At some point in the early 2000s, someone looked at the Dragon Ball Z manga and anime, a story full of screaming men who power up for entire episodes, hair that defies physics, and villains who monologue long enough for the protagonist to reach a new power level, and said, “Yes. This. But make it a fighting game. On two, and only two, consoles.” And thus, Dragon Ball Z Budokai 2 arrived on PS2 and GameCube, ready to let you spend an unreasonable amount of time unlocking characters and pretending you know what a Fusion Dance is supposed to look like in real life.

This episode, we’re going Super Saiyan on the whole thing. The game, the manga, the anime, the drama, the capsules, the questionable story mode decisions. All of it. And joining us to power up the conversation is Russell Moran from Kaiju ComiCast, who brings exactly the kind of kaiju-sized enthusiasm this franchise demands.

So take a deep breath, squeeze out every last drop of ki you’ve got, and let’s get into it. Your hair may or may not turn gold by the end. No promises.Continue Reading

Gather around power-level enthusiasts and tournament fighters, because this week on Play Comics we’re charging up our ki and diving headfirst into the legendary slugfest that is Dragon Ball Z: Budokai for PS2 and GameCube. That’s right, we’re looking at the 2002 fighting game that asked the burning question “What if we took the first three arcs of Dragon Ball Z and squeezed them into a button-mashing experience that makes even the most patient Z-Fighter want to go Super Saiyan with frustration?”

Developed by Dimps and published by Infogrames (back when they still existed and weren’t just a nostalgic memory floating in gaming’s hyperbolic time chamber), this cel-shaded beatdown promised to let players experience everything from Raditz’s surprise family reunion to Cell’s perfectionist power trip. What it delivered was a fighting system so basic that even Yamcha could probably figure it out, paired with enough beam struggles to make your thumbs file for workers’ compensation.

Joining us for this Saiyan-sized discussion is the one and only Doc Issues from Capes on the Couch, because when you need someone to analyze the psychological implications of repeatedly punching people until they explode into light particles you call a professional. Together we’ll explore how this game managed to compress roughly 100 episodes of screaming, power-ups, and “next time on Dragon Ball Z” frustrating end caps into a tournament format that somehow made sense.

So grab your orange gi, practice your best Kamehameha stance, and prepare for an episode that’s over 9000 times more entertaining than waiting five episodes for Goku to finish charging his spirit bomb. Will this manga-to-game adaptation achieve its final form? Or will it get sent to Other World faster than you can say “Kakarot”? Time to find out if this Z-Fighter deserves a senzu bean or a one-way ticket to Snake Way!Continue Reading

Krillin’ it softly, podcast lovers! It’s time to dust off your Game Boy Advance and charge up your Ki for an episode so epic, it’ll make Frieza cry for his momma! We’re diving into The Legacy of Goku 1 & 2, where pixels meet power levels and button mashing meets “But I haven’t even reached my final form!”

But wait, what’s that? Is it a bird? Is it a plane? No, it’s the legendary Troytle Power from TroytlePower Presents: The Power Play-Throughs Podcast, with TroytlePower and Too Young For This Trek, swooping in like Goku on a Flying Nimbus! He’s flying solo today, leaving his Too Young for this Trek co-pilots behind – probably stuck in a time chamber or something.

Get ready to laugh harder than Buu at a pie-eating contest as we dissect these Dragon Ball-inspired handheld adventures. Will Troytle’s power level be high enough to handle our intense scrutiny? Or will he need to fuse with the nearest inanimate object to survive our witty banter? Tune in to find out in this episode that’s more unpredictable than Vegeta’s mood swings!

So grab your favorite dragon radar, set your scouter to “fun,” and prepare for a podcast experience that’s more satisfying than finding all seven Dragon Balls. It’s Play Comics time, and we’re about to go full Kaio-ken on these Game Boy Advance classics!Continue Reading