There have been a ton of licensed videogames released that are based on the Dragon Ball Z anime. It’s arguable, that every single one of these Dragon Ball Z games are only enjoyable when you’re familiar with the anime. Otherwise, they may come off as being incredibly mediocre videogames. Dragon Ball Z: Sagas is an excellent example of game that is only remotely enjoyable because of the anime it’s based on. If you’re not a fan of the series, it’s best suggested that you stay far, far away from Sagas. It’s easily the worst Dragon Ball Z game released for current home videogame platforms.
"To call Sagas mediocre would be giving the game too much credit"
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If you’ve ever played a run-of-the-mill beat em’ up then you should have a good idea of what to expect from Dragon Ball Z: Sagas. Although, it would be a mistake to expect something that wasn’t incredibly repetitive, clunky, and dull in every way imaginable. To call Sagas mediocre would be giving the game too much credit.
Progressing through each level in the game is done in a extremely linear fashion. All you’re really asked to do is repeat the same attack combos over and over again to defeat some enemies, collect whatever items the games asks you, which are spread across levels and not difficult to acquire at all, and eventually make your way up to a boss battle, all in the game who are defeated with the same exact strategy of the first encountered -- block their chain of attacks and unleash your own whenever there’s an opening. This formula is repeated over and over again throughout each level. Calling this game repetitive may be an understatement.
I’m assuming that in order to take away from the repetitiveness of the game, Avalanche, the game’s developer, attempted to insert some character upgrades that can be purchased at specific areas in a level with the "Z Coins" that are collected when finding them in boulders and cars after destroying them with an energy blast. These upgrades consists of new attack combos, the teleportation technique, recovery attacks, combo breakers, and other upgrades of the like that do
"the worst Dragon Ball Z game"
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manage to make gameplay slightly more interesting as players make their way through each level. Unfortunately, by the time you have a nice assortment of attacks and maneuvers to use, it’s likely that the game will no longer appeal to you any further. Things get stale pretty quick and its flaws become apparent quickly.
For reasons that I cannot comprehend, Sagas features some of the worst camera perspectives I’ve ever encountered. Players have no control over it and it really makes searching for items a pain since you’re often not able to see items that could be off in the distance. Also, there are times when the camera zooms out too far, making it difficult to see enemies on screen, leaving players very much dependent on the game’s lock-on system, which automatically locks onto the nearest enemy. This lock on system is fairly useful, but not when you’re battling multiple enemies. At that point you’ll have to apply a strategy that consists of you running in circles, luring enemies at you one by one. This strategy works, but it takes away from any possible enjoyment that’s found when battling multiple opponents in other action games that don’t suck.
The game takes players through most of the DBZ anime, starting with the Saiyan Saga and ending with the Cell Saga. Before and after each level in the game players are treated to some scenes ripped directly from the anime, accurately telling to stories of Goku and the Z Warriors. Much like the Dragon Ball Z: Budokai series that has come before it, the only thing that keeps players interested in Sagas is its presentation and ability to tell the story of the DBZ anime. However, Sagas’ attempt to do so is much less enthralling as any of the Budokai games. The clips are
"the only thing that keeps players interested in Sagas is its presentation and ability to tell the story of the DBZ anime"
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cool to watch and it’s also neat to hear voice dialogue recorded by the actors of FUNimation’s English dubbed version of the anime, but the series’ original soundtrack is missed, as is the cel-shaded visual style that’s used so extremely well in Dragon Ball Z: Budokai 3. Even though they may be fighting games, the Budokai series is much more faithful to the series and most importantly, a lot more enjoyable.
I hate to say this but Dragon Ball Z: Sagas is the worst Dragon Ball Z game that I’ve ever laid my hands on. I’ve played a good amount of dull DBZ games since the 16-bit era and this takes the cake as being the worst of them all. Sagas is just so uninspired, and if it wasn’t for the DBZ license I would’ve given the game an even lower score than I already have.
