Dragon Ball Z: Budokai

"Dragon Ball Z games aren't as bad as people make out! Do yourselves a favor and try out this game!"

Dragon Ball Z: Budokai

The ever-growing list of Dragon Ball Z games has continued with Dragon Ball Z: Budokai. The games, based on the immensely popular anime by the same name, have been around for ages. However unlike the amazing anime/manga the games have had many lackluster moments. Dragon Ball Z Budokai is a 3D fighter with a wide array of characters to choose from. The game was first released on the PS2 however late in 2003 a GameCube version appeared on the scene. Personally I haven't touched a DBZ for a few years so I was really looking forward to giving this game a shot. From the moment this game was powered up the nostalgic power of a Dragon Ball Z game was roaring through my veins. This review is based solely on the GameCube version.

The fighting in Budokai is not very deep yet is still quite enjoyable. The game only supports two characters onscreen. Fights take place in a variety of stages, some of which can be destroyed in part while others allow you to knock your opponent into a new stage altogether. To defeat a character three health bars must be cleared. After clearing the initial green, the yellow is depleted followed in turn by red. Characters can also be defeated by a ring out in some stages, such as the World Match. The game also includes a KI Gauge which builds up when on the offensive yet decreases when energy attacks (such as the standard KI blast or a Kame Hame Ha) are executed. Characters can also power up when this gauge is high enough. For example, filling up enough KI Gauges will allow a Saiyan to become Super Saiyan. Powering up the KI Gauge is accomplished by pressing B and double-tapping back.

There are three main attack buttons; A for executing punches, Y for executing kicks and X for executing a KI blast. B is used as a guard button. The game is 3D although movement is somewhat clumsy. Moving around on a 3D axis is not as smooth and free as other fighters. To change the position relative to the opponent the B button must be used in coalition with either up or down. This only moves the character one iteration while still facing the enemy so full 3D movement is not granted. Although not the smoothest of transitions it does give players an advantage by getting behind or to the side of opponents. To move towards or away from a character simply press forwards or backwards on the control stick. The developers were smart in implementing a quick dash by double-tapping forward. This can zoom a player towards the opponent and adds greatly in following up on combos.

This game allows characters to fly, however like 3D movement it could have been executed in a better manner. Flying is not automatic in this game. For a character to get airborne they must be smashed into the air by an opponent. The attacker can then follow the airborne character into the sky. These off-ground bouts are not very long-lived because characters tend to drift back down the longer they're in the air. This system would have been a lot deeper had there been a manual way for characters to get airborne and seeing as how a character always move in a direct path towards an opponent this would not have caused much of a problem.

Combos play the most important part to a successful experience in battle. It is absolutely essential to link up combinations of kicks and punches to win battles. Although they add immensely to the battles the developers made combos too strong. Seeing as they are very easy to pull off (just keep pressing A or Y) it is unacceptable for them to take away so much damage at times. A well-placed combo can easily remove 1/6th of the entire health gauge. Grabs can also be executed by more complex button combinations. Grabs cause a small cut scene and a decent amount of damage. Grabs are not the only skills though. Other successive attacks can also be pulled off.

By utilizing the X button in combos characters can pull of signature moves such as the Kame Hame Ha or Death Beam. The problem is that the developers got too lazy. Instead of thinking of unique combos for each character the developers simply recycled the same old combinations. One problem is that other than the main signature move, the attacks can be very difficult to pull. Combos that make use of kicks are difficult to pull despite pressing the exact combination. Instead of offering a very limited amount of moves for each character the developers should have included a much larger variety in the move sets allowing for much more depth in battle. However they seem to have opted for giving a player multiple ways of pulling off a move as opposed to adding some more. The Kame Hame Ha can be pulled off in three different ways! This is excessive and takes away plausible button combinations for more moves.

Characters have the opportunity to power up in the midst battle, the most obvious form change being Super Saiyan. The way the developers have executed this is perfect. In previous Dragon Ball Z fighters different forms of characters simply replaced the original or were added to the mix. That method alienated many possible transformations as it would have been absurd to allow each player in the game to transform or for some characters to have more than two transformations. That is where this game picks up and capitalizes on. Most characters possess the ability of transforming in battle; multiple times at that. The ability to transform depends on the KI Gauge. Each transformation has a set minimum KI level. Let's take Goku as an example. Goku can transform a total of four times; King Kai Fist 2, 5 and 10 and as well as Super Saiyan. Each transformation has a minimum level before Goku can transform. For Goku to become a Super Saiyan he must have five out of seven KI Gauges full.

Combination moves are unlocked for use outside of battle through Mr. Popo's Shop. They are in the form of cards. However these cards are not limited only to Special (transformations and energy combinations) and Physical (grab and successive attack combinations) moves but also Support Cards which add stipulations and advantages in battle. An example is the Senzu Bean. If this card is equipped on a character's custom move set it can actually cause the character to revive when beaten in both Duel and World Match Modes. These cards cost Zenie to buy however and achieving the entire collection can be very difficult. Of course Mr. Popo doesn't only sell Support, Physical and Special cards. This game wouldn't be called Dragon Ball Z if players couldn't collect Dragon Balls. Dragon Ball cards are very hard to come by but once all seven are collected something quite wonderful will happen.

Budokai offers a total of 23 characters (although 3 are iterations of Gohan). You start with 5 and have to unlock the rest. The game has a nice, solid line-up and makes multiplayer fun and exciting allowing everyone to have a go with their favorite character. Characters are unlocked through the Story Mode. Many of them are unlocked on the first play through while others will need special chapters to be completed before they join the fighting frenzy. Although the majority of characters are unlocked through the Story Mode some are not.

This game has a few modes to choose from; Story, Duel, World Match, Practice with more unlockable. The Story Mode in this game is down well enough. The Story Mode is made up of many different chapters that take place one after another. These chapters are split up into the three different sagas that this game offers, ranging from the Saiyan Saga to the end of the Android Saga (includes Cell). Each chapter contains a few battles and has small cut scenes (including a narrator explaining the story) between each fight. These cut scenes help to make an enhanced experience as they are interesting and true to the anime. They get rid of the repetitive feeling of battle giving the player time to soak in the story and relax. While the cut scenes are not the best of quality they serve a great purpose in making the story what it is.

As you progress through the Story Mode however only a few characters, such as Goku, Gohan and Picollo will actually be playable. The Story Mode follows a sequential pattern on the first play through, not letting you choose which chapter you want to play but simply iterating through a line of chapters. As you progress the characters will get stronger and more skilled such as Goku earning the 'Super Saiyan' ability. However after winning the Story Mode the design drastically changes. No longer is each chapter played in order; you now have the option to choose what portion of the game you wish to play. While this may seem as a small, nifty feature the developers were smart about and added extra content. After winning the Story Mode new chapters begin to appear that were not seen in the original story. Each extra chapter focuses on a single character, be they good or bad. For example, one chapter focuses on Frieza and allows you to turn the table on Goku and company in Namek. This certainly adds a lot of variety to the game, the best part being that many of these extra chapters end up with different outcomes than the standard storyline.

Duel Mode offers single fights against friends or the CPU. Multiplayer is a great way to pass time. Although only two people can battle it out at a time this game has some great multiplayer action and offers great party value as well as opportunities to prove yourself and/or perfect your skills. It also allows you to have some time teaching certain characters who they're messing with. Who wouldn't want to use Krillen to demolish Frieza for payback from Namek? Or how about brutalizing Vegeta with some Nappa magic after getting flung into the stratosphere on Earth? Best of all, a classic duel between Vegeta and Goku as Super Saiyan! The possibilities are endless, although Duel isn't all about the gimmick fights. Setting the CPU difficulty to Very Hard and having some matches is great training and really helps in getting a person fighting fast-paced and smart.

World Match is a single player mode that allows you to get some World Tournament action. There are three different difficulty levels; each offering a different number of fights. This mode is great fun and gives players the opportunity to win Zenie and some really nifty prizes. All unlocked characters can participate, some having some humorous outcomes. Who would have ever thought that Cell could be taken down by Raditz? World Match can get difficult on the higher settings and can take a lot of practice and learning new strategies before a successful campaign can occur because losing just one match will lead to a knockout from the tournament. Making it second isn't that bad though, at least a small amount of money is still earned. On the other hand dominating an opponent for the entire final before a well placed kick sees you disqualified on the grass surrounding the arena can be very annoying indeed. A lot of caution is needed to make sure that your back isn't turned to a corner because ring outs are pretty commonplace in this mode.

Sadly the developers didn't offer a multiplayer setting for World Match. It would have added much to the party value of this game as spending an evening with a group of friends seeing who can take the claim as World Champion would have been quite interesting. Prizes need not have been added but excluding a multiplayer tournament mode from this fighter is a sore blow. If a tournament is to be held than it would have to be done manually through Duel Mode.

Practice Mode gives exactly what it promises. It allows you to Practice against a CPU opponent, giving the player options to set the actions and difficulty of the CPU. The CPU can range from standing, inactively waiting for his opponent to unleash a plethora of fury or engage in a battle of regenerating immortals.

Graphically this game isn't a technical marvel. While it tries to give characters a look and feel that closely resembles the anime it doesn't do much more than that. The characters look good but there isn't anything special about them. The special moves are unimpressive, not reflecting the intense power of the anime. However the developers did manage to make the fighting very smooth. The attacks and character movements look great in sequence and there isn't any form of slow-down at all in the game. Again, like the characters, the backgrounds are not really that great. The ground textures surrounding the characters look quite blurry at times although the backgrounds are nice and sharp. Altogether the visuals in this game lack detail, the developers seem to have opted for a more simple approach however it hasn't pulled off as anything exceptional.

This games audio is pleasing. The audio has been taken from the actual show and the voice acting is done by the original characters. Unfortunately the copy of the game that I played did not include the English voice acting (PAL) however the NTSC version does. Many of the tunes are really enjoyable. The sudden change of tune after a transformation is very noticeable and adds heaps to the mood of a battle.

This game is quite short and can easily be completed in a rental period. However this game offers a lot of multiplayer action. It's a great game to add to a collection, however those of you without many opportunities to whip out multiple controllers or already have a few multiplayer intense fighting games may want to rent this game out. If you're a die-hard Dragon Ball Z fan than you should really consider this as a purchase.

Budokai is an above average DBZ fighting game with a fun Story Mode and a nice mix of characters. That said however, there are many obvious flaws with the game that the developers have looked at and fixed in subsequent sequels. This certainly isn't going to win any awards as a fighting game however it offers some great multiplayer action and fans of the series will treasure it above many others. For those willing to look past the flaws this game could offer great amounts of fun.

Summary:
Gameplay: 8
Graphics: 7
Sound: 8
Value: 7
Overall (not an average): 7.4 (Rounded to 7 for GameFAQs)

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 05/26/06, Updated 06/17/06