Dragonball Z Budokai Tenkaichi 2
Posted February 6, 2007
Games based on existing intellectual properties have the opportunity to succeed on two distinct levels. By staying true to the source material, they can offer longstanding fans a chance to step into the shoes of their beloved heroes. Additionally, by creating a compelling experience, these games can appeal to the gaming community at large. Many fans will consider Dragonball Z Budokai Tenkaichi 2 a success on the first of these fronts. Unfortunately, the meat of the game is not enough to suck in players unfamiliar with the franchise.
Gameplay:
Even as someone almost wholly unfamiliar with the source material, playing Dragonball Z BT2 made it extremely obvious that the developers were big fans of the original anime series. The game features over one hundred playable characters and an extensive story mode detailing the adventures of Goku and his friends as they combat the forces of evil. It is hard to imagine that a fan would be disappointed with the amount of detail paid to the source material.
The gameplay of Dragonball Z BT2 could be considered a natural evolution of what was found in classic 2D fighting series such as Street Fighter and Mortal Kombat. Characters move through comparatively large 3-dimensional arenas, with numerous obstacles to maneuver around or use for cover. The game offers sixteen battlefields to play on and, while they each possess a somewhat unique look, all of them maintain the same basic feel.
To take advantage of the Wii’s control scheme, special attacks have been mapped to motions of the Wii controller and nunchuk. Blast attacks typically involve holding down the Z and B buttons while performing a variety of motions. These might involve actions such as pushing the Wii remote forward and then pulling it back or shaking the nunchuk twice and then thrusting the Wii remote ahead. While the motions add some level of depth the gameplay, heavy reliance on them also tends to erase any lines of differentiation among the characters. The end results vary, but the actions carried out to execute special moves are highly repetitive and tend to get old pretty quickly.
In addition to many characters sharing the same controls, enemies tend to feel identical as well. Most are routinely defeated by using mid-ranged attacks to hold them at bay, while building up power to launch devastating special moves. This type of pattern emerges very early and makes much of the game feel more like a chore than a recreational activity.
Dragonball Z BT2’s adventure mode includes what one would presume to be an overwhelming majority of the stories found in the Dragonball Z universe. Unfortunately, the game comes across as a poor introduction to the series. Quite often, there are levels where your character pummels his opponent into oblivion, only to arrive at a cut-scene explaining that the challenge was too great and he has sacrificed himself for the sake of his companions. While these plot points might come across as natural or dramatic in the anime, it is hard not to feel unfairly penalized when you pulverize an opponent only to find that your character still failed in his objective.
While a fighting game at its heart, Dragonball Z BT2 also makes use of a leveling system that is reminiscent of a traditional RPG. When a battle is successfully completed, the player is rewarded with both money and experience points. Money is used to purchase Z items and experience points function to power up whatever Z items are assigned to the character being controlled. Through effective management of Z items, characters can become much stronger and unlock new skills, such as the ability to transform into a more powerful alter-ego. This aspect of the game adds some depth, but feels like it is primarily for existing fans of the Dragonball Z universe, who would understand the reasoning behind the power-ups.
Graphics:
During gameplay, the graphics in Dragonball Z BT2 are entirely serviceable. They fail to exceed the levels regularly found in games on the Gamecube, PS2 and Xbox, but do not detract from the overall experience.
Contrary to what is typically expected, the graphics during cut-scenes often tend to look worse than those of the in-game play. It appears that the same character models are used for both, offering a potential explanation for the disparity. While blocky features are hard to notice in rapid-paced gameplay, they stick out like a sore thumb during slow, dialog-driven cut-scenes.
Audio:
Fans of Dragonball Z will likely be delighted that the game implements the same talent responsible for the voice-overs in the American version of the anime. Others will likely focus on the fact that battles contain frequently recurring phrases that are forgettable at best and quite annoying at worst. The game’s background music fails to stand out as either impressive or detrimental.
Overall:
By taking a comprehensive approach to its source material, Dragonball Z Budokai Tenkaichi 2 presents a package that true fans will most likely appreciate. Unfortunately, highly repetitive gameplay makes the title unlikely to offer any long-term appeal to the rest of the gaming community. Those interested in the game would be best advised to rent before buying.
Gameplay:
Even as someone almost wholly unfamiliar with the source material, playing Dragonball Z BT2 made it extremely obvious that the developers were big fans of the original anime series. The game features over one hundred playable characters and an extensive story mode detailing the adventures of Goku and his friends as they combat the forces of evil. It is hard to imagine that a fan would be disappointed with the amount of detail paid to the source material.
The gameplay of Dragonball Z BT2 could be considered a natural evolution of what was found in classic 2D fighting series such as Street Fighter and Mortal Kombat. Characters move through comparatively large 3-dimensional arenas, with numerous obstacles to maneuver around or use for cover. The game offers sixteen battlefields to play on and, while they each possess a somewhat unique look, all of them maintain the same basic feel.
To take advantage of the Wii’s control scheme, special attacks have been mapped to motions of the Wii controller and nunchuk. Blast attacks typically involve holding down the Z and B buttons while performing a variety of motions. These might involve actions such as pushing the Wii remote forward and then pulling it back or shaking the nunchuk twice and then thrusting the Wii remote ahead. While the motions add some level of depth the gameplay, heavy reliance on them also tends to erase any lines of differentiation among the characters. The end results vary, but the actions carried out to execute special moves are highly repetitive and tend to get old pretty quickly.
In addition to many characters sharing the same controls, enemies tend to feel identical as well. Most are routinely defeated by using mid-ranged attacks to hold them at bay, while building up power to launch devastating special moves. This type of pattern emerges very early and makes much of the game feel more like a chore than a recreational activity.
Dragonball Z BT2’s adventure mode includes what one would presume to be an overwhelming majority of the stories found in the Dragonball Z universe. Unfortunately, the game comes across as a poor introduction to the series. Quite often, there are levels where your character pummels his opponent into oblivion, only to arrive at a cut-scene explaining that the challenge was too great and he has sacrificed himself for the sake of his companions. While these plot points might come across as natural or dramatic in the anime, it is hard not to feel unfairly penalized when you pulverize an opponent only to find that your character still failed in his objective.
While a fighting game at its heart, Dragonball Z BT2 also makes use of a leveling system that is reminiscent of a traditional RPG. When a battle is successfully completed, the player is rewarded with both money and experience points. Money is used to purchase Z items and experience points function to power up whatever Z items are assigned to the character being controlled. Through effective management of Z items, characters can become much stronger and unlock new skills, such as the ability to transform into a more powerful alter-ego. This aspect of the game adds some depth, but feels like it is primarily for existing fans of the Dragonball Z universe, who would understand the reasoning behind the power-ups.
Graphics:
During gameplay, the graphics in Dragonball Z BT2 are entirely serviceable. They fail to exceed the levels regularly found in games on the Gamecube, PS2 and Xbox, but do not detract from the overall experience.
Contrary to what is typically expected, the graphics during cut-scenes often tend to look worse than those of the in-game play. It appears that the same character models are used for both, offering a potential explanation for the disparity. While blocky features are hard to notice in rapid-paced gameplay, they stick out like a sore thumb during slow, dialog-driven cut-scenes.
Audio:
Fans of Dragonball Z will likely be delighted that the game implements the same talent responsible for the voice-overs in the American version of the anime. Others will likely focus on the fact that battles contain frequently recurring phrases that are forgettable at best and quite annoying at worst. The game’s background music fails to stand out as either impressive or detrimental.
Overall:
By taking a comprehensive approach to its source material, Dragonball Z Budokai Tenkaichi 2 presents a package that true fans will most likely appreciate. Unfortunately, highly repetitive gameplay makes the title unlikely to offer any long-term appeal to the rest of the gaming community. Those interested in the game would be best advised to rent before buying.