Dragonball Z Budokai 1 PS2 Has Gone Platinum!!!
If you live in New Zealand you've probably seen the ad for Platinum PS2 games and how a game has to sell 500,000 copies in NZ and Australia for the game to go platinum and how difficult this is. Well anyway it seems that the first Dragonball Z Budokai PS2 game has gone platinum!! What does this mean? Well it means that the game will get a cool new silvery packaging and the recommended retail price is lowered down to NZ $59.95 from its original price of $110.95 but the game itself will be exactly the same. This new platinum version of the game will be released on October 3rd. Strangely the Platinum version will have the same inner cover as the original USA version. If you remember the USA has this cover but the NZ/Australia cover was this one, well the new platinum cover will be this. Weird, huh?
October's going to be a big month for DBZ/GT with Dragonball GT, DBZ Movie 8, Budokai 1 PS2 Platinum, Budokai 1 Gamecube and DBZ Taiktetsu for Gameboy Advance all being released in the same month (See release dates for each in the left hand margin further down the page).
Speaking of Dragonball Z Taiketsu the Official Dragonball Z Website now has the trailer for the game avaliable for download so make sure you check it out and I'll give you my thoughts on it on Monday. Taiketsu is a DBZ fighting game for the Gameboy Advance which will be released on October 20th in New Zealand. See more info on the game including what the word Taiketsu means by clicking here.
Finally today I've just received a word that says that DBZ: Budokai for the Nintendo Gamecube will have a very limited release in New Zealand so if you miss out on the first shipment that will proably be it! If you want the game then I suggest you preorder now to gurantee yourself a copy. Thanks to Game Planet for the heads up!
29th August 2003 by gohan2k
Dragonball GT NZ Release Date CONFIRMED!!!
I am happy to announce that Manga Entertainemnt New Zealand has announced the official New Zealand release date for the first two volumes of Dragonball GT (Affliction and Incubation) as well as the NZ release for Dragonball Z Movie 8 has been revealed as being all released on Friday October 17th. I am especially impressed with the Broly movie being released so close to the USA release date of three days ago while usually we would have to wait 4-5 months (like we did for Movie 7) we only have to wait two months. Anyway like I just mentioned the Broly movie was released three days ago in America and some features have been announced including the three Broly CCG cards included inside the release plus a special 20 minute video on the making of The Legacy of Goku 2. I doubt very much that the cards would be included in the NZ/OZ release but the Legacy of Goku 2 video will most likely be...
In other news a DBZ website has revealed what is said to be the cover of the upcoming DBZ video game for the PS2 - Dragonball Z Budokai 2 which you can see by clicking here. Thanks to DBZSC for this news. Even if this is the real cover they will probably have a different cover for the NZ/Australia release anyway like with Budokai 1 so why am I mentioning it? I don't know....
Only a shortwhile after celebrating 200 consecutive weeks on the Lycos Top 50 Dragonball Z slipped to its lowest ranking since 1999 with a sad rank of #11 due to thing like the Blaster computer virus and the fact that Britney Spears posed topless in a British magazine. Even when the attacks on the World Trade Center happened in 2001 Dragonball Z never slipped below the #10 rank. Happily though it seems to have regained ground with its current ranking of #6.
And now to some unrelated to DBZ news with the announcement that the voice of Yugi in Yu-Gi-Oh! will no longer be attending the Wellington Armageddon in September but has been replaced by two other voice actors who do two of Yu-Gi-Oh!'s villains - Marik and Pegasus
Thought of the day: Man its weird seeing kids into Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles! When I was six I was a massive fan of the show (Raphael was my favourite while my brothers was Michaelangelo) and now the seires has been revived as an anime which screens in NZ at 4.30pm Fridays on TV3 and kids are into it, buying the figures...etc. Its just weird...
25th August 2003 by gohan2k
DBZ Taikestu NZ Release Date Announced, Budokai 2 Info
Sorry for the lack of updates but like I've already mentioned I'm only updating when theres actually news to report so I can concentrate on working on the DVD Guide which is taking a lot longer than I thought.
Anyway onto the news and it seems that Dragonball Z: Taiketsu for the Gameboy Advance has been given a New Zealand release date. Taiketsu will be released in New Zealand on October 20th which is a whole week before DBZ Budokai is out for Nintendo Gamecube here.
Speaking of DBZ Budokai the sequel for the PS2 version is coming out in December and three new pages of screenshots have been revealed which you can see here. They show for the first time what Teen Gohan, Piccolo, Goten and Kid Trunks will look like. It has already been revealed that characters will be able to fuse but now its been revealed that you can also do absorptions! So if you ever wanted to know what Super Buu would of looked like if he absorbed Vegito then you'll find out when the game is released! Find out more ifno about DBZ Taiketsu and DBZ Budokai 2 by clicking on their links.
20th August 2003 by gohan2k
Frieza Saga Boxset Part 2 NZ Release Announced
Hi everyone sorry for the lack of updates but theres really been no news to report so I decided against just doing updates that are just me blabbering on on what I'm doing/plan to do but rather I decided to wait for some actual news to come and now there is so here we go..
Manga Entertainment has announced the release date for the Series 2 Boxset Part Two which contains part two of the Frieza saga and the Garlic Junior saga all on DVD in one boxset. The set will be released on Friday 19th September for a recommended retail price of NZ $220.
The Wellington Armageddon Pulp Culture Expo in September was not planning on having a DBZ CCG tournament as they already have Yu-Gi-Oh! and Beyblade tournaments happening but they've changed their minds and now on the Sunday (21st September there will be a DBZ CCG tournament. If you're intrested in competing then click here to find out all the info you need to know.
Finally today there has been quite a bit of stuff to do with Dragonball Z in the latest The Warehouse catalogue which some of you may be interested in. Series 10 and 11 of the Dragonball Z figures are a massive 60% off down to only $6.99 and include such characters as Majin Buu, SSJ3 Goku and Supreme Kai with Kibito. As a special deal you can now buy the PS-One Dragonball Z video game Ultimate Battle 22 for $69.99 and get a free Dragonball Z video which it seems is a random Frieza or Garlic Junior saga video so if your interested in this one just pick the video you want most! Its also a good time to buy Dragonball Z Long Sleeve T-Shirts and Sweatshirts for a very low $5-$10
15th August 2003 by gohan2k
Dragonball Movie "The Path to Power" Release Announced!
Recently announced at Manifest 2003 in Australia was that Dragonball movie 4 "The Path to Power" will be released in Australia in November which will mean a December release for New Zealand. "The Path to Power" was released in 1996 to celebrate the tenth anniversary of the Dragonball anime and features greatly improved graphics compared to the Dragonball and Dragonball Z series. Its a retelling of the first few episodes of Dragonball and was released in the USA in April this year. Here's a preview of what its about...
When an adventure hungry girl named Bulma runs across, and nearly runs over, a bizarre young boy with strange powers named Goku, she finds herself thrust into an adventure that will last a lifetime! Together they set out to recover the mystical Dragon Balls, artifacts of incredible power! Legend says that whomever collects all seven Dragonballs can call forth the awesome Eternal Dragon, a powerful creature that will grant whatever wish their heart desires!
But there is another interested party eager to control the power of the Dragon Balls. They are known as the Red Ribbon Army, and they will stop at nothing to use the Dragon Balls to achieve their wish of total world domination!
Along the way Goku will find out that the greatest power of all lies within himself. This is the start of friendship and of fury. This is where legend begins!
Sounds interesting doesn't it? If your'e going to the Wellington Armageddon Pulp Culture Expo on September 22nd then you will be able to watch the movie there. It has been suggested that Madman may use this movies release as an into to the Dragonball series as the Pilaf saga (Dragonball episodes 1-13) cannot be released due to licensing isues they may just skip straight to the Tournament saga and continue from there but we shall see....
13th August 2003 by gohan2k
Taiketsu Preview Update
In between the creation of what will become a massive DVD Guide I added all the recent info and new screenshots about Dragonball Z: Taiketsu to the DBZ: Taiketsu Preview page. Admittedly the DVD Guide is taking longer than I thought it would but in the long run I think it will be worth it. If you haven't already seen the preview for the DVD Guide then make sure you check it out by clicking here. Just remember that its not the final design as I may alter it slightly, add more info etc
12th August 2003 by gohan2k
New Dragonball Z Taiketsu Info and Screenshots
New information and screenshots have ben revealed about the upcoming Gameboy Advance game, Dragonball Z: Taiketsu have been revealed. In addition to the already revealed characters in the game (Goku, Gohan, Vegeta, Trunks, Frieza, Piccolo, Cell, Fat Buu, Nappa, Raditz, Brolli and Gotenks) new characters revealed include Krillin, Great Saiyaman and Android 18 while new fighting locations revealed include Snakeway, Kami's Lookout and the innards of Buu. Also revealed in the cover for the game which you can see by clicking here. Finally other info revealed included is that there will be a Jukebox (which may just be a fancy way of saying that you can select the background sound) and an image galllery! All this information thanks to Gamespot. Check out the game screenshots here. For more info on DBZ: Taiketsu click here
11th August 2003 by gohan2k
DBZ Episodes Redub, DVD Guide Preview
At an anime conevention in the USA Funimation representative, Lance Heiskell made sveral announcements concerning the Dragonball series. Heres an edited version of what he said from the Anime News Network post...
"Greeting an audience of over one hundred fans on Friday night, Lance...kicked off the panel by mentioning some of the upcoming release dates for the next few months. Among these included game releases, such as Budokai for the Gamecube, complete with the Toriyama-style shading feature, which will be available on September 15. A PS2 version of Budokai will hit stores on December 9. Also, Dragonball Z: Taiketsu on September 28 for the Gameboy Advance.....
As for television plans, Dragonball GT will being airing on Cartoon Network [only in the USA] starting October 3, Fridays at 6:30 ET/PT. The series will start at episode 16, the same as the Funimation DVD release. Heiskell did assure that the first 15 episodes would eventually be released.
New Dragonball Episodes will begin airing in October at a 5:30PM timeslot [also only in the USA]....
The first 56 episodes of Dragonball Z are being redubbed and already in production. Chuck Huber will be the ADR Director for the project........"
That Funimation has started redoing the first 56 episodes is good news and it means that sometime next year we will hopefully be able to see the Saiyan and Namek sagas completely uncut. When this episodes were originally made 5 hours of footage (15 episodes worth) was cut. This footage will be restored for this new release and the voice actors from episode 54+ will be doing the vocie work so all episodes of DBZ will have the same voices! The music is currently not known but I would hope it will be done by Bruce Faulconer in for continuity purposes although its more likely that Mark Menza will do it...Whats also not known is if this redub will be releases in New Zealand and Australia although I would sincerely hope so! I would expect this redub to be released in NZ and Australia (if ever) at the earliest in mid 2004.....
As promised I have a preview for you of the upcoming DVD Guide to give you all a good idea of what it wil be like. This particular DVD is Dragonball Z Volume 3.19 Cell Games - The Games Begin so click here to see the page. The DVD Guide will be avalible after I complete all the DVD's I currently have which is about 50 and I've done 8 so far so it will be a little while yet...
Finally today I've got the final part of the "When Bulma Attacks" fan comic for you all to see. This final part reveals the outcome of the fight between Bulma and Vegeta so make sure you check it out at the bottom of this page!
9th August 2003 by gohan2k
Happy 3rd Birthday Gohan Extreme 3000...One Week Ago...
Okay let me explain this...I was getting all geared up for this sites third birthday which at the time I thought was on Friday 8th August but on the day before I discovered that this site was actually began August 2nd 2003 but anyway the point remains that this site has been going for three years which is quite a long time for a website and I am currently aiming at keeping this site alive for five years which would mean it would have to continue until at least August 2nd 2005...
On the news side of things it's still pretty quiet apart from the rather big news that Dragonball GT will begin screening on Cartoon Network in the USA on October 3rd and will screen Friday's at 6.30pm. Its not currently known whether the episodes will begin at episode 16 like on the video releases but I would assume that this would happen. This affects New Zealand and will mean that GT will most likely begin screening on TV3 I would think in June next year.
Although I'm not adding much news to the site recently I'm working on the New Zealand and Australia DBZ DVD Guide and although I had planned to give you a preview of it today that didn't happen due to technical reasons but hopefully on Monday I will be able to give you a good look at what it will be like...
7th August 2003 by gohan2k
No Dragonball Release in November
Sorry about the lack of updates recently but theres hass really been no news to report rcently and it seems we've entered a quiet period and from what I can tell most people are finding this site by searching for video game related things such as DBZ Taiketsu or DBZ Budokai 2.
Anyway it seems that November will be a free month from any Dragonball related releases. While October will see the release of two GT volumes and DBZ Movie 8 there will be nothing released in November. Personally I thought that two more volumes of GT as well as Dragonball would be released but theres none at this stage. Of course theres still a chance that there will be something Dragonball related although October is already pakced full with other releases for such anime as Fruits Basket, Cowboy Bebop and Escaflowne.
I have been working on a new section recently which is the DVD Guide which will give you all the info you need to know on all of the Dragonball Z DVD's released in New Zealand and Australia.
On Monday: A preview of the DBZ DVD Guide plus the final part of When Bulma Attacks!