Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 2

"A treat to all the fans"

To those who have seen my other reviews, you all know I like to review a game from different perspectives and basically telling it as if you are in front of me. Let me first say that those who aren't a Dragonball Z fan of the anime should not consider getting this game. I hope in the next few minutes after reading what I have to say, you will see why.

Being over a decade old in the DBZ series, even after the series has ended in Japan, the shift to the American audience has brought back life to this anime series. When the first DBZ game hit the PS2, it was a shock to most if not all the fans. The fans finally got to see their favorite characters in 3D with a new fighting system, new programmers and new system. It was an exciting DBZ experience for the fans old and new.

Tenkaichi 2 breaks all the barriers of a fighting game and it's own series. With countless additions to the game that the previous games didn't have, this game is a fascinating, fun and a mind blowing good time for all ages.

Starting out with the graphics of the game,. The anime style fits the game perfectly. With an interactive background where you can destroy the environment around you brings you back to watching those favorite DBZ episodes. The characters itself is really good in detail, for example, when your character is low on health, you can actually see the battle damage on them. Their clothes are ripped, eyes bruised, blood and even heavy breathing. The best part about the graphics are the beautiful texture and lighting of the character's special Ki attacks (Dragonballs). Piccolo's Special beam cannon (Makangosanpo for the Japanese) is greatly detailed and like some will say "pretty damn cool" The stages are another plus to the game, with great detail and familiar surroundings, sometimes you will feel you aren't playing a game anymore but watching it.

Up next is the story. Now this is the only reason why this game didn't get a perfect 10, at least from me of course. The story seems rushed and dragged. The good thing is it combines all the episodes and movie story lines including the GT series as they progressed. Also added are "what if" story lines, where a certain character with a major role will play its part out. Although I find that as an amusing and fun addition, it isn't very impressive and actually a little disappointing. Cut scenes were added which is great, seeing the Kamehameha fight between Gohan and Cell is a treat, but the rushed detail makes it not worth it. And by rush detail I mean showing Cell get hit by the Kamehameha then the narrator goes "Peace is here once again"

Controls and Game play. Oh boy, now here is where the games gets broken. First with a odd camera angle, some fans will hate it and some love it. What do I think of it? I think it is fine and it feels great. You are viewing your characters from a third behind the shoulder view and at first you will be confused in how to control yourself. However this game has a great training session for you to get the controls picked up right away. Now the problem with the controls is that you have to be fast and you sort of have to button mash when in close range. Of course, now it takes more skill and timing to avoid a powerful ki blast or rush than the previous games. Simply pressing the block button won't save you anymore. With added follow ups in the bunch, it makes the players react quicker than usual.

Those who played the first Tenkaichi are right away familiar with the controls. L1 is used to lock on your opponent, L2 charges your ki which by the way is one of best looking features of the game. Square is where you can button mash like a maniac because it is the attack button. By pressing the square button, you are able to inflict close melee damage along with a series of combos. Triangle is used in two ways. It shoots regular fireballs (ki) out and by holding it, you do a slightly more powerful one. It's other feature is when you are in the middle of a square button combo, it functions change to launching your opponent in the air or far away, but it doesn't end there, by pressing it again, you teleport close to your opponent and you can launch them even further! Circle is your block button and the most important button in the game. When a powerful ki blasts comes your way, you better have your thumb on that circle button to either dodge the blast or block it, because if you don't, you will be sorry. The X button is your dash button, by pressing it you can dash towards or away from your opponent. By holding down the L2 button, you can dash faster. It also has another function where by pressing Up and X, you throw your opponent. There are many throws in the game that are straight from the anime which of course is a plus.

The new tag team function is great, you are able to have multiple partners in your team and you will see a seperate bar showing their face and a purple meter. Once that purple bar is maxed, you are able to switch out your character in battle for the one you choose by pressing L2, L3 and R3 buttons. If you have more than one, you are able to choose which person you want to switch in by holding the L2 button and pressing left or right. Again, there is one disappointment in where you can't do double team attacks, makes you wonder why not especially for Android 17 and 18.

Cha la head cha.. what?!. I am personally happy they got rid of the Budokai menu music, it was getting old! The new music in the game is actually not bad, but I think I speak for all the DBZ fans out there that they should of put in some music from the anime. Oh well, maybe in Tenkaichi 3!

Now comes the part about the replay value. Like all fighting games, once you unlock all the characters and have gotten everything, it becomes a bore. That is where your friends come in. However, this game has over 100+ characters for you to unlock. Of course most of them are just repeats of the same character and it makes you wonder why so many other characters in the DBZ/GT world didn't make it. Like one of the new characters is Android 13 from the Three Great Super Saiyan movie, but Android 14 and 15 are no where to be found. I would think instead of having multiple ape characters that never existed we can have them. Maybe the developers are saving them for another game?. Getting new characters take a little bit of work, you first have to play through the whole storyline and you have to fuse two items together to get extra ones. With the amount of characters that did make it, it is enough to satisfy the most hardcore DBZ fan.

In closing, if you never seen a Dragonball Z or GT episode, you basically have no idea what I was just speaking about, so therefore, save your time and money and go play something you are more familiar with. Now for the fans, this is a MUST get for your gaming collection. The price isn't bad either, you can get this treasure of only $40.00. I don't even suggest renting it, just buy it, you won't be disappointed.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 11/13/06