Dragon Ball GT: Final Bout
Encyclopedia
Dragon Ball GT: Final Bout, known in Japan and Europe as , is a fighting game for the PlayStation. It was produced and released by Bandai in Japan, parts of Europe, and North America in 1997. The game would reissued in Europe in 2002 and in North America in 2004. The game shares the distinction of being the first game in the series to be rendered in full 3D, and the last Dragon Ball game produced for the console. There would not be another new Dragon Ball game for consoles until the release of Dragon Ball Z: Budokai
in 2002.
The game is similar to other fighters but features 3D environments and characters from the Z and GT series of Dragon Ball
franchise. Unique in the game were the special ki attacks called a Special Knockout Trick. These were the spectacular versions of the character's ki
attacks the player performed at a distance. When these attacks are performed, the camera would cut and pan to the attacking character who would power up and the player would fire. During the attacking character's power up, the opposing character would be giving the opportunity to either retaliate or block upon the moment the word counter would flash on the lower right hand corner of the screen. If the player chose to retaliate, they too would power up and fire a ki attack causing a power crossfire which the camera would ĝÖŞ around both characters ala bullet time. Depending on which player is pressing their button the fastest would determine who would receive the brunt of the blast. Another feature which was carried over from Legends, was a technique called Meteor Smash. With a key combo, players could ignite a chain of mêlée attacks.
with Kuko providing backup vocals. On September 12, 1997 nine of the compositions and the four songs would be released by Zain Records exclusive in Japan as . The Future Trunks theme arrangement "Hikari no Willpower" was featured as a hidden bonus track.
The game was first released in Japan in 1997 under its original title Dragon Ball: Final Bout. It fared enough in sales to be reissued under the PlayStation the Best for Family series a year later. In parts of Europe (France
, Spain
and Portugal
), the game was also released under the name Dragon Ball: Final Bout in 1997.
In North America, the game was released as Dragon Ball GT: Final Bout, and it was the first time a Dragon Ball video game was released in North America with the Dragon Ball license intact. Due to Dragon Ball's obscure popularity at the time, Bandai America only produced 10,000 copies of the game, thus making it a rare gem for collectors of both video games and Dragon Ball-related merchandise, with online retailers Amazon and eBay featuring prices for the game from $100 to $250.
In 2002 the game finally saw a release in the UK
, along with other European countries that previously didn't officially receive the game. Finally under little fanfare, Atari reissued the game in 2004 with brand new artwork supplied by Toei Animation. This release coincided with Funimation's dub of Dragon Ball GT.
voice talent. However, the voice effects still consist on the Japanese voice cast, causing the character voices to clash. The game's opening theme, "Biggest Fight", was replaced with an untitled instrumental rock track in the opening FMV. The cast credits at the end of the game, also set to "Biggest Fight" was removed completely. The two closing songs "Kimi o Wasurenai" and "Thank You!" remain instrumental even when the game is beaten at normal and difficult settings. However, Super Saiyan 4 Son Goku's theme, "Hero of Heroes", was left unchanged. At the title screen, the game's sound test is available, whereas in the original Japanese it was a secret that players could only access by holding down certain buttons at once. The Buildup data transfer option was removed due to the fact Ultimate Battle 22 had not been released at that time. When the game was reissued in 2004, the game's data was not altered in any way from its 1997 North American release by Bandai.
The European 1997 version, like with most European Dragon Ball Z releases from the 16-bit and 32-bit era, was released mostly unaltered from the Japanese version, featuring the original Japanese voice acting and with the game's opening theme "Biggest Fight" left intact. The game text was only translated to French and other languages besides English because of the lack of official release in any English-speaking country. When the game was re-issued in Europe in 2002 (which included a release for the first time in English-speaking countries like the UK
), the game was kept the same than the previous European version except for the texts being re-translated to English.
Another rumor was the story that Bandai came up with the game's character roster by sending out a questionnaire throughout Japan asking Dragon Ball fans what characters they would like to see in a Dragon Ball game. However, people dispute this, as such a story could not account for the multiple character incarnations, with the game featuring six playable incarnations of Goku. Even after ten years, neither branches of the now Namco Bandai
have either confirmed or denied this story.
Dragon Ball Z: Budokai (series)
The Dragon Ball Z: Budokai games are a series of fighting games based on the Dragon Ball media franchise.- Gameplay :The Budokai series plays like a typical 3-D fighting game. As well as including the regular punch and kick buttons, there is the ability to shoot Ki blasts. which can also be used in...
in 2002.
Gameplay
Dragon Ball
is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Akira Toriyama. It was originally serialized in Weekly Shōnen Jump from 1984 to 1995; later the 519 individual chapters were published into 42 tankōbon volumes by Shueisha. Dragon Ball was inspired by the classical Chinese novel Journey to the...
franchise. Unique in the game were the special ki attacks called a Special Knockout Trick. These were the spectacular versions of the character's ki
Qi
In traditional Chinese culture, qì is an active principle forming part of any living thing. Qi is frequently translated as life energy, lifeforce, or energy flow. Qi is the central underlying principle in traditional Chinese medicine and martial arts...
attacks the player performed at a distance. When these attacks are performed, the camera would cut and pan to the attacking character who would power up and the player would fire. During the attacking character's power up, the opposing character would be giving the opportunity to either retaliate or block upon the moment the word counter would flash on the lower right hand corner of the screen. If the player chose to retaliate, they too would power up and fire a ki attack causing a power crossfire which the camera would ĝÖŞ around both characters ala bullet time. Depending on which player is pressing their button the fastest would determine who would receive the brunt of the blast. Another feature which was carried over from Legends, was a technique called Meteor Smash. With a key combo, players could ignite a chain of mêlée attacks.
Battle Mode
The standard mode, here players can either face their friends or the computer in random battles.Tournament Mode
Like other Dragon Ball titles, this mode allows players to fight their friends or the computer in Budokai tournament. This mode can allow up to eight players to join in. Players can also play as their build up character.Build Up Mode
Carried over from Ultimate Battle 22, this feature gives player the chance to train a character of their choosing and save them via a memory card. Unlike Ultimate Battle 22, this version of the mode allows to build their characters strength to triple digit levels, and comes with experience chart in their character profile. Like Ultimate Battle 22, players have the opportunity to battle their friends with their character in the option called Build Up Battle.Playable Characters
The game's roster features a unique match up from the two Dragon Ball series. Primary starting with principal cast from the GT series Goku, Trunks, and Pan. This would also be the first game to feature her. While other characters Vegeta, Gohan, Piccolo, Cell, Frieza, and Buu would come straight from the Z series. The only character unplayble would be Baby Vegeta in his Oozaru form. An exclusive to the game was the adult Super Saiyan form of Goku in his GT outfit which an unlockable character. Other unlockable characters were the Super Saiyan forms of GT kid Goku and Trunks, Z series Goku, Future Trunks, and Vegeto. The final was the Super Saiyan 4 form of Goku.Naming conventions
The original Japanese release of the game was unique for its naming conventions for all the characters. All the adult incarnation of Goku are referred by his full name "Son Goku" (孫悟空) while his child incarnation is referred simply as "Goku" (悟空), and his Z series incarnation is presented in all capital rōmaji "SON GOKOU". GT Trunks is naturally referred by his katakana "トランクス". While Future Trunks is presented in all capital English text "TRUNKS". Nearly all Super Saiyan characters are referred with the prefix Super (超), and Super Saiyan 4 Son Goku is referred as "Super 4 Son Goku" (超4孫悟空). This also applies to the super form of Oozaru Baby Vegeta who is referred as "Super Baby" (スーパーベビー). Both Vegeta and Vegito are simply referred as Vegeta and Vegetto and not Super Vegeta and Super Vegito despite they are both in Super Saiyan form. Finally, Kid Boo is referred as simply "Buu" (ブウ).Voice cast
| Character | Japanese | English |
|---|---|---|
| Son Goku Son Goku (Dragon Ball) Goku, known as in the English-language manga and original Japanese-language version, is a fictional character and the main protagonist of the Dragon Ball franchise created by Akira Toriyama. He is loosely based on Sun Wukong, a central character in Journey to the West... |
Masako Nozawa Masako Nozawa is a Japanese voice actress and actress affiliated with Office Nozawa. Her pet name is Mako. Her husband, Masa'aki Tsukada is also a voice actor.... |
Steven Blum Steven Blum Steven Jay Blum is an American voice actor known primarily for his work in anime dubs and video games, using his distinctive deep voice. Among his credits include the voice of Spike Spiegel of the anime series Cowboy Bebop and Mugen of the anime series Samurai Champloo... |
| Vegeta Vegeta is a fictional character and antihero in the Dragon Ball franchise created by Akira Toriyama. Vegeta first appeared in the manga chapter #204 first published in Weekly Shōnen Jump magazine on December 19, 1988, and in episode 5 of its anime adaptation Dragon Ball Z... |
Ryo Horikawa Ryo Horikawa is a Japanese voice actor. He is married to fellow Japanese voice actress Hitomi Oikawa, whose birth name is also . His former stage name is also Ryo Horikawa, which has his given name, Makoto, pronounced as Ryo.-Career:... |
Milton James Milton James Milton James is a voice actor who also uses the pseudonyms Richard Barnes, Milt Jamin, and Murray Williams.- Anime :*Lensman - Zuilk*Ghost in the Shell *The Castle of Cagliostro - Jodo... |
| Piccolo Piccolo (Dragon Ball) is a fictional character from the Dragon Ball manga, authored by Akira Toriyama. Piccolo was first introduced as the reincarnation of the evil Piccolo Daimao in chapter #167 first published in Weekly Shonen Jump magazine on April 4, 1988, making him a demon and archrival of the primary... |
Toshio Furukawa Toshio Furukawa is a Japanese voice actor affiliated with Aoni Production and is married to fellow voice actress Shino Kakinuma. His height is 164cm. Hobbies are Fishing, diorama, reading and movies.In July 2011, Furukawa appeared at Anime Expo as a guest.-Career/Personal:... |
Dan Woren Dan Woren Daniel E. Woren is an American voice actor who is also known as Jackson Daniels, Warren Daniels, Dan Warren, Daniel Woren, and Dan Worren... |
| Trunks | Takeshi Kusao Takeshi Kusao is a Japanese voice actor who works for Aoni Production.Among his many roles, he is best known as the voices of Future Trunks , Hanamichi Sakuragi , Lamune , Ryo Sanada , Cless Alvein , Yukimura Sanada , and Dororo is a Japanese voice actor who works for Aoni Production.Among his many roles, he is... |
Skip Stellrecht Skip Stellrecht Skip Stellrecht is a voice actor who is also known as Henry Douglas Grey.- Anime Roles :* .hack//Liminality .... Guard B... |
| Kid Goku | Masako Nozawa | Brianne Siddall Brianne Siddall Brianne Siddall is an American voice actress. She is usually cast in the short kid role of a timid young boy. She was also a voice actress during the Power Rangers era who was active in the franchise until it moved to New Zealand in 2003... |
| Pan | Yūko Minaguchi Yuko Minaguchi is a Japanese seiyū from Tokyo who is affiliated with Aoni Production.-Notable voice roles:* Princess Apricot in Bosco Adventure * Yumi in Blue Sonnet * Yawara Inokuma and Kaneko Inokuma in Yawara!... |
Lia Sargent Lia Sargent Lia Sargent is an American voice actress. She is known for extensive anime and video game voice work and has also done ADR directing and script writing for Animaze.. iNC... |
| Son Gohan Son Gohan is a fictional character from the Dragon Ball universe created by Akira Toriyama as a protagonist for the media franchise, which consists of a series of manga, anime, soundtracks, movies, television specials, video games, and other collectibles... |
Masako Nozawa | Lex Lang Lex Lang Walter Alexis "Lex" Lang is a two-time Emmy Award–winning American voice actor, producer and entrepreneur. He is the cofounder of The Love Planet Foundation, a non-profit organization which creates educational materials for children on the importance of recycling, world water awareness, and the... |
| Cell Cell (Dragon Ball) is a fictional character and villain in the Dragon Ball universe created by Akira Toriyama. The character was created as a main antagonist in the series, after the studio responsible for the publication of the material he wrote was dissatisfied with Toriyamas previous concepts for enemies to the... |
Norio Wakamoto Norio Wakamoto is a veteran male seiyū and budō expert affiliated with Sigma Seven. He was born in Shimonoseki, Yamaguchi Prefecture, and was raised in Sakai, Osaka Prefecture. He graduated from Waseda University... |
Tom Wyner Tom Wyner Thomas Halperin "Tom" Wyner is an English-born voice actor for anime series who usually gets tough guy or villain roles. He is also a producer, director, and writer... |
| Baby Vegeta | Yusuke Numata Yusuke Numata is a seiyū who is affiliated with Aoni Production. His old stage name was .- Television animation :*Atashin'chi *Aoki Densetsu Shoot *Mobile Suit Gundam SEED *Konjiki no Gash Bell!!... |
Joe Romersa Joe Romersa Joseph M. Romersa is an American song writer, drummer, multi-instrumentalist, producer, sound engineer and vocalist.... |
| Frieza | Ryusei Nakao Ryusei Nakao , known by his stage name , is a Japanese actor, singer, and voice actor from Tōkyō Metropolis, Japan. He is attached to 81 Produce. He has also worked under the name of .... |
Eddie Frierson Eddie Frierson Edward Davies "Eddie" Frierson is an American voice actor and stage actor who is also known as Christy Mathewson, Ted Richards, and Eric Frierson Edward Davies "Eddie" Frierson (born November 22, 1959) is an American voice actor and stage actor who is also known as Christy Mathewson, Ted Richards,... |
| Kid Buu | Kōzō Shioya Kozo Shioya Kōzō Shioya is a veteran seiyū born in Kagoshima Prefecture. He is currently represented by Aoni Production... |
Dougary Grant |
| Vegito | Masako Nozawa/Ryo Horikawa | Steven Blum/Milton James |
Music
The composition was done once again by Kenji Yamamoto. Out of all the pieces used in game only five were new material, and the rest were remixed arrangements of previously used music from both 16 and 32bit eras. The game also featured four brand new songs, the opening theme "Biggest Fight", the closing themes "Kimi o Wasurenai" and "Thank You", and Goku's Super Saiyan 4 theme "Hero of Heroes". All performed by Hironobu KageyamaHironobu Kageyama
is a Japanese musical artist prominent in the soundtracks for anime, video game, and tokusatsu productions. He is sometimes called Kami by his fans. Kageyama got his big break at age 16, as lead singer of the pop group Lazy. By the early '80s, the band split and Kageyama went solo...
with Kuko providing backup vocals. On September 12, 1997 nine of the compositions and the four songs would be released by Zain Records exclusive in Japan as . The Future Trunks theme arrangement "Hikari no Willpower" was featured as a hidden bonus track.
| Track Listing | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| class="wikitable" border="1" style="width:100%;"> | ||||
| # | Japanese title | Romaji title | Translated English title | Length |
| 1. | 「THE BIGGEST FIGHT ～激突～」 | "The Biggest Fight" ~Gekitotsu~ | The Biggest Fight: Clash | 3:32 |
| 2. | 「冒険の旅」～Classic arrange version～ | "Bōken no Tabi" ~Classic arrange version~ | Journey of Adventure: Classical Arrangement Version | 2:41 |
| 3. | 「孫悟空 Son Goku (Dragon Ball) Goku, known as in the English-language manga and original Japanese-language version, is a fictional character and the main protagonist of the Dragon Ball franchise created by Akira Toriyama. He is loosely based on Sun Wukong, a central character in Journey to the West... 演部曲」～Classic Arrange Version～ |
"Son Gokū Enbu-Kyoku" ~Classic Arrange Version~ | Son Goku's Fighting Routine Waltz: Classical Arrange Version | 2:56 |
| 4. | 「孫悟空、新たな飛翔！」～Powerful arrange version～ | "Son Gokū, Arata na Hishō!" ~Powerful arrange version~ | Son Goku's New Flight!: Powerful Arrange Version | 3:50 |
| 5. | 君を忘れない | Kimi o Wasurenai | I Won't Forget You | 3:54 |
| 6. | 「山吹色の戦士」～Symphony classic version～ | "Yamabuki-Iro no Senshi" ~Symphony classic version~ | The Golden Warrior: Symphony Classical Version' | 3:54 |
| 7. | 交響曲・ニ短調「魔人」 | Kōkyōkyoku Nitanchō "Majin" | Symphony in D-minor: "Majin" | 4:39 |
| 8. | 「閃光のポタラ！」～Techno house version～ | "Senkō no Potara!" ~Techno House Version | The Gleaming Potara!: Techno House Version | 5:08 |
| 9. | THANK YOU ! | Thank You! | Thank You! | 3:53 |
| 10. | 「パンの願い」～Piano Ballad version～ | "Pan no Negai" ~Piano Ballad version~ | Wish of Pan: Piano Ballad Version | 1:12 |
| 11. | 交響詩「復讐」 | Kōkyōshi "Fukushū" | Symphonic Poem: "Revenge" | 4:22 |
| 12. | HERO OF HEROES | Hero of Heroes | Hero of Heroes | 5:00 |
| Hidden bonus track | 光のWILL POWER | Hikari no WILL POWER | Willpower of Light | 4:56 |
Ports
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
and Portugal
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
), the game was also released under the name Dragon Ball: Final Bout in 1997.
In North America, the game was released as Dragon Ball GT: Final Bout, and it was the first time a Dragon Ball video game was released in North America with the Dragon Ball license intact. Due to Dragon Ball's obscure popularity at the time, Bandai America only produced 10,000 copies of the game, thus making it a rare gem for collectors of both video games and Dragon Ball-related merchandise, with online retailers Amazon and eBay featuring prices for the game from $100 to $250.
In 2002 the game finally saw a release in the UK
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, along with other European countries that previously didn't officially receive the game. Finally under little fanfare, Atari reissued the game in 2004 with brand new artwork supplied by Toei Animation. This release coincided with Funimation's dub of Dragon Ball GT.
Localization
When the game was released throughout North America, several changes were made for localization. Naturally, dialog by the Japanese voice actors was replaced, but not by the then current voice cast at Ocean Group. Instead, Bandai America decided to use an uncredited cast of USUnited States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
voice talent. However, the voice effects still consist on the Japanese voice cast, causing the character voices to clash. The game's opening theme, "Biggest Fight", was replaced with an untitled instrumental rock track in the opening FMV. The cast credits at the end of the game, also set to "Biggest Fight" was removed completely. The two closing songs "Kimi o Wasurenai" and "Thank You!" remain instrumental even when the game is beaten at normal and difficult settings. However, Super Saiyan 4 Son Goku's theme, "Hero of Heroes", was left unchanged. At the title screen, the game's sound test is available, whereas in the original Japanese it was a secret that players could only access by holding down certain buttons at once. The Buildup data transfer option was removed due to the fact Ultimate Battle 22 had not been released at that time. When the game was reissued in 2004, the game's data was not altered in any way from its 1997 North American release by Bandai.
The European 1997 version, like with most European Dragon Ball Z releases from the 16-bit and 32-bit era, was released mostly unaltered from the Japanese version, featuring the original Japanese voice acting and with the game's opening theme "Biggest Fight" left intact. The game text was only translated to French and other languages besides English because of the lack of official release in any English-speaking country. When the game was re-issued in Europe in 2002 (which included a release for the first time in English-speaking countries like the UK
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
), the game was kept the same than the previous European version except for the texts being re-translated to English.
Reception
Akin to many Dragon Ball licensed games, the critical response to Final Bout was less than stellar. Frequent criticisms included sluggish controls and an overcharge of playable Goku incarnations.Rumors
During the game's lifespan, false rumors began to pop up online about the game's roster of secret characters which claimed to contain Gogeta, Gotenks, Goten, and Pilaf. To add to the confusion, gaming sites like GameFAQs began posting guides featuring said secret characters and methods to unlock them. The methods involved the player having to beat the game an unreasonable number of times and on their next round of play beat the game with a character that would be associated with said character without losing a match. After more than ten years since the game's initial release, no such proof that any of the characters in question actually exist within the game's data.Another rumor was the story that Bandai came up with the game's character roster by sending out a questionnaire throughout Japan asking Dragon Ball fans what characters they would like to see in a Dragon Ball game. However, people dispute this, as such a story could not account for the multiple character incarnations, with the game featuring six playable incarnations of Goku. Even after ten years, neither branches of the now Namco Bandai
Namco Bandai
, also known as the Bandai Namco Group, is a Japanese holding company formed from the merger of Namco and Bandai. It has interests in toys, video games and arcades, anime, and amusement parks. The new entity was founded on September 29, 2005...
have either confirmed or denied this story.