This is the third installment of Dragonball Z Budokai, for Playstation 2, rated Teen. I'll be rating this game on a scale of 1 to 10. 1 is bad, 10 is good. This is my first Review, by the way, so let's get started.
Story (Dragon Universe): 8
The is the same as the anime. You can select a character and go through the story as them when they played an important roll. I really didn't like when some of the dialogue didn't have any voiceover at all. There should have been voiceovers for all of the dialogue. I personally liked the stories in the first Budokai. It was entertaining and a replica of the TV show.
Characters: 9
There's an abundance of characters to choose from. Each one has its own attack combination, as well as different moves. Even though certain characters have a distinct advantage over one another, like starting off with more ki bars and just being better all around, it's still good to see all the Z characters ready for a scrap.
Voice Acting: 9.9
Probably the best part of the game. I definitely like the screams in the game and the quotes of most characters. (My personal favorite is when Dr. Gero and Super Buu says "you're toast".) Everything was almost perfect except for one thing: Cell. If Atari had made separate voices for his transformed states, then I would have given it a 10. It doesn't really bother me much. Still, it would have been perfect if they had made just that change.
Sound Effects: 10
From the teleporting, energy attacks, the sound of flight, and even the Super Saiyan sound effect, there's nothing better than hearing the goodness of DBZ.
Controls: 5
The worst part about the controls is
learning the combination commands for all of the characters. Some of the
stronger characters have better and longer combination sequences, which
serves as a disadvantage to other characters. Even Kakarot (Goku) doesn't
have the best combinations. The characters that have the best are the Buus
and Broly. Dodging shouldn't make you lose ki. There's no energy involved
whatsoever. Plus, you have to time it just right when you're being attacked
or it won't work. You should also be able to teleport at any time instead
of while being attacked. Overall, the controls weren't all that great.
But if I can deal with it, so can you.
Gameplay: 8.5
The gameplay here shouldn't be that much of a problem to master. If you've played one of its predecessors, then you will only have a few new skills to learn. Dodging allows you to avoid physical attacks such as kicks and punches. Performing this costs one half of a Ki gauge bar. Pursuing allows you to get an extra hit on your opponent as soon as you send them flying. When you teleport on your rival, it costs two Ki bars but allows you to counterattack from behind. When you go into hyper mode, you glow and your energy will steadily decline. The negative side to this that you become immobilized once all of your energy is used up, but the positive side is that you are resistant to regular attacks and Ki Blast Waves. To go into the Dragon Rush, you must first be in Hyper Mode. To activate this, you must knock back your opponent and press the energy button after doing so. The Dragon Rush plays in three phases and the defender gets a chance to block some damage in each phase. This is basically like Rock, Paper, Scissors. It's all about luck here. When you perform an Ultimate Attack, you have to be in Hyper Mode and have enough Ki bars stored to unleash this devastating move. Each player must try to press a button at the exact moment the gauge fills- the player who comes closest "wins" that round. When the defender wins, some of the damage is blocked. But when the attacker wins, watch out! When you and your opponent both perform death moves simultaneously, the beam struggle occurs. You must spin your analog sticks as fast as you can in order to avoid the extra damage that the death move would normally do. Not all of the characters can do this, which lowers the score a little bit. These are just some examples of what the gameplay is about. There's a lot more to it than this so you would actually have to play this to get the feel of it.
Graphics: 8
The graphics are decent here. I liked the Super Saiyan 2 effect, where electricity is surrounding a character. All the characters look just like they're supposed to look. The environments are good too. Blowing up planets when you perform an ultimate attack can be a blast too. No complaints in the graphics department.
Music: 8
The music here is great. What caught my attention was the song of Inside Buu. It was like a remix of one of the songs off of X-Men Legends. Very well done, I might add. I also noticed how they stuck one of the songs off of the first Budokai and placed in the Hyperbolic Time Chamber. Atari could've been more creative than that. The song that wasn't really memorable was Planet Namek. It was very good in the first Budokai. The option menu is marvelous. I started movin' to it as I first heard it. The music here is great. Enough said.
Difficulty Level: 7
The two things that make this game difficult are the fact that characters have advantages over each other and Dragon Universe. If you were Hercule and you had to face Kid Buu, we already know who would win. In Dragon Universe, enemies always seem to have the upper hand in the level status. Stay alert when facing these cheaters.
Replay Value: 9
You'll keep playing again and again if you're a true DBZ fan. Nothing else to say here.
Fun Factor!: 10
This game can only be fun if you make it fun. I always have fun playing it. This game was so fun that I went to Best Buy just to play this. The Dragon Rush was the icing on the cake. It was a new experience and what made it a true DBZ game. So this is a 10 hands down.
Overall: 9
If you're down with DBZ, buy this game immediately. This is worth every penny you've got. I recommend this to any hardcore gamer who likes fighting games also. Just be patient with the controls.
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