Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 3

"You might not go SSJ on your momma, but you will enjoy yourself"

Adding new game play elements, keeping some old, and tossing out others, the newest Budokai Tenkaichi game has been released. While what was added might not outweigh what was taken out, it's maintained a fine balance that is welcomed.

Sound
The sounds are what you would expect form any DBZ game. From crumbling mountains to screams of pain echo out of the speakers in perfect form. Voice acting is as top notch as always, and you can even switch back to the Japanese actors if you so decide.

The one down side, however, is that we don't seem to get the Japanese sound track. What we do have is rather good, if not lackluster in some areas.

Character attacks are called out with all the power and oomph you'd be hoping for in this type of game. From Piccolo shouting "Special Beam Cannon!" to King Cold's snide remarks during his Ultimate Blast, "Behold the power of my people!", you'll get some goosebumps...the first time that is. They start to loose their novelty after a while and you'll be wanting a way to skip those animations and go straight to the attacks.

Also, sounds that should be present are present. What do I mean? The sound that an super saiyan gives off is present, as is the correct sound during each character's transformations.


Control
A HEAVY mixed back. While it is fun to actually do the motions for a Kamehameha or even a Masenko, the controls just aren't what they should be when using the Wii remote. When using the Wii remote, sometimes the controls just don't respond or think that you're still holding the position when all you want to do is fire off the move.

Use the Gamecube controller, you say? Well, it's not much better. Sure the controls are more responsive and all, but it's sloppy. For some reason the Gamecube controller tends to make your character "wobbly" to control, as if it's TOO sensitive. In addition, the layout is absurdly difficult to get used to and be comfortable with.

What does that leave you with? Well, the Classic Controller is basically your last and best bet. With the Classic Controller, you can do the most basic of moves to the most demanding combos and Ki attacks to your heart's content. It's responsive, it's tight, and it makes the game a joy to play. The down side? You're spending an extra $19.99 before tax in order to play the game in a way that is intuitive.

Even though the manual says you can customize the layout you actually cannot. Either cut out due to time constraints or left out of the English version, but not the manual, it's just not possible to change any of the controls. This is rather annoying.

Swatting away ki attacks has also changed and not necessarily for the better. Rather than tapping the block button as the ki blasts reach you, you must now hold down the block button and then move the stick left and right. To hit back a larger ki blast, you must block just as the ki blast reaches you. Why they changed this, I have no idea. The idea of swatting away the smaller ki blasts is interesting, but the application is a bit faulty and difficult to master, especially when trying to hit a ki blast back at your opponent.


Graphics
Probably the best of any DBZ game to date. All the characters have multiple costumes to select from, and those costumes get damaged a the character gets hit and loses life. Sure that's nothing new coming from the series, but the character models are done extremely well. Disappointingly, however, is that the noticeable tares and tatters of the characters isn't specific. Rather, at a set point on the lifebar is when the characters will begin to display wear and tear.

The arenas are larger and because of that there is more to do in them. Well..."do" meaning things to break apart and destroy. More buildings, more trees, more rocks, and just plain more treat your eyes.

A nice addition is the change in auras with characters. There's a noticeable difference between characters when they go between their transformations and gather ki. A super saiyan 2 has a different look when powering up than a super saiyan, just as a transformation level 1 Frieza has a different look when at 100% power. You can even alter these using Portara's, but more on that later.


Overall Gameplay
No matter how good a game looks and sounds, it's the gameplay that is most important. While the controls of the Wii remote and Gamecube controller bog the game down somewhat, once you play it with Classic Controller, you'll be fine. That's how I'm reviewing this part of it, seeing as that's how I play.

Let's face the truth here: It's Repetitive. You go into Dragon History, hear a brief over view of the scenario, get into the fight and either stall for time so you can press the right button to move it along into the next even or you attempt to beat the crap out of your opponent. Nothing more.

The rush animations are also a bit tedious. At first it's great to watch, but after a while, you'll wish there was a way of skipping some of the animations and going straight to the damage. All too often the attacks are too long winded from beginning to end.

Dragon History is disappointing. Generally, it's three to four episodes long and you simply select the picture and fight. There's no traveling around like in the last game. This is a shame, really, since that was so much fun.

This time around when you go to the Tournaments, you don't get to choose which one you want to fight in. Instead, there's a counter when you enter the selection and each tournament only opens at specific times. In addition, you don't get to select the difficulty, which changes both the amount of Z Points you get for winning and the unlock you get at the end. If you want to unlock specific characters and levels, you'll find yourself entering and exiting many time until the right combination of difficulty and tournament shows up.

Collecting Dragonballs is easier than ever! All you need do is smash through a building or object that contains one and you get it. No more having to walk over it to collect the thing!

You cannot equip and level up characters like you could in Budokai Tenkaichi 2 with Z Items in the Dragon History mode, so you're stuck with what you are given with at the start of the scenario. This takes away some of the fun, especially when you want to take someone who was underpowered and just destroy the opposing person. However, at the same time, it saves you from having to level up each character to survive in the higher difficulties.

Now, you can power up your characters and get Z Items. Doing so allows you to use the characters in the different tournaments and online. Also, you don't have to make the characters stronger the way that you did in the last game. This time around, you're given Z Points each time you complete a fight in Dragon History or one of the tournaments. These points can be used to buy new abilities or you can spend them on the characters to allow them to use more items.

Another nice thing about the way the characters are built up this way is the fact that once you unlock a Z Item, if a character can use them (IE evil characters can equip evil specific items, but not good specific items, and vice versa), then they have immediate access to it. There's no more having to buy multiple items to give to multiple characters! This is more of a blessing than a curse and I welcome it completely.

The Nintendo Wii gives you the ability to play online with people from around the world by simply connecting to the Internet through a mode called Dragon Net. Here's where things begin to falter... The online mode is extremely lag heavy and users tend to disconnect when you are beating them, either because they think it actually means something to have a high win low loss record or because they are just rude with no sense of sportsmanship. When you do actually get someone who allows you to beat them (and the game isn't so lag ridden that you can stand to keep playing), you'll get Z Points, but won't lose anything. Because of that reason, it's mind boggling that people disconnect at all.

With the online mode also comes different types of game options. You can fight with only basic characters or custom characters. Also, you can participate in a world tournament that is ranked. You'll fight people of the same ranking and move up as you get better...or rather, find people that allow you to beat them when they are losing.


Bonuses
Lots and lots of bonuses! Like always, you can collect the Dragonballs and make a wish for characters, soundtracks, and levels. You also unlock up to 150 playable characters, not including transformations.

While the Wii does get the online option, the Playstation 2 got the Disc Fusion System, which is actually a much better value.

There's tons of items to unlock, and quite a few require you to unlock specific things before you unlock others. This can be annoying and time consuming, but isn't a huge problem.

The bonuses aren't always worth the effort, but it's always nice to get something for your actions.


Final Thoughts
A great addition to the series that is different enough from Budokai Tenkaichi 2 to warrant a purchase. The downs don't outweigh the ups and you can get battles online that aren't too lag heavy.

It's a solid game in its own right and shouldn't be compared to a fighting game, as it's more of a brawler. Pick this up if you're a DBZ fan and never look back.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 01/03/08

Game Release: Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 3 (US, 12/03/07)