Dragon Ball Z: Budokai
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| Dragon Ball Z: Budokai | |
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| Developer(s) | Dimps |
| Publisher(s) | NA Infogrames EU Infogrames JPN Bandai |
| Platform(s) | PlayStation 2 GameCube |
| Release date | Sony PlayStation 2 EU November 9, 2002 NA December 3, 2002 JPN February 13, 2003 Nintendo GameCube NA October 28, 2003 EU November 14, 2003 JPN November 28, 2003 |
| Genre(s) | Fighting |
| Mode(s) | Multiplayer |
| Rating(s) | ESRB: Teen (T) |
| Media | 1 × DVD-ROM (PS2) GameCube Optical Disc |
| Input methods | PlayStation 2 Controller GameCube Controller |
Dragon Ball Z: Budokai, released as Dragon Ball Z (ドラゴンボールZ Doragon Bōru Zetto?) in Japan, is a fighting video game that was released for the PlayStation 2 on December 3, 2002 in North America and for the GameCube in North America on October 28, 2003. The game was released in Japan by Bandai on the PlayStation 2 in February 13, 2003, while the Nintendo GameCube release was brought out near the end of the year, on November 28, 2003. It was developed by Dimps and published by Atari. As the GameCube version was released almost a year after the PlayStation 2 version, the opportunity was taken to improve the graphics using cel-shading.
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[edit] Gameplay
[edit] Skills
Each character can be optionally customised by using a 7-slot skill tray; players may choose up to 7 skills and assign them to a fighter. Some skills can take up multiple slots. These skills can be used in "World Tournament" Mode and Versus Mode. (You can't use skills on Story Mode, only the one's the character already has.) Skills may be purchased from Mr. Popo with the prize money from the World Tournament mode.
There are three types of skills: Special Moves, which include skills such as the Kamehameha Wave and the ability to become Super Saiyan; Physical, which includes such skills as Zanku Fist; and Equipment, which provide boosts such as increased defense. One can also purchase Dragon Balls, and when you have all of them, Oolong appears and summons Shenron, giving the player a choice of 3 Breakthrough capsules; these allow a player to use all of a character's moves and abilities at once.
[edit] Story mode
The Story Mode consists of 3D cutscenes adapted from the series (though more close to the manga than the anime). Unlike later Budokai games, the story mode is similar to most other fighting games (in which cutscenes occur between battles). The story mode covers 3 Sagas - Saiyan, Namek, Android - and the player automatically collects capsules (or sometimes Dragon Balls) at the end of each battle. Depending on which episode is being played, the playable characters are Goku, Gohan, Piccolo and Vegeta. At the end of every saga there are bonus what if episodes, and one plays as the main villain of that saga; Vegeta, Frieza and Cell respectively.
- In Vegeta's storyline, Vegeta: Saiyan Prince, Vegeta and Goku then duel, and Vegeta defeats him with minimum effort, driven by the desire to avenge Nappa. Then Kuririn and Gohan turn up, and Vegeta beats them separately. After the battle, Vegeta speaks to himself for a minute while Yajirobe sneaks up behind him. Vegeta hears Yajirobe, and, impressed by Yajirobe's bravery, offers him to become his next pupil. Yajirobe refuses, stating that he doesn't want to end up like Nappa. Enraged at being reminded of Nappa's death, Vegeta screams in anger, and becomes a Super Saiyan. The episode ends.
- In Frieza's storyline, Rampaging Frieza, Frieza successfully beats Goku, Piccolo, Vegeta, Krillin and Gohan in battle. He then succeeds in wishing for immortality. Blowing up Namek, Frieza returns to his spaceship, deciding to destroy Earth next. The episode ends.
- In Cell's storyline, A Cold-Blooded Assassin, Cell attempts to absorb 17 and 18, and successfully beats 16 in battle. He then absorbs 17, but while attempting to absorb 18, Krillin jumps in the way, causing Cell to accidentally absorb Krillin, shrink to Krillin's size & colors, and lose a lot of power. Yamcha and Tien then show up to challenge the weakened Cell. He just manages to beat Yamcha, but he is then killed by Tien. The real Cell then wakes up in the middle of the Cell Ring, realizing that it was a dream & that ten days waiting for the tournament is a long time to wait. The episode ends.
[edit] World tournament
The World Tournament allows players to compete against a computer-controlled character in a Martial Arts Tournament. The Prizes are the following:
- Novice: 10,000 Zeni
- Adept: 30,000 Zeni
- Advance: 50,000 Zeni
[edit] Dueling
Dueling mode allows a player to fight a computer-controlled character at a preset skill level, or two human players to fight each other using any custom skills. A player may also watch a fight between two computer-controlled fighters.
[edit] Playable characters
- Goku
- Kid Gohan
- Teen Gohan
- Great Saiyaman
- Vegeta
- Trunks
- Piccolo
- Tien
- Yamcha
- Krillin
- Android 16
- Android 17
- Android 18
- Android 19
- Frieza
- Dodoria
- Zarbon
- Captain Ginyu
- Recoome
- Cell
- Hercule
- Nappa
- Raditz
[edit] Voice cast
The North American version contains the voice actors from the FUNimation dub of the anime series, with all other localised versions containing the original Japanese dub with subtitles. Due to the fact that the FUNimation voice actors wern't present at the dubbing of the first two seasons of DBZ, this game gave them the first opportunity to dub their characters in the cut-scenes that took place in said seasons, before they would re-dub the first two seasons later.
[edit] Reception
Critics game the game mixed or average reviews. The PS2 version received an average score of 68% based on 41 reviews on the review aggregator Game Rankings[1], and an average score of 67 out of 100 based on 28 reviews on Metacritic.[2]
The GameCube version received an average score of 66% based on 30 reviews on the review aggregator Game Rankings[3], and an average score of 65 out of 100 based on 16 reviews on Metacritic.[4]
Many critics complained about its simple interface and the fact that combos weren't worth the payoff. Many people liked the cutscenes, and compared them to the original anime because the art was more distinctive than that of subsequent series, such as the Tenkaichi series.[verification needed]
[edit] See also
- Dragon Ball Z
- Dragon Ball Z: Budokai 2
- Dragon Ball Z: Budokai 3
- Dragon Ball Z & Z 2 Original Soundtrack
[edit] External links
- Atari's Budokai page
- Dragon Ball Z: Budokai at MobyGames
- Dragon Ball Z: Budokai review at IGN
- Dragon Ball Z: Budokai at Game Rankings
