It doesn’t matter exactly how good the games are, regulators or directly bad: the existence of an officially licensed Dragon Ball controller, one that you can connect directly to the television to play with Son Goku and the rest of the manganime characters, makes it a collector’s item. Irresistible? Definitely not. Neither for what it offers nor for its particular forms. And despite this, the big question: put it in the peripherals section or directly in the consoles? The two answers are correct As long as it’s out of sight.
With a special nerve, the Plug It In & Play TV Games: Dragon Ball Z converts the classic joystick-type design of the controllers popularized by the mythical Atari into a strikingly detailed replica of the dragon Shenron (which appears when gathering the seven dragon balls) that serves as a lever and that, for playable purposes, is accompanied by buttons that take advantage of the theme and are integrated as spheres of one, two and three stars respectively in what we can consider the sculpted.
It may be tacky, which it is and a lot, but definitely whoever designed it knew very well what he was doing and to what audience that invention was dedicated to.
Logically, the magic of this thematic model of the Plug It In & Play manifests itself when connected to a television: instead of being a clone system with one of those selections of games from third or fourth generation consoles chosen in bulk and without a license, it is offered to its users three exclusive Dragon Ball Z video games. After all, and as we mentioned, it is a completely licensed article.
A controller-console that came out at a key moment: 2005
when the Plug It In & Play TV Games: Dragon Ball Z The anime of the finished work of Akira Toriyama hit the shelves and began what we can consider his second youth: despite the success of Dragon Ball in Japan and Europe, during the anime’s broadcast, the adventures of Son Goku were slow to find success in the American continent. And that there were different attempts to broadcast it both in the United States and in Latin America.
After the turn of the millennium, the popularity of Dragon Ball managed to establish itself in the new continent definitively and that, added to the fact that the license had not been completely extinguished in the rest of the planet, reactivated the machinery in Japan: Bandai began a new stage in consoles since 2001 with the launch of Dragon Ball Z: Original Budokai and the rest is video game history. But, of course, locating and publishing those games was not as easy as when the DBZ: Butoden series was brought to France and Europe.
Not only because of the complexity of offering a game for all audiences based on Dragon Ball Z, the real challenge, but because of the headache of the licensing dance that occurred when importing manga and anime to distributors. Something that wasn’t exactly new: Bandai’s first Dragon Ball game came to the US NES as Dragon Warrior. And the same thing happened with Captain Tsubasa and many others.
Between one thing and another, in 2005 an intermediate solution appeared and for practically all audiences. Or, at least and according to the box, for players aged 5 and up. The Californian company JAKKS Pacific, which had its own Plug It In & Play TV Games label, licensed the brand through the American Funimation (under copyright of Shueisha and Toei) and created three very simple games taking advantage of a little of what already existed.
In fact, snes sprites refused, ideas typical of the arcades of the 80s and we were welcomed with the pounding opening theme of the American version of the anime. Definitely, those were not the best ingredients to bring Dragon Ball to video games, but as an alternative to other Plug It In & Play TV Games of the house did not go unnoticed.
Because, let’s not lose perspective, it is undeniable that the playable proposal was very far, very far, from corresponding to what could be expected from a game that coexisted with Gears of War, The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess or The Elder Scrolls: Oblivion. But another objective was met: to offer fans (especially the little ones) simple video games starring the characters from Dragon Ball. One for fighting, one for pinball and a kind of very original variant of Windjammers.
The “Super-Butoden” lost? well not exactly
By connecting the Plug It In & Play TV Games: Dragon Ball Z On our TV we come across two particularly striking things: the first is a simple interface in which the midi of the North American opening theme of Dragon Ball Z Created by the Ocean Group dubbing studio. In this regard, we will not enter into evaluations of the song.
The other, much more interesting, is the triple acrade proposal that opened before us with an image that referred us to the title boards of each chapter and names with the anime source. Using the console command we can select between the games Kamehameha Assaulta very, very special version of Pinball and a particularly interesting Buto-Retsuden. Each with their own tutorials and settings, as well as a record log.
- Kamehameha Assault is kind of a mix between Pong, Windjammers and dodgeball. The idea is to reduce the health and obtain the dragon balls of our adversary by exchanging projectiles while we take advantage of the rebounds of an energy sphere that crosses the screen. Everything, by the way, with recycled graphics from Super Butoden 2 plus an unexpected character: little Bu.
- El Pinball del Plug It In & Play TV Games: Dragon Ball Z It is based on the Namek saga and is the entry into the scene of Frieza and his army. And the truth is that within the set it is especially elaborate since in addition to the own physics mechanics we must attack enemies and final bosses on the screen with the ball while we gather the Dragon Balls.
- However, and as we already anticipated, the highlight of the three is Buto-Retsuden. A fighting game very inspired by the Super Butoden and the Hyper Dimension and that once again takes advantage of the sprites and mechanics seen in the classics of the Brain of the Beast, including its own story mode among its game options.
To be fair, none of the three titles created for the occasion and pre-installed can be considered an excuse to get the Plug It In & Play TV Games: Dragon Ball Z unless we are true fans of Toriyama’s anime, but the truth is that the device has a surprise: although the base is used to place the batteries, on the side under the buttons we can find a slot for the Game Key, a series of cartridges of the brand itself with which to access more games.
The other Dragon Ball consoles
Plug It In & Play TV Games: Dragon Ball Z it’s right halfway between a collector’s item and what is expected of a toy, one of those exotic consoles that are sold in stores between calculators and electronics and today’s online bazaars. In fact, with its attractions and its defects, it is worth noting that today units continue to sell for no less than 150 dollars. In our case, logically, shipping costs must be added.
However, and to be fair, Plug It In & Play TV Games: Dragon Ball Z it plays in a very different league from those Dragon Ball games that broke the manganime barriers and reached our homes and is more aligned with those JavaME games that were beginning to proliferate on contemporary mobiles. Being, for all intents and purposes, a more attractive addition to the console label Plug It In & Play TV Games from JAKKS Pacific than something else with an additional value: it is the first assembled Dragon Ball console. Because there was more.
Between 2006 and 2008 Bandai will release in Japan up to four Dragon Ball themed models from your series Let’s! TV Playconsoles that connected directly to the television and that offered tailored arcade experiences such as rail-shooters that took advantage of motion sensors included with the device itself and even, from the third model, a replica of the scoulter like the one used by Frieza’s army.
Thus, as of December 2006, three plug-and-play consoles were created that were much more successful and directly inspired by the anime.
- Dragon Ball Z: Battle Taikan Kamehameha
- Dragon Ball Z: Battle Taikan Kamehameha 2
- Dragon Ball Z: Scouter Battle Taikan Kamehameha
However, the most curious and interesting of all was the fourth model launched in 2008, which was nothing more and nothing less than a playable crossover between Dragon Ball y One Piece. On true dream come true for fans of Toriyama and Eiichiro Oda.
- Dragon Ball Z × One Piece: Battle Taikan Gomu Gomu no Kamehameha
Between the games that came out later and the Japanese console alternatives for TV, it’s clear that comparisons always play and will play against the odds. Plug It In & Play TV Games: Dragon Ball Z by JAKKS Pacific. And yet, despite all his flaws and his shortcomings, something that has always played in his favor: the genuine illusion of seeing the anime on the screen that captivated entire generations.
A feeling that, in one way or another, is renewed with each new video game starring Son Goku and his friends.
