Atari's Dragon Ball Z games have been hit or miss. They've never had a problem establishing the anime wackiness of the show, but always seemed to come up on the short end of the gameplay stick. It's like a dog that's too hard to resist at the pet store, but then refuses to do any tricks the second it gets home. They also weren't that much fun, even while flying in the air and pummeling some poor sap into a mountainside. Last year's effort, Budokai Tenkaichi, was the closest attempt at putting together the gameplay necessary to move the series ahead, but still came up short. But now, it appears that Atari's finally got it right with Super Dragon Ball Z.

That's because they finally wised up and decided to hire a company with development experience in fighting games. Craft & Master is at the helm this time, headed up by Noritaka Funamizu, who produced the Street Fighter Alpha series for Capcom. With their help, Super Dragon Ball Z doesn't play like any of the Budokai games, but instead takes its own brutal path. Players can still fly, dash, shoot fireballs, and unleash devastating attacks, but the gameplay is more concentrated. As a result, the game's more fun than any of the releases before it.

One thing players might notice are the lack of fighters in the game. Instead of the usual fighter list that goes into the 50+ count, Super Dragon Ball Z contains a mere selection of 18. This might be a disappointment, but the list is varied, including such mainstays as Gohan, Goku, Trunks, Piccolo, Vegeta, Frieza, and Krillin, as well as additional characters such as the three Androids, Majin Vegeta, King Piccolo, Chi-Chi and Videl.

The game allows you to build your own custom character card. It doesn't let you create your own character from the ground up, but instead creates a skill tree where you can power up different abilities. With each fight you win in the game's modes, you accumulate experience points, which can then be applied on the skill tree in specific areas. After you clear certain areas of the tree, you then move further on down to new skill aspects. Super Dragon Ball Z also gives purpose to attaining Dragon Balls. Snag all seven during fights and you'll be able to summon Shenron, the keeper of the Balls' power. He will then grant you a wish, and you can either use this to give your skill tree a boost to make yourself stronger, or gain access to unlockable new fighters and other items. It's nice to see the Dragon Balls actually serve a purpose, instead of just some mythical item with little meaning.

Now, onto the gameplay. Because of Funamizu's involvement with the game, it definitely has that Street Fighter feel to it. The controls work pretty well, with combos, projectile attacks, and devastating special moves. A smart addition here is an action bar. With it, your dashes and air time are limited to the energy within the bar, and you have to wait for it to refill before you can try them again.

I love this, merely because there's less time spent on pointless air battles and more time spent on the ground, duking it out with projectiles, throws, and other powerful moves. It focuses more on the real combat and less on the "let's fly after each other" shenanigans. ("Kakarot! Come back here!" That sort of thing.) I noticed some characters have a slight advantage over others (Trunks and his sword's reach, for example), but the game still keeps everything straightforward. Smart move.

The modes are elementary as well, although they're still fitting for a game of this nature. The single-player mode is an arcade battle, lacking any of the story features that stood out in the Budokai games. You simply jump in and pummel. Survival mode has its place here, as you have to knock down many opponents in a single run. Then there's the traditional versus mode, where players can enjoy side-stepping attacks and setting up for combos and counter-attacks. It would have been great to see some kind of tournament mode or multiplayer battles, but you'll still like what you find here.

Super Dragon Ball Z has a presentation that's a bit awkward. Instead of basing its content around the popular TV show, it instead leans toward the look of the manga comics. This makes the graphics a little less detailed than Budokai Tenkaichi. The animation is still pretty good, and the backdrops are faithful to the DBZ universe, but this approach may turn off those that want an experience on par with the previous releases. Also, there's no support for widescreen, so those expecting the visuals to be glowing on their TV may be disappointed. I didn't really see a big deal with it, though. The game's graphics stay true to Akira Toriyama's vision.

The audio is excellent, although it's a bit confusing. If the game is based upon the manga series, then why were the actors from the anime show hired to record dialogue? Regardless of this, they do great work, especially Piccolo. He sounds as nuts as he's ever been. The music and sound effects are pretty good, if nothing relatively new to DBZ games.

Let me sum this up. If you even showed a bit of care for the Dragon Ball Z Budokai games, you may find slight disappointment in Super Dragon Ball Z. The presentation and modes are a step down from those games. However, I consider it my favorite DBZ game to date, as it just gets to the main course of kicking ass without subjecting you to a seven-course meal of crap. Its devotion to straight-up fighting may be just the thing a lot of fans have been looking for.

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