Prepare…
- NA release: 28th October 2003
- EU release: 14th November 2003
- JP release: 28th November 2003
- Developer: Dimps
- Publisher: Atari (NA), Bandai (EU/JP)
- NGC Magazine Score: 43%
- Mods Used: Widescreen Hack
Some licensed games are made for people with deep knowledge in the franchise, while others are made for anyone with a passing interest. Budokai seems very much to be the former, telling a very abridged version of the Dragonball Z story. There’s a part where Goku dies and then (all in a cutscene) just has a little walk in the afterlife, speaks to a king and is all better. If you didn’t know the story already, not even the narrator (who sounds a lot like the Pokémon anime narrator) will help you follow things.
What’s impressive about that is that even in such an abridged state, you’ll be spending far more time in the story mode watching instead of playing. The game itself is a one on one fighter, which is a good fit for Dragonball Z, with a few minigames dotted about. Some big moments – such as Vegeta turning into a giant ape, are unfortunately relegated to cutscenes.
As a fighter, it’s quite simple. Melee attacks will charge up your energy, which you can use for energy blasts. You can often punch your opponent over and hit them with a powerful blast as they fall down. Some fights will let you fly a bit, although I found those controls awkward. For such an animated form of fighting, the lack of any kind of jump is strange. Outside of the story, you can pick which opponents you fight as a CPU player and there’s plenty to unlock. Something for fans of the show.
Fine
The one thing we feel it has got going for it is that it made us laugh. We laughed for all the wrong reasons, mind. The story mode’s cut-scenes are so unintentionally amusing that your own mouth could very well snap off under the strain of laughter.
Geraint Evans, NGC Magazine #87
Remake or remaster?
Dragonball Z fans would enjoy a collection.
Official Ways to get the game
There is no official way to get Dragon Ball Z: Budokai.
Europe
Japan
North America
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