Man, I wish I had waited for GameSpot's review before buying this game.
User Rating: 3.1 | Dragon Ball Z: Sagas GC
Man, I wish I had waited for GameSpot's review before buying this game. I've been a huge Dragon Ball fan for many years now, and I don't think that's ever going to stop. I could go back and watch all of the episodes endless times, and I still wouldn't be bored. Call me a nerd, but hey, at least I enjoy myself. That being said, Dragon Ball Z: Sagas is the most disappointing game I have played in a long, long time. The Budokai games have all been great fun, and are some of the few fighting games that feel perfect on a GameCube controller (the way I played them). Saga's is an entirely different story. I don't know, maybe I'm just not hardcore enough of a beat-em-up player, but the game on normal difficulty was awkwardly frustrating. Often times I couldn't get a single attack in during boss fights. I finally went down to easy, and the next thing I know, I can't die. I rarely get hit anymore. Sometimes games of extreme difficulty (both extremely hard and easy) can be a blast. Devil May Cry 3 and Ikaruga are some of the most challenging games I've played in a long time, and they're also some of the best. But what those games managed to do that Sagas failed at is making a rewarding, enjoyable gameplay experience. Sagas combat is simple punches and kicks, with an energy attack thrown in to make it seem more like Dragon Ball. If you punch or kick your enemies many times, they fall down. That's really all there is to the combat. Sure, you have unlockable combos, but to be honest, you don't need them. Basic attacks work just fine for clearing out most enemies. The graphics reminded me of the original Dragon Ball Z: Budokai. The characters look very much like their cartoon versions, but they aren't actually cel-shaded. In the end, this looks okay, but it’s really nothing that's going to amaze you. If there's one thing that all of Atari's Dragon Ball games have been successful at, its making you feel just as powerful as the character you're portraying. In Budokai, it was done by having simple two-kick combos send opponents flying. In Sagas, it’s the shear destruction that occurs as you have your battles. You'll often times see large rocks explode around you when energy waves whiz past you. Unfortunately, only certain objects are destructible. DBZ: Sagas looks great on paper. A beat-em-up game set in the fantastic world of Dragon Ball Z. However, Atari really dropped the ball on this one. Perhaps for a sequel, they could get developer Dimps to have a go at it. They've done miracles for the DBZ license, and they just may be able to do it here as well. But for now, Sagas is a terrible game made from a good idea. 
