One of the most popular downgraded sequels of the year!!!
Dragonball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi, derived off of the core Budokai games, from Atari. "Dragonball Z: Budokai", was one of the first video games for Dragonball Z, in the U.S that is. Judging by the factors of how elusive the "Dragonball GT: Final Bout" games were, and the ubiquity of Dragonball Z, "Dragonball: Budokai" 's success was almost certain, despite the quite poor graphics, gameplay, and audio.
"Dragonball Z: Budokai" 's sequel, "Dragonball Z: Budokai 2", was quite a great disappointment. It integrated improved, cell-shaded graphics, and a very poor, boring "Dragon'World", which is like a board game, and you move your figure to others to fight them. Sadly, "DragonWorld" took the place of story, and a lot of the fun from the game. Budokai 2, was most obviously, not a big enough push.
Then came "Dragonball Z: Budokai 3", it was still expected to come, despite the miserable prequels. And surprisingly enough, Budokai 3 got the push it needed, and became a very enjoyable game. Budokai 3 integrated a new teloportation system, to grab the essence of a Dragonball Z battle. They still kept "DragonWorld", but they dropped the board game, and instead gave you the freedom to fly around earth and go to different locations. I felt this to be much better than Budokai 1's story, because it gave much more freedom to the player.
And then with even higher expectations for the next game, and with given hope from Budokai 3, Budokai Tenkaichi took my hopes and ripped them into shreds. And you know what? It laughed at me. Damn game.
Gameplay: 6/10
Well, Spike decided to bring even more innovations to Budokai: Tenkaichi, by totally changing the camera angle. Budokai: Tenkaichi is trying to give you a more simulation feeling, with the camera angle behind the character you chose. Sometimes the camera may shift a bit more to a right or left angle depending on where the opponent is, and how far you are from the opponent. This new camera angle integration, just takes away the feeling of a fighting game. Instead, with the large destructible environments( one of the bright points of the game might I add ), and the radar for tracking down the opponent throughout the huge arena, it feels like a shooter almost ; attempting to track down the opponent through the large battleground, and then engage in battle until one dies or flees, just makes the game less attractive in terms of being a fighting game.
Spike did do a good job however, on it's environments. Though a bit repetitive, it is holds some of the charm to Budokai: Tenkaichi, one of them being the destructibility of buildings and such. Not to mention the ability to fight under water!
And on to multiplayer mode! Of course, Budokai games had always been fun with a friend.....until now that is. Why? Because of the new camera angle( Angle being behind the chosen character ), there has to be split screens, so that a friend can play. Remember what I said about Budokai: Tenkaichi feeling oddly like a shooter in some ways?? Well, this is another example. The split screens makes the player's viewpoint of the area smaller as well. This new innovation of the camera angles, earns more cons for ruining one of the best factors of fighting games.
The camera angles bring no justice to button commands either, for most of the time you will be put in an uncomfortable perspective when wanting to execute moves.
Graphics-7/10
The graphics did get a bit downgraded, but beam attacks and the ki around the characters sustain they're cool glow. No real upgrades though.
Sound-8/10
Budokai: Tenkaichi allows japanese or american voice acting in the game, so american and japanese version watchers will be pleased.
Beam attacks still have their distinct sound when executed.
Replay Value-9/10
There are tons of unlockables, including the enormous roster, now much, much larger than Budokai 3. You'll have a lot of work to do, if you want to get them all.
Tilt -6/10
I'd recommend getting Budokai 3 instead, for it does offer more satisfaction in gameplay. Budokai: Tenkaichi, though with much more unlockables, you'll find that many, many, many, many characters will have very little significance. Why? With the huge roster, Spike was only able to concentrate on a few of them, leaving the rest null with attacks mutual to so many others. However, if you already over-played Budokai 3, or wanna give Budokai: Tenkaichi a try, I'd recommend........to rent it first. Or possibly wait for Tenkaichi 2, which will be coming soon.