Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi

"Well then. I must say...HOLY CRAP!"

OK, I've played every Budokai game to date. From the good (only 3) to the bad (1 and 2), I've stayed loyal. Even if I've only rented the first 2. Now, when I saw footage of this game and how the perspective changed, I was actually skeptical about it. Having said that, this game is definitely different from the others (making me wonder why they kept the Budokai thing). While that does add some good things to the game, it did also take away from the other things that Budokai 3 had done so well.

GRAPHICS: 10/10
The cel-shaded graphics have been great since Budokai 2, and this year really improves. With this year's new perspective on fighting just behind your guy, the graphics really get their full potential realized. The fast and furious action also compliments the graphics. The environments are fully destructible, more now than ever, and they all look great, even when the mountain is collapsing in a mass hysteria of ki goodness. Mwahaha! The graphics are definitely well done this time around, proving Spike can bring not only the best of the last of the series, plus more.

SOUND: 7/10
Meh. What did you expect? The music is ok, I guess. The sound effects are well done, with every boom, bang, and kaplowey (OK forget kaplowey) sounding better than the last. But here's the big complaint...THE VOICE-OVERS ARE HORRIBLE! My God, every American actor is so annoying it gets on my nerves. You can, thankfully, change the voice-acting to the Japanese dubs, which is better, but I didn't really care much for that either. I'm sure anime freaks will flip out on that one. Not much different from last time, except for Jap dubs.

STORY: 5/10
I'm sorry, but I don't like this kind of story. It's too confusing. Here's the formula (people who've read my Budokai 3 review have seen this): Bad guys come, good guys beat 'em, stronger bad guys come, someone dies, good guys get stronger, beat bad guys, lather, rinse, and repeat. Anime freaks will love the fact that the story now delves into the original Dragon Ball universe, the DBZ universe, and GT. I still think it gets too confusing.

GAMEPLAY: 9/10
OK, here's the thing about this game. They did change everything around by giving you the view of just your guy and it being your job to find your opponent and thusly beat his ass. BUT, while this new way of doing it is very very fun, it makes this game REALLY REALLY HARD! It's tough to win, even on easy mode. Otherwise, they did change the controls around from last time, so Budokai veterans probably won't be able to jump right in, giving everyone a fresh start. I do like the controls this time better than last time though. It's still FREAKING TOUGH. They have a huge roster this time around, which I like for replayability. In previous installments, most characters played the same. Not this time. Everyone does play differently, so you can have more fun for longer in this installment. There are a few new modes as well. All in all, this game is fun and does go in a new direction, but I wish they could have found a way to make it just as easy as the last time.

OVERALL:
They did make some major improvements over last time, including better graphics, a revolutionary camera angle, fun gameplay, and a huge roster. Still, the new changes do bring about new problems, which keep me from giving it a perfect score. It's still mega fun.
FINAL SCORE: 9/10

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 10/31/05