My favorite Games of All-Time #10: Dragon Ball Z 2- Originally published on 1UP - June 16, 2006

Dragon Ball Z 2 for the Super Famicom (SNES) is one of the greatest fighting games ever made. If this list was only on fighters then DBZ2 would make the top-3 easy. In order to truly appreciate the greatness of this game and find out why I rank it so high on my list I have to set the game in its proper context.

My brothers and friends grew up on traditional cartoons. We were greatly influenced by early anime such as Speed Racer and Tranzor-Z. When we were in jr. high Robotech came out and completely revolutionized the way we thought about animation. Cartoons could be made with complex stories and great dramatic arches. When we got to high school we began seeking out more of this Japanese animation.

Our classmates thought we were crazy for wasting so much time and energy digging around the city for a bunch of 'toons. We would not be deterred. The recently completed Metro Blue Line allowed us to travel from Long Beach to the heart of Downtown Los Angeles. We discovered the ins-and-outs of the city a few blocks at a time. We'd hop on the Dash Bus and just ride around. Eventually we discovered Little Tokyo and the stores that imported both toys and video directly from Japan. That's when things really took off.

It's been 15 years but in the sense of progress it feels like a lifetime. You see there weren't any online stores that we could visit. No Lik-Sang, no J-List, no semblance of the internet as we know it... hell, 28.8 modems were for rich people and AOL was a pipe dream. There was no anime store in the mall and no manga section in the comic book store. If you wanted anything you had to go and look for it yourself and then expect to pay premium. Nothing was translated or subtitled. Many of the anime series we watched were taped in Japan and sent to the states once a month at the japanese video store. We became the odd bunch of kids that would travel to downtown on weekends just for one tape. We were the very definition of hardcore.

In that span of time we discovered that Robotech was a retelling of Macross. We learned of manga, anime and games, the likes of which the mainstream USA wouldn't discover for another decade. We felt privileged to be on the edge of stuff that many kids take for granted now. Just when we thought we had seen it all until we discovered Dragon Ball.

In a nutshell Dragon Ball is the retelling of Superman set in China. The series was filled with many adventures, fantastic battles and comedy influenced by Jackie Chan. We saw all of the episodes and movies in order as they came out. Over the span of the 90's we saw the main character, Son Goku, grow from a little kid to a young man and eventually a father. Son Goku became symbolic as we had also begun the transition into adulthood during those years. The creator of the series, Akira "Dr. Slump" Toriyama, became our new god.

We sought out anything and everything with Dr. Slump's name on it. Every weekend, like clockwork, my brothers and our friends Tim, Carmelo and Robert would go on a trip to see what was new. We made fast friends with the people that worked in the "Pony Toy-Go-Round" store at the Yaohan Plaza (later renamed Mitsuwa). Despite our lack in understanding the language they appreciated the dedication we had for anything and everything from Japan. We have all of the manga and some of the rarest Dragon Ball Z figures ever produced.

We were stoked to discover that Dragon Ball Z would become a fighting game for the Super Famicom. With a simple adapter (or the removal of some plastic) it would be easy for us to play the game on our SNES. We saved our money and all pitched in to buy the original game. We would play it day and night. Learning the menus, buttons and settings by memory since we still couldn't read Japanese. We beat the game and even figured out how to enter secret codes before we had learned how to block fireballs.

If you are not familiar with the series let me try and sum up the fighting. Imagine characters with all of the powers of Superman but with all the moves from Street Fighter. Characters could fly, move at super speed and throw fireballs that could level a mountain. The game managed to capture all of this perfectly.

We'd call the Bandai videogame help line and asked them what they knew about the game. Since it was an import there was not much they knew about it. Their lead tech did import a copy himself but was having a problem figuring it out. He was at a loss for words when we told him all the secrets, combos and moves we discovered. He thanked us and would now be prepared to handle the next call that came in.

The sequel of the game came out shortly after. The second game featured multiple paths, better graphics, tighter control and far more characters than the original. It also turned out to be more expensive than the first. My brothers and Robert had to make a lot of sacrifices in order to buy that game as soon as it came out. The four of us split the cost evenly and we all swore to share the game equally.

We did.

The fun that the game provided us cannot be measured on any scale. Kids were hyped on Mortal Kombat 2 and the latest Street Fighter II upgrade in the arcade. We'd just snicker and laugh after playing DBZ2. Not only was the game more fun than any in the arcade, the DBZ characters could stomp all of the characters in any other fighting game.

In order to get the most out of this title we had to do our homework. I began scrounging money to buy the latest V-Jump magazine. V-Jump is the videogame journal from the people that produce the manga journal Jump magazine. Between that and Famitsu magazine we were able to figure out almost everything in DBZ2. The rest was trial and error.

In addition to the improved graphics and control we discovered that there was tremendous balance between the characters. The offensive and defensive trick library had expanded. Whole new strategies would have to be employed while playing the game, yet there was never a loss of the breakneck speed and frenetic fighting that became synonymous with Dragon Ball Z.

The game was able to recreate the ability to fly and also have players throw fireballs at different angles and trajectories. The screen split when characters flew away from each other. There was even a tiny radar screen below the health bars to show your character's position on the map. Characters could do all sorts of basic punch and kick combinations. Fireballs were done with the press of a button and special fireballs with a button and joystick combination. Each character had small combos and complex secret combos they could use. Some of these combos bounced an opponent up and down from the ground to the sky and even across entire maps. These brutal moves were especially useful if you wanted to humiliate opponents.

All of the recent developments from the series and movies managed to get into the game. The characters had evolved just as they had on television. Trunks, the son of Vegeta had become a great hero in the television series and the evil (and massive) Broly was as tough in the game as he was in the movie.

The Hidden characters and many details helped turn this game into DBZ nirvana. I cannot begin to tell you how much fun we had sharing the game and our DBZ collection with friends and family. Those that have played this game can tell you that it was, above all else, the greatest DBZ fighting game ever. While the Budokai series is a graphical improvement, it does not capture the wonder and awe of the Super Famicom titles.

But something happened that would forever change our faith in "friends" and rob us of the joy DBZ2 had brought us for so many months.

One of Robert's friends, let's call him "K" asked to borrow the game. He did and began bragging about how great he had become at it. K began challenging my brothers and I to a contest, talking shit the entire time about how great he was.

My brothers and I are very competitive. I've already told you that we were the ones that clued Bandai USA on the ins-and-outs of their game. So we took all challenges seriously. We played K and beat him soundly. All three of us took turns schooling him on the game. My big brother even put the controller on the ground and played with his feet, managing to beat the braggart very badly.

K went away demoralized and said that he needed to practice some more. Instead he signed up for the Navy, took all of our import games and left for Japan. Never wanting to return or even acknowledge that he had done us wrong.

When K stopped by for a visit a few years later the guys went to see a movie with him. I refused to do so or even shake his hand. Robert said that K was depressed, even to the point of tears with the way we had treated him and wondered if I was really holding a grudge.

For what Dragon Ball Z meant to us while growing up.

For how much we sacrificed in order to buy a copy of our own.

For how incredible an experience DBZ2 was on the Super Nintendo.

For how I will never forget or forgive the traitorous act of K, a person that once called us a friend.

I said yes.

That is why Dragon Ball Z 2 for the Super Famicom will remain on my favorite top-10 list until the day I die.

I’d like to hear your personal top-10, top-20, top fighting games, top sports games, or top games in any genre. Let me know in the comments section please. As always if you would like to sponsor me please visit my Patreon page and consider donating each month, even as little as $1 would help make better blogs and even podcasts!