Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 2

"Mondo Cool!"

The latest DBZ installment for the PS2 (and the Wii), BT2, is without a doubt one of the best DBZ games ever created! Here's why:

Graphics:
A huge improvement over the original BT1. The movements are much smoother, the backgrounds look better due to the more realistic touch, and the character models have improved a lot (Frieza 1st form anyone?). The attacks look wonderful, and, oh yeah, did I mention the backgrounds look a lot more realistic?
9/10

Story mode:
The story mode's length has increased tremendously (though it's still not long enough IMO). I took me several weeks to finish, but that's because I tried to stretch it out so I'd enjoy it more. I know a lot of people manage to finish it in 1 or 2 days of 24 hour gaming, but on average, I'd say it would take between 1 and 2 weeks to finish, including the 3 what-if stories (!). These stories, featuring Raditz, Zarbon and Goku and Vegeta add further enjoyment to the game. It might take a while to get used to the controls on the world map, but it gets easier once you play it more often. Even though it's still the same old DBZ/GT story, the addition of more movies and the 3 what-if stories make it worthwhile.
9/10

Controls:
The controls take some time getting used to. The training mode is highly recommended, since the combos are quite different from the ones in BT1. Once you get the hang of them, they're pretty easy to use. You'll be wanting to learn the different combos as well, since the enemies (obviously) put up better fights once you crank up the difficulty. The guard option might provide some difficulty, since guard breaks are not a rare event in this game.
8/10

Battles:
The battles are much more high-paced than the ones in BT1. There's a lot more movement and melee attacks, making it even more true to the DBZ anime than before. With a selection of 129 characters, this game features the widest range of characters ever in a DBZ game.
10/10

Overall:
This has got to be one of the best, if not THE best DBZ game to date. It's hard to imagine that BT3 (if it's ever gonna be created) will be even better than this. MONDO KAMEHAMEHA!
10/10

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 12/18/06