Gamer’s Review: Dragon Ball Z: Budokai 3

“Dragon Ball Z: Budoaki” and its sequel became huge hits selling millions of copies worldwide. A third and final installment of the Budokai Trilogy was released in 2004 (same year X-Men Legends came out) on PlayStation. It surpassed the previous games earning praise from critics, fans and gamers alike. As I’ve mentioned on my previous reviews on the first two Budokai games, Bandai Namco are developing a fourth DBZ game in the Budokai Tenkaichi series titled, “Dragon Ball Sparking! ZERO.” It’ll be released around 2024. One more thing, an upcoming DBZ series called, “Daima” will air in Fall 2024. As a fan of the anime since Toonami, I wanna share my thoughts on the third Budokai game. Which is my all-time favorite DBZ game.

It doesn’t matter if SPOILERS are listed. We watched DBZ countless times.

Strong & Weak Aspects

Strong: Voice Actors from the show reprise their roles. They all did an excellent job for their respective performances.

Graphics improve the second game’s cel-shaded animation.

Before the Main Menu, there’s an epic Opening Cutscene. Seeing it made me feel like a kid again.

Gameplay/Mechanics retain elements from the last two games. A lot of stuff heavily upgraded various features.

• Dragon Universe acts as the Main Story. You play a total of eight characters retelling notable moments from the show. You explore Earth and Planet Namek (Frieza Saga only) going from Point A to Point B. After a fight, you level up a fighter’s stats. Don’t forget to carry your Dragon Rader. You’ll need it to obtain all Dragon Balls to summon Shenron.
• Launch takes over the Skill Shop.
• Content based on “Dragon Ball GT” and TV specials.
• New fighters including Cooler, Broly, Omega Shenron, Uub and my all-time favorite DBZ character, Bardock join the roster.
• Gogeta appears as a new fusion character. If you transform Goku or Vegeta in Super Saiyan 4, you get a powerful version of Gogeta in Super Saiyan 4.
• Transformation increases a ki bar or more.
• Hyper Mode’s required to unleash an Ultimate Attack. Some transformations are required. This time it’s 50/50 chance. If you’re on the offense or defense, stop the meter before it fills up. All about timing. Whoever fills the most meter wins. Offense drains a huge chuck of health. Defense depletes a small portion. To quote “Monty Python and the Holy Grail.” “It’s just a flesh wound.”
• In addition to Ultimate Attack, Dragon Rush is another 50/50 chance to beat the crud outta your foe on the offense side. If you managed to get lucky, you’ll unleash a powerful attack or a specific Ultimate Attack like Piccolo’s Special Beam Cannon. If you’re on the defensive side, luck’s your only option. Pick a button and you barely survive.
• Blue Skills aren’t included. Doesn’t bother me. Gives you more room for your Red Skills.
• Yellow Skills either restore your health/ki or give your attack/defense a temporary boost.
• Taunting somebody depletes a one ki bar.
• Beam Struggle meaning, two attacks like Kamehameha and Vegeta’s Galick Gun are fired simultaneously. Both fighters must rotate analog sticks as fast as they can to hit. Whoever succeeds, delivers a devasting hit. If both fighters are too close shooting each other, they’ll both lose some health.
• You can dodge attacks as well as teleport behind an opponent.
• Like Ultimate Attack & Dragon Rush, Potara Fusion’s a 50/50 chance. If you win, the fusion’s a success. If the enemy wins, you’re toast. Cue Piccolo’s line. “More like burnt toast.”
• Fly into the air manually after you hit an opponent sky high.
• After you complete Dragon Universe ten times, you’ll unlock Dragon Arena. A mode that lets you fight low or high level fighters. Every fighter in the roster also level up. I used to play Dragon Arena non-stop. It’s my favorite mode.
• A memory card is required to trade skills with a fellow player.

Fighters I played the most are Bardock, Hercule Satan & Fat Buu.

Weak: I couldn’t find nothing wrong. I’m giving the developers an Extra Point for making a flawless game as possible.

The Final Verdict: A, FOR APEX!

Dragon Ball Z: Budokai 3 still holds up. I had fond memories playing the Budokai games. The third one’s my all-time favorite. If you wanna relive the good ol’ days. Invite a few friends over. I cannot wait for Dragon Ball Sparking! Zero. What’s your favorite DBZ game? Please leave a comment.