“Dragon Ball Z: Budokai 2” was officially released in 2003 (same year Oldboy came out) on PlayStation 2 and Nintendo GameCube. The sequel to the first game was an improvement with critics, fans and gamers praising good aspects. Plus, it sold enough copies worldwide. A third game (my all-time favorite) was released a year later. Recently, the 2023 Game Awards played a trailer for an upcoming “Dragon Ball: Sparking! ZERO.” The fourth installment of “Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi” series. As a fan of the series since Toonami, I wanna share my thoughts on the second Budokai game before the aforementioned game comes out around 2024. By the way, series creator Akira Toriyama is involved in an upcoming DBZ series titled, “Dragon Ball Daima.” It’s slated to air in Fall 2024.
It doesn’t matter if SPOILERS are listed. We’ve already watched DBZ countless times.
Mighty & Weak Aspects
Mighty: Voice Actors from the show reprised their roles. They all did an excellent job for their respective performances.
Graphics are cel-shaded. Like the “Sly Cooper” series.
Core Gameplay/Mechanics from the first game are retained, but with a new stuff.
- Dragon World’s presented as a board game kinda like “Mario Party” featuring nine levels retelling the three sagas from its predecessor and the Buu Saga. Don’t worry, when you square off against a baddie, you’ll be able to kick butt.
- Dragon World also features special interactions whenever a specific character encounters a bad guy. For instance, Goku chats with Frieza before going mono-e-mono.
- If you obtain all seven Dragon Balls upon beating Dragon World, you can summon Shenron.
- You can switch costumes. Ginyu gets to wear Goku’s outfit without feeling restricted. The first game only enables a random character’s alternate outfit in the select screen.
- New Stages including the Red Ribbon Army Base, Snowy Mountains and Great Kai Planet.
- Bulma takes over Mr. Popo’s job selling Skills. Red’s attack/transformation, Blue’s physical, Green’s support and grey’s fighter/stage/mode.
- If you collect all balls, you unlock a new mode, Babidi’s Spaceship. A series of challenges test your abilities. If you do a good job, you’ll earn special skills. Most notably, Majin Vegeta.
- An Ultimate Attack is sometimes required to turn the left analog stick quickly by filling the meter up.
- New Characters join the roster. Goten, Kid Trunks, Dabura, Dr. Gero, Fat Buu, Super Buu, Kid Buu, Videl & Supreme Kai.
- Fusion Characters like Vegito, Gotenks & Super Buu absorbing a random fighter are included via skill. There’s also a “what if” fusion with Yamcha & Tien. Don’t forget Goku & Hercule as Gokule.
Angry characters were a trend back in 2003. Goku & Vegeta aren’t the only hotheads. Here’s a list of notable characters as proof.
- Raphael – Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
- David Buznik from Anger Management
- Yusuke Urameshi from Yu Yu Hakusho
- Wolverine – X2: X-Men United
- Eric Bana’s Hulk
- Stitch! – Stitch the Movie
- Raven – Teen Titans
- Homer Simpson – The Simpsons: Hit and Run
- Jak – Jak II
- Martin the Martian, Taz & Yosemite Sam – Looney Tunes: Back in Action
- Willie from Bad Santa
- Gimli – The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
Don’t forget to use your memory card if you wanna trade skills with a fellow player.
Unlike the first game, a few fighters fire a blue Kamehameha blast, rather than yellow.
Hercule & Fat Buu are my favorite fighters. I played as the former in Dragon World.
Before the Main Menu, there’s an awesome introduction. When I was 10, I was ready to kick some butt.
Replay Value if you wanna play Dragon World again for some new characters and powerful attacks. Doesn’t feel repetitive.
Weak: I couldn’t find nothing wrong. I’m giving game developers an Extra Point for making a flawless game as possible.
The Final Verdict: A, FOR APEX!
Dragon Ball Z: Budokai 2’s one of my favorite DBZ games. I used to play the Budokai Trilogy all the time growing up. I cannot wait for Dragon Ball: Sparking ZERO in 2024. If you wanna relive the good ol’ days, invite a few friends over for a Versus Match.
Nickthemoviecritic.com 