Rather than give up, Webfoot technologies tried again after a year by releasing a sequel, Dragon Ball Z: Legacy of Goku 2 , and it’s a good thing they did because not only is it a significant improvement over Legacy of Goku, it also stands as one of the better examples of the action RPG genre on the Gameboy Advance.
Dragon Ball Z: Legacy of Goku 2’s story picks up where the first one left off: at the start of the Cell Saga, putting you in control of a pre-teen Mirai Trunks as he watches his timeline’s Gohan die at the hands of the Androids. Then you gain control of young Gohan in the present timeline for the obligatory tutorial. Thankfully, the tutorial is short and you soon find yourself thrust into the story proper – with Cyborg Frieza and King Cold’s arrival and their defeat at the hands of a now adult Mirai Trunks. From thereon, you play through the game while being given control of various characters, all the way to the Cell Games story arc.
At first glance, you won’t notice any difference between Legacy of Goku 2 and its predecessor, until you actually start playing. A number of new things were added to the series – first is the transformations, which is a must for any Dragon Ball Z game. The transformations (such as Super Saiyan state, etc) boost your character’s abilities and stats at the cost of a slowly draining energy. It adds another layer to the game’s combat system, and it’s not just for novelty. There are times when you’re getting your butt handed to you, only to turn things around once you bust out the transformed state.
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Another new addition to the game is the scouter, which allows you to look up the stats of other characters in the game. It’s not that useful in the grand scheme of things, but it’s very neat and fits in well with the franchise’s reliance on power levels. Combat has also been tweaked, as it is less of a chore now and much deeper due to the addition of charged melee attacks. Lastly, the graphics were improved a little bit. It’s not that noticeable especially on the GBA’s small screen, but if you’ve played the first one as much as I did, you’re going to notice much sharper sprites and less jerky animations here and there, including minor details like Frieza being split in two or King Cold keeling over before disappearing.
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Dragon Ball Z: Legacy of Goku 2 is a very good purchase if you have a Gameboy Advance and need a game that will keep you preoccupied for a bit. It’s not an actual translation of the Dragon Ball Z franchise but that’s a good thing, because the game is accessible even to people who are not familiar with the anime or manga. The story works on its own, and the game is enjoyable for people who cut their teeth on The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past.
