dbz.superpope.com Dragon Ball Video Game Information

Dragon Ball Final Bout label

Dragon Ball: Final Bout

System: Sony PlayStation
Release Date: August 21, 1997

Game Description:
At long last, there is finally a fully 3D polygonal fighter based on the Dragon Ball universe. Choose from many different characters, including Goku, Pan, Chibi Goku, Trunks, Vegita, Freeza, Cel, Boo, Gohan, Piccolo, and a whole bunch of other forms of these same characters, including Super Saiyan Level 4 SonGoku! There is the usual one player mode, two player versus, and a Tenkaichi Budokai mode.

Game Review:
I -- like many other Dragon Ball fans from before the American invasion -- waited excitedly for this game for a very long time. When it finally arrived, what good things did I have to say about it? Well, the intro animation is really well done. The sound effects are straight out of the show. As long as you don't try to actually play the game, it looks pretty cool. The characters actually act like they are hurt badly when their life meters are low. That's about it for nice things that I have to say about this game.

Don't be fooled by the pretty looking screenshots to the right. To see this game in action is to hate it. There is just no excuse, in my opinion, for Bandai to take so long developing such a pathetic game. The play control is terrible, in that the characters walk in slow motion and reel from an attack so long that if you just keep hitting your opponent you will defeat them before they can move. The hit detection is atrocious. You can be standing behind your opponent and facing the other way and throw a fireball and they will occasionally get hit. Your opponent can also be flying high above you, and when you throw a punch at ground level, sometimes they will get hit and suddenly be standing in front of you.

The camera angles are flat out stupid. When you power up a special attack, just as you are about to fire it, it switches to a view from right behind you or your opponent, so you can't even see the attack. When somebody gets punched, it changes the camera view to one of the screen with just the hit's recipient on it, leaving you disoriented and unable to see what your character is doing. The rest of the time the camera just sits there (as in the screenshot to the right of Cell kicking Trunks) getting a side shot of the characters, making the 3D aspects of the design almost a complete waste of time.

Now, about the secret characters. Check out these wonderful selections: As if the 2 versions of SonGoku that you can choose from by default weren't enough, hidden within the game are Super Saiyan SonGoku from DBZ, Super Saiyan SonGoku from DB GT, Super Saiyan Level 4 SonGoku, and Super Saiyan Chibi Goku. That's right, there are 6 different versions of Goku, every one having exactly the same moves, with their special attacks being just 2 different variations of the KameHameHa. All of the versions of all the characters are the same as each other, except they have Super Saiyajin hair. Heck, there are 2 Super Saiyajin SonGoku's that are exactly the same except for the outfit! Also, Super Saiyajin level 4 SonGoku's tail looks like a string of hot dogs sticking out of his rear end, and for some reason Freeza's head is ridiculously huge.

Now, on to the music. There are only a couple of new tunes in this game. The rest of the songs are recycled tunes from Shin Butoden. Those songs are great, mind you, but it just seems particularly cheap of them to not produce all new stuff.

There is a US release of this game, which is somewhat exciting, but there are much more deserving titles in the DBZ game series, such as Hyper Dimension for the Super Famicom or Legends for the PlayStation. Still, it was made in very limited quantities and came out before the US Dragon Ball Z craze began, so it fetches a VERY hefty price at Funcoland. How does it play? It's just like the Japanese version, except it has horrible English voices instead of the original Japanese, adding insult to injury.

This is, in my opinion, a very bad game. If you just love Dragon Ball, then go ahead and buy it. Lots of people have complained about my bad review. They say that it is a great game. In my opinion, however, Tekken 3, Tobal 2, and just about any other 3D fighter make this game look like a piece of junk.

Related Links:

FAQs and Codes at gamefaqs.com

The Plus Side:
  • Wonderful intro movie
  • Has Super Saiyan Level 4 Goku as a hidden character
  • The only DB game to date with 3D character models
  • You can sell the US version of this for a LOT of money and wash your hands of it completely
The Negative Side:
  • Really crappy play control
  • Unexcuseably terrible camera angles
  • Special attacks are mostly less than spectacular
  • Way too many versions of the same characters with just slightly different looks

Gohan punches Boo in the intro movieFreeza prepares to fight VegitaSonGoku wins a fight against TrunksCell kicks Mirai TrunksMirai Trunks and Vegita struggle for dominanceSSJ Level 4 Goku charges up during a fight with Supa Ohzaru Vegita BebiMirai Trunks prepares to retaliate against SSJ4 Goku in the Tenkaichi BudokaiGohan lovingly kicks his daughter, Pan, in the face

Multimedia Files:

Expect some soon.

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