two modes: The Combat mode and the Power Pole mode. These can be changed anytime during a stage by just pressing the mode button on the screen or pressing the L button.
In combat mode, Goku will fight with his bare hands (and feet, of course), and to do so, you must tap on an enemy; But it’s not just aimlessly tapping, as to perform combos, timing is essential.
For example:
‘’Tap, tap, pause, tap’’ will not create the same combo as ‘’Tap, pause, tap, tap’’
GONK!
While in Power Pole mode, Goku fights using his, well… power pole!
This power pole is Goku’s weapon of choice, and while it seems like a normal fighting staff, it can lengthen at will, which is really useful for distant enemies or for reaching places or objects far away from him.
You learn a great amount of attacks through the game, which are commanded by different touchscreen movements, for example, in Power Pole mode, tapping Goku and then drawing circles will make him spin the staff over his head, generating a tornado that repels enemies.
This comes at a price though, as such a great variety of techniques implies that you will sometimes try to make a specific one, but end up doing another.
Bulma will be with you most of the time, and while you cannot control her, when her Ki is at its maximum, you can touch her to perform a special attack which effect depends on the sub weapon she has equipped at the moment.
The stages are divided by chapters, such as:
Dungeons: You enter and have to solve puzzles in order to advance.
Boss battles: Enter the stage to fight a specific character.
Bulma cannot jump or recreate any of the actions Goku performs, so if she’s with you, you will not be able to advance any further until you find a way for her.
The dungeon stages are really long, and save points are scarce, so losing can be a nuisance if you were advanced in it and had to start over. On top of that, all the dungeons look much the same, so combined with the large stages and having to start them over, the game can turn repetitive and boring.
~GRAPHICS~
Something that has been cursing the Nintendo
DS over the years is its graphical capability. And well, Dragon Ball Origins is not one of the best games in that aspect but it sure takes it to the limit. This actually leads to slowdowns in some parts of the game, but it's not really common unless you took a great amount of enemies to follow you.
3D models look neat, and so do textures, and while the game has a cartoonish style, they didn’t go for cell-shading like they did for many other
DS games.
The detail in lightning and effects is glorious. For example, when you hit something, a cartoonish text will appear with the explosion/glow. This changes depending on the material you hit or how you do it. Many other little details like this makes the game look really good.
Menus are neat, they have a nice Chinese style and are easy to understand, but they can feel a bit empty or dull, such as the title screen one.
All the characters’ models are really good, and no matter the angle you look them, they will always resemble exactly the original one, something that usually fails in games about animation series or such.
Some great effects are also present, like Goku’s hair changing to what it did on the series when running or detailed face gestures that makes this game feel unique.
KAMEHAMEHA! against the swine flu! (yeah, that's a piggy)
~SOUND~
This game uses tracks from the series as well as some made just for the game, which are used on stages. These stage tracks usually last a minute or less, and then loop, so sometimes the song will just make you mad, as it’s annoying and dull, so don’t feel bad when turning the volume down.
The voice acting in this game is pretty good, not only that but the voices are clear and smooth. There are voiced acted cutscenes, and while these don't last too long, they are quite enjoyable.
~LONGEVITY~
As the game is just gathers these two sagas, they had to go deep into each segment of the story, giving a great amount of chapters for each part. So the storyline is greatly elaborated.
Some stages aren’t big. They are MASSIVE, and you will take about thirty minutes to one hour to go through them on the first try. You may have to replay them later in order to get 100% completion, so that will keep you busy for some time.
~CONCLUSION~
Overall, we can easily tell that this is a good game, and you don’t have to be a fan of the Dragon Ball series to like it, as it’s a fun game to play. Full of funny moments and with a lot of things to do, this game turns out as one of the greatest 2008 titles for the
DS.
Not a must get, but still a good game to have in your collection!
Linear Mode
