Dragon Ball Z: Budokai

"An Honest Fighting Game Fan's Review"

Dragonball Z Budokai:

The Dragonball Z franchise has been lost in the heap of forgotten gaming crap over the last decade or so. Dragonball Z Budokai, developed by Dimps, and published by Infogrames, is finally a true testament to what the fans have expected in game form, from one of the most well known animes ever. As you may have already noticed I posted a review on this game from the DBZ Fan's perspective, this review is geared towards fighting game fans specifically.


Graphically- 7

Ok, ok, so it’s not nearly as revolutionary as Soul Caliber was, graphically. The character models serve their purpose, but they do share the likeness to the characters from the show very well. This game does have an unusual style to it, the characters faces appear as if they were sketched onto the polygonal models, adding the feel of the anime, it fits very well. The game also shows some excellent particle effects, with the blasts, attacks, and environments (Ex: The Rock Level with the dust swirling around).

The strong point of the game is the presentation; the menus are done very well, and are easy to understand. The animation is top notch, much more fluid than that of Tekken 4. The most lackluster part of this game’s graphical standpoint is it’s bland and sometimes almost untextured environments. The level design is linear, but leveled like a DoA game (parts to levels can be unlockable by smashing opponent into wall), but it would have been much nicer to see more interactivity and life to the worlds you battle in.

Gameplay-6.5

If you were looking for fighter with the depth of a Virtua Fighter, or Tekken game, you might want to look somewhere else. The gameplay in this game is not quite as deep as the aforementioned titles, but it’s still incredibly fun to play. Punch, Kick and Projectile attacks are linked together effortlessly, which will deter avid fighting game fans (such as Tekken fans) from picking it up due to its simplicity. There really isn’t too much innovative about the gameplay, it does a great job at cloning some fighters in some departments. For example, you can knock enemies through walls/objects unlocking new areas (Dead or Alive style), you can transform in battle (Bloody Roar style), and you can make your opponents ring out (Virtua Fighter and Toshinden style).

There is a unique ability that only this game has; it is the “Burst Mode”. Burst Mode is triggered when combatants launch a powerful/launching attack on one another simultaneously, causing the combatants to freeze momentarily, then an all out button mash-a-thon at lightning speed ensues. It’s extremely entertaining to just watch.

A very appreciated feature to this game is the mini-games, they freshen the gameplay and can be quite challenging, and some of the mini-games are moments and scenarios taken straight from the anime, which is really original. The combos in the game are very simple to pull of which is a bonus, lessening the button mashing to an extent. The finishing moves for each character are very stylish, and entertaining to watch. My favourite finisher in particular, is the character Vegeta’s “Big Bang Attack”, he is the cockiest character in the game making him very appealing to Fighting game fans who love to torment their opponents before they blast them into oblivion. It’s really cool to see the environment change into a barren wasteland after a finishing attack (it’s as if a nuclear bomb went odd where you stand).

But with the ups, comes the down, the most disappointing feature of this game’s gameplay would have to be the variety in moves. Some characters share the exact same moves as others, but the move has a different name. It would have been nicer to see more variety in combinations. Another peeve I have with this game is the fact that you can’t fly whenever you want; an enemy has to launch you into the air. It could have added more strategy and depth to the battles. The on ground and air battles don’ t really feel that much different, which is somewhat of a let down.

But overall it is much more refined and has much more depth to it than Dragonball GT Final Bout and any other Dragonball game ever created.

Story- 8.5

This must be one of the best/longest story modes you will find in a fighter. I think it took me about 4 hours to unlock every technique and character in the game through this mode alone! Never has a fighting game been so story based. It may not be a tear jerking storyline, but it’s sure interesting to watch the plots unfold when you aren’t familiar with Akira Toriyama’s famed series. After you clear the story mode the first time it unlocks different character perspectives through each saga, which gives a bit more understanding for strangers of the DBZ storyline. Not many fighters out there make you want to play through moments again and again, but this does it flawlessly.

Sound- 7

Perhaps Budokai doesn’t sport the best musical track list; the opening cinema scene music is definitely geared towards kids more than adults. The Sound effects for Budokai are solid, full of the occasional grunts, and technique yelling that comes accustomed to many fighting games. But while characters cry out their techniques’ names before blasting their opponents into disarray, it can get annoying to the point where you feel like turning the sound all the way down, and making your own names up for the moves. There’s nothing like pulling off a Super-Hadoken-Cheese-Disc-of-Destiny!

The one department in which Budokai sets itself apart in is it’s voice acting, perhaps some of the best voice acting in a fighting game. It has VERY little embarrassing moments in the voice acting, which helps give a feel of emersion and personality to the characters, which is very nice considering how story reliant this game is.

Replay Value-7.5

Budokai allows you to start off with 6 modes (in the forms of Dragonballs on the game menu); Story, Duel (traditional Vs mode), World Tournament, Practice, Edit Skills and Options. There is one unlockable, which is obvious when you notice a Dragonball missing (there are only 6 when there are 7 Dragonballs) from the mode section. The 7th mode is “The Legend of Hercule”. This mode is unlocked in “Adept Tournament mode”, once unlocked, Hercule becomes available in the character select screen for Duel, World Tournament, Practice modes.

The fact that you can unlock every character and technique in a matter of 2-3 days is a bit discouraging from making this game a buy, but the fact that there are 23 characters to master, and 7 modes for the single player to enjoy, replay value is added.

Controls-8

Budokai has the basic controls, for most 3-d fighters today; it has a fully customizable controller feature, which is a very nice feature for a fighting game to possess The ability to program the buttons to perform special functions such as taunt and transform is very appreciated. The controls are very responsive, and simple to get accustomed to, allowing for casual fighting game fans to get right into the action.

Overall Verdict:

44.5/60= 7/10 (rounded out)

Dragonball Z Budokai is the most solid Dragonball game in a long time; it’s a solid but not quite revolutionary fighter, it’s a great rental and I only advise people who are fans of the series to pick this one up. If you’re looking for something new DBZ isn’t it, it’s a combination of fighters all in it’s own, but nothing really new. Great work Infogrames and Dimps, hopefully Budokai 2 will be more revolutionary and deep than this title, great for a first effort on the Playstation 2 though.

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 03/10/03, Updated 03/10/03