Fan Game - Goku's Tale (2024 June - v0.6.2)

[Giga Hertz]

Current Release: v0.6.2 (June 2024)
Currently in Development: v1.0 - General Improvements

Changelog​

Goku's Tale is a retelling of Dragon Ball from the start, in JRPG format. The game is still in development, but the entirety of the story is playable. It's just a little something I'm working on in my spare time for fun, and currently I'm looking for feedback and suggestions.

Download the game:


The website:

Dragon Ball RPG - Goku's Tale

Current Version and Download

sites.google.com

Please give the game a go, and if you have any comments, questions or suggestions, feel free to let me know!

​

 

[Beerus]

This is fine to share.

 

[Blockinlick]

I think I may check this out later.

 

[Blockinlick]

Initial thoughts.
I'm always frank about game reviewing, so there's no offense intended if what I say is harsh.

-The beginning is cool. The right music to start it off for sure.

-One of things you're going to have to do to please most DB fans is make everything authentically DB. I noticed most of the enemies, namely random encounters, are sort of generic RPGMaker enemies instead from the DB Franchise. They kind of feel out-of-place. The Sabre Tooth Tiger was a nice touch. It would be much cooler if all of the enemies were from DB like that.

-I noticed items like the herb outside of Goku's starting house respawn every time you enter and exit the house/another area. This is easily abused, which may not be much of a problem in this case, but if other items function this way, could be abused to break the game.

-If you're trying to do the original DB series, it's kind of inappropriate for Goku to be wearing the orange Gi quite yet. Would a pallet-swap to dark blue be possible? Adding a tail to the sprite somehow would be a big bonus as well.

-The first time I played, I headed straight to the fishing spot. I fought the tiger and died, which felt kind of bad. The second time, I didn't sleep between a few fights and died as well. There should be some kind of hint or warning that you should level up before venturing too far. Like maybe when Goku leaves his house, he could be like "I should probably get some training in before I go out, I feel like getting stronger today" or something like that to hint that you should level up a bit before going on.

-The Fishing Spot is problematic. You can just stand there and mash spacebar to get infinite Big Fish. Maybe add a 5-15 second timer between fish? Or add a limit of like 3-5 Big Fish in your inventory? And you go from Herbs healing like 10HP to Big Fish healing 100HP. If they were limited, that's okay. But I think 25HP would be more balanced for an item you can get 100 of in 5 minutes.

-I noticed Bulma can fight almost as well as Goku. I think she should be much weaker, but have a lot of utility like healing or something.

I got to the point where you bring turtle to the beach and Roshi gives you the Nimbus. All in all, it seems like an okay game. It just needs some tweaks here and there and maybe a little more to do so that being "railroaded" doesn't feel as bad. I got lost for awhile, but finally finding the Teradactyl was satisfying. Finding all of the chickens was amusing too.

 

[Giga Hertz]

Thanks so much for giving it a go!

Initial thoughts.
I'm always frank about game reviewing, so there's no offense intended if what I say is harsh.

Do it.

-The beginning is cool. The right music to start it off for sure.

Thanks!

-One of things you're going to have to do to please most DB fans is make everything authentically DB. I noticed most of the enemies, namely random encounters, are sort of generic RPGMaker enemies instead from the DB Franchise. They kind of feel out-of-place. The Sabre Tooth Tiger was a nice touch. It would be much cooler if all of the enemies were from DB like that.

Yeah, I know. When I finish I intend on having some lore friendly enemies. I tried being a bit more realistic about the generic ones in locations. There are some "wolves" in Diablo Desert that are werewolves because I couldn't find some decent ones from the series, at the time.

-I noticed items like the herb outside of Goku's starting house respawn every time you enter and exit the house/another area. This is easily abused, which may not be much of a problem in this case, but if other items function this way, could be abused to break the game.

That's sort of by design. The battle system is still broken, and I just wanted to make the game a bit easier until I can balance it.

-If you're trying to do the original DB series, it's kind of inappropriate for Goku to be wearing the orange Gi quite yet. Would a pallet-swap to dark blue be possible? Adding a tail to the sprite somehow would be a big bonus as well.

Yeah, I know. And believe me, almost 20 years later, and I'm still mad at Webfoot that Gohan was wearing the Saiyan armour at the Cell Games.

Most of the graphical decisions come down to the fact I'm not a spriter, so it's more a placeholder at the moment - hence why Bulma is in her Namek outfit, and Yamcha (when you get there) looks like he's about to get wrecked by some 'droids. At this stage I'm planning on just getting as much done as I can, and then figuring out the sprites. Especially since I already had to upscale them so they're a bit yuck close up.

-The first time I played, I headed straight to the fishing spot. I fought the tiger and died, which felt kind of bad. The second time, I didn't sleep between a few fights and died as well. There should be some kind of hint or warning that you should level up before venturing too far. Like maybe when Goku leaves his house, he could be like "I should probably get some training in before I go out, I feel like getting stronger today" or something like that to hint that you should level up a bit before going on.

Yeah, that's probably a decent idea. Something else that does exist, but I want to be more like an Easter Egg/hidden mechanic is if Goku is at 10% HP or less and fully recovers, he levels up.

-The Fishing Spot is problematic. You can just stand there and mash spacebar to get infinite Big Fish. Maybe add a 5-15 second timer between fish? Or add a limit of like 3-5 Big Fish in your inventory? And you go from Herbs healing like 10HP to Big Fish healing 100HP. If they were limited, that's okay. But I think 25HP would be more balanced for an item you can get 100 of in 5 minutes.

Actually yeah, that is a good point. Like the herbs, I wanted to cheese it out a little for people having trouble. But having a timer (or randomising it so he doesn't always get one) would be better.

-I noticed Bulma can fight almost as well as Goku. I think she should be much weaker, but have a lot of utility like healing or something.

That is a better idea. I'll have to add that to it.

I got to the point where you bring turtle to the beach and Roshi gives you the Nimbus. All in all, it seems like an okay game. It just needs some tweaks here and there and maybe a little more to do so that being "railroaded" doesn't feel as bad. I got lost for awhile, but finally finding the Teradactyl was satisfying. Finding all of the chickens was amusing too.

Thanks for that! I was actually trying to figure out a heap of side quests to throw in there, but came up blank. I'd definitely like to add more things like that to the game. If you have any particular ideas on what you'd like in that regard, I'd definitely love to hear some.

But yeah, battle system is kind of broken while I'm figuring out my way around. I'm trying to figure out moves for each of the characters to make it more balanced so I can make the battle system more interesting, but since it's more therapeutic for me to just give the mapping a go and write out the events, it's kind of taking a backseat (along with the sprites).

Pretty much it all boils down to, I wanted to see if people would actually be interested enough in playing before I put more effort into it than I needed to. At the very least I want to get a playable alpha that covers most of the first DB series. Then from there, refine it and either expand it to start including Z, or use what I've learned from it and start one for Z.

Thanks heaps!

 

[Blockinlick]

Something else that does exist, but I want to be more like an Easter Egg/hidden mechanic is if Goku is at 10% HP or less and fully recovers, he levels up.

Dammit, I should have figured that out. It was so obvious.

Because that's what happened the very first time I leveled up. I simply assumed that you only level up when you sleep, which I thought was weird. Then I leveled up like normal and was a bit confused.

I really should have considered that a Zenkai could be a thing. That's actually pretty awesome.

That is a better idea. I'll have to add that to it.

I've finished the game (As is anyway) by now and after awhile Goku did start far outpacing her in damage, however, there were a couple enemies that her damage type damaged well that he didn't damage much at all, so I ended up relying on her a couple of times. So she almost fell into her role but still, being a damage dealer isn't really appropriate for her.

If you have any particular ideas on what you'd like in that regard, I'd definitely love to hear some.

I was thinking that the series revolving around non-weapon martial arts kind of makes it hard to expand the gear/item system into something more interesting and dynamic.

But coming up with something to "tinker with" is what I feel the game could benefit from. I just can't think of anything that wouldn't be nigh-impossible for a casual developer to do on RPGMaker.

One I idea I do have is to have challenge-able fighters. When you talk to them, they challenge you to a fight and you can accept it any time you're ready. If you win, you get a bunch of XP and Zenie and they disappear or won't fight you again. Kind of like trainers in Pokemon games. The Sabre Tooth Tiger in beginning is pretty much it actually, but have optional ones not blocking your path. If they're really strong, it will give the player something to work towards other than the railroaded plot. Just don't make the rewards TOO rewarding.

One other concept that always makes a game more interesting is giving the player something to collect. The Dragon Balls are a given, but maybe there can be something else not plot-related to collect throughout the game?
Maybe statues of legendary characters? Like Piccolo, Kami, PoPo, Roshi, Ox King, Mercenary Tao, etc?
Maybe they can come in sets of three and if you collect a whole set, can sell for a LOT.
Like a set of PoPo, Kami, and Korin: Collect all three and a market will buy the set for 5,000 Zenies.

One last idea is that an Achievement List is always nice.
"Defeat this many of this enemy"
"Find all 5 chickens"

If the above ideas were added, you could expand that to
"Defeat this optional fighter"
"Collect this set of statues"

Just brainstorming.

I wanted to see if people would actually be interested enough in playing before I put more effort into it than I needed to.

Don't count on it, to be quite frank. This community is very small as far as the number of daily active posters goes and it seems I'm the only one really interested in this type of thing at the moment, so don't expect more than 1 or 2 others to try it here.

There was another person who made an MMO-style DBZ game and I was the only one here that played it extensively. In fact, I made two alt accounts and filled up all three slots of the leader board in Power Levels lol. But that person seems to have abandoned developing the game, because that was three months ago and we haven't heard from him, nor has the game been developed any further. I gave them a lot of feedback and no response.

At the very least I want to get a playable alpha that covers most of the first DB series.

I personally will keep playing it if you keep expanding it. But I can't guarantee anyone else here would show such interest.

Then from there, refine it and either expand it to start including Z, or use what I've learned from it and start one for Z.

I'd suggest starting a new one for Z.

 

[Giga Hertz]

Dammit, I should have figured that out. It was so obvious.

Because that's what happened the very first time I leveled up. I simply assumed that you only level up when you sleep, which I thought was weird. Then I leveled up like normal and was a bit confused.

I really should have considered that a Zenkai could be a thing. That's actually pretty awesome.

Thanks. It took longer than I care to admit to figure out the logic of adding it in. But I'm glad I got it working

I've finished the game (As is anyway) by now and after awhile Goku did start far outpacing her in damage, however, there were a couple enemies that her damage type damaged well that he didn't damage much at all, so I ended up relying on her a couple of times. So she almost fell into her role but still, being a damage dealer isn't really appropriate for her.

Yeah, until I get the battle system figured out a little more, I figured it was a good way to balance out the tougher enemies (I mean, most enemies shouldn't survive a gunshot).

I was thinking that the series revolving around non-weapon martial arts kind of makes it hard to expand the gear/item system into something more interesting and dynamic.

Yeah, I was thinking more just mundane things like how Buu's Fury rolled with. Maybe add a few weapon based feats... but yeah, there's not a lot that could be really lore friendly.

One I idea I do have is to have challenge-able fighters. When you talk to them, they challenge you to a fight and you can accept it any time you're ready. If you win, you get a bunch of XP and Zenie and they disappear or won't fight you again. Kind of like trainers in Pokemon games. The Sabre Tooth Tiger in beginning is pretty much it actually, but have optional ones not blocking your path. If they're really strong, it will give the player something to work towards other than the railroaded plot. Just don't make the rewards TOO rewarding.

I'll definitely explore more of this. Speaking of which, did you find Fungus Town? It's the village just to the south of Pilaf's Castle.

One other concept that always makes a game more interesting is giving the player something to collect. The Dragon Balls are a given, but maybe there can be something else not plot-related to collect throughout the game?
Maybe statues of legendary characters? Like Piccolo, Kami, PoPo, Roshi, Ox King, Mercenary Tao, etc?
Maybe they can come in sets of three and if you collect a whole set, can sell for a LOT.
Like a set of PoPo, Kami, and Korin: Collect all three and a market will buy the set for 5,000 Zenies.

Oh yeah, that's a pretty good idea. I'll look at adding it. It also gives me more things I can fill the map with. As you no doubt noticed, it was pretty bare after ED429.

One last idea is that an Achievement List is always nice.
"Defeat this many of this enemy"
"Find all 5 chickens"

If the above ideas were added, you could expand that to
"Defeat this optional fighter"
"Collect this set of statues"

Just brainstorming.

That's an idea too. I don't tend tocare about achievements in games myself, but I don't see that being an impossible feat to add down the track. Part of the problem, which I've discovered implementing the Quest system, is actually remembering to keep on top of updating the variables as necessary. And it's usually after I've finished testing the area that I realise "Oh crap, I forgot to update that quest".

Don't count on it, to be quite frank. This community is very small as far as the number of daily active posters goes and it seems I'm the only one really interested in this type of thing at the moment, so don't expect more than 1 or 2 others to try it here.

Interest is interest. I'm going to keep poking around and see what I can get. But like I said, at the end of the day, it's just something fun to put my mind to while I watch TV or zone out on other mundane things.

There was another person who made an MMO-style DBZ game and I was the only one here that played it extensively. In fact, I made two alt accounts and filled up all three slots of the leader board in Power Levels lol. But that person seems to have abandoned developing the game, because that was three months ago and we haven't heard from him, nor has the game been developed any further. I gave them a lot of feedback and no response.

Damn, that sucks a lot. Because that also sounds mega awesome.

I personally will keep playing it if you keep expanding it. But I can't guarantee anyone else here would show such interest.

I very, very, very much appreciate it.

'd suggest starting a new one for Z.

Yeah, I think you're right. I kind of like the idea of having it as a direct continuation of "Oh look, now there's a heap of new stuff!" but yeah, I guess it would get quite large by the end of it, not to mention if you wanted to play from Z and you had to sit through, Pilaf, World Tournament...

Also, just in case you're interested, I've been working on Training Island. Haven't gotten very far into it, but here's the map so far:

Thinking of having a few arbitrary quests and fights based off Goku and Krillin's training. Still a few more areas I want to add (like the farmland and construction sites).

 

[Blockinlick]

Thanks. It took longer than I care to admit to figure out the logic of adding it in. But I'm glad I got it working



Yeah, until I get the battle system figured out a little more, I figured it was a good way to balance out the tougher enemies (I mean, most enemies shouldn't survive a gunshot).



Yeah, I was thinking more just mundane things like how Buu's Fury rolled with. Maybe add a few weapon based feats... but yeah, there's not a lot that could be really lore friendly.



I'll definitely explore more of this. Speaking of which, did you find Fungus Town? It's the village just to the south of Pilaf's Castle.



Oh yeah, that's a pretty good idea. I'll look at adding it. It also gives me more things I can fill the map with. As you no doubt noticed, it was pretty bare after ED429.



That's an idea too. I don't tend tocare about achievements in games myself, but I don't see that being an impossible feat to add down the track. Part of the problem, which I've discovered implementing the Quest system, is actually remembering to keep on top of updating the variables as necessary. And it's usually after I've finished testing the area that I realise "Oh crap, I forgot to update that quest".



Interest is interest. I'm going to keep poking around and see what I can get. But like I said, at the end of the day, it's just something fun to put my mind to while I watch TV or zone out on other mundane things.



Damn, that sucks a lot. Because that also sounds mega awesome.



I very, very, very much appreciate it.



Yeah, I think you're right. I kind of like the idea of having it as a direct continuation of "Oh look, now there's a heap of new stuff!" but yeah, I guess it would get quite large by the end of it, not to mention if you wanted to play from Z and you had to sit through, Pilaf, World Tournament...

Also, just in case you're interested, I've been working on Training Island. Haven't gotten very far into it, but here's the map so far:
View attachment 1156

Thinking of having a few arbitrary quests and fights based off Goku and Krillin's training. Still a few more areas I want to add (like the farmland and construction sites).

Just keep me updated on whatever you add.

 

[Giga Hertz]

NEW UPDATE! October 2021!

Well it's been a bit over a year, and rather than the update I thought I'd add I rebuilt it in RPG Maker MZ. The biggest change is all the maps have been completely redesigned so it's not largely wasted space and time spent walking nowhere. The redesign also takes maps into smaller areas that are transitioned to (similar to LOG and Zelda).

I've also redesigned the sprites so that Goku is wearing the blue gi, Bulma is wearing pink rather than "Namek" and Yamcha isn't styled on Android Saga anymore. Not being a sprite-artist I'd call these passable.

There are also new features (Quest Tracker, Compass), additional side-quests, and new equipment (Gohan's Hat, Yamcha's Bat, a few other things...). The Compass should make some things easier, especially in regard to traversing the world map (all destinations now have an icon that is on the compass, rather than 'I hope you saw where that went and know the geography of Dragon Ball!')

I'm going to keep working on the update I thought I'd originally make and hopefully release that sometime in the next couple of months.

 

[Kid Goku]

NEW UPDATE! October 2021!

Well it's been a bit over a year, and rather than the update I thought I'd add I rebuilt it in RPG Maker MZ. The biggest change is all the maps have been completely redesigned so it's not largely wasted space and time spent walking nowhere. The redesign also takes maps into smaller areas that are transitioned to (similar to LOG and Zelda).

I've also redesigned the sprites so that Goku is wearing the blue gi, Bulma is wearing pink rather than "Namek" and Yamcha isn't styled on Android Saga anymore. Not being a sprite-artist I'd call these passable.

There are also new features (Quest Tracker, Compass), additional side-quests, and new equipment (Gohan's Hat, Yamcha's Bat, a few other things...). The Compass should make some things easier, especially in regard to traversing the world map (all destinations now have an icon that is on the compass, rather than 'I hope you saw where that went and know the geography of Dragon Ball!')

I'm going to keep working on the update I thought I'd originally make and hopefully release that sometime in the next couple of months.

Cool how about you show me the sprites too?
I could maybe darw some sprites if you want to! eventho im not that great either!

 

[Giga Hertz]

Cool how about you show me the sprites too?
I could maybe darw some sprites if you want to! eventho im not that great either!

Hey, thanks for your interest! Here are a couple of the sheets I used for the game. They all come from the LOG trilogy. Goku is Goten's head on kid Trunks' body, and then recoloured. I think I borrowed the colours from End Z Goku.

Bulma is just Namek Bulma coloured pink:

And Yamcha I had to get a bit creative with. It's his face with Other World Fighter's hair and then just coloured his top green.

Not perfect by any means but... it's a start.

 

[Its Over]

Interesting game but Bulma should be a support character. She's much weaker than Goku but she's 1 of the smartest character in the series. Maybe on the entourage she can boost certain stats of main party members like Goku, Krillin, Yamcha, etc.

 

[Giga Hertz]

lol Bulma should be a support character. She's much weaker than Goku but she's 1 of the smartest character in the series. Maybe on the entourage she can boost certain stats of main party members like Goku, Krillin, Yamcha, etc.

Yeah, the combat system is definitely going to be the last thing that gets sorted when I'm through with this project. At the moment, I don't want it to seem like any particular character is useless (especially for the fight against Oozaru Goku at the end). My priority right now is getting the maps and events sorted, and then tightening the combat system.

If it makes you feel any better, Bulma is pretty much sidelined for the rest of the game as she's only in a handful of Goku's adventures from here on out - if I recall, she only goes with him to collect one Dragon Ball the second time around when he's fighting Red Ribbon.

 

[Kid Goku]

Yeah, the combat system is definitely going to be the last thing that gets sorted when I'm through with this project. At the moment, I don't want it to seem like any particular character is useless (especially for the fight against Oozaru Goku at the end). My priority right now is getting the maps and events sorted, and then tightening the combat system.

If it makes you feel any better, Bulma is pretty much sidelined for the rest of the game as she's only in a handful of Goku's adventures from here on out - if I recall, she only goes with him to collect one Dragon Ball the second time around when he's fighting Red Ribbon.

So which stufgf is covered by this game!
And here are some other tips:
I would add Gokus tail!
I would give goku this healing move he did against freeza! (cus rpg)
I would add puar and olong and make them maybe blue mages!
Still amazing work!

 

[Mute]

Would you want any help with sprites and game design? I haven't done much pixel art stuff but I've got basic artist ability and think it sounds fun.

I designed this from scratch a year ago (not the style the game is in, but similar idea)

Spoiler

 

[Kid Goku]

Would you want any help with sprites and game design? I haven't done much pixel art stuff but I've got basic artist ability and think it sounds fun.

I designed this from scratch a year ago (not the style the game is in, but similar idea)

Spoiler

View attachment 4288

I mean what do you want for sprites?

 

[Mute]

I didn't really have anything in mind, just seeing if you were interested in sprite design help. I'd think I could swap clothing designs on pre-existing sprites (like changing Goku's outfit from the orange Gi to his blue outfit). Or even adding a tail shouldn't be too difficult.

 

[Giga Hertz]

So which stufgf is covered by this game!
And here are some other tips:
I would add Gokus tail!
I would give goku this healing move he did against freeza! (cus rpg)
I would add puar and olong and make them maybe blue mages!
Still amazing work!

The game is playable to the end of Pilaf Saga (it ends with Goku and friends separating). Playable characters:
Goku (obviously)
Bulma
Turtle (a short segment until they meet Roshi)
Oolong
Chi-Chi (a short segment to meet Roshi to bring him to Fire Mountain)
Puar
Yamcha

Everything is more or less covered, but Fungus Town is an optional town with (currently) two side-quests (one of which should be an obvious quest).

The next release (whichever year that will be) will be the Tournament Saga.

As for the other stuff:
- Goku's tail is a cosmetic change I'm happy to explore if someone wants to edit the existing sprite sheet (or create a new one of similar dimensions). If not it'll be later on.
- Which healing move? Was that in Resurrection F? At any rate, he barely knows any ki moves in Dragon Ball so at the moment that doesn't make sense (though there is a reasonable amount of potions that can be found and bought)
- Puar and Oolong curently have transform abilities that will need retooling later on

Thanks for your comments!

Would you want any help with sprites and game design? I haven't done much pixel art stuff but I've got basic artist ability and think it sounds fun.

I designed this from scratch a year ago (not the style the game is in, but similar idea)

Spoiler

View attachment 4288

If you or anyone want to offer any help, I'll gladly welcome it.

 

[Giga Hertz]

Here is a video of the first 10 minutes, for anyone who has yet to download and play it:


It outlines the game's style, how battle works, etc. When I unlock full-edit access to my first post, I'll make it all a bit nicer.

 

[Giga Hertz]

I've stitched together the 8 areas of East District 439. This is roughly what it looks like joined together:

A lot of the "blanker" areas are areas that aren't normally able to be seen in the game. The Capsule House is hidden before and after Bulma 'packs it up'. The bridge is initially broken as part of a quest, so there is another map where it is incomplete.