Dragon Ball Z: Budokai

"Finally! A DBZ game that might last more than 2 weeks!"

DBZ Budokai is by far the best DBZ game I have played so far. This game is based on the popular Japanese anime Dragonballz. This game isn't as bad as i thought. Some features include a Story mode, World Tournament mode, and more. You can even customize and create the ultimate fighter! The Story mode starts from The Saiyan Saga and ends at the Cell Saga. Even thought it was released on Gamecube a year later after the PS2, it is still very popular and enjoyable.

Gameplay:

The characters all have their signature moves from the TV show. For example, Goku's famous Kamehameha Wave and Vegeta's Big Bang. The fighting is good because you can hear the people grunt when they get hit. The amazing thing is that they managed to include the voice of every character! The only problem I see here is that they made all the 23 fighters a little too similar to one another. However, that makes things easier, so you can choose any fighter you want and start battling immediately. You can fly, but it is more of a hover because you really can't fly at supersonic speed. During battle, if you hit your opponent at the exact same time that they hit you, you will enter a special mode where you punch each other with lightening speed. During this time, rotate the control stick at fast as possible and you might knock out your opponent if you rotated the fastest.

There are also many fighters to unlock. You start out with five and you must find a way to unlock the other 18. Try figuring it out and experimenting. There is also a secret character you can unlock.

You can buy Dragonballs at the shop. I wonder what happens when you collect all seven?

Story:

The story mode follows the well known TV storyline from the beginning the DBZ to the end of the Celll games. It is the same as the show on TV without all the senseless talking and sweating, but it's kind of short because they skip a lot. The next mode is the Duel mode, where you can fight freely with your friend or against a CPU. The third mode is the World Tournament. I think they could have done better here. I keep losing because I keep getting thrown out of the ring. The worst part is that the announcer says the same thing every time and it can get annoying. You can take the money you win and buy capsules at Mr. Popo's shop. Capsules contain skills you can use to build a character that your comfortable with.

Sound:
The sound is decent, not something you'd want to hum along to, unless your a true DBZ fan. The voices of the characters were awesome and the explosions weren't that bad either. I like the Head Cha-La theme song. Overall the music is bearable. The only thing I find annoying is the World Tournament announcer. If you try to ignore him, it's like he's not really there. The sound is good with normal tunes, but I am indifferent (could care less) about the sound.

Graphics:
In my opinion I feel the graphics are smooth and clean, nothing fuzzy or unusual twitching. It is 3-D and that's good. You can even see the shadow of Goku when he does his Warp Kamehameha! It's cool to see the rocks break when a character gets hit into them. The backround is the same as PS2, so nothing new.

Replayability:
Since the Story mode is short, you will spend the most time hunting down Dragonballs in the shop and customizing the perfect warrior. After you finish all that the game will start to get a little old. If you play with a friend, this game will never get old, especially if your watching Raditz tear Vegeta to shreds. There are also a lot of capsules to find, so that will add to the playing time. This game might last a few months at least.

Rent or Buy:
I'd have to say buy, because you will get hooked and will not want to return it. It's a good game, a must have for any DBZ fan. It costs around $30 but you might be able to get a copy cheaper. It does not have very many flaws, so get it as soon as possible!

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 08/25/04, Updated 08/26/04