In news that should give Dragonball Z's strong North American following cause for celebration, European publisher Infogrames will bring Dragonball Z: The Legacy of Goku, an RPG based on the long-running anime series, to the Game Boy Advance. This comes after Infogrames was bombarded with e-mail petitions from fans eager to see the game published domestically, although the company would not comment officially about the petition's impact on its decision.

By all accounts, Dragonball Z: The Legacy of Goku sounds like a veritable homage to the sprawling Dragonball universe. Players may encounter up to 75 DBZ characters, as well as multitude of settings that should be eminently familiar to fans of the anime series. The story begins with the abduction of Goku's son, Gohan, and follows the Saiyan, Namek and Frieza sagas. Nintendo says that the game follows DBZ lore closely, with inside jokes and all.

The game's battles play out in real-time, and Goku grows in strength by accumulating Ki, Melee and normal experience levels. The story centers on the search for Gohan and the Dragonballs and is divided into chapters, which can be played sequentially or concurrently. The latter case follows a parallel structure in which the player can alternate between chapters, playing as several different characters at once.

Dragonball Z: The Legacy of Goku is scheduled to hit North America in May 2002. Infogrames will also release a GBA card-game adaptation, Dragonball Z: Collectable Card Game, this June.