As the fourth installment of this series, Dragon Ball Z: Boudokai Tenkaichi flips the script a little bit, but still man
Probably the biggest draw of the Bodakai series has been the massive amount of content that has been crammed into each game. Boudokai Tenkichi is no different as it pushes the envelope even further with even more content than before. From the beginning, you’ll have a number of modes to choose from. Returning from previous entries are dueling, world tournament, and practice. New this time around are z battle gate, ultimate battle, illustration, and evolution z.
Z battle gate is the next version of the ever-changing story mode. The story mode in the bodokai series has been pretty much a hit and miss affair since it started. However, this version seems to be moving in a more positive direction. Z battle gate is a collection of all of the sagas from DBZ, GT, and even some of the battles from the movies. Each saga is broken up into numerous one-on-one battles that represent important sequences during their respective timelines. Story elements are told before and after each fight during brief, in-game cut scenes. Although some key elements are left out sometimes, they do a descent job of getting the overall idea across to the player. Plus, anything is better than that horrible board game from Bodokai two!
Z battle gate is also where you will uncover a lot of the unlockable characters in the game. Boudokai Tenkaichi has the largest roster yet with 50+ characters to find. Just about every major fighter (and some minor) fighter you can think of has found his/her way into the game, which will definitely please fans of the series. And, although there are no mid-game transformations, characters can be selected in their transformed state once they have been unlocked. So, in other words, if you want to play as Super Sayian 3 Goku, then all you have to do is select him at the selection screen (provided you have unlocked him in Z battle gate). This option pushes the potential number of combatants to over 80 fighters. That’s not a bad thing.
The other modes add in the extra something to do when you’re done with the story mode. Ultimate battle will let you choose a character and take him/her through 100 ranking fights to become the top warrior in town. Dueling consists of one-on-one battles of your choosing against a friend, the computer, or Com vs. Com matches. World tournament is a bracket style competition in which you fight to win the top prize. Practice is where you will go to tighten up those fighting skills or watch a tutorial. Evolution Z gives you the ability to mix and match earned skills to distribute to your favorite fighters for use in other modes, or fuse skills together to create stronger items or unlock more hidden characters. Finally, illustration lets you look at unlocked character art and story information from all of your hard work.
As stated before, this game is very different from the first three. This difference is due to the new control scheme that has been used for combat. The new system will take some getting used to if you’ve played a whole lot of the other recent DBZ games. For one, moving toward and away from your opponent will be achieved by pressing up, or down on the D pad this time instead of pushing left or right. Left and right this time causes you to circle around your opponent in either direction. One face button will be used for melee attacks this time around. The other face buttons will be used for blocking, ki attacks, and dashing. The shoulder buttons consists of ki charging and jumping/flying. Although this new system can seem overly simplified and odd compared to the last game in the series, in execution this daring change actually works.
The developers really seemed to put a real effort in creating a true DBZ fighting experience. Although some will look at the control changes as a step backwards, fans should see this as a move in the right direction. Battles in Bodokai Tenkaichi involve qick melee attacks followed by a hard knock-back to send the opponent flying into the distance. After which, you can follow with a dash to continue the pummeling, or stand back to charge up for a super finishing move. Of course, there are other ways of going about your fight, but overall the previous formula is what it boils down to in the end. Although there doesn’t seem to be a lot of depth to this, there is some type of strategy involved when you think about it. Plus, when compared to the show itself, this is how most of the battles are played out and decisively won. So, compared to other fighting games, it’s not the best or deepest fighter to come around. However, compared to its source, it comes very close to recreating the feel of the show.
Despite what it does right, it does have its fair share of problems as well. Probably the biggest problem with the game can be its issues with the camera at times. Sometimes, you may find yourself stuck in the corner behind a mountain while in the middle of battle with the camera angle taking a weird turn to the point of disorientation. This can really make a big difference during battles in which you have to “survive” a time limit, but can’t get yourself straight because of funky camera issues. Also, there seems to be a rehashing of sound clips from all the way back to the first game. Although there is nothing wrong with re-using things from previous games, there is something wrong with re-using something that was a mistake the first time around. For instance, Perfect cell has been using sound bites from his imperfect form for a while now, and it is clear that both voices are unmistakably different. This may sound like nitpicking, but something like this can be very noticeable to a fan. And although this isn’t really a problem, it would be nice to get some new music as well.
Overall, it’s safe to say that Dragon Ball Z: Bodokai Tenkaichi has continued the evolution of the series in a positive way. Although the new control system has changed drastically from previous games, it has managed to bring the experience closer to catching the feel of the show that it is based on. For a hardcore fighting fan looking for a lot of depth in a fighting game, you may want to pass this one up for a more advanced game, or maybe just settle for a rental. However, if you are a DBZ fan, this is a highly recommended game for some fast, flashy fun times.
The Good: New control scheme brings the game a step closer to capturing the feel of DBZ ; tons of new characters to choose from and a lot to do with Evolution Z and Ultimate Battle.
The Bad: Camera can be a pain at times; rehashed music and voice clips from previous games; despite the abundance of characters, they all play pretty much the same way.