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Updated November 20, 2004
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QB Dragon Ball Z
Demo
(Ryan Mallon)
vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv
"The Battleground for the Strongest Beings in the
Universe!"
The Saiyan prince Vegeta is in for the battle
of his life, when he must face his ultimate adversary: himself! In this
one-on-one battle for two players only, it's up to pure skill to determine
who truly is the better fighter!
All of Vegeta's mightiest attacks are in your
mercy. Uppercut your flesh-and-blood counterpart into the air, break him
down with a rocket kick, then finish with Vegeta's power move, the Final
Flash!
Game
Review
Graphics
(n.)
The
use of animation and visual effects to stimulate the senses |
vvv
(Good) |
No QB fighting game
has ever aimed for the level of detail delivered in the QBDBZ demo before,
and Ryan Mallon does QB gamers a huge favor by finally raising the standard
to the 256-color, screen 13 mode. The two game levels featured in this
game are articulate and well-chosen, and from a technical standpoint the
transparent projectiles and use of the DQB library is well-executed.
As it's a demo, the
biggest tribulation QBDBZ has in the graphics department is a lack of polish.
The character sprites do look a little faded, and the character select
screen is missing characters inside many of the boxes. |
Sound/Music (n.)
The
smooth blend of atmospheric sounds and original harmonies |
vvv
(Good) |
Without the sound
effects offered in the QBDBZ demo, the game wouldn't have been much. Although
Ryan Mallon admits that the game's sound effects (and probably game music
when it's added) have been borrowed from various sources, it's all in an
effort to flatter the creators of the Dragon Ball series. And for what
it's worth, the sound effects are closely synchronized with the game action. |
Gameplay (n.)
The
precision of control and involvement of character within its universe |
vvvv
(Very
Good) |
Now for the most
perverse of Dragon Ball junkies, you'll probably be well aware that although
the graphics from the QB Dragon Ball Z Demo originated from Dragon Ball
Super Butoden 3, the gameplay bears little resemblance to it's inspiration.
This is a good thing-- while Super Butoden 3 for the Super Famicom is fun
to watch, it's really boring to play because of it's slow pace.
QBDBZ is a two-players
simultaneous only fighting game. The fighter utilizes a four-button system,
with three buttons for punches and kicks and one button for blocking attacks.
In addition, QBDBZ provides a nice, long list of special moves, which are
activated by tapping familiar fighting game motions (down, toward, attack
button 1, etc.)
One thing that might
put fans of fighting games down when they pick up QBDBZ is the lack of
comboing, or the ability to add damage to a landed attack by landing an
additional sequence of attacks. Instead, offense relies on a power bar
that is raised by pressing the top two attack buttons. When fully charged,
every attack is more damaging and abusable. Hitting a foe also saps their
power bar, which is key to victory in this game. |
Story (n.)
The
creativity and presentation of the game's critical plot |
(Very
Poor) |
The Dragon Ball
Z Japanimation didn't really have much of a plot anyway, but some story
demos similar to those seen in the end of commercial fighting games (perhaps
included with QBDBZ's upcoming story mode) would enhance the score here. |
Replay Value (n.)
The
timelessness of the gamer's delight, such that the experience can be repeated
again and again |
vv
(Average) |
Again, a good one-player
mode would probably benefit QBDBZ in this category more than anything else.
This fighting game is a lot of fun if there's somebody around, but with
the lack of characters there's not enough to discover yet to warrant a
high replay value score. |
Challenge (v.)
To
strike the mental nerve in such a way as to stimulate human thought and
reflexes |
v
(Poor) |
Since QB Dragon
Ball Z is a straight-up two-player game, the challenge level of QBDBZ is
greatly dependent on the game's learning curve. After trying to see what
moves connect with each other and what don't, it would have been nice to
see some air juggles connect in this game, since knocking an opponent down
often pushes them into the air. |
Fun Factor (n.)
The
overall entertainment value as maintained throughout the adventure |
vvv
(Good) |
Don't let some of
the lower marks fool you. This is a Dragon Ball fighting game the way a
Dragon Ball fighting game should have been made. From a gameplay point
of view, the year's worth of effort and development time that went into
this game really shows. Punches, kicks, rocket punches, projectiles, and
all the goodies you see in fighting games (except throws) are at your disposal.
What you won't get
in the current demo of QBDBZ is the variation that comes naturally from
having a larger character roster and a one-player mode. Vegeta vs. Vegeta
battles are entertaining, but they can only go so far. Ryan Mallon promises
to have all these things (and then some) corrected when the final version
of QBDBZ is released.
QB Dragon Ball
Z Demo Reviewed by Vance Velez |
Players |
2
players
Simultaneous |
Genre:
Arcade/Fighting Game |
Rating |
|
To solve: N/A Final Rating: 16/35 |
Download
To
download QB Dragon Ball Z Demo (736KB), click here.
wThis
game requires that you have a Sound-Blaster compatible sound card.
wIf
you're unzipping this program in DOS, use the -d option.
wTo
play QB Dragon Ball Z Demo, unzip the file and run "QBDBZ.EXE".
wAfter
setting the game up the first time around, you may skip the options by
running "GAME.EXE". |
Back to Arcade
Games Page |
Game
Summary
Coding
Group
Ryan
Mallon
Genre
Arcade/Fighting
Homepage
URL
N/A
E-mail
loosecaboose@
linuxmail.org
Players
1-player
Final
Rating
16
out of 35 points
The
Highs: A good two player fighting game
with plenty of special moves to use.
The
Lows: Options and other control menus
are a real pain to navigate through.
V Planet! Archive
This is an archive of V Planet, circa November 2004, when the site was last active. This is read-only, and preserved here as part of the QB Zines Archive at Pete's QB Site.
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