Dragon Ball Z: Budokai 2

"A game that surpasses expectations!"

Dragon Ball Z: Budokai 2 is the Sequel to the hit game Dragon Ball Z: Budokai 1 and was Released on December 2nd of 2003. Being the big DBZ fan I have been for a long time I was expecting this game to be sweet of course because I have pretty much loved every DBZ or related so far!

This game is very similar to the first of the series Budokai 1. The big differences are more characters, and cel shaded graphics. But just because this game is similar to the first does it mean that it is bad??NO! Not at all! Let's start the review!

Gameplay:9/10

''A 9??'' some may ask. But I tell you..the gameplay in this game is superb! This has got to be one of the best fighting systems of all time! Yes it's true it takes a lot of wit to play this game smart. Forget what a lot of people say when its a so called ''Button Masher'' it is NOT. If somebody goes around button mashing they will surely lose a lot against good competition. Me and one of my friends have this game and we play it non-stop for a long time and we both are pretty good in my opinion (but I usually come out on top heheh) and its FUN as HECK playing this game over and over. I cant seem to tell you how fun it would be if you had a big tourney with people who have customized characters and big skill at this game!

The control in this game is also impressive, you use the usual budokai formula using punches and kicks into combos for a Ki Blast or two..but if your fast with your fingers and stuff you can pull off quite devastating combos and such. They've also added a couple new features for some of the big attacks such as a stick rotating thing in which you have to rotate both sticks as fast as you can (you can also mash the d-pad and buttons if you wish) to either gather enough Ki to successfully pull off the attack or win a power struggle. The other feature is a button guessing thing in which you or the opponent have to press one of the four buttons...if the opponent presses the same button you press they dodge it.

Story:7/10

Alright so this game's story mode isn't exactly a Story mode. It's more of a Board game called ''Dragon World'' mode in which you move your characters around a map like thing and if you move onto a square with an enemy you engage in battle whilst trying to complete a certain objective given to you at the beginning of the game. In my opinion the Story mode in Budokai 1 is better then 2's because it played through the actual story and scenes with the characters. But this one's story mode is alright I guess can't really complain! It's an original thought up idea and its quite unique. You can also search the world for capsules and items so as Dragon Balls and armor which help you on your quest.

Graphics:9/10

Astounding!! Simply Awesome! Your breath will be taken when you see the intro these guys have on this game. The in-game models are cel-shaded quite beautifully as they look exactly like their anime selves and the stages in the game are detailed very well. Every time I look at the sky effects in this game i'm like ''sweet!'' and the ability to knock people into objects into the background...all animated beautifully.

Sound:8/10

This game's sound is pretty good. The music is on the rock-ish side (which is good seeing as I think rock + DBZ = sweetness) and the characters voices are official and great sounding (even though id much more prefer the Japanese voices over the U.S. ones this game does the voices very nicely.) I think the nice bashes and smashes of the characters fists and blasts sound good as they could ever be!

Fun Factor/Replayability:8/10

Alright I know for a fact a lot of people are probably going to disagree with me on this but..Budokai 2 will keep you occupied for quite some time. I have been playing this game for at least 3 or more hours a day for 4 weeks so far. I think this game is very fun and amusing because of its fighting system and skill factor (try fighting characters on very strong and very hard modes and then tell me this game is easy or a button masher lol)

Overall:9/10

I think this game deserves a spot in one of the best DBZ games of all time and I think that you should buy it. Unless you don't know anything about Dragon Ball (well...if you didn't..would you really play it?). I recommend for the DBZ fans out there to get this game because it is a really good game that they will enjoy for a long time.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 01/01/04