Dragon Ball Z is one of the lucky ones. While some franchises have a burst in popularity for a little while, complete with plenty of videogames and sequels, they eventually burn out and the games dry up. With DBZ, the games just never seem to end, despite the fact that the series has - for quite some time now. It's entering the realm of Star Wars, where new games can always be made with new ideas, even if they don't go anywhere with the storyline at all. With the resurgence in DBZ's popularity thanks largely to the Budokai series, Atari has jumped over to the increasingly approachable card battle genre and done surprisingly well with it.

A lot of fans of the DBZ fighting games might groan at the idea of the soap opera storylines and aerial battle antics being converted into card battle format - but developer BEC seem to know what makes the series popular and has incorporated it all into the game well enough to keep your interest. Dragon Ball Z: Harukanaru Densetsu (yes, it's a mouthful all right!) is presented on a board game style battlefield where you move animated sprites around the screen before initiating battles, which are presented with very theatrical sequences of action and animations. In the main story mode you're presented with a board and a storyline torn straight from the TV show. Most of the time your goal is to reach the boss, but along the way you either have to battle or run from a plethora of other enemies related to the storyline (usually), and sometimes you even have a partner along for the ride, depending on the level. Once into a battle, you can select from one of five cards, each with their own unique strategy.

Densetsu features eight different card types to select from. The first and main type, Strike cards, are basic attacks, while Hide cards allow you to run from a battle. Reverse cards trade stats with enemies, Training cards increase defense for all cards and Energy cards increase the offensive strength for all cards. Event cards bring in other characters from the show to help in the battle briefly, Use cards allow you to access the inventory and Z cards work as a wild card, allowing you to use them for any type. The main gameplay aspect of card battle in Densetsu however boils down to the numerical value associated with each card. Starting at 1 and going up to 7 and then Z (the highest), the number determines which player's card is used on a turn. For instance, if you play a card with a 7 and the enemy plays a 4 card then your card will be played. Once you play enough attack cards and watch the fancy action that takes place on the DS screens, your enemy is defeated and play continues on the main board until the next battle.

What I particularly like about this system is that, unlike most RPGs, you don't have to sit there and take damage in between turns. If you play your cards right then you can actually end up taking every single turn in a battle, if your numbers are always higher. Cards can be used on the game board, outside of battle, to increase the number of steps you move across it too, which allows you to carefully get rid of cards with a low numerical value outside of battle and keep the higher ones to use on an enemy. Knowing when to power up the rest of your cards instead of attacking is also a very important strategy for keeping yourself alive and safe. Densetsu features a lot of strategy in this regard, but it isn't a particularly deep experience by comparison. You can't save decks or cards to use in other battles - you always start from scratch - and it doesn't feel like there is a specific way to master the gameplay. It's definitely a card battle game that is very approachable, even those who aren't fans of the genre, but that can be a huge problem for card games veterans. Luckily, the cards all feel well balanced and having certain cards that enhance other cards in your deck is something that adds a lot of extra depth to the title.

The story mode is split up between different characters from the show, but impatient players should be warned of the extensive training that takes place at the start of the game. While entirely necessary, it can last a good ten or more minutes and seems a bit dull at times - even though the developers tried their best to keep it entertaining, with banter between characters on screen. It's not the best introduction, but once you get through it and into the game proper, you'll be really glad you persevered!

Graphically, Densetsu does a great job of shrinking the show and its many quirks down to handheld size. The battle scenes are well done, with plenty of anime-inspired action, and there are even some short quips here and there. The sprites are enjoyable to see and move well outside of battle, while the storyline during boss fights is fairly well presented, if a bit standard. The sound does a great job of capturing the music of the American DBZ series, with guitar heavy tunes that make full use of the DS's sound capabilities - and they even have the decency to lower during text-heavy scenes! Sound effects are hard hitting, matching up to the action of the show and the battles on-screen, also making use of the stereo speakers equipped on the DS; in all, the presentation is rather excellent! In fact, this will likely be what keeps most players going, outside of the strategy involved in battling.

The multiplayer modes here are hit and miss. The single cart play is pretty limited, removing most of what makes the game fun, other than the actual card battling itself. However, multi-cart play for up to four players throws everything fun about the single player into a four player romp - it's just a shame that no cooperative mode has been included, considering that many levels of the game feature two characters progressing along the same game board! Perhaps the inevitable sequel will fulfill these desires.

Dragon Ball Z: Harukansaru Densetsu is a surprisingly fun, easy to pick up and enjoyable to master card game that, while not as deep as most other card battlers, offers a good amount of strategy and a different approach to the genre. DBZ fans will instantly love the effort put into making sure the characters and action comes off right, even on the small DS screens - it's a game sure to pull them in even if they have no experience with the type of gameplay featured. The tutorial does a great job of laying it all out in simple terms, though it does take its time doing so. At the end of the day, you'll be happy you stuck it out through the text, as this is definitely one of the better card battle games out there, despite its what-you-see-is-what-you-get nature, and it's also a fine looking and sounding game that makes great use of the DS's capabilities. As such, it's a game that's worth a look regardless of your feelings about DBZ.

Reviewed by Christopher Martin for AceGamez (All Rights Reserved).