By Matt Tosca

Dragon Ball is a franchise with an incredible history. Whether you are a fan or not you cannot deny that it has been an absolute juggernaut throughout its 40 years. Spanning over 60 volumes of manga (and counting), 5 Anime series (and counting), dozens of films (you get the idea), and possibly the most impressive, over 120 video games based on the series, which kept the franchise full of life during periods where interest would wane for most anime. The vast majority of the latter have been exclusively developed in Japan, as is to be expected, though there are a handful that were made right here in the U.S.

Dragon Ball Z: Taiketsu (GBA)

Let's get the stinker out of the way to start. Developed by Webfoot Technologies, "DBZ Taiketsu" was released on November 24th, 2003 for the Gameboy Advance and is the only 2D fighter on this list. A roster of 15 characters to play as, each with their own "story" (and I use that word loosely) taking them through a gauntlet of fights somewhat reminiscent of the old Mortal Kombat games. The I'll be honest, this is easily one of, if not THE, worst Dragon ball game I have ever played. The art is lazy, there is no story to speak of, and the fighting mechanics are stiffer than Master Roshi at a lady's swimsuit contest. The only saving grace this game has is its music, sharing many songs from a game further down the list, but at that point you'd might as well just go play that one instead. Do yourselves a favor and steer clear of this one.

Dragon Ball Z: The Legacy of Goku (GBA)

Webfoot Technologies' first shot at a Dragon Ball game, "The Legacy of Goku" is a Top-Down Action RPG that was released May 14th, 2002, and plays through the story up through the fight with Frieza. I'll be honest, I have some rose tinted glasses for this one. Objectively however, this is easily the second worst game in this list. The enemies are very overpowered through most of the game and can't be hit unless you have pixel perfect accuracy with your punches. Goku feels like he's walking through mud whenever you move and only one of his special moves is of any use (and it's not the one you think it is). Some good points it has going for it though are some well-done sprite work and level designs, some of which were carried over to the later games in the series. I also really enjoy the original soundtrack accompanying the gameplay. Nothing groundbreaking certainly but catchy and memorable to be sure. All told, I'd say give it a try, but if gets frustratingly hard just switch on the invincibility mode.

Dragon Ball Z: The Legacy of Goku II(GBA)

Despite the problems mentioned with the previous game, it sold very well at almost a million and a half copies so a sequel was inevitable. Developed by Webfoot Technologies (I'm sensing a pattern here) "The Legacy of Goku II" was released on June 17th, 2003, little over a year later. The difference in quality between this instalment in the trilogy and it's predecessor is truly night and day. Fixing just about every major flaw from the first game, they also raised the bar by adding4 more playable characters (plus one secret character) each with their own distinct special moves and stats. Biggest quality of life feature was the exploration possibilities. For the first time for me and many others, we had the ability to wonder around and find all sorts of interesting places, fun one-off NPCs, andmany challenging enemies to fight against. All happening to an 8-Bit version of the Faulconer score of Dragon Ball Z. This is an absolute must play for anyone who grew up a fan of the series. Hell, even if you're not.

Dragon Ball Z: Buu's Fury (GBA)

Developed by Webfoot Technologies and released on September 14th, 2004, Buu's fury is the Third game in the Legacy of Goku series of games. This game takes every positive from the previous two games and adds even more great features. From adding the ability to allocate stats in whatever way you choose, to havingequipment slots for each playable character, and yes, even the fabled block button. There isn't a ton more to add here that hasn't been said about the last game, just done even better than before. If you needed to twist my arm for a negative, all I can say is it's incredibly easy to cheese by dumping all your stat points into strength. Though if you're in it for the power fantasy more than challenge, even that would be a positive.

Dragon Ball GT: Transformation (GBA)

Released on August 9th, 2005, this was Webfoot Technologies' final foray into Dragon Ball games. Though meant to be a follow up to Buu's Fury, WT changed it up by making this a side-scrolling beat-em-up. You play through the story of GT up through the defeat of Baby, jumping from planet to planet to clear levels. The controls are rather simple to get the hang of and it isn't punishingly difficult by any means. The soundtrack is interesting to say the least, mixing 8-Bit versions of the American GT soundtrack with some tracks from the LoG series and some catchy up-beat original songs. I wouldn't put it quite on the level of Dragon Ball: Advance Adventure, but it's definitely worth one play through.

Dragon Ball Z: Sagas(PS2, Xbox, GameCube)

The only game on this list not developed by Webfoot, Sagas was an action RPG made by Avalanche Software and released on March 22, 2005. This is probably the most interesting game on this list, as it's the only Dragon Ball console game made in the U.S. and the only DBZ game that released on all major consolesof the generation including Xbox which would have no other DBZ games in it's lifecycle. It's also the only Dragon Ball game that has a full co-op story mode, with 10 playable characters. The soundtrack is very fitting with DBZ games of the time as well and hard not to like (except for that one piano song). Despite all these advantages the game had an extremely poor reception and it widely considered one of the worst DBZ games of all time, with it's incredibly simple leveldesign and clunky fighting mechanics. That being said, the co-op playability alone makes it forgivable enough to have a good time with it. All told I'll at least say I wouldn't turn you away from this game as easily as I would with Taiketsu.

This was an interesting few years for DBZ gaming for sure, as these 6 were only a drop in the bucket with what we were getting at the time. And despite an endless stream of rumors of a Legacy of Goku 4 its doubtful we'll ever see anything like this again. Though i have to wonder what kind of games we could have gotten had U.S. developers been given more chances. I mean 2 must plays, 2 soft recommends, and 2 trash games isn't horrible stats at all. It's fun to imagine what could have been.