To a large extent, the sound in the game was very well done. The sound of flashing one's aura up or down was identical to its anime counterpart. Character voices were all the same as the Japanese voices used in the actual show, with the exception of Cell Jr, who sounds like something not in this world. Instead of the high squeaky voice, Cell Jr has a normal Japanese voice that is not very appealing whatsoever (but hey, it's only 1 out of 35 characters). Vegeta's "Big Bang Attack!", Piccolo's "Makankosappo!", and the Great Saiyaman's "Kame...hame...ha!", as well as the vast majority of the other characters's attack sounds are very cool and high quality. What could have been better done were some of the explosion sounds effects. Although they were still very good by normal DBZ game standards, they could have been better. For example, when normal Goku's Genkidama hits his opponent, there's an emission of light in all directions, and then a little wussy explosion sending the opponent flying backwards. It would have been better had they played the entire explosion noise as the opponent tried to push the Spirit Bomb away and follow up with a huge heart-throbbing and echoing bang. However, the typical sound accompanying a fired Kamehameha or any other similar oriented beam (like a Masenko) was kept intact, making it seem just like the series and thus more realistic. Most of the sound effects of the meteos were very well timed as well. Good job overall.

- Background Music - 9 out of 10

The music was not the type played in the corresponding Jap series and was created solely for the game itself. Most of the BGMs were cool and were well-suited to the fights. For example, the BGM that plays when the Menu appears immediately grasps one's attention and sets the stage for some cool fighting. The BGMs played during fights and meteo attacks are quite similar sounding to the one played on the Menu screen. The first meteo of each character (that has more than one meteo) has a distinctive BGM when the player is preparing to do the attack. The BGM for the second meteo is the same for all characters as well, leading to some boring repetition (you have to use an alternating sequence of 4 meteos (Meteo 1 Meteo 2 Meteo 1 Meteo 2) in order to completely kill an opponent). Characters like Guldo and Androids 17 and 18 that have just one meteo are associated with a third BGM, which is also the same for all characters that fit in the just-one-meteo category. What should have been done was playing the BGM themes of each character as they performed their meteos (the themes from Super Butoden). However, the transition between meteo and fighting BGMs was smooth, as all the music sounded similar. Overall, the music was excellent, but a little more variety could have made it more pleasant and raised the fun factor up a bit.

- Characters and Character Selection - 9 out of 10

There are 35 characters in the game by the time you complete Z Campaign mode, which is I think the largest number of characters ever to be placed in one DBZ game (UB 22 has 27 and Final Bout has 17). The characters were well selected; the strongest ones were selected in each saga and placed in the game. However, each character looks the same (as a result of rather poor graphics and low-detailed sprites - hence the small loading time) and have the same moves during most of the fighting time (each character punches, kicks, or shoots fireballs). There are no cheats to bring up additional characters, and personally, I think there's no need for any more than 35 selectable fighters. Although the sprites are detailed enough to distinguish one character from another one (heh heh), the characters look just too similar to make clear distinctions between one and the other. Once again, there's a great deal of repetition. Still, it's good to see that there is a large variety of characters to choose from, each of which has his own special meteos, which leads into the discussion of meteo attacks in the game.

I think that each character should have had more meteos than the game allowed. Most characters have 2 meteos available and others only have one. Since meteos occur frequently in a battle, a lack of variety in meteo attacks really makes the game boring (especially in a one-on-one fight where you are always winning) and repetitive. If it were up to me, each character should have had 3 to 4 meteos. Normal Vegeta, for example, could've had the Gallic Gun and the "Shine missile" that he used to kill Nappa in the anime. He could've had SSJ3 Goku's meteo where he takes his opponent by the legs and swings him in a circle before letting him crash into the ground (Vegeta had done that to Recoome). Yet another idea for Vegeta could be transformation into Oozaru form and then grabbing and crushing his opponent. Many cool ideas could've been developed and were not (pity heh heh). Adding just two more meteos to each character would've made the fights more interesting, since the total of 4 would be just enough to fill the number needed to completely kill an opponent.

- Graphics - 7 out of 10

The graphics of Legends isn't the greatest you've ever seen or will ever see. Its sprites have a low degree of detail and a close-up view of them immediately reveals the blocky graphics and distortion of pixels as far as the sprites are concerned. Imagine opening up a small image with a Paint program and enlarging width and length by 200-300%. The resulting quality of the image would be a good resemblance to the sprites used in Legends. The backgrounds, however, are 2-D and relatively well done with adequate detail. The fighting platform (the ground) however is blocky when viewed closely and is obviously made out of patches of one model piece (like those on a farm). However, the ground is not the height of gaming attention; the sprites problem is also somewhat alleviated by placing the head portraits of the fighters on each side of the screen, with Player 1 fighters on the left and P2 on the right. These portraits are detailed enough to help the player distinguish who's he's fighting with, which team member he is using, and who is fighting who. Another cool feature is that the faces wince in pain when the corresponding characters are being beaten up, look normal when they aren't attacking or being hurt, and open their mouth as if they are yelling when they attack. This helps the player keep track of the progress of the game etc.

What could have been better done were the beginnings of the meteo animation sequences for some characters, where the camera revolves around your player as he powers up and prepares to fire a special ki attack. Piccolo's Makankosappo meteo, for example, contains some revolving camera action before his attack is ready to fire. During this revolution, Piccolo seems to be rotated a few degrees at a time instead of at a constant rate of, say, 1 degree per 10th of a second. For you people who are not mathematically inclined :) that means that Piccolo's body rotation was not smooth and consistent with the camera movement. He moved like Goku does when he approaches a opponent from far away using Zanzoken instead of flying continuously through the air like he normally does. Another problem was the graphics for the explosions, which are not very detailed and eye-appealing. They could have been more elaborate with more light dispersion effects. Instead, they're just orange-brown colored outlines of clouds of smoke after the ki energy emitted from the player hits his opponent. The graphics for SSJ2 Gohan's Kamehameha meteo was spectacular, but the blue aura that surrounded him before he fired his blast could have used a different color and been more detailed. Vegetto's meteo was definitely one of the worst meteos in the game. The beam of energy that he fires to hook up his opponent doesn't even really connect with the target, and before you know it, the beam has disappeared and a tiny, insignificant fireball is fired towards the enemy. However, many exceptions existed. Fat Boo's first meteo where he emits ki energy over a one-mile radius was probably one of the best meteos in the game. It had excellent graphics and nice detail (the fact that there was no accompanying explosion may have been the factor that made that meteo more enjoyable). The same good comments go for SSJ2 Teenage Gohan's and SSJ3 Goku's Kamehamehas, Piccolo's Gekiro, Goku's Genkidama, etc.

The yellow auras (normal Goku has the exceptional red aura for Kaio-ken) are very well done, especially when your character flies while powering up, creating a trail of golden energy and illuminating the area around the combatants. The crumbling of hills into dust particles when a character blasts through them or is hit into them (whichever the case is) is awesome and resembles almost exactly the scene in Movie 6 where Goku blasts through several moutains and knocks off one of Cooler's metal arms. Legends also has a solid engine; there is little or no slowdown even when 6 fighters are on the screen in a 3 on 3 battle. Even with this many characters fighting and doinable). The same good comments go for SSJ2 Teenage Gohan's and SSJ3 Goku's Kamehamehas, Piccolo's Gekiro, Goku's Genkidama, etc. The yellow auras (normal Goku has the exceptional red aura for Kaio-ken) are very well done, especially when your character flies while powering up, creating a trail of golden energy and illuminating the area around the combatants. The crumbling of hills into dust particles when a character blasts through them or is hit into them (whichever the case is) is awesome and resembles almost exactly the scene in Movie 6 where Goku blasts through several moutains and knocks off one of Cooler's metal arms. Legends also has a solid engine; there is little or no slowdown even when 6 fighters are on the screen in a 3 on 3 battle. Even with this many characters fighting and doing punching-kicking combos, a character moves and power ups at rates equal or just slightly lower than those of a 1 on 1 fight. Overall, however, the graphics are low quality (applies largely to sprites and explosion effects) and there is little detail.

- Fun Factor - 10 out of 10

Legends is by far the most exciting DBZ game for the PSX platform. The major reasons for this is definitely the speed of the fighting and the ability of fights ranging anywhere from 1on1 to 3on3. This makes Legends a fun game for any number of players. The easiness of winning once a strategy has been well-developed is another reason why this game is fun to play (we tend to enjoy things that we are good at heh). The constant high-paced action of knocking your opponent left and right, and up and down repeatedly before he has time to recover from your relentless beating makes the game enjoyable as well. The game is an excellent platform where you can displace any anger or hostile feelings that you may have (heh). The game loads rather quickly due to the low detailed sprites etc., so the impatient will have yet another reason to find this game to be their favorite among their DB collection. Watching meteos be performed automatically by the computer instead of having to look at a manual or memorize some codes for performing the move also eases the gameplay and serves as a time where you can relax and just enjoy the display of the meteo before the fight continues. Overall, Legends is very exciting and even addictive among some DB fans and gamers. You will most likely find yourself going back repeatedly to your PSX and playing Legends until you have mastered virtually every move and technique.

- Gameplay - 9 out of 10

The gameplay in Legends immediately gets a high score from the unique bar system that is possesses. Instead of following the traditional life and energy bars of past DBZ games, Legends has a Power Balance meter located in the middle bottom section of the screen. When a fight begins, the left half is filled with blue and the right half is filled with red - blue for you and red for your opponent. As you barrage your opponent with a series of punching/kicking combos, the blue expands to the right and overlaps the red, shifting the meter in your favor. When your opponent beats you up, however, the red color shifts to the left. When the bar is filled with blue, the fight stops and a computer animated sequence of your player's meteo is shown. When the meteo is over, the fight continues, with the meter balanced between blue and red (like the way it was at the beginning of the fight). This pattern continues until you have performed 3 to 4 meteos against your opponent, after which he is killed. Each character on each side of the game has a power meter bar next to his head portrait that displays the amount of ki they have. When the bar is filled with yellow, the ki is full. As your player attacks and beats up your opponent, the yellow will go down and you will to power up again. The one downfall of the new Power Balance meter is that fights could last forever this way if the fighters on the screen are almost as powerful and skilled as each other. For example, P2 Cell can beat up P1 Goku until the balance meter is almost completely red. Then, P1 Goku might make a huge comeback and knock Cell down up and down, left and right across the screen until the meter shifts almost entirely to blue. Cell might then make a comeback and again shift the meter to red etc. The SP mode containing "What If ( _ Fought _ )" battles is also innovative and fun. I found SP mode to be a great deal more difficult than the Z Campaign mode before I learned some new techniques (see tips in next section of review), and it was just fun to challenge yourself by fighting 1 on 2 battles, even when your character was weaker than your opponent(s). The SP mode can be thought of as an extension of the Z Campaign mode in that SP covers some actual battles in the series (like 18 vs Chibi Trunks and Goten) that were not possible in the story mode. Tenkaichi Budoukai (aka Tournament) mode is missing, however. This mode is a common component of most DBZ games and I think adding it would have made the game even cooler. Legends also differs from Final Bout and UB 22 in its lack of a Build-Up mode. Personally, I feel that there is no need for this mode, as all the characters have the same moves during most of the fights and there will be no unique move to train at and make stronger. Overall, though, a nice and innovative job in the gameplay department.

- Tips / Techniques

The sure way to beat any opponent with ease...
(It's so easy it seems almost like a cheap cheating way to win a game heh heh)

When the 1 on 1 fight begins, power up and dash towards your opponent in your golden aura. Immediately flash your aura down when you reach your opponent. Give him a few normal kicks, powering in between the series of kicks to make sure that you don't run out of energy. Keep repeating this pattern of kicking him a few times and powerup slightly in between until you see that your opponent's ki bar is only half-filled. As your opponent's ki bar declines from the half-meter mark, he will begin to fly away quickly in order to power back up. Zoom after him and follow up with one series of kicks. He'll fly away again after this. Just zoom after him quickly again and kick him again. Keep repeating this until he runs out of ki, after which you should power up until your bar fills almost completely to prepare you for the next stage of the process - beating the crap out of your enemy. Since he has no ki left, you are now free to perform kicking/punching combos without fear of retaliation. I find that knocking your opponent down and across the screen repeatedly and powering up when your own ki comes close to 0 is the fastest way to shift the meter in your favor.
To ensure that this method works, you might want to fly away from your opponent the second he begins flying towards you at the very start of the game. Wait for him to come to you again and keep on flying away, so that he is provoked to waste his energy firing a chain of ki balls at you. Keep waiting for him and flying away from the ki ball chains until his energy is down halfway. Now, zoom to your opponent and follow up with a series of kicks until he flies away and tries to power up. After this, the situation degenerates into the above method, where you just chase and kick him until he runs out of ki.

When engaging in a 1 on 2 fight, choose the weaker opponent to beat down first (for example: Krillin if your opponents Krillin and Majin Vegeta). Fly away from the two until you see that your opponents are relatively far apart from each other. Now, zoom to your targeted character and barrage him with kicking combos, knocking him up and up into the sky to get him farther away from his partner (this way, his partner has a smaller chance of catching up with you and interfering with your fight with him). After knocking him up and across the screens a few times, knock him down to the ground and keep doing this until the Power Balance meter is swayed in your favor. Remember to power up in between - or you will most likely lose all your ki and be at the mercy of your opponents as they attack you and don't give you time to recover. Keep repeating this process until you have eliminated the weaker character. Now that he's gone, concentrate on the remaining opponent, using the first method described above in a 1 on 1 fight.

Follow these two general procedures and the Legends game will crumble before you and degenerate into possibly the easiest DBZ game ever made.

- Cheats

Just one cheat for this game - and there are no secret characters either...

999% in Z Campaign mode

Hold Select + Triangle + Square + X when the Z ranking screen is displayed at the end of any episode. Release the buttons, and then press Up of Down to change your Z rank. Raise the rank to 999% in order to view the special ending sequences.

(For the Saturn version, you can view the pictures underneath the menu and file screen unobstructed if you hold down X, Y, or Z when you are on those screens.)