Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 2 (PS2) Review
Posted by Chris McCarver on 12.06.2006
Kaaa-me... HAAA-ME... huh..??
Platform: Playstation 2 (also available for Wii)
Publisher: Atari (in association with Namco/Bandai Games)
Developer: Spike
ESRB Rating: T (mild realistic violence)
Release Date: November 7, 2006
Review by CHRIS McCARVER
First off, I want to get something straight right off the bat: I love anime. Seriously. I've got over a hundred DVDs of the stuff on my shelf ranging from Chobits and Steel Angel Kurumi to Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex and Ergo Proxy, and my butt's on the couch any time a new series somehow finds its way on American TV. So please understand that, as much of a die-hard otaku as I may be, Dragon Ball Z has always escaped me. Arguably one of the most popular anime franchises to be ported over to the States, the allure of Akira Toriyama's epic saga of over-muscled humans and aliens beating the crap out of one another over one world domination and/or destruction scheme after another has always posed a puzzler. Even more puzzling is the complete whoring-out of Goku and his pals on nearly every videogame platform in recent existence in over twenty titles. Bear with me, fellow anime geeks, for I am about to open up the Thesaurus of Unkind Adjectives on the latest (and probably last) DBZ brawler to hit the Playstation 2: Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 2.
Will SPF 20 save him from Goku's vicious assault? Find out in the next exciting episode!
Graphics
DBZ:BT2 boasts some rather decently composed graphics that adequately mimic the artistic style of the various TV series. All the characters are rendered in an anime cel-shaded motif that more accurately depicts their various personages than the 3D-modeling approach would. Also of note, and something I'd like to see in more arcade-style brawlers, is that the character models begin to show visual signs of physical damage over the course of each fight. Sadly, it's mainly restricted to scratch marks pockmarked willy-nilly on the characters' skin and clothing, but if one remembers the TV shows, that's pretty much the only sort of visual damage the characters displayed therein either (at least in the American-edited Funimation versions).
The backgrounds are fairly serviceable, rendered in a matte-painting cartoon-background style that further likens the look of the game to that of the anime. What's important to note when speaking of the backgrounds is that numerous elements such as trees, rock formations, and buildings are actually interactive. Score a hit to your opponent that sends him into the next ZIP code, and any chunk of something in his unwilling flight path will be reduced to rubble.
Unfortunately, I now come to the most utterly grating portion of the graphics portion of the review, collectively the cutscene and menu visuals. The cutscenes are animated extremely poorly. All the characters have one, maybe two, stock poses that they affect during dialogue sequences, which means for the large part the characters just stand there 2-by-4-stiff and deliver their lines without any sort of body language. The menu screens are even worse, since the characters appear simply as 2-D cel-drawings with badly synched mouth movement.
But, wait, you ask. Characters in the menu screens? What's that about? More on that later. For now we saunter into...
Gameplay
The meat of DBZ:BT2 lies in the game's adventure mode, wherein the player takes control of a number of characters in the DBZ mythos, chosen by the game prior to each battle, to take part in every minor and major trading of punches, kicks, and energy blasts ever to take place in the DBZ saga. And considering the scope of the saga, which in anime terms stretches over 408 TV episodes, 21 movies, and various specials and direct-to-video outings, that's a truckload of content. The battle arenas are vast in terms of ground surface area alone, but considering the characters can fly all over the place, the sky altitude of each level increases the play area exponentially.
Like the show, the combat in DBZ:BT2 is very over-the-top, and we're talking Superman vs. the Hulk over-the-top. Characters are able to unload combos rivaling hit-counts last seen in Killer Instinct, energy attacks on destruction-potential par with an A-bomb, and massive strikes that can catapult opposing pugilists hundreds of yards into the dust. The control scheme's fairly simple to pick up, and, even if the learning curve's a little steep, the game's training mode is structured to school players on the game's various fundamentals. That said, the control interface is basic in the extreme, meaning button-mashing won't get you through every battle and figuring out the more complex moves is essential, but players of intermediate skill level can practically cruise through a large number of the non-boss battles blindfolded.
Unfortunately, the story mode is fairly linear and doesn't branch at all depending on whether you win or lose a battle. In fact, many of the battles don't even require you to win, but simply survive until the time allotted counts down. And if you do fail a mission, so to speak, you're thrown right back into the mix with no consequence other than having to start the level over. This story structure makes the game feel very disjointed, where in many cases you'll win a fight, but be treated regardless to a cutscene of your character face down in the dirt. Also, since the game picks your character for you in every battle, a bit of the interactivity gets lost. In addition to those foibles, players traverse the various segments of the game by taking control of a single character (you start with the Namek warrior Piccolo) and floating very slowly through the sky from spot to spot on a world map. Spots on the map marked yellow will land you in item shops for buying character upgrades ("Z-items") or to just receive play tips from NPCs, while red spots take you to the next battle. This manner of transitioning between levels can be very ponderous, especially considering the dual-stick flight controls can be a bit difficult.
"BOOM! Tough actin' Tinactin!"
Sound
DBZ:BT2's audio package is sadly the biggest disappointment in terms of this game's features, a considerable flaw considering every voice actor from all the shows (at least the Funimation dubs) reprises their roles. With all respect due to the DBZ voice cast, a number of whom I've had the pleasure to personally meet, I grew very tired of hearing the dialogue barks in this game. Not due to the quality of the voice acting, per se, but to the sheer repetitive nature of the VO playback. Every game menu is accompanied by one or more of the characters delivering a line or two of dialogue associated to every option selection on the menu, dialogue that is triggered every single time one scrolls to a new choice on the menu. So every time you choose a menu option, you're going to be treated to the same bit of associated dialogue ad nauseam. The game does allow players to switch between Japanese and English voice tracks, but the underlying problem exists regardless of the chosen language.
The music and sound effects are evocative of the anime series' theme and will likely please longtime DBZ fans. Newbies to the franchise, however, may find the ambient audio evocative more of first-wave PS1 titles and find it a bit of a glaring low point in the game's presentation.
"Hulk LIKE dye job! HULK SMASH!!"
Lasting Appeal
This game is a hardcore DBZ otaku's dream come true. DBZ:BT2 fully covers every iota of the anime series' metaplot, down to every battle and every plot twist. For someone for whom the DBZ saga is a second religion, very little will feel left out. The game contains a total of ten dozen characters when one takes into consideration the alternate forms most of the characters can assume. And for those who want to skip the story mode altogether and just throw down, although story mode is required for unlocking new characters, the game has free-play modes wherein you can just beat on Toriyama characters to your heart's content.
Sadly, the game has no online component on the PS2, and the game's dated or otherwise annoying presentation gaffes may find this game something worth little more than a day's rental. In short, a DBZ fanatic will undoubtedly be dying to add this game to their collection, but players using this as their intro to the series may put it back on the shelf and never look back.
And, at the exact moment Goku soared towards his destiny, he realized he forgot to TiVo "Dancing with the Stars."
Fun Factor
When considered purely an anime-styled fighting title, DBZ:BT2 is a fairly above-average game. As a Dragon Ball Z game, fans of this series will be clamoring to add this title as, and this is purely coming from someone whose only DBZ knowledge comes largely from Wikipedia, this game truly is the ultimate Dragon Ball Z gaming experience.
However, for those to which Dragon Ball Z is mystifying, confusing, or simply just not their cup of tea, the sheer amount of series content may turn DBZ neophytes off from even giving this title more than a five-minute spin in their PS2s. The game contains a massive amount of content and gameplay potential, but the fact that the game is swimming with content from a series that has both die-hard fans and die-hard detractors will leave the question of whether this title is worth your time dependent on whether you love or hate the anime series.
The 411
Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 2 has a lot of gameplay potential, tons of unlockable characters, and a variety of play modes. It also is submerged in the sometimes-confusing depths that is the Dragon Ball Z license, which makes the make-or-break choice solely dependent on your enjoyment (or lack thereof) of the anime. To sum it up, if you're a DBZ buff, you'll probably love this game. If you're not, this game will steer very clear of changing your mind.
Graphics
7.0
Nice cel-shaded graphics, accurate mimicking of the style of the anime series, cutscene animations stiff and uninteresting
Gameplay
7.0
Very in-depth story mode, takes players throughout all the DBZ material, simple control interface, upgradeable characters, story mode can be linear and restrictive, moving to new levels in story mode is very ponderous
Sound
4.5
Voiceovers serviceable but very repetitive, music and ambient sound appropriate to the game but still sounds dated
Lasting Appeal
7.5
Dozens of unlockables, numerous free-play modes, no online playability, presentation approach may turn off non-fans
Fun Factor
7.0
Lots of gameplay potential, fun but mainly for fans of the series
