Hard To Forget!
In Budokai 3, instead of the regular story mode you would expect, there is the Dragon Universe, a Budokai 3 story mode where you fly on top of the world flying to different destinations, finding dragonballs or fighting enemies. Although Dragon Universe has a huge amount of replay value, it is sort of short for those who are used to long story modes in different games. There are a total of eleven playable characters in Dragon Universe, each with different enemies that the character has to fight, which follow the story line. The length of the character's Dragon Universes vary greatly in length. Some playable characters are Goku, Vegita, Broly, Gohan, Picolo, Uub, ect. There are many 'skills' to be unlocked in Dragon Universe such as item, and ability capsules. In DU there are also Dragonballs and money to be found also.
The graphics aren't really that good, 2D with cel-shaded graphics. Sometimes you can see the screen flickering a little bit. Don't get me wrong, but the graphics are okay, for a fighting game. Occasionaly, you would feel that the graphics could have been a little bit better.
The sound of this game makes it exceptional. The music will vary depending the arena you will be fighting on. Sometimes the music really gives the feel of the game. The music really makes you excited and your heart beating. In some destroyed versions of arenas the music will make you feel as if you are one of the good guys and you are really fighting the enemies.
The value of this game is just right if you like fighting games. In stores now, the game is only about 20 USD, a cheap price for Dragonball fans, and a fair price for those who like fighting games. If you are new to action games, then I recommend renting it first. However, buying it won't matter much since it has a cheap price.
There are 6 different modes in the game, they are Dragon Universe (story mode), Duel mode, World Tornament, Practice mode, and Dragon Arena. In Duel mode you pick an opponent and fight to see who is the strongest (I reccomend you pick this mode if you are wanting to play against a friend). In World Tornament you pick a character and fight until you reach the top, which you earn money. The World Tornament mode can be really hard. In practice mode, it teaches you all the skills you need for Budokai 3, such as Dragon Rush, Hyper mode, and Ultimate moves. In the second part of practice mode you can fight as long as you want, with unlimited health only, there are no unlimited Ki in Budokai 3. Dragon Arena is a mode you unlock in Dragon Universe. You can combat opponents there of your own level (you increase your characters' levels in both Dragon Universe and Dragon Arena). The final level a character can reach is 99. As your characters' levels increases, so will its strength, health, Ki, and power. In Dragon Arena you can unlock many different things, such as the Cell Games.
The combos that a character has varies. Each character has its own unique moves and Ultimate moves (not every character has an Ultimate move). Every character has a 7 slot tray, which you fill with the character's
abilities (moves), and equipment capsules, which will give a advantage in strength or health, etc. There are certain deathmoves or beam cannons a player can execute with a few pushes of the buttons. The deathmoves include Kamehameha, !0x Kamehameha, Galick Gun, Masenko, and so on. There are certain transformatios that only a number of characters have, such as SSJ1, SSJ2, SSJ3, SSJ4, Kaio Ken, and more. In-game transformation is one of the differences of Budokai games from other DBZ games. Almost all skills can be purchased in the Skill Shop for money you collect in Dragon Universe. Most characters have an Ultimate move or rather the character's best move. Each of these are different in damage. These Ultimate moves include Super Spirit Bomb for Goku, Super Dragon Fist for SSJ Goku, Big Bang for Vegita, and so on. In Budokai 3, there are fusions that are not seen in Budokai 2, such as SSJ2 Vegito, SSJ2 Gogita, and SSJ4 Gogita. Most of the time, fusion characters are stronger than non-fusion characters. In Budokai 3 there are Dragon Rushes, and Hyper Modes. Hyper mode and Dragon Rushes are abilities that every character has. Hyper mode is very important since it has to be done in order for a Dragon Rush or Ultimate move. Whenever a character turns Hyper Mode, they will start blinking red. Hyper mode will last for only a short amount of time. Dragon Rushes are a 3 stage attacking order. Which a character flies and knockes back the oppenents for three times, on the last time giving beam cannon(s). Special moves can be executed for certain characters only on the last stage of Dragon Rush, such as Warp Kamehameha for Goku, and Final Flash for Vegita.
DragonBall Z: Budokai 3 is no doubt the best in the series, and very likely the best DBZ game ever. Budokai 3 has a possibilty that it will attract and addict you, so if you are wanting a unique fighting game, then maybe Budokai 3 is right for you.