An accessible card-battler at the cost of being fun.

Dragonball Z has always been one of those phenomenons where you simply get it, or you don't. Dragonball Z: Harukanaru Densetsu is yet another game based on FUNimation's unstoppable anime cash cow. Unlike most games based on the ultra-popular cartoon, DBZ: HD is not a fighting game, but a card-battler. As most gamers are aware, just mentioning the word "anime" and "card-battler" in the same sentence is enough to elicit a sea of groans heard for hundreds of miles. While DBZ: HD isn't bad enough to trigger that much anguish, its shallow concept and repetitive gameplay may trigger a sea of sighs heard for hundreds of miles.

Card-battling games are known to be pretty complex. DBZ: HD remedies this by creating a card system that's much more accessible to the average gamer and takes less than an afternoon to master. There are eight different card types in the game: Strike cards are used to attack an opponent, Training cards increases the defense power of all the cards in your hand, Energy does the same as Training but with attack power, Hide lets you flee from battle, Use let's you access an inventory item, Reverse swaps card properties with your enemy, Event cards summon allies for a single attack and Z cards are wild. Most cards also have an alternative function when used outside of battle. In addition, each card contains an attack and defense value between 1 and Z (Z equaling 8) indicated on the card's upper-left-hand corner and lower-right-hand corner respectively.

Assuming you begin HD in story mode, you'll start by choosing either Goku, Piccolo or Gohan's scenario, with a fourth character - whom anyone who knows anything about DBZ will recognize from his shilouette - unlockable. Each stage takes place on a game board with your character's ultimate objective usually being to defeat a boss or make their way to a certain point on the board. You will always have five randomly-drawn cards in your hand. Every time you play a card, your character will move the number of spaces on the board corresponding to that card's attack value.

A somewhat annoying feature that HD throws at you throughout the game is random battles. After nearly every turn, an enemy will spot you, triggering a one-card face-off. If your card's defense value is greater than your enemy's card's attack value, you may proceed. If your defense is equal to or lower than your enemy's attack, however, you'll be sucked into a battle with that enemy. It's a tedious exercise, especially since you usually only fight one or two types of enemies per stage and most of them can be easily disposed of in one blow.