REVIEW | Dragon Ball Z: Legacy of Goku
Introduction
Dragon Ball. Created in the 1980s, from the pen of Akira Toriyama. It’s a franchise that’s transcended being a simple manga and anime—a cultural landmark that’s sprawled across decades, continents, and media. And with that kind of reach comes an avalanche of games. Some are iconic, while others are...Dragon Ball Z: The Legacy of Goku.
Ah, Legacy of Goku. An action RPG developed by Webfoot Technologies in 2002 for the Game Boy Advance, it serves as a clear-cut example of how to turn an action-packed series like Dragon Ball into an unmediated disaster at least, if you’re looking at the Metacritic score. But, hey! Maybe they’re wrong. Perhaps Legacy of Goku is a hidden gem on the GBA or, at the very least, is a game that deserves a second look.
Premise
Legacy of Goku adapts the first two sagas of Dragon Ball Z, the Saiyan and Freeza sagas, and it does so pretty faithfully. We get the battle with Raditz, the battle with the Ginyu Force, culminating in the final battle with Freeza. While it does capture the main events, what it adds in between is a whole lot of nothing. Now, it’s reasonable to have something in between, maybe give the game a little more content than it would have had otherwise. But what is here is so bland and uninteresting, I almost wish it were not here at all. The only benefit is that it makes the game last a little longer than the under four hours it would otherwise. While I did say that the game follows the story faithfully, it doesn’t make sense how Goku gets some of his attacks (a man in the woods gives Goku the Solar Flare, and King Kai grants Goku the Kamehameha). But that’s not even the game’s most major issue.
Learning the Solar Flare.
Gameplay
Legacy of Goku’s biggest flaw is the gameplay itself. It’s an action RPG with a focus on real-time battles in contrast to its turn-based counterparts. A perfect fit for Dragon Ball, with the player controlling Goku and using a combination of melee and Ki attacks to take on enemies. A solid foundation. However, the execution is where everything falls apart. Starting, the combat system is terrible. The lack of move options leaves little opportunity for strategy, and even with the attacks you have, they feel unbalanced. For example, with most of the fights, you could stick with either rushing in and punching or shooting the basic ki attacks from afar. The only other attacks you get are the Kamehameha and solar flare, both of which are completely ineffective in comparison.
These issues are only compounded when you add in the egregious hit detection. Trying to hit any enemy in this game is more difficult than the enemies themselves. Doesn’t help when they get right on top of you, and you’re having to mash attack until either you die or the enemy dies. But, instead of either punching, what about ki attacks? They are also worthless, with the exception of the basic ki attack. The Kamehameha somehow has less range than the regular ki attack, so it's just not used. Could’ve used the solar flare, but why do that when I can shoot ki blasts from a distance and get the same result?
Fistfighting a wolf in the woods just as Kami intended.
Like any good RPG, you gain experience points through your many conflicts, but it's bland. Sure, it boosts basic stats like attack and health. However, that’s about it. There are no extraordinary abilities or attacks that are gained from leveling up. No strategy. No player choice. Nothing. The only thing the leveling system serves to accomplish is measure the grind that Legacy of Goku forces you to endure. I understand that grinding is part of the core gameplay loop of many RPGs, but this is unbearable. There’s no growth, no satisfaction. It is only an arbitrary guidepost put up to pad out the game length. Combine this with a quest system that is utterly underwhelming, and you have the recipe for a truly destitute adventure.
Conclusion
Knowing Dragon Ball, I came into this looking for a fun, action-packed adventure. What I got was a poor imitation. While some presentation elements, the character sprites, for example, were good and the game hit the major points of the anime, Legacy of Goku consistently let me down with poor combat and lackluster gameplay. That’s why I’m giving Dragon Ball Z: Legacy of Goku a rating of...
Stay Away! (1/5)
A disappointing adventure that fails to live up to the legacy of Dragon Ball.
But those are just my thoughts. I’d love to hear what y’all think! What memories do you have of playing Legacy of Goku? Am I far off base or did I hit the mark? Let me know in the comments below or on X at @intobacklog.
