Dragonball Z: Budokai Review
By: WLN1226
Over the past several months, many people have purchased/rented DBZ:B for their
Playstation 2 Entertainment Systems. Many people have enjoyed the game, many have hated
it. This game will be either good or bad depending on your personal tastes. So let’s get to the actual review, eh?
GRAPHICS
Starting off with the basic type of review. Graphics in Budokai are excellent.
The menus seem very cartoonish, but once you actually begin to play the game, you’ll be in
Dragonball Paradise (assuming being beaten senseless is paradies for you). The cel-shading
in this game is superb. The characters have made an excellent jump from their 2
dimensional realm into startling 3-D clarity. All the characters were brought over with a
lot of thought put into making them as real as possible. Goku’s gi is just on example.
Vegeta’s hair is another. The creators of Budokai were very careful when making their
creation, and it paid off. As far as the environments go, they are superb. From such
locations as Cell’s Ring, Kami’s Lookout, and Namek, you get to beat your opponent into
oblivion in some of the nicest backgrounds I’ve ever seen in a fighter. So, with the
exception of the menus, the graphics for this game are excellent. My rating:
9.5/10
SOUND
Another division of this game done with superb clarity, the sound department did
an excellent job. While the typical punch/kick/fall noises are as prevelant here as in any
fighter, the extras make it all worthwhile. Goku shouting Kamehameha as he launches his
signature attack, or Vegeta talking some trash before destroying you, the sound technicians
were very thorough when bringing characters attitudes over. The background music may get a
little repetitive after listening to it for hours on end, so a CD player may come in handy.
Otherwise, the sound department did a great job. Plus a point for Oolong’s grunt at the
beginning of the game.
8/10
GAMEPLAY
Story Mode
The story mode in DBZ:B is an excellent retelling of the DBZ adventure up to and
through the defeat of Cell. Time and thought were put into this mode to make sure it came
out flawless, and it did. After beating it once, you can go back and relive the sagas
through the eyes of one of the less main characters (such as Piccolo in the Saiyan Saga).
Another nice thing about story mode is the additional “Bonus” Episodes at the end of each
saga, an excellent idea using “What-Ifs”. So, the story mode gets my full approval.
Story Mode – 10/10
Duel Mode
This is the place where you will enjoy defeating your friends. The only type of
gameplay to discuss here is the actual fighting. This is a game where button mashing won’t
get you very far, and for that veteran gamers are glad. The system for keying in special
attack such as Kamehameha may seem very simple, but some of the more complex ones (such as
Vegeta’s Big Bang Attack) can be slightly difficult to pull of in a battle where your
friend won’t give you time to hit all the buttons. So, for the Duel Mode, I give a score of:
Duel Mode – 10/10
World Tournament Mode
Ah, for some this is the meat and potatoes of this game. The only way to make
money is to annihilate your opponents for the enjoyment of all the residents of Earth.
This is a very well thought out mode, but the actual gameplay is lacking. The major
concernis the ease in which you can get a ring out on your opponent. In this mode,a flying
concept should have been included to prevent 3 second ring outs. After all, would Vegeta
really lose to Goku in 3 seconds, or vicea-versa? I don’t think so. So, the World
Tournament Mode gets a score of:
World Tournament Mode – 8/10
Practice Mode
The place to train and get to know your character is here. This is a very
simple mode which offers many possible way to train. Offensive, defensive, or true combat
training await you here. The only major drawback to this mode is the limit of one player.
If two players could train together, well, this mode would be much better.
Practice Mode – 9/10
Capsule Setup Mode/Popo’s Shop
OK, now things get hairy. While the system for equipping moves (capsules) is
unique and a great way to endear this game to gamers, Popo’s Shop is the example of what
NOT to do in a video game. After hearing Popo say “ How may I help you?” for the
thousandthtime, you’ll wonder how your TV and PS2 are still working. Without exaggeration,
there are well over 1000 capsules to be purchased in this game. And seeing as the only way
to get them with speed is through Popo, well, you’ll be ready to launch a Final Flash
through your TV just to get Popo in no time.
Capsule Setup – 10/10 Popo’s Shop – 0/10
GAMEPLAY TOTAL – 9/10
REPLAY VALUE
This is the one department where most everyone has an agreeable opinion on.
This game is too short. However, there is a way to extend the lifetime of this game. At
such places as GameFAQ’s and Gamrguy’s DBZ: Budokai Arena, we have these great things
called tournaments. They have extended this game’s life well beyond what anyone would have
originally predicted. So I will give this two separate scores:
Non-Tournament – 6/10 Tournament – 10/10
REPLAY VALUE TOTAL SCORE – 8.5/10
RENT OR BUY?
Depends. If you are a hardcore DBZ fan, you must buy this game. If you aren’t
rent it. Try to beat it, but find and enter a tournament or two. If you find you like the
game, you may just want to buy it for use in tournaments. It is a great game for two to
play, especially considering the Capsule System. So all in all I recommend buying. In the
end it is well worth the $50. Plus, you can always go back and whip Frieza or Cell some
day when you have nothing better to do.
BUY
TOTAL SCORE – 9/10
FINAL WORDS
This is a good game. Buy it. Just buy it. This is WLN talking here, not an
objective reviewer. If you enter one tournament, you’ll be hooked. Trust me. When I
bought this game, I thought I’d play it for a week and then maybe dust it off once a year. Once I started hosting tournaments, I found new life in this game. I play it nearly every
day now. It is indeed well worth the $50 you’ll have to pay. So, go out and buy, and
enjoy!