Dragon Saiyan: Goku Adventure

悟空サイヤ人の冒険は楽しい、多様なアクションゲームです。

By the time you've played through the first two levels in Dragon Saiyan: Goku Adventure, you'll be convinced that it's just another generic side-scroller slapped together to take advantage of the nostalgia that fans have for the animated series.

Dozens of characters made appearances in the show throughout the years. Somehow, the developers have managed to cram most of them into this game, either as actors in cutscenes or as one of the many bosses Goku must fight.

The next level sends Goku into the sky atop the flying nimbus, which would be sweet, except that there are only a few blue lizards and a single shape-shifting boss to fight.

Thankfully, as you play through each subsequent level, the game gets better and better. Later levels introduce platforming sections, multiple paths, and secret rooms. Fans of the show will recognize the many enemies populating each level.

The nimbus levels are mainly for show, and the outcome of one-on-one matches generally depends on who attacks first, but both are welcome diversions from the standard beat-'em-up levels. There are even a couple of minigames.

Many times throughout each level, the screen will be filled with enemies, bullets, and missiles. Some bosses are also roughly as tall as the screen is.

There are more than 20 characters to unlock, each with unique moves and animations. These incentives are great and will probably triple or quadruple the play time that most people get out of the game.

It's just too bad that there isn't a linked cooperative mode. You can play the one-on-one mode against a friend, but that's nowhere near as fun as it would be to tag-team the main quest.

Dragon Saiyan: Goku Adventure fans should definitely pick this game up, and non-fans should at least consider doing so.