Review
Release Date: 03.1988
Platform:
Nintendo Entertainment SystemDeveloper:
Bandai Co., Ltd.Publisher:
Bandai America, Inc.Reviewed by
Brian J. Balsan on 4.27.2003
| Review Rating: 7/10 | User Rating: 3/10 |
Whod've thunkit? Bandai was giving us Dragon Ball years before it would be forced down our throats.
Now, anyone whose ever watched Dragon Ball or Dragon Ball Z when it was still airing in Japan knows that the show is a relatively adult one; we're talking innuendo and the occasional brisk nudity. So imagine that if the US-shown episodes are being edited for the kiddies, how much was removed and/or altered for Dragon Ball's first...and last...US release for the next ten years. This is the story of "Dragon Power".
Whether the game was changed due to liscensing issues or Bandai really thought that low of the series at the time is anyone's question, but the story, more or less, remains the same: The game follows the adventures of Goku and Bulma (Named "Nora" in the US version) during the first two seasons of the anime, as they try to search down the seven Dragon Balls, which, as legend states, would call forth a dragon if all seven are gathered in one spot and grant the summoner one wish of any desire.
Thus, Goku's Adventures begin. What was unique about this game was...for a relatively first-gen NES game, it actually is a sizable quest with its share of cutscenes. The action scenes are best described as a linear Zelda title, But the game does tend to open up later on. While generally straightforward, the level designs are actually pretty unique, and the music...for its time, was pretty catchy. Controls are easy to learn, but the game can get really challenging later on, so watch out.
Translation is a joke in this game, but I'd like to think that it wasn't poor localization, but rather extreme space limitations that botched up this particular title. While it's pretty easy to fit a few words into one Japanese character, you can't really do that in english. The only result then is to sacrifice words and make the cast sound like cavepeople.
But of course, a lot of you folks (probably nostalgianauts) are probably reading this review for the list of changes made between the original Japanese version and its US counterpart. Some of these changes include shape-shifter Oolong beign renamed "Pudgy", Master Roshi getting a costume change, growing his beard and calling himself "Turtle Hermit" (Which, I guess, is sorta correct), and various adult themes that are related to the Turtle Hermit's unusual hankering for a 'Sandwich'.
If anything, Dragon Power should be played for the laughable changes and poor grammar, but look underneath the ugly skin and you may actually find a halfway decent game.
But maybe that's just the nostalgianaut in me talking.
