Going Back to the Old-School

Dragon Ball Advanced Adventure is a game I'd wanted to play for a while. Just took a while to find a copy for a reasonable price, then find a system to play it (the DS I used for Chrono Trigger was too recent to be able to play Game Boy Advance games.)

Starting from the beginning of Dragon Ball and running through the end of the King Piccolo Saga, you play as Goku as a kid, still with the tail and the Power Pole (or Nyobo.) Most of the game is a combination side-scrolling adventure and beat-em-up.

You run through levels, jumping over chasms, gaps in bridges and pits full of spikes, beating up bandits, dinosaurs, Red Ribbon Army soldiers, and King Piccolo's "children" as you do. There are various power-ups, like those that increase max health, or add another hit onto the end of your combos, along with the old stand-bys like turkey legs and burgers to restore health or make you temporarily invulnerable. Some of the levels have multiple paths you can take, though they all end at the same place. But that means it may be worthwhile to replay levels to unlock power-ups or find more of the "extra" stuff, like little souvenirs meant to represent different characters.

With increasing frequency as you go through the game, those side-scrolling levels are interrupted by flurries of enemies. Basically, you're contained with that part of the screen until you defeat all the generic enemies that come at you. Maybe around 4-6, though it ramps up by the end. Sometimes the side-scrolling is done on the Flying Nimbus, up in the clouds, but it plays basically the same. Except you don't have to worry about falling to your death, since Nimbus will always catch you if you jump off to dodge or do an attack.

Then there's the boss fights, which are split into two types. In one type, such as the fights against Emperor Pilaf and his mechs, Goku and the boss each have health meters, the boss has a couple of specific moves, and there are usually tells or signals the game gives so you can dodge. That's pretty standard for old-school games like this. I mean, Kirby's Adventure has boss fights like that.

Then there are the boss fights that try to replicate the feel of a fight in the Dragon Ball manga (minus some of the sillier elements, like Krillin beating Chiaotzu because Chiaotzu can't do math.) In those, Goku and his opponent have health meters and ki meters, but there's also a green "rush" meter under the health meter. You have to hit your opponent enough to wear that down first, then you can unload on them with several hits that will actually lower their health. Maybe you can kick them into the sky, then follow them up and pummel them back to earth. Or use the time to charge up a more powerful attack.

I think one of the keys to those is countering, which involves pushing back on the d-pad when your opponent attacks. You flash blue, then hit for more damage to the rush meter than you normally do. Basically, it's a stand-in for when a character attacks, misses, and finds themselves wide open to get hammered. The Budokai games had the bit where the two characters exchange dozen of rapid-fire blows and you have to spin the control stick fast enough to make sure you come out ahead, Advanced Adventure has this. I prefer this. All that spinning game me a blister on my hand, and probably wasn't doing the controller any good, either. 

The game has several additional modes. You can replay the story, as Goku or as Krillin. Krillin doesn't have the Power Pole, but he gets a double-jump, which is nice. There's also an "Extra" mode, to replay levels to find some of the additional knick-knacks. Or you can replay the mini-games from the Story mode, like trying to catch Korin, or smashing rocks. There's a versus mode, where you can play as extra characters you unlocked, in fights at the World's Martial Arts Tournament. Although there's no option to knock people out of the ring. It's the rush mode fights, and you've just got to beat them into unconsciousness.

I feel like there's a lot more characters you're supposed to be able to unlock to play as than the 7 or 8 I've got, but I haven't been able to figure out what I'm not doing properly yet to make that happen. Maybe I'm being fooled by internet conjecture.