"Not bad for a rushed game"

For a last dbz ps2 game, this one is not exactly worth having the reputation of being the last ps2 dbz game. If this and tenkaichi 2 came out on the same date, tenkaichi 2 would be the better one because of the better fighting it has.

Sound: Pretty good. Very improved sound tracks, audio, and the same neat voice acting.

Gameplay: Good, but not enough. There are quite a few new gameplay mechanics, but at the same time, the improved mechanics are countered by the deduction of previous actions that made tenkaichi 2 great. There's alot you cant do on tenkaichi 3 that you could do on tenkaichi 2, which is a negative impact on the game. Alot of the fighting feels so limited and downgraded, that it makes the new gameplay features seem almost useless, even if you mastered the game. The main thing this game has going for it is the very improved A.I., which is very challenging and cheap at the same time. The challenging A.I. is a very welcome addition, but due to the taking away of certain skills that was previously available, it makes the A.I. feel cheap at times because the fighting can feel very limited especially when you consider all you could do in tenkaichi 2. Alot of the characters and moves have been significally limited for no apparent reason, or just not changed at all. For example: the super explosive wave is no longer as big and effective as it use to be, nor can you no longer execute it as quickly and precise as tenkaichi 2's super explosive wave.

Features: Some good and bad. The story mode is very ruined. They skip alot of the major fights, which makes the story mode no longer than 3-4 hours. The ultimate battle mode lets you play 100 randomly assorted battles, survival mode, a sim dragon mode that lets you use 10 turns before the main fight to train, explore or rest. Both modes are very neat additions, and can be really fun to play. Last, there's a disc fusion feature exclusive to the ps2 version that allows you to play the ultimate battle modes from tenkaichi 1 & 2. Disc fusion is not bad, but they could have did better than that. The tournament modes have been ruined. It is setup where certain tournaments are playable at certain times in the game, which causes you to constantly exit and reenter the menu untill you get what you want. There's a free mode that let's you play any tournament with friends, but it's not usefull at all considering you have to play the single tournament to unlock the hidden things. The yamcha games, for example, puts you up against the strongest fighters in the game but the catch is that it randomly selects your character for you, which makes it more of a nuisance than fun. The customization is about the same, but sadly limited for no apparent reason. For starters, the stats can no longer to +20 anymore and certain capsules lost their benefits that made them great in tenkaichi 2. Equiping 7 very good capsules is no longer possible, since they have slot numbers. One capsule can take 4 slots to equip, leaving you with only a poor 3 slots left.

Graphics: More or less the same as the prequel. Very good looking

Controls: Quick to catch on if you have experience with the previous dbz games.

Overall: There are alot of neat new things about this game that does make it worth the buy. While the story is pitifully short, you can play duel mode to make up for it. But as it does gets old quickly playing duel mode over and over, there's the 100 mission mode and sim dragon to keep you occupied incase you get bored of duel mode. There are just as many downs as there are ups when it comes to this game. For this to be the last dbz ps2 game, it seems so incompleted and rushed. This game seems more like Dbz: budokai tenkaichi 2.5, because the new fighting upgrades are not exaclty "upgrades", and there good features countered by bad features.

Reviewer's Score: 6/10, Originally Posted: 11/26/07

Game Release: Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 3 (US, 11/13/07)