Dragon Ball Arcade Download

• Developer: Dragon Ball Arcade
• Genre: Arcade
• Works On: Windows 95-98, Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7
• Tags: Dragon Ball, Goku

Reviews

EvilGamer
I was a big Dragon Ball fan back in the day so downloading a game named Dragon Ball Arcade was a simple choice for me. It comes from a company called Softendo and the game pretty much summed up in the title, it's an arcade game with Dragon Ball elements in it. Note that we're talking Dragon Ball here, not Dragon Ball Z. This is the young Goku starting out and his first bad guy (as well as the first boss in the game) is Emperor Pilaf of the Red Ribbon Army. No Super Saiyan stuff here. Yet.
The gameplay itself is simple, you control Goku while on his Flying Nimbus and shoot enemies that enter from the top of the screen. Yes, I know what you're thinking, like Space Invaders. Hey, if it's not broke... which is more than I can say for the game. It has some frame rate and lag issues. There are time when it will become non-responsive when you try to exit the game and you will have to force-quit it to fully close the application.
Movement is very limited, Goku can only go left and right, with very minimal up and down motion due to the limited space. There are two bars that act as shields from enemy fire near the borders of the area. These shields are not indestructible, they will blow up when they are hit enough times. You can go to the Options screen and change how you control Goku, the default uses the arrow keys and the Space Bar to fire. These changes will not be saved and you'll have to do it again if you restart the game. You can also choose your beam type in the Options Screen. A Vegetta type beam is mentioned here, even though he doesn't appear until Dragon Ball Z. Best to try out all the weapon types and find one you're most comfortable with or enjoy the most. There are upgrades that will fall from the top screen from time to time, as well as specials that will give you more options in terms of fire-power. There are also “Sucker” drops, that will degrade your weapon's power when you catch them so it's best to avoid them. The special weapons are not unlimited and the three bars on the right of the screen show you how much longer you can use the special weapons. Thankfully, the bars replenish over time once you stop using the special power.
The sound is loud. The track is some sort of techno-metal that is fast-paced and did I mention loud? You might want to adjust the volume settings in the Options screen while you're there. The sound effects for the beams, explosions and other miscellaneous stuff are okay. Nothing to write home about, but they get the job done.
Overall, a game that will engage only the most devout of Dragon Ball fans as well as kids under 11 years of age. Try it out if you have kids in the house or if you want to nurture the kid in you, if only for a while.