Things were different back in 1997. An English dub of Dragon Ball Z had only been on North American television for a single year. We had one video game for the franchise, but it was from a decade prior and had almost all traces of it being a part of the franchise stripped away from it. In came Final Bout on the original PlayStation, bringing American fans an opportunity to play as characters from a story they were just beginning to become so incredibly invested in. What was it like to be a part of that? How did fans actually view the game? Did anyone from any country ever have a chance to experience a Dragon Ball game in the same way ever again?
SHOW DESCRIPTION:
Episode #0294! VegettoEX and Meri discuss what it was like to be a fan of the “Dragon Ball” franchise in 1997 when “Final Bout” for the PlayStation hit store shelves. While we technically had one game for the franchise released a decade prior, to most American fans, we were playing a DBZ video game for the first time. How did fans actually view the game? Did anyone from any country ever have a chance to experience a “Dragon Ball” game in the same way ever again?
REFERENCED SITES:
- Walmart “Dragon Ball Z” HD Game Listing @ Kanzenshuu
- Manga UK DBZ DVD Official Announcement @ Kanzenshuu
- 3DS Game Website Listing @ Namco-Bandai
- “Final Bout” Re-release Cover and Description @ Kanzenshuu (News Archive)
- April Fool’s Archive @ Temple O’ Trunks
