Dragon Ball is easily one of the biggest, if not the biggest, anime franchises of all time, and with any big franchise, anime or otherwise, video game entries are bound to happen, and this is definitely the case with Akira Toriyama's hit series. Very early on, Dragon Ball was adapted into a number of video games. In fact, a Dragon Ball GT video game came to the states before Dragon Ball Z was even brought over, which goes to show how big the video games were to the franchise. With such a long list of Dragon Ball video games, the question arises of which are the best amongst the numerous titles that have been released. Well, worry not, CBR is here to rank some of Dragon Ball's best video games for you right there.
However, since, as we mentioned, there are a lot of Dragon Ball video games, we have a few prerequisites to figure out our ranking. First of all we're going to look at games from the year 2000 and on, since most games before that were rather simple and it helps reduce the number a bit. Second, we are only looking at games that received scores—averaged between the the user and critic ratings—of 60 or above on Metacritic, a scale which we used as the basis for our overall ranking. However, Metacritic isn't the only thing that will determine the ranking, we'll also take into consideration the overall fan love of the game, whether or not the game tried something new or interesting and if the game has outstanding elements that outshine its bad parts.
Dragon Ball GT: Transformation is a 2005 Game Boy Advance video game developed by Webfoot Technologies, and based on the first half of Dragon Ball GT (up to the Baby Saga). The game is a standard "Beat-'em-up", similar to Dragon Ball: Advanced Adventure.
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25 LEGACY OF GOKU
First up is a game known as Dragon Ball Z: the Legacy of Goku, which came out for the Game Boy Advance in 2002. The game provided a lot of firsts for Dragon Ball games, like full motion gameplay as well as transformations, both of which would become standard parts of later games.
However, despite being the first game to include these now common elements, Dragon Ball Z The Legacy of Goku received mixed reviews, making our top 25, but still residing at the bottom of the ranking.
24 RAGING BLAST
Next up we have a game known as Dragon Ball Raging Blast, which came out for the PlayStation 3 and the Xbox 360 in 2009. Raging Blast was criticized for convoluted controls amongst other issues, but fans gave it positive feedback despite this.
Simply because of how much fan love of this game outweighs the bad reviews, we decided to include in the top 25, ranking it as 24 overall, since it did a few things right, specifically in the Super Battle Trial part of the game.
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23 RAGING BLAST 2
The sequel to Raging Blast managed to do a bit better than its predecessor, especially in Japan, where it was the best selling game in November of 2010, beating out a Mario game and a Pokemon game—an impressive feat.
The gameplay was slightly improved in the sequel, as were the graphics—which looked more like the anime—and the versus mode, all of which were praised amongst the other, lesser parts of the game. Raging Blast 2 also earns points for including an OVA that's worth a watch, putting it at number 23 on our list.
22 SUPER DRAGON BALL Z
Next up we have a 2006 PS2 title that actually originated as an arcade game, Super Dragon Ball Z. Not to be confused with Dragon Ball Super, this game was made with the help of former Street Fighter producer, Noritaka Funamizu, who helped bring traditional fighting game mechanics to the game.
Super Dragon Ball Z featured destructible environments and a number of different game styles, all of which resonated rather well with fans, earning it a decent reception by critics as well as the spot of number 22 in our ranking.
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21 REVENGE OF KING PICCOLO
Next up is a Wii title from 2009 by the name of Dragon Ball: Revenge of King Piccolo. Veering from the usual Dragon Ball game style, this game was a 3D beat 'em up that allowed Goku to fight off multiple enemies at once.
The game also featured some great visuals that both captured the feel of Dragon Ball and weren't afraid to stylize and go their own way. But beyond these new and interesting approaches, the game received mixed reviews, which is why it doesn't quite make the top 20.
20 SUPERSONIC WARRIORS 2
We'll get to the first Supersonic Warriors game in a bit, but before that, we have its sequel bringing up the top 20 Dragon Ball games. Like the first game, Supersonic Warriors 2 came out for the Gameboy Advance and was a pretty standard fighting game.
The game changed very few things from its predecessor, which is part of why we're ranking a bit lower, though it did add a branching story path to the story mode of the game. Overall, not Dragon Ball's strongest game entry.
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19 DRAGON BALL ORIGINS 2
Dragon Ball Origins 2 improved upon a few things from the original, like the style of the low-poly graphics, but beyond some elements, the sequel ended up being worse than the original.
Well, maybe not worse, but it definitely got mixed reviews—some reviewers loved it, while most scored it below 70%—where the original did much better. Overall, this 2010 Nintendo DS managed to do enough to make it into our top 20, but it just couldn't compete with its predecessor, which we will get to soon.
18 DRAGON BALL DOKKAN BATTLE
Coming in at number 18 is the only mobile game on our list, Dragon Ball Z Dokkan Battle, a game that is still currently very popular in the mobile market. The game combines puzzle, board game and card game elements all themed with Dragon Ball characters and the like, allowing players to face each other in puzzle-fighting matches.
Though it's only gotten C-rate reviews, Dokkan Battle's popularity is undeniable, since it has been one of the top-five highest-grossing mobile games in both Japan and America, which is why it's in the top 20.
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17 SUPERSONIC WARRIORS
Where the second Supersonic Warriors didn't make for a proper sequel, the original was one of Dragon Ball's best handheld games. Supersonic Warriors had great sprite design and gameplay, both of which were noted by critics and fans.
Though the game had overall average reviews, we put it up higher than the sequel both because of all the new things it tried and because it was one of the best looking handheld Dragon Ball games of its time, just take a look at that those sprites!
16 LEGENDARY SUPER WARRIORS
Dragon Ball Z: Legendary Super Warriors came out in 2002 for the Game Boy Color, which is strange since the Game Boy Advance had taken over by then. The game was sort of like Pokémon meets Dragon Ball, with RPG-style gameplay that allowed players to fight opponents in card-based combat.
Though its mechanics were complex and its graphics were simple, the game was well-received, many praising it replay value, since it took several plays to learn the battle system and get better at strategizing with it.
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15 BUDOKAI
Though it wasn't the first Dragon Ball game to be rendered in full 3D—that'd be Dragon Ball GT: Final Bout--Dragon Ball Z: Budokai was the first 3D Dragon Ball game of the new millennium.
Budokai marked a new era for Dragon Ball games, since the series would go on to spawn multiple sequels. Budokai introduced a lot of new concepts and more or less established the template for many Dragon Ball games to come. However, despite this and despite its favorable reviews, the Budokai games needed some work to get to their peak, thus the first game ranks at 15.
14 BUDOKAI 2
Dragon Ball Gt Youtube
Dragon Ball Z: Budokai 2 started to take Dragon Ball games in the right direction, following in the footsteps of its predecessor to improve upon the formula. On top of establishing a cel-shaded art-style, Budokai 2 improved a lot about the Dragon Ball fighting game formula.
However, in the long run, the game is still not in the top 10, sitting pretty at number 14, since it has a few issues that would later be worked out in future Budokai games, earning it underwhelming reviews.
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13 BURST LIMIT
2008's Dragon Ball Z: Burst Limit managed to earn itself a VGA nomination for best fighting game, which should tell you just how awesome it was. On top of having some impressive graphics—which, for the time, were the closest a game got to looking like the anime--Burst Limit was one of the top selling games for three months in Japan.
The game also got fantastic reviews, though it had its fair share of subpar reception as well. Overall, Burst Limit was an interesting entry in the Dragon Ball franchise that could possibly be worthy of a follow up.
12 DRAGON BALL FUSIONS
![Dragon Ball Gt Video Games Dragon Ball Gt Video Games](/uploads/1/2/4/8/124866083/343152373.jpg)
Dragon Ball Fusions might not be the best game in the franchise, heck it probably deserves a lower rating based on gameplay alone, but it definitely earns a lot of points for the unique form of fan service it provided with its premise.
The game uses Fusion as its main mechanic, and in doing so, it allows players to create the fusions they've always wanted to see, making for a fun element in an otherwise sub-par game. Because of this fusion elements, Dragon Ball Fusions is relatively fun to sit down and play.
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11 ATTACK OF THE SAIYANS
Like the Nintendo Wii, the Nintendo DS had some sleeper hits that some overlooked because both systems appeared gimmicky, and one of the overlooked DS games was Dragon Ball Z: Attack of the Saiyans, which came out in 2009.
Attack of the Saiyans was an RPG turn-based styled game that had some stellar sprite art and fun game mechanics. Though the game isn't perfect, the veer from the usual Dragon Ball games earned it some praise, especially from Nintendo Power, which gave it an 8/10.
10 DRAGON BALL ORIGINS
The sequel to Dragon Ball Origins wasn't quite as good as the original, which is why the first game in the series makes it into our top 10 best Dragon Ball games. Dragon Ball Origins is similar to Zelda games of the same time, utilizing top-down 3D graphics for gameplay that involved battling enemies as you encounter them, solving puzzles along the way.
What made Dragon BallOrigins so cool was the art style and the way it adapted the original sagas of Dragon Ball, making you feel like you were actually on the adventure.
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9 BUDOKAI TENKAICHI
After three Budokai games, Dragon Ball took things in a slightly new direction, creating the Budokai Tenkaichi follow-up series. The first game was released for the PS2 in 2005, shaking things up with a new art style, and some new fighting mechanics.
However, the first game in this series, like the first Budokai game, still needed some polishing, leading to strange-looking graphics (especially in terms of shading) and some sub-par controls. But, overall, the game was well received, so it earns its spot in the top 10.
8 LEGACY OF GOKU 2
The first Legacy of Goku game was rather subpar, earning the lowest spot in our ranking, but its sequel? It actually makes it into the top 10! Dragon Ball Z: The Legacy of Goku 2 had some of the same problems from the original and was merely a continuation of the story, but it also introduced some new concepts that earns it some points.
On top of being able to transform in this game, players could also use a scouter mechanic to look up character stats, they could charge their melee attacks and augment their abilities with capsule items.
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7 ADVANCED ADVENTURE
Just take a look at that sprite art! Dragon Advanced Adventure, a 2006 (2004 in Japan) Game Boy Advance title, definitely had some strong art direction, and that's not all it had going for it, it was also a cross-genre game that combined platforming, fighting games and flying shooter games.
Goku could battle enemies in platformer levels, fight one-on-one in fighting game styled matches and fly through the air on the nimbus and fight bad guys, leading to creatively diverse gameplay that nearly earns the game a spot in our top 5, despite some poor reviews.
6 BUDOKAI TENKAICHI 2
The second Budokai Tenkaichi game managed improve a lot from the original, especially when it game to the Wii version. This was the first Dragon Ball game to be on the Wii system, and the way the motion controls were utilized were brilliant.
Specifically, players could perform a Kamehameha or other attacks with the Wiimote and Nunchuck, helping immerse them in the world of Dragon Ball with mechanics that were absent in the PS2 version. Even if the game wasn't perfect, it was a whole lot of fun to feel like you were actually shooting a Kamehameha.
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5 XENOVERSE
Now it's down to the top five, starting with Dragon Ball Xenoverse. Dragon Ball Xenoverse improved upon the model of Dragon Ball Online (which we excluded since it lacked proper ratings), which allowed players to create their own original Dragon Ball character, cranking the fan-service up to 11.
By this we are referring to the fact that the game's story centers around the player's avatar helping Future Trunks and the Kai of time to right the wrongs in the Dragon Ball timeline, effectively inserting the player into the series, a fantastic concept that made up for some subpar elements.
4 BUDOKAI TENKAICHI 3
Dragon Ball Z Budokai Tenkaichi 3 was the second to last game in the Tenkaichi series--Ultimate Tenkaichi being the final entry, which we excluded for having an average score of under 60—and as such it had practically perfected the formula it created.
Once again, the Wii version of the game was better executed than the PS2 version of the game, since it utilized motion controls in a fun way that improved upon those of the previous game, making for an overall fun game that, though not perfectly reviewed, stands in the top five.
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3 XENOVERSE 2
Coming in at number three is Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2, which didn't change much from the original, a notion that earned it some flak. However, the small bits that Xenoverse 2 did change from the first game managed to make it an overall fun experience.
One of the things that improved was the multiplayer option, which added some cool new elements to the game, and with all the DLC that ended up coming out for Xenoverse 2, the minimal changes from the original made all the difference in our ranking.
2 BUDOKAI 3
Before things were shaken up by the Tenkaichi parts of the Budokai series, Dragon Ball Z: Budokai 3 managed to perfect its style and mechanics, leading to the second best Dragon Ball game, at least in our ranking.
Budokai 3 managed to get B scores almost completely across the board, earning the highest ratings of any Budokai game, many critics attributing its improvements to the development's focus on gameplay rather than graphics, which also garnered praise. Overall, it was one of the franchise's strongest game entries.
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1 DRAGON BALL FIGHTERZ
![Dragon Ball Gt Video Games Dragon Ball Gt Video Games](/uploads/1/2/4/8/124866083/597251442.jpg)
Don't act like you didn't see this coming! Dragon Ball FighterZ is the most recent and most highly-rated Dragon Ball video game, standing as the best game in the franchise. Everything from the graphics to the gameplay are nearly perfect on any level, earning it the number one spot on our list.
The game looks beautiful, making the anime come to life with stepped-animation and perfect cel-shading that is second only to the classic arcade-styled fighting game mechanics that quickly put the game at the top of multiple 'best fighting games' lists, earning A-level scores across the board.
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Dragon Ball GT: Final Bout Dragon Ball: Final Bout | |
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Top: Original cover art featuring Goku Bottom: Reissued 2004 cover art featuring Goku again. | |
Developer(s) | Bandai |
Publisher(s) | Bandai |
Designer(s) | Jun Hayashibara Kei Matsurikita |
Series | Dragon Ball |
Platform(s) | PlayStation |
Release |
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Genre(s) | Fighting |
Mode(s) | Single player multiplayer |
Dragon Ball GT: Final Bout, known in Japan and Europe as Dragon Ball: Final Bout (ドラゴンボール ファイナルバウトDoragon Bōru Fainaru Bauto), is a fighting game for the PlayStation. Despite the name, the game's story has no direct correlation to the anime series Dragon Ball GT, and the cast of playable characters is an equal mix of characters from Dragon Ball GT and its predecessor series Dragon Ball Z.[1] It was developed and released by Bandai in Japan, France, Spain, and North America in 1997. The game was reissued in Europe in 2002 and in North America in 2004. The game shares the distinction of being the first Dragon Ball game to be rendered in full 3D, and the last Dragon Ball game produced for the PlayStation. There would not be another Dragon Ball game for consoles until the release of Dragon Ball Z: Budokai in 2002.
- 2Modes of play
- 3Playable characters
Gameplay[edit]
Final Bout gameplay
The game is similar to other fighters, playing out entirely in two dimensions but featuring 3D environments and characters from the Z and GT series of the Dragon Ball franchise.[1] The fighters can fly to almost any point on the playing field.[1] Unique in the game are the special ki attacks called a Special Knockout Trick. These are the spectacular versions of the character's ki attacks the character performs at a distance. When these attacks are performed, the camera cuts and pans to the attacking character, who powers up and fires. During the attacking character's power up, the opposing character has the opportunity to either retaliate or block when the word counter flashes on the lower right hand corner of the screen. If the player chooses to retaliate, they too power up and fire a ki attack, causing a power crossfire.[2] Whichever player presses their beam button the fastest will push their opponent's super back and force their own super to damage their opponent.[1] Another feature which was carried over from Legends, is a technique called Meteor Smash. With a key combo, players can ignite a chain of mêlée attacks.[2]
Modes of play[edit]
Battle Mode[edit]
The standard mode, subdivided in 'Vs Man', where a player can face another player, and 'Vs Com', where the player fights a series of random CPU-controlled opponents and a final boss.
Tournament Mode[edit]
Subdivided in 'The Tournament', in which up to 8 characters (either human or computer controlled) fight in a single-round elimination tournament, and 'Build up the Tournament', where the characters are carried over from Build Up Mode, loaded from the memory card.
Build Up Mode[edit]
Carried over from Ultimate Battle 22, this feature gives the player the chance to train a character of their choosing and save them via a memory card. Unlike Ultimate Battle 22, this version of the mode allows to build the characters' strength to triple digit levels, and comes with an experience chart in the character's profile. Like Ultimate Battle 22, players have the opportunity to battle their friends with their character in the option called Build Up Battle.
Playable characters[edit]
The game's roster features a unique match-up from the Dragon Ball Z and GT series, primarily starting with the principal cast from the GT series: Goku, Trunks, and Pan. Regarding the latter, this was also the first game to feature her, while other characters Vegeta, Gohan, Piccolo, Cell, Frieza, and Buu came straight from the Z series. The only unplayable character is Baby Vegeta in his Oozaru form, serving as the game's final boss. The unlockable characters consist of the adult Super Saiyan form of Goku in his GT outfit, the Super Saiyan forms of GT kid Goku and Trunks, Z series Super Saiyan Goku, Super Saiyan Future Trunks, Vegeto and the Super Saiyan 4 form of Goku.
Naming conventions[edit]
The original Japanese release of the game was unique for its naming conventions for all the characters. All the adult incarnations of Goku are referred by his full name 'Son Goku' (孫悟空) while his child incarnation is referred simply as 'Goku' (悟空), and his Z series incarnation is presented in all capital rōmaji 'SON GOKOU'. GT Trunks is referred by his katakana 'トランクス', while Future Trunks is presented in all capital English text 'TRUNKS'. Nearly all Super Saiyan characters are referred with the prefix Super (超), and Super Saiyan 4 Goku is referred as 'Super 4 Son Goku' (超4孫悟空). This also applies to the super form of Oozaru Baby Vegeta who is referred as 'Super Baby' (スーパーベビー). Both Vegeta and Vegito are simply referred as Vegeta and Vegetto and not Super Vegeta and Super Vegito despite they are both in Super Saiyan form. Finally, Kid Buu is referred as simply 'Buu' (ブウ).
Development[edit]
Bandai kept Final Bout under wraps for most of its development. Responding to rumors that Dragon Ball Z: The Legend was being released in the U.S., Jeff Rotter, associate producer of Bandai of America, said that negotiations were underway to bring a Dragon Ball Z game to North America, but did not identify the game.[3]Final Bout's surprise unveiling at the 1997 Tokyo Toy Show came when the game was half-finished and less than six months away from its Japanese release.[4]
Music[edit]
Dragon Ball Gt Video Games For Ps2
Dragon Ball Final Bout: Original Soundtrack | |
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Soundtrack album by Kenji Yamamoto | |
Released | September 16, 1997 |
Genre | Anime |
Length | 49:57 |
Language | Japanese |
Label | Zain Records |
The composition was done once again by Kenji Yamamoto. Out of all the pieces used in game, only five were new material, and the rest were remixed arrangements of previously used music from both 16- and 32-bit eras. The game also featured four brand new songs, the opening theme 'Biggest Fight', the closing themes 'Kimi o Wasurenai' and 'Thank You', and Goku's Super Saiyan 4 theme 'Hero of Heroes'. All of these songs were performed by Hironobu Kageyama with Kuko providing backup vocals. On September 16, 1997, nine of the compositions and the four songs were released by Zain Records exclusive in Japan as Dragon Ball Final Bout: Original Soundtrack (ドラゴンボール ファイナルバウト オリジナルサウンドトラックDoragon Bōru Fainaru Bauto Orijinaru Saundotorakku). The Future Trunks theme arrangement 'Hikari no Willpower' was featured as a hidden bonus track.
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Release[edit]
The game was first released in Japan in 1997 under its original title Dragon Ball: Final Bout. It fared well enough in sales to be reissued under the PlayStation the Best for Family series a year later. In parts of Europe (France, Belgium, Spain and Portugal), the game was also released under the name Dragon Ball: Final Bout in 1997.
In North America, the game was released as Dragon Ball GT: Final Bout, and it was the first time a Dragon Ball video game was released in North America with the Dragon Ball license intact. Due to Dragon Ball's obscurity at the time, Bandai America only produced 10,000 copies of the game.[citation needed]
In 2002, the game saw a release in the UK, along with other European countries that previously didn't officially receive the game, though it had already seen widespread distribution through the grey market. Finally, under little fanfare, Atari reissued the game in 2004 with brand new artwork supplied by Toei Animation. This release coincided with Funimation's dub of Dragon Ball GT.
Localization[edit]
When the game was released throughout North America, several changes were made for localization. Dialog by the Japanese voice actors was replaced, but not by the then current voice cast at Ocean Group. Instead, Bandai America decided to use an uncredited cast of U.S. voice talent. However, the battle voices still consist of the Japanese voice cast, causing the character voices to clash. The game's opening theme, 'Biggest Fight', was replaced with an untitled instrumental rock track. The cast credits at the end of the game, also set to 'Biggest Fight', were removed completely. The two closing songs 'Kimi o Wasurenai' and 'Thank You!' remain instrumental even when the game is beaten on normal and difficult settings. However, Super Saiyan 4 Goku's theme, 'Hero of Heroes', was left unchanged. At the title screen, the game's sound test is available, whereas in the original Japanese players could only access it with a cheat code. The Buildup data transfer option was removed due to the fact Ultimate Battle 22 had not been released at that time. When the game was reissued in 2004, the game's data was not altered in any way from its 1997 North American release by Bandai.
The European 1997 version, like with most European Dragon Ball Z games from the 16-bit and 32-bit era, was released mostly unaltered from the Japanese version, featuring the original Japanese voice acting and the opening theme 'Biggest Fight'. The game text was only translated to French and other languages besides English because of the lack of official release in any English-speaking country. When the game was re-issued in Europe in 2002 (which included a release for the first time in English-speaking countries like the UK), the game was kept the same as the previous European version except for the texts being re-translated to English.
Reception[edit]
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Next Generation reviewed the PlayStation version of the game, rating it one star out of five, and stated that 'Dragon Ball GT Final Bout is a deplorable waste of disc space. If there's any justice in this world, the people responsible for bringing this out will be kept up at night with the cries of disappointed Dragon Ball owners resounding in their heads.'[8]
The game was given wide range reviews but mostly negatively reviewed according to GameRankings.[citation needed] Frequent criticisms included sluggish controls and an overcharge of playable Goku incarnations.[citation needed]
References[edit]
- ^ abcd'Dragon Ball GT: Long Overdue: DB Comes to the U.S.'. Electronic Gaming Monthly. No. 98. Ziff Davis. September 1997. p. 118.
- ^ abRetrieved from the game's North American instructional manual circa 2004.
- ^'Don't Believe the Hype'. Electronic Gaming Monthly. No. 92. Ziff Davis. March 1997. p. 111.
- ^''97 Tokyo Toy Show'. Electronic Gaming Monthly. No. 94. Ziff Davis. May 1997. p. 88.
- ^Dragon Ball Final Bout: Original Soundtrack at MusicBrainz (list of releases)
- ^'Dragon Ball GT: Final Bout for PlayStation - GameRankings'. Retrieved December 31, 2016.
- ^'Dragon Ball GT Final Bout (PlayStation)'. Retrieved December 31, 2016.
- ^ ab'Finals'. Next Generation. No. 39. Imagine Media. March 1998. pp. 109–110.
- ^'psxa2z.com'. Retrieved December 31, 2016.
- ^'Dragon Ball GT: Final Bout for PlayStation (1997) MobyRank - MobyGames'. Retrieved December 31, 2016.
- ^'Dragon Ball GT: Final Bout for PlayStation (1997) MobyRank - MobyGames'. Retrieved December 31, 2016.
- ^'HugeDomains.com - ElectroBuzz.com is for sale (Electro Buzz)'. Retrieved December 31, 2016.
External links[edit]
- Dragon Ball GT: Final Bout at MobyGames
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