Goku leaps into center stage once again in another Dragon Ball title. This particular incarnation tells of Goku’s humble beginnings as a young boy, battling the infamous Red Ribbon Army in his quest to find his grandfather’s four-star Dragon Ball. Fans of the series and gamers new to the story will enjoy this action-packed, comical beat ’em up.

The first thing I noticed about Dragon Ball: Revenge of King Piccolo is how excellent the anime series is turned into a 3-D game. The graphics are excellent, presenting the player with a very watercolor-like appearance that looks as if it was all hand-drawn. The shadows and lighting blend very well with the characters and the scenery.

The other great thing that made this game is the voice acting. Christopher Sabat, the voice of Piccolo, Vegeta and others in the U.S. version of the TV show have returned to voice many of the characters. In addition to this talent, there are plenty of great voice actors that lend tons of personality to each character. I thought that the impressive lineup of voice actors gave the game more personality — something often lacking in action games. In the main menu, Goku will tell you about each option you choose, just like Krillin does in the Options menu and Bulma does in the Extras menu.

Dragon Ball: Revenge of King Piccolo has very good flow, keeping the action moving. The game starts with a series of cutscenes. The cinematic sequences in this game are taken care of in two ways: There are the traditional movie scenes in which you sit back and watch, and there are 2-D scenes in which you read through dialogue boxes while characters talk on screen. The movie scenes are very smooth and visually pleasing. The dialogue parts, instead of dragging the story to a standstill, are a good fit to the game. The dialogue is all voice acted, so you can skip ahead and read the text on your own or listen to the characters speak. I highly recommend listening to the dialogue; it makes the game come alive through all the emotion in the characters’ voices. All of the characters in the dialogue scenes are 2-D drawings that look like they came directly from the anime. They look very crisp and very accurate to the original characters.

In between all of these cinematic sequences are the different levels of the game. There are a series of “stages” in Dragon Ball: Revenge of King Piccolo, each stage being divided into multiple levels. Usually a stage will end with a boss battle level and will tie up a section of the plot. In this way, each stage is treated like an episode of the Dragon Ball TV show. There is even a splash screen for each stage, showing the name of the stage surrounded by the Dragon Balls.

You get to run through a series of instructions throughout the first few levels, teaching you all you need to know to play. This means that you will be well-prepared when the game begins to pick up the pace. From then on, the battles are up to you, but you can review the tutorials from your pause menu anytime. Unfortunately, the range of attacks Goku has is very limited, and I found myself using the same few attacks over and over. However, this doesn’t completely ruin the game.

In each of the first six stages, there are items for Goku to find, hidden in treasure chests throughout the levels. There are eight in each stage, and they get increasingly difficult to find. I had maybe half of the items for each stage and managed to find all eight for the first stage only. This definitely means that there’s a challenge ahead for anyone who tries to find them all. The game’s tutorials hint that it will be worth your while to collect them all.

The main story mode of the game tells of Goku’s many early adventures, including the Red Ribbon Army, and of course, King Piccolo. However, this title offers more than that. You can play through a World Tournament mode, which can be a one or two player mode. You choose your fighter from the available list and battle in a series of rounds, trying to emerge victorious. This part feels much like previous dragon ball games that focus only on the fighting element. It is fairly well designed, though it is apparent that it was not the main focus of the game, so do not expect perfection. However, it does provide an entertaining alternative to the story mode. As you play through this mode, you begin to unlock more characters to add to the roster.

Another thing to note is all of the extra material in the game. As you battle through the story or win fights in the World Tournament, you gain Zeni, the currency in the Dragon Ball world. This currency can buy health upgrades for Goku in the story or unlock other extras. These extras include music from the game, voice clips, cutscenes and 3-D character models so that you can view the different characters from any angle. This means that just because the story is over, the fun is not.

Really, I would recommend this game to anyone looking for a fun, lighthearted beat ’em up. The visuals are top-notch, the characters detailed and their voices crisp and clear. And the plot is polished and smooth. Dragon Ball: Revenge of King Piccolo is an entertaining and worthwhile adventure, particularly if you’re a fan of the anime and manga that inspired it. Even if you aren’t, this game has plenty for everyone.