Video Game Review: Dragonball Z: Budokai for the Playstation 2

Dragonball Z: Budokai is the 3rd Dragonball video game released by Infograms and the first DBZ game released on the PS2 (the first 2 games were released on the Gameboy Advance). Budokai is much like Tekken and Virtual Fighter which sports 3D graphics and uses button and d-pad commands to execute combos and special moves. There are over 20 characters in the game with 6 different play modes.

The Buzz: It has been many years since we've seen a legitimate Dragonball video game, especially one released in the U.S. The last DB game created by Bandai was a weak effort called Dragonball Z: Final Bout for the PS1. The graphics were sub par, the controls were terrible and even though it looked and sounded like a Dragonball game, it never felt like one. There were others before it as well for the PS1 and the Super Famicom (the Japanese Super Nintendo) but again, they were nothing more than bad titles taking advantage of a popular franchise. Many fans were skeptic when Funimation granted Infograms the rights to develop exclusive Dragonball titles for the US (Infograms is not known to make stellar games on any console). These doubts may have not been unwarranted as The Legacy of Goku for the Gameboy Advance (developed by Webfoot technologies) is a below average game. But this is not the case with Dragonball Z: Budokai for the PS2 as it's surprisingly good. Infograms sought out and hired Japanese developer Dimps to create the PS2 game and it turns out to be a very good decision. Although it's not the best fighting game on the PS2, it is a very good game that captures the essence of Dragonball Z and is fun to play! The graphics and game play are solid and the sound is excellent. Although many non-Dragonball fans are saying the game is just an average fighting title, this game is much better than Final Bout and Legacy of Goku, and is the best Dragonball Z game on any console to date!

The good: Naturally the game's strong points are the decent graphics, excellent sound, responsive control and overall feel. When you fight, use combos/special moves and KI up all the actions, graphics and sound effects you expect from this character follows. For example: when Vegita transforms from Super Saiya-jin to Super Vegita, his body gets more buff, his hair increases (gets wilder I guess) and his speed and power are increases. Or when Goku maxes out his KI, his body makes the motion that he is finished KIing up, and he screams "DAAAHH" to reflect that he has maxed out his power; and while all this is happening you hear original sound effects from the TV series. There are so many other little details I can post, but there would be too many to describe. These little things, no matter how small, make the difference in the game. The controls, while they may be clunky at times, are very responsive and most moves are easy to execute (some are rather difficult to do in an actual battle, but I guess its all about a player practicing). The part of the game really stands out is the custom capsule system. Here you can earn and customize any fighter's skills you choose based on the capsules you earn from the various modes of the game or purchase from Mr.Popo's shop. Its not a perfectly balanced system, but it's very addicting trying to collect all of the capsules for your favorite character. It is also fun to pit your custom fighter with a friends custom fighter (via the PS2 memory card slots) to see who is the best. There are also lots of little special bonuses in the game and some of them are nice for the fans.

The bad: Despite a large system of special attacks with lots of abilities for each character, there are some pitfalls to the overall fighting system. The fighting engine, while good, is not very deep. Since the game is not very deep it can get old very quickly, especially once you unlock all the secrets of the game. Also each character uses 1 control template for all the button combinations they have. It's a weak concept having each character with the same button combinations for their attacks. I would have liked to see online play as well; it would have been nice to pit my best custom character against another online. And if you only like the original Japanese voices, you will be out of luck. The US game only has the original English dub on the disk. And while it's very good, you may have a bad reaction to the game because of it. Read the Dragonball Otaku advice below for more information on that.

Graphics: 7
Sound: 9
Game Play: 7
Replay Value: 5
Critic's tilt: 9
Overall: 7

Should I get this game?: As a Dragonball fan I love this game (well, REALLY... I love the European version with the original Japanese voices). If you love Dragonball Z and like the English Dub, this game is a no brainier purchase. You will find yourself playing over and over again learning all the secrets and trying to win Zeni from the tournament, collecting all the capsules from Mr. Popo. If your not so big on Dragonball or if you only like the original Japanese voices, then you should rent before you buy.

What if I'm a Dragonball Otaku?: Sadly, due to technical reason (the official word is they couldn't fit both Japanese and English language tracks on the DVD disk but since there is over 3 gigs left on the disk one would have to imagine Infograms did not have enough time to release a dual language game before the 2002 holidays), Infograms decided to release the US game with the English dub only. It would have been nice to have the option to select the Japanese voices or to purchase a special version with the Japanese dub only (since the European version has the Japanese dub with English menu's and English subtitles for the story mode). But as usual the US Dragonball Otaku is left in the cold with the only real option available is to get the Japanese version. I understand the Japanese version of the game is undergoing localization and will be released in Japan in late February 2003. Most import shops will have the game by March 2003 or you can pre-order it at the NCS videogame import game shop. I can tell you from comparing both the US and European versions, the English dubs were not bad. In fact they were done just as good as the Japanese dub. Don't get me wrong, I still prefer the Japanese dubs for the game! From where I stand however, I can only recommend renting the US game first before you purchase it. Getting a mod chip (the Magic 3 works great) installed and importing the Japanese version is a very expensive option, but it is an option worth considering ^_^!

Import Update: The Japanese import of Budokai is now available at import stores in the US. You can find this game online at NCSX.com (do a search for dragon ball at the store; the game will run you $60+shipping) or you can check BuyRitegames.com (I never purchased from these guys, but the game is cheaper here). Remember: you will need a mod chip to play the import game on a US PS2 consoles. You can do a lookup for the Magic 3 on any search engine for more information.

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