Atari is releasing a Dragon Ball Z: Harukanaru Densetsu next on June 5th for the Nintendo DS and unlike other DBZ games it’s a card battling game. The isn’t the first card based Dragon Ball Z card game, back in the Famicom/Super Famicom days Bandai released a couple of them in Japan only. However, this is a first for North America and we have Donny Clay from Atari to talk about the project.
Siliconera: Can you tell us about the story in Dragon Ball Z: Harukanaru Densetsu?
Donny Clay: The story in DBZ:Haru covers the animated series from the Vegeta saga to the Cell saga. The title reproduces this storyline through the eyes of each of the four playable characters.
Which characters can you play as in the story mode?
Playable characters include: Gohan, Goku, Piccolo, and Vegeta.
How does the card battle system flow in DBZ: Harukanaru Densetsu?
Each player selects a card (or combo of cards) to play each round. The player with the higher number wins the round and is able to apply that damage against their opponent’s defense that round. This is depicted as an animated sequence.
I remember hearing that you can chain cards to make new attacks. Can you give an example of how this works?
There are three kinds of combos that can be unlocked through game-play. They are: Attack combo, Defense combo, and Action combo. These combos allow the user to combine the power levels of multiple cards in a single play. Once unlocked, a card with a 5 star Attack, for example, can be combined with other cards with 5 stars.
How many cards are there to collect?
Including all characters there are almost 200 cards available to collect.
Can you give our readers a hint on how to obtain super rare cards?
While leveling-up a character be sure to sometimes take the white Hoipoi capsule which can randomly increase: Event, Support, Defense and Skill. When these abilities increase it will enable new cards to be unlocked as they are used during game-play.
Also noteworthy is that the user can collect character voice clips that can be played from the collection menu but can also be used in multiplayer mode to increase the effectiveness of their attacks.
How is DBZ: Harukanaru Densetsu different from the Super Famicom / NES DBZ card game?
Several innovative elements have been added such as using the cards as a device for movement in the map view and card combos in battles. The title is also saved in chapters, allowing the user to replay favorite levels over again. In this RPG title the user gets a unique opportunity to play the story from each of the four character’s point of view. The title also adds multiplayer modes including download play to challenge their friends.
There has to be more text in the game than other DBZ fighting titles. What was the hardest part about localizing it?
Just making sure everyone is using the most up to date spreadsheets when communicating bugs or spelling errors between the US and Japan is difficult. You need high attention to detail.
Is there any support for mutliplayer battles over Nintendo WiFi?
Unfortunately we don’t support the WiFi system on this title but you can play wirelessly with people near you.
