Dragon Ball GT: Transformation

Dragon Ball GT: Transformation is a scrolling 2D fighting game where the player has to move around the screen in an assortment of levels to defeat several enemies and bosses. In conjunction with the name itself, Dragon Ball GT; Transformation bases its plot on our main characters, a child version of Goku after he was wished back to child form, his granddaughter Pan, and Trunks, Vegeta’s son. Goku must return to his original form, which would require the power of the Dragon Balls, spheres that when all collected can grant any wish. Dragon Ball GT: Transformation sends the player searching for the Dragon Balls, allowing the player to travel to a plethora of planets, fighting their way through enemies.

Gameplay

Like many 2D scroller beat-em-up games of the 90s and early 2000s, the gameplay is far from innovative. It has the player going through standard levels attacking enemies over and over until they reach the boss. As simple as it sounds, Dragon Ball GT: Transformation adds its twist by adding Dragon Ball aspects such as Trunk’s sword, or Ki blasts. Other than the Dragon Ball type abilities and attacks, the gameplay is heavily similar to the popular game Final Fight, a beat-em-up style of game released in the late 80s.

Furthermore, before starting you can choose from 9 different Dragon Ball GT characters to form a team of three. The player can switch between the three characters within the game, while each character is out of commission, that character regains health which is a plus. However, if the character is knocked out that character remains knocked out for the rest of the level. This is similar to modern Dragon Ball videogames such as Xenoverse, or Ultimate Tenkaichi where the player can switch between characters during the game.

Graphics

For its time, the GBA graphics in Dragon Ball GT: Transformation were pushed pretty hard for the early 2000s handheld. With an enormous amount of colors, animations, and large bosses the graphics were spectacular for its time. Animations were clean and gave a great Dragon Ball type feel to the game as a whole.

Game Comparisons

As stated before, Dragon Ball GT: Transformation is highly similar to games like Final Fight, Streets of Rage, etc. Any old era beat-em-up style fighting game is pretty similar to Dragon Ball GT: Transformation. Again, it’s nothing we haven’t seen before but gives a new palette in terms of graphics, story, and feel. Going for the Dragon Ball realm makes it highly different from a more traditional fighting style.

Conclusion

Dragon Ball GT: Transformation puts a new splash of art on a familiar style of game. The beat-em-up genre has been replicated many times, but having it in Dragon Ball form puts a spin on it. For those who want to relive their memories, whether playing or watching Dragon Ball GT: Transformation will definitely allow you to do so. Also when in conjunction with the graphics, Dragon Ball GT: Transformation is a great GBA game that touches the hearts of Dragon Ball, and beat-em-up fans alike.