BUDOKAI 3 IS BETTER OVERALL!
User Rating: 7 | Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi PS2
Dragonball Z: Budokai - Tenkaichi is a good game. But Dragonball Z: Budokai 3 was a GREAT GAME. In an effort to make the series more 3D and realistic, Spike created an entirely new fighting engine. What they didnt realize was that the original show was an anime - a show created on a 2D plain. In some ways the side view fighting style of Budokai 3 was more true to the series. Of course, Tenkaichi grants you more contol and more freedom of movement, but thats not necessarily a good thing. You will find the camera angles to be awkward and will lose sight of your opponent many times durring battle. Although some may argue that this is a strategic addition that makes the fighting more realistic, it simply happens too often and causes more frustration than its worth. The controls are much more complicated and much less intuitive than Budokai 3. The energy blasts seem much too short and less of a part of the game. For instance, Vegetta's Big Bang attack looks almost exactly the same as his Gallic Gun, although the Big Bang attack is MUCH more powerful and devastating. The developers should have granted a longer cut scene and a bigger blast to show the difference, like in Budokai 3. However, there are some things in the game that are major improvements - like the massive amount of characters, slightly better graphics and the very extensive storylines. I guess the bottom line is that when i bought Tenkaichi the first day it came out I was expecting an improvement on Budokai 3 - since the developers obviously had time to see the game and compare it to the one they were making. What I got was a completely different game that was interesting, but lacked the overall solidarity and incredible gameplay of the last. My advice would be to rent both games and see for yourself. 
