63 out of 63 people found this review helpful.
DragonBall Z: Budokai 3 - I guess third time is the charm.
Date of Review: Jan 3, 2005
The Bottom Line: Not for people who want a serious fighting game but a blast for those even remotely interested in DBZ!
DragonBall Z: Budokai 3 is possibly the best DBZ game to date... and I've played DBZ games as far back as the Super Nintendo (actually the Super Famicon since that version of the game was never released in the US). Problem is that Budokai 3 isn't the best fighting game out there... heck it ranks pretty poorly as a fighting game if you pit it against games like Virtua Fighter 3, Tekken 4, Dead or Alive Ultimate... heck, even the Street Fighter 2 series games! Why the heck would I give Budokai 3 four stars then?!
Because if you enjoy the way DBZ anime executes battles and the over the top special attacks and ultimate moves, you can't help but love Budokai 3! You feel like you're fighting in a DBZ battle with one of the Z warriors. Forget the fact that many of the battles can won by mashing one or two buttons... as you play, it feels like watching one of the major DBZ battles on TV and that you're in control of it. This is where Budokai 3 shows its charm... and if you have the slightest interest then you can't help but sit back and enjoy Vegeta's Big Bang Blast or Goku's Spirit Bomb.
Controls: Basics
Character movement is mostly forward and backwards on the directional pad. Double tapping forwards will dash forwards while holding forward after the double tap will rush forward. The same holds for retreating.
The game basically has three meters on your character... health, Ki, and fatigue. The health gauge is obvious... if that hits zero, you're defeated. Fatigue occurs if you execute big moves and get hit by a series of small or big moves. Fatigue play a factor in executing or defending against ultimate attacks. The Ki meter is a bit different... all energy attacks, advanced defensive skills, and hyper attacks require it. All characters have a baseline Ki level (Goku has a baseline 3) that their Ki level will return to. You can overcharge your Ki level up to 7 bars and increase it by powering up in battle (if you have the ability). Goku can increase his baseline Ki level by powering up to Super Saiyan (baseline becomes 4 now). Each character has certain sets of rules to follow with their power up forms as well. The higher your baseline Ki, the greater chance that you can execute an extremely powerful energy attack or maintain Hyper mode status.
Budokai 3 keeps a rather simple layout... punch, kick, guard/block/evade, and energy attack. Combined with the directional pad, you have several different attack combinations and evasive movements. However, Budokai is by no means a complicated fighter... it is one that is meant to recreate DragonBall Z fighting experience! Pressing the energy button fires weak energy balls towards the enemy... up to 3 or 4 balls in a row (depending on the character). Pressing the punch button 4 times will execute a standing punch combo while pressing forward on the directional pad with the punch button will execute a more vicious punch and launch combo. Holding back will have your Z warrior execute a combo that smashes your opponent into the ground.
The guard button gets a bit more complicated... holding the guard button will block most attacks (you do take reduced damage however!). Holding the guard button while pressing down quickly twice will taunt the enemy (and decrease his Ki energy) or use an item if you equipped one. Holding the guard button while pressing back twice and then holding back will allow you to charge your Ki meter and overcharge it beyond your character's normal Ki levels. There is still more! Pressing the guard button while tapping once up or down will have the character evade to his left or right. If your opponent is executing simple punch and kick combos then rapidly tapping the guard button will have your Z warrior twisting and turning his body (There's only two female fighters in the game) evading the punches and kicks... complete with the black speed lines that make the Z warrior look like he's moving really fast! Heck you can even reflect the weak energy balls... pressing guard and holding it just before the ball hits you deflects the energy balls away from the battle while tapping it when the energy ball gets near you reflects it back to the opponent! If this is sounding weird to you... then you haven't watched a battle in DragonBall Z... cause this really recreates that experience!
Note that you have to equip skills... you have seven slots to do this... although some skills take more than one slot. For example, to give Goku the ability to change into Super Saiyan 4... you need to equip KaioKen (I don't think you need this actually), Super Saiyan, Super Saiyan 2, Super Saiyan 3, and Super Saiyan 4. That's five slots you've used up. His Kamehameha blast and Spirit Bomb attack take up the last two.
Advanced Controls... That DBZ feeling!
Now DBZ fans know... if the series is known for any one thing... it is the execution of powerful energy and beam attacks in battles. The ones that devastate whole continents and even destroy worlds... you read that right! When you obtain these skills pressing forward or backwards with the energy button (and provided you have enough Ki) will fire off these devastating beam attacks (these attacks are specific to each character like Destructo Disc is usable by Krillin and Android 18, Death Beam by Frieza, so on and so forth).
Teleport defense and combos are another trademark of the series. A well timed press of the guard button while pressing towards your enemy will have your character evade an attack, teleport behind the enemy, and give you the chance to land a punishing blow. If you do the same during a launch or beam attack, you can teleport behind the enemy and land extra punishing blows and repeat for several hits in sequence. Oh yea... there's that DBZ feeling!
Many of the characters have powered up modes... which increase your attack and defense ratings and often increase your baseline Ki levels. For example, Vegeta has multiple powered up modes. If he increased his Ki to 4 bars, he can enter Super Saiyan mode which boosts his damage, increases his defense, and increases his baseline Ki to 4 from 3. At 5 bars, he can enter Super Saiyan 2 mode which further increases his attack and defense ratings. At 6 bars, he can enter Majin Vegeta mode (if equipped). At 7 bars, he can enter Super Saiyan 4 (if equipped).
All characters have a hyper mode which you enter by pressing all four buttons (or L2 as the shortcut button). This increases your damage and defense and allows you to not get stunned by weak hits. Hyper mode sets you up for trademarks that DBZ is known for! Note that hyper mode drains your Ki and if you hit zero Ki, you become fatigued. You can halt the Ki drainage if you land a Dragon Rush or connect with an Ultimate Attack.
Over the top combos are another thing the series is known for... so here comes the Dragon Rush combos. If a character enters hyper mode and strikes his opponent with either a rush attack, beam attack, or launching move/combo, you can enter a dragon rush. Both the players must choose a button, if the attacker and defender don't press the same button, the dragon rush continues. Two catches, the dragon rush always ends after the third sequence and the attacker cannot pick the same button in each subsequent attack during a single dragon rush combo. IF the attacker finishes the three attacks successfully, the dragon rush causes a ridiculous amount of damage that is very hard to recover from if at all. If the defender can block the attack the dragon rush ends... and if they can block on the first attack, you will get a freebie attack that can cause more damage to the attacker instead. Some characters have special Dragon Rush finishers like Goku with the Warp Kamehamaha, Piccolo with the Special Beam Cannon (I like the Japanese original name MaGoPoSanPo!), and Vegeta with Flash Flash.
Some other DBZ favorites are the Beam Struggle and Melee Struggle. Melee Struggles are when two characters attack each other with similar powered physical attacks at about the same time. The screen goes blue and the two characters are rapidly punching and kicking at each other, both side must spin their joysticks and rapidly press their buttons until one side lands a powerful blow that will knock the other character to the other side of the screen. Beam Struggles occur if characters fire their beam attacks at about the same time (and with both characters not too close to each other). The beams lock into each other and you have to wildly spin your joystick and mash your buttons to overpower the opponent's beam attack (i.e. first battle between Goku and Vegeta in DBZ).
Now for the meat and potatoes... remember I said that the one thing DBZ in known for is the execution of devastating energy attacks... heh heh heh heh heh. DBZ fans... here are the Ultimate attacks. These are the uber powerful attacks that can level planets in DBZ. These attacks require you to enter hyper mode with at least 5 bars of Ki energy. You and the opponent have to fill up a bar if you filled more of your bar on two of the three attempts, you have a successful attack (note that the overall bar can be smaller can be smaller than your opponent and you can still win). A successful attack will deal as much damage as a full dragon rush combo. A unsuccessful attack may deal significantly less damage, completely whiff, or damage to you! This is dependent on the ultimate attack. If coupled with a destroyable stage, you get a spectacular attack showing the earth and the huge explosion on the surface of the planet and a devastated stage.
Game Options and Modes
What can you do in Budokai 3? Well, quite a bit actually. You have the main Dragon Universe mode which allows you to pick certain characters and repeat their actual DBZ storylines... Goku, Gohan, Vegeta, Krillin, Piccolo, and a few more. It is through this mode that you will gain most of the characters skills and unlock additional stages and characters to play in other modes usually. If you finish all the playable characters in Dragon Universe, you unlock Dragon Arena... where you can one on one battles against friends or the computer. Other modes include World Champion mode (which gets you cash/zenie to buy skills for the characters you can't play in Dragon Universe mode). Practice/Training mode helps you get the hang of the basic skills needed to play Budokai and allows you to try all the moves out.
Bonuses
There are a couple of bonuses for characters and stages. In some stages, you can execute stage specific hyper mode rush and launch attacks that send the opponent through mountains and items causing excessive damage to him. Some characters have bonus transformations... like Goku, Vegeta, Kid Tunks, and Goten. By this, I mean the fusion powerup. Goku and Vegeta can merge to form Vegito with the Potara earring skill or merge to form Gogito with the Gogito Fusion Dance... and then there is the SS4 (Super Saiyan 4) Gogito Fusion Dance. SS4 Gogito is the most powerful character available in the game by far... he does a ridiculous amount of damage off the bat. Goten and Trunks can fuse to form Gotenks or SS4 Gotenks (I haven't gotten this power up yet).
Graphics of Budokai
The game uses cel shaded graphics that are highly reminiscent of the DBZ cartoons... characters move fluidly and look great. Stages look DBZ-ish and keep that feel that you're battling in the DBZ universe.
What's Wrong with Budokai?
As long as you keep the premise that Budokai is trying to recreate the feel of the DBZ fights and isn't as highly tuned as other 2D and 3D fighters out there, Budokai 3 is a highly enjoyable game! There are a few minor quips... the most major of those is the rehashing of animations for all the characters. Dragon Rushes are essentially similar for all the characters with a variation if you complete the Dragon Rush. Most characters share their basic attacks with at least one other character in the game. Other minor gripes include the music and occassional lackluster voice acting (even though the American voice actors for the series voiced their respective characters). There are scenes where there is no additional voice over work which didn't make sense.
End Game
In the end, DBZ: Budokai 3 successfully recreates the feel of a DBZ battle which makes it highly entertaining although a short lived game. This is by far the best production for a DBZ game that I'm aware of.
