Despite the questionable title (the World Tournament in the Japanese version of Dragon Ball Z was referred to as the Tenkaichi Budokai, Atari seems to have decided to switch the words around), Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi is showing signs of being the best Dragon Ball Z title on the consoles to date. Atari have ditched Budokai series developer Dimps in favour of fighting game veteran Spike. The new studio has decided to alter the style of the series, switching to an over the shoulder perspective from the old side on style of the game. The reason for the change is simple – Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi will be the first DBZ fighting game to feature free roaming.
Goku takes a beating at the hands of Burter
From early footage, it looks as if the free flight combat of Budokai Tenkaichi will result in the gameplay resembling Konami’s cult hit Zone of the Enders, which is quite a good thing as many fans of the two ZOE games have remarked at how the series’ gameplay style would make for a good DBZ game. Free roaming will also mean that the levels in the game are going to be massive – not to mention the fact that environments will be fully destructible, meaning everyone can live out their favourite moments from the series. The only problem we can foresee at the moment is how two player games will be handled – we can only assume that due to the free form nature of the matches, a split-screen mode will be used.
The roster of Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi is massive – over 60 characters from the Dragon Ball universe will be playable. Old favourites like Goku, Gohan and Vegeta will be available in various forms, but new characters like Janemba from the 12th movie will be making their first appearance. Characters will also be fully customiseable as they have been in previous Budokai games.
Several characters appear in their Dragon Ball GT forms
Presentation will be another strength of Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi with improved cel-shaded graphics allowing for the most accurate representation of the characters to date. All of the voice actors from the television show are set to make their usual contribution to the game, allowing for the most authentic Dragon Ball Z experience.
Games utilizing the Dragon Ball Z license have been hit and miss – Atari seem to make one step forward (Budokai 3) and then take two steps back (Dragon Ball Z: Sagas). We have faith that Spike can deliver the best Dragon Ball Z game to date, and finally break this awful trend. Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi is currently slated for a November release in PAL territories – likely to be the last week of the month from past experience. PALGN will have all of the latest information on Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi as soon as it is available, so stay tuned.
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Cant wait for this one. I just finished Budokai 2 yesterday and im finishing of the third one now.
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