The Dragon Ball franchise has a deep and lasting following going all the way back to 1988 with Dragon Ball: Daimaō Fukkatsu. Dragon Ball: Origins takes you back to the beginning of the saga. You start out as a young Goku training by your self. Out on a training hike, you see your first car and believing it is a Monster you blow it up. A girl comes out and shoots you a few times, but because of your shin is like iron it has no effect. This girl is none other than Bulma and this is your first meeting. Goku takes Bulma home and that is were Bulma discovers that Goku has the Four Star Dragon Ball and she tries to get him to give it up because she on a quest to find all seven of them to be able to make a wish. There is no way Goku would give it up, so they decide to work together to find them and the joint quest and lifelong friendship begins.
Your quest takes you through seven different levels. Each level is split into sections like Mario games where it has worlds 1-1 but Dragon Ball: Origins has “episodes” rather than “worlds”. In each episode you are in a completely different place and at the end of a series of epidoes fight a new boss. In episodes 1-1 through 1-4 you are in a forest by Goku’s house and at the end you fight the Pteradon (a pterodactyl-like Creature) or in episode 2-1 through 2-4 you’re at a village, forest and castle and you fight Oolong (as both a ogre and a robot). Throughout the game, you will make new friends like Bulma, Master Roshi, Oolong, Vamcha, Puar, Ox King, Chi-Chi, Krillin, Launch and many others. You also meet many villains including bad guys like the Pteradon, Monster Carrot, Shu, Mai, Pilaf and many many others.
The game has great graphics and fast acting combat with moves that you can level up quickly. It’s different from other Dragon Ball action adventure games because it has some RPG play and it has levels with many monsters instead of just one on one combat. I think that even if you aren’t a fan of Dragon Ball but like RPGs, you would most likely enjoy this game because you don’t need to know the Dragon Ball storyline to play and it’s similar to other RPGs like ZELDA and the Phantom Hourglass and also has a similar ¾ overhead view. This is a great way to view the game and helps with control. You are able to either control Goku with the stylus or control pad and it is great to have this option and utilize the DS to its fullest potential. Another thing I like about Dragon Ball: Origins is that you can go back and replay levels (or “episodes” ) just in case you missed a treasure or just want to beat your best time. The game does not have Nintendo Wi-Fi connection but you can use Wi-Fi outside of gameplay to trade figures that you collect through the game.
Overall the game is easy because it usually tells you how to get past obstacles when they first come up but sometimes the game makes you think. There are parts of the game that are challenging and really make you think. Bonuses that you get in the game are your basic bonuses and upgrades, extra levels and extra weapons that you unlock when you beat a level.
The cut scenes in the game did not have voiceovers but relied on text to tell the narrative. The animation was the same as what is used in the game. Overall, they kept the game moving and help you remain grounded in the storyline. They did change from the ¾ overhead view to the full frontal view. It was helpful because it made the characters much more involved and allowed you to become much more familiar with the story.
ComicsOnline gives Dragon Ball: Origins for Nintendo DS 4 out of 5 Dragon Balls
