Chapter 442: Dragonball: Pre-Mystical Adventure
Consequently, as much as it was a highlight for others, Alexander didn't actually linger on the matter for too long.
Since it's just the first of many for him. First of the many Dragon Quests to come. Or somewhere along those lines.
Especially with his advanced Game Engine already geared towards specialized RPG-esque development, along with his handpicked GameDevs having quite the enthusiasm for exploring more of what the genre has to offer.
In that case, Alexander simply moved on.
From the 14th to the 15th.
Where the roster housed a video game that's really about Dragonball.
Or, at the very least, the Pre-Mystical Adventure that came before it.
But before all that, he had to self-address the fact that he really doubled down on the dragon theme for this combo.
It's almost as if it's a Double Dragon of his own. Sort of.
Which just beckons back to that memory that he thought about that certain beat 'em up and the other brawlers of the same mold, before he was so rudely or lewdly interrupted by the birthday girl of that day.
It was only a month or so ago, and some dynamics really do change a lot within that short of a time period.
Details that are somewhat of note, but are really beside the point.
So, onwards to what this Dragonball video game is all about.
Then again, that line actually led him astray unto a thoughtful spiral, as video games about Dragonball are quite the breed.
Not really of the draconic kind, but they are something.
Excluding some of the other Toriyama-laced game titles, there's Dragon Daihikyou. Or roughly translated as The Great Unexplored Dragon Region.
The very first Dragon Ball video game ever released. Of the old timeline, that is.
With the game being an overhead shoot 'em up that allows players to take on the role of Goku, passing through stages while riding on the Flying Nimbus in order to collect the Dragon Balls.
Especially since a Dragon Ball is hidden at the end of each stage, collecting it allows the player to clear the stage.
On the Nimbus, Goku can fire the Kamehameha or swat with his Power Pole to defeat the enemies or destroy objects in front of him
Intriguingly enough, food appears after defeating said enemies.
Involving a mechanic wherein whenever Goku gets hungry, his attack power will decrease, and the Power Pole will become shorter.
Various characters can also appear when Goku destroys objects. Even Bulma appears occasionally and throws out capsules containing various bonuses for Goku.
Not to be left behind is Master Roshi.
Wherein touching the old man makes Goku enter training mode, which is a fighting game-style mode in which Goku has to fight Roshi by using punches and kicks.
By defeating him, Goku's Kamehameha will be powered up during two levels. During the second training session, Roshi starts using the Kamehameha himself.
Correspondingly, a bunch of the others also appear in said game, from Oolong to Yamcha and so on.
And that's about it.
Accurately showcasing the standards of games that are not strictly of video game origins. Given that they're adapted from an existing property that's outside of the industry.
For the most part, they don't have that good of a rep for a variety of reasons... and although there's some semblance of effort on this, it still has the same look and feel as the disastrous ET.
Which is as apt as Alexander could be with it.
Especially since there's still Shenron no Nazo, of the same category. Aside from somewhat exploring the mystery of Shenron... it's really just a Zelda-esque game and not a shmup as before.
Not too far off but actually quite a ways off from the first two, is the third, titled Daimao Fukkatsu.
Or the Great Demon King's revival. This one's actually an RPG. And a Japan exclusive for the most part.
The fourth video game is strangely Dragon Ball 3: Gokuden. Another RPG that's supposedly about Goku's story.
All of the aforementioned is, of course, restricted to the classic.
What followed is obviously everything Z, as it's the reign of Dragon Ball Z.
Kicking off with Dragon Ball I: Kyoshu! Saiyan, an RPG. With its sequel, Dragon Ball II: Gekishin Frieza.
In between, there's an unrelated but still an RPG of the name, Super Saiya Densetsu.
And then there's the third-parter, Dragon Ball III: Ressen Jenzingen.
Fortunately, in a bit of fresh air from all the RPGs being dished out... Dragon Ball Z: Gekito Tenkaichi Budokai came along.
The very first fighting game of this long line-up. And the very genre shift that actually shows a lot of promise, especially with its flight and levitation mechanics.
Then again, from 1993 and onwards, it's pretty much just the likes of Dragon Ball Z: Super Butoden, Dragon Ball Z Gaiden: Saiyajin Zetsumetsu Keikaku, Dragon Ball Z: Super Butoden II, Dragon Ball Z: V.R.V.S., Dragon Ball Z: Goku Hishoden, Dragon Ball Z: Buyu Retsuden, Dragon Ball Z: Super Butoden 3, Dragon Ball Z: Idainaru Son Goku Densetsu, Dragon Ball Z 2: Super Battle, Dragon Ball Z: Goku Gekitoden, Dragon Ball Z: Super Gokuden: Tetsugeki-Hen, Dragon Ball Z: Ultimate Battle 22, Dragon Ball Z: Super Gokuden: Kakusei-Hen, Dragon Ball Z: Shin Butoden, Dragon Ball Z: Hyper Dimension, Dragon Ball Z: The Legend.
And before the whole thing becomes an indecipherable coded script of alternating Dragon Ball Z games... Dragon Ball GT: Final Bout was there to finally break the streak.
Not that it amounted to anything as by the time the 2000s came along... weird offerings like 'Dragon Ball Z: Collectible CD Picture Cards' and 'Dragon Ball Z: Collectible Card Game' still became something.
But maybe it's best to stop it there, as Alexander himself was not even really sure how and why he tinkered with these many forgettable titles.
Much more so that he actually remembered them.
Must be the curse of a hyper-enhanced memory.
Not that it was all bad.
Since it's really good at being advanced in a lot of stuff.
It's even nifty enough to lead Alexander's thoughtful direction towards a 2004 game called... Dragon Ball: Advanced Adventure. A game for the Game Boy Advanced.
As for its relevance, well, it's the type of Dragon Ball game that his own Dragonball game is aspiring for.
An action-packed fighting and brawler hybrid, with some semblance of platforming and a story mode.
The Story Mode particularly follows Goku as he goes on the adventure of his lifetime.
Most of the manga's story arcs are here; with the antagonist encounters being the boss stages to beat.
Granted, Alexander didn't go for the full copy-pasting as he usually does.
Especially as there are still only a few arcs and the first season's entire run to go for, even with it being extended enough to span 20-plus episodes.
Not that he was going to willy-nilly-ly gamify all of that.
After telling the whole sequence via comic books and re-telling it into a cartoon... he wasn't about telltale it again in a different medium.
He also wasn't about to retail it as a book nor would he remake that tale again as a movie.
It would just be too much. From comic, into a cartoon, into a video game, into some book, and into a movie... with the same rehashed plot that fits the corresponding medium all over again.
Who would even do that?
Well... probably Alexander.
Yet as much as he was up for squeezing the value of Dragon Ball dry... he didn't want to go the stupid route.
This is why his adapted game is called Dragonball: Pre-Mystical Adventure.
Not for the pretty mystical adventure that it must be... but for the prequel that it is.
So, basically... it's Goku's adventure before Bulma came along.
As that wasn't actually the first time that Grandpa Gohan's four-star Dragonball was coveted.
Just after the old man's death, a giant Pterodactyl swooped in to take the shiny orange gem away.
Kickstarting the game, as Goku sets out to retrieve his closest relative's memorabilia
But this adventure was anything but easy.
The little monkey boy was about to find out the dangers that lurk in Mount Paozu and beyond.
From wolf packs copied from Advanced Adventure... to bears that put Bear Thief to mediocrity... other ferocious animals that could be found in forests... and even the other giant dinosaurs that are canon in the Dragonball-verse.
Goku was set to punch-kick combo them all, with the Power Pole to add variety to the brawling and platforming that he was going to go through.
He's even going to be given a chance to ride a weird-looking dinosaur that suspiciously looks like Yoshi.
But it's not to put a wrench in Nintendo and Mario's plans. Nope... not at all...
As it's not just mountainous forests that he's up against... he also going to the lake and explores more of the Big Fishes that he regularly fishes.
Which actually segways to the hungry Saiyan mechanic that he's including, wherein food like fruits and whatnot are collected by Goku on the go. A substitute for coins, stars, and whatnot.
But moving on from that, there's even a hidden bandit lair as it's not just a hermit martial artist that makes use of this secluded mountain.
Weirdly enough, these bandits have advanced weaponry and red RR ribbons symbolizing them. And it's really not an easter egg to the next upcoming comic arc... nope... not at all...
Anyways, the last and final boss is obviously the giant Pterodactyl, who lives at the top of Mount Paozu.
Then again, it's up to the players or buyers to find out what it has in stall for them. Maybe some Chobi heritage, but what even is that?
It's all proposed to be mystical anyway.
Overall, it's actually a game unlike any other.
Not necessarily an indication of positive uniqueness, but an indication of what Alexander achieved without ripping something by too much.
It's sort of original and he's sort of pleased with that, in his own way.
Hopefully, it just translates well enough in sales and reception and whatnot.
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Not that the very Alexander Creed himself had anything to worry about.
Anything that had that name, and especially that surname, attached to it was a sure hit.
At least, in many and plenty of comic book stores, GameKeys and their corresponding manuals were flying off the shelves.
Irregardless of what the title or how part of a quadruple it was, it was being bought.
And those that bought, played the heck of it as soon as they can.
Dragonball: Pre-Mystical Adventure included.