Best Budokai Game Ever!
Essentially, Dragonball Z: Budokai 3 continues with what the previous two Budokai games started. What you get is a fast-paced fighting game that, for the most part, recaptures the excitement and energy of the anime series. You can choose from a plethora of different characters from the series, and no two characters play exactly alike. Only further adding to this aspect of the game is the fact that you can unlock a TON of characters. While you start the game with plenty of characters, there are a lot of them to be unlocked, including some characters that are only in the movies! There are also the usual gameplay modes, including the standard versus mode and the tournaments in which you can earn money to buy capsules. Using these capsules, you can customize characters to your liking - so whether you prefer offense, defense, or something somewhere in between, you'll be able to create a version of a character that will work out great for you. As for the story mode, this game has a MUCH better one than either earlier Budokai game. What you get here is something called Dragon Universe, in which you choose a character and essentially play through the story of Dragonball Z from that character's point of view. As you travel, you gain experience you can use to upgrade the character. As for the actual fighting itself, it hasn't changed a whole lot. It plays mostly like the earlier two Budokai games, but there have been some new features added into the combat, to keep thing fast-paced and interesting. I was glad to see the inclusion of a step-by-step training mode, since learning the game can be a little tricky for anyone new to this series, or new to the concepts this game in the series introduces. The cel-shaded graphics are also great. I'm not a huge fan of cel-shading, but the guys that made this game knew what they were doing. THIS is the way cel-shading should be done! But, as you probably guessed, the game isn't perfect. If you didn't like either of the first two Budokai games, it's highly unlikely that this one will change your mind, due to the fact that it pretty much plays the same. Likewise, some of the flaws from the older games weren't fixed (nothing serious, fortunately.) Fortunately, the good outweighs the bad, and for the most part, Budokai 3 is a triumph for Dragonball Z games. It's nothing terribly revolutionary in the fighting game world, but it's a solid game through and through.
Since this game is a recent release, it is readily available in most stores that sell video games for the Playstation 2. And since the manufacturer's suggested retail price has just dropped from $50 to $20, you've got all the more reason to buy it now if you're a Dragonball Z fan!
If you're a fan of Dragonball Z and you enjoyed the previous two Budokai games, you'll enjoy this one too. It's not a massive improvement over the earlier games, but everything does come together rather nicely, making it the finest installment in the series thusfar. This is a game that's well worth purchasing, and you're likely to agree - it's the best Budokai so far.