Dragon Ball Z: Shin Budokai - Another Road

"A worthy sequel, though perhaps too similar"

The Budokai series has come a long way since the first Budokai came onto the PlayStation 2 in 2002. Five years and five games later, we get the most improved version of the fighting engine yet (along with the longest name yet) in Dragon Ball Z: Shin Budokai - Another Road. And now the review, in bite-size categories that are easy to read in between paragraphs of that paper you should be writing.

Gameplay - 9/10
That's right, Gameplay comes first, as it's the most important part of any game, even DBZ games, where the focus tends to be on how many characters and locations they can jam in there. The move from the PS2 to the PSP--as in Shin Budokai--doesn't detract any from the gameplay. Combos are still just as tight as the last game, the real-time ultimate moves haven't left, and the teleporting "ping-pong" effect from the last game has been upgraded to a full chasing sequence complete with finisher at the end.

The problem, though, is that sometimes the fighting feels too similar to the first Shin Budokai and not enough like you're playing a new game. There have been some improvements, but the only significant difference in the gameplay is the addition of an Aura Burst Charge, which briefly upgrades your character in a unique way--say, by regenerating lost health, or increasing attack power--and an Aura Burst Guard, which lets you guard against attacks even more effectively than a regular Block button. The Aura Burst Guard, however, can get a bit frustrating and even cheap, as it is not as easy to break as a normal Block, and computer players (who you'll likely be fighting most of the time) use it endlessly.

I can't really fault Another Road's fighting for being too similar to its predecessor, though, because there wasn't much to improve upon. This game does up the ante, however close it may be to the last game. I only lament the continued absence of a full in-game transformation system; as before, you pick one transformation (say, Super Saiyan 3) at the start of a battle, and your character can switch between that form and their normal form, but with nothing in between.

Story - 7/10
I give it two bonus points for an original idea: do a what-if story instead of basing it on the same story we've seen a thousand times before in the TV shows and movies. Now if the story were actually good, it could have gotten a 12.

The game's story follows Future Trunks several years after he saved his world from the Androids and the significantly weaker Cell. It's a what-if scenario involving Majin Buu being revived in this timeline, with all the Z Fighters dead and only Trunks to defend the planet. Well, not surprisingly, Atari takes the easy way out, and Trunks uses his time machine to bring the entire crew to the future with him to help him out. From here, the story basically turns into a repeat of the Buu saga with slight alterations here and there. There's a little something new for DBZ fans to enjoy if they want a new tale, but Atari's compulsive need to include every playable character in the Story Mode really limits what they can do with it.

The battle field, which is a new feature in this game, does liven up the Story Mode quite a bit. Instead of a series of linear battles, you are placed on a field with several cities around you, and several enemies attempting either to destroy these cities or to fight you and your allies (you may choose two). You are given a clear condition (such as "Defeat Buu before time runs out!") which is required to pass the level, as well as a mission (such as "Don't let any cities fall below 30% health!") which is required to get a Z ranking. This adds a nice feeling of tension and difficulty to the otherwise bland and easy Story Mode that characterized the last game.

Graphics/Sound - 9/10
The graphics maintain their cel-shaded style that's been a constant since Budokai 2. By now Atari has perfected the style. I take off half a point because, in a slight downgrade from the PS2 Budokais, the characters do not move their mouths when they speak. This is not a huge issue, however.

You can tell they really made an effort to include more voice-overs this time around. In Story Mode, the characters speak some of their lines during cut-scenes (only at the beginning of each chapter and on the battle field). Yet, after five games, I do get tired of hearing Vegeta yell "Eat this!" every time he fires a blast. Atari should really vary up the sound effects and grunts during battles, or at least add a lot more so that we don't hear the same things all the time.

Replayability - 7/10
After you've beaten the Story Mode (or while you're playing it), there are several alternate paths you can take, many of which have more difficult conditions to pass and lead to alternate endings. These paths provide a bit of extra interest, and they are necessary to unlock some characters that cannot be obtained by strictly staying with one path. Unlocking characters and transformations is one of the main draws of any recent DBZ fighting game, and with 24 characters in all, this game delivers on that. Though some of the unlockables are a great deal more confusing this time around; I'm still not sure exactly what I did to unlock Super Saiyan 4 Goku, but I'm pretty sure it wasn't because I tore my hair out and screamed.

Besides the unlockables and the alternate story paths, you'll find a lot to do in the game's other modes. There's Arcade mode, in which you can choose any character and fight ten battles in a row under the pretense of competing in the Tenkaichi Budokai (though the fighting stages, oddly, are chosen at random, which really takes away from that reasoning). Each match is preceded by custom dialogue between the combatants, and the end cut-scene deals with what your character does after winning the tournament. So it's almost like 24 miniature Story Modes, and they kept me entertained for a while after beating the main adventure.

You'll also find Z Trial Mode, Training Mode, and Network Battle (though this only works if you have a friend with a PSP in the same room), which are all variations on fighting. The bonus modes, as in the last game, tend to run together a bit and seem almost the same. There's only so long you can keep fighting battles with your characters. Luckily, in a great improvement from the first game, you have the option to customize characters using the new Booster Card system. Here, you can take cards that boost specific stats (such as ki building, health, punching strength, etc) and attach them to your characters to make them as strong in certain areas as you see fit. You can build your Gogeta into an unstoppable powerhouse, or take poor Android 18 and give her a better chance to prove herself. Your Teen Gohan, while weak in all other respects, can house an amazing Super Kamehameha that will knock out all opponents instantly, should you choose to deck him out with nothing but super-move Boosters. There's a good supply of possibilities here, and you can have fun for a while with this before getting bored.

Inevitably, however, you will end up getting bored. DBZ games do not tend to be ones you can play endlessly. Most likely, you'll put it down for a few weeks, then pick it up again with some renewed interest and maybe try to get a Z ranking on all the missions in Story Mode, or maybe decorate the entirely pointless and only slightly amusing Profile Card. But after the initial impact of new features wears off, you'll likely shelve this game until you can sell it on eBay when Shin Budokai 3 comes out.

Overall: 8/10
Another Road is a good addition to the DBZ franchise, and a solid fighting game for the PSP? Something about it just doesn't seem like it's enough to be an entire sequel to its predecessor, but is it better than the last game? Absolutely. If you don't own either game and are deciding between the two, then this is the answer. If you own the first one, it's your call. I sold the first one to get this, which was, I think, a good decision. It's a solid upgrade. DBZ fans will enjoy it thoroughly, and fighting game fans will find something special here as well.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 04/17/07