12-06-2006, 06:52 PM
Dragonball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 2 – Be Goku
Ok, I’ll admit it: I love Dragonball Z fighting games. Even though they’re the same thing over and over again, I’ve gotten every Dragonball Z Budokai game and I’ve enjoyed them. With each one comes various updates and improvements that try to make each one better. When I heard that Dragonball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 2 was coming to the Wii, I was excited and a little worried.
After watching videos of the game months before the Wii launch, I was pretty worried. People just generally looked confuse while playing the game and I was pretty close to getting the game on the PS2. After I finally saw a video demonstrating the finale control scheme, I was instantly sold. How could you not love a game where you act out your favorite DBZ moves?
After picking up the game and playing it some, it’s still fun and the controls are interesting. Personally, I love the aspect of flailing my arms around like an idiot to pull of the moves. The addition of the Wii Remote feels pretty good, and even though the controls aren’t as responsive as I’d like them to be, the game is fun.
Presentation – 7.3
If you’re a fan of the Budokai games, you’ll be familiar with the look and feel of Budokai Tenkaichi 2. Every menu has its own Dragonball Z theme with voice acting, the colors are bright and interesting, and it just feels right. Even the loading screens are fun with Yamcha breaking tiles. Sadly though, the presentation isn’t all good.
Although it’s a minor thing, the game doesn’t support Widescreen, which I would have really liked to see. I hate having to keep switching my TV from widescreen when in the Wii menu to full screen when playing the game back to Widescreen.
The next major flaw in Budokai Tenkaichi 2 is the cut scenes. It’s been a while since I’ve played the last iteration of the series, but I remember all the cut scenes being of a very high quality. The cut scenes in this game feel very rushes and pretty cheesy. Characters barely move and there is almost no action save for a few parts in each saga. Most action is explained by the announcer while the characters just sit breathing on screen. Add onto that the animations aren’t very well done and don’t work well with other characters. I think the first one I noticed was when Turles was stepping on Goku and his foot was a good..er..foot above Goku.
And while I’m on the topic of the cut scenes, I should mention they just aren’t interesting. They generally consist of the characters breathing, the narrator talking, then you fight. When you’re done, the characters fall and breathe, the narrator talks, and then you do the same fight again. I know this game was a launch game, but I would rather have seen much more work put into the cut scenes to make them more interesting.
I suppose my favorite feature of this game are the selection of characters, all 120 of them. Yes, 120. Even though I would never use 100 of those, it’s still pretty cool that there are that many characters. You have literally every character to choose from so every fan should be pleased that they can play their favorite character.
Graphics – 8.0
There really isn’t much to say about the graphics of Dragonball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 2. There have been minor improvements in the graphics and they look good. Except for blocky hands, the characters all look pretty good. The cell shading style beautifully catches the Dragonball Z style and just comes off well. The graphics aren’t anything amazing, but they do come across well.
What I really liked about Dragonball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 2 are the environments. They’re fairly big and you’re free to roam all over them. Every environment features destructible terrain as battles rage over, under, and on the various. The only thing I don’t like about these nicely sized areas are the nets that keep you from going outside the playable area. It really just ruins the immersion when you’re flying around and then all of a sudden a glowing net keeps you from going further.
Sound – 9.0
Once again, like the previous installments of the series, the sound is very well done. There really isn’t much to say about this area. The fighting feedback is great, the characters all come to live with their speech, and the menus each have a character explaining what the menu is. As an added bonus, you can even have the original Japanese voice actors instead of the American voice actors if you’re into that kind of thing. Overall, I was very pleased with the sound and I wouldn’t expect anything less from the Budokai series.
Gameplay – 8.0
The gameplay of Budokai Tenkaichi 2 is just the same as every other game in the series. You have a rich story mode that covers everything from the Saiyan Saga all the way to the end of Dragonball GT. If that isn’t your fancy, you can play tournaments and duels. You can also customize your characters by winning or buying upgrades.
The big change in this version is the addition of the Wii Remote Control. Before I dive into this portion, I should mention that the game also gives you the option to use the Classic Controller and the Gamecube Controller, which I think is nice. The Wii Remote controls are actually fun, though very confusing at first. You absolutely cannot pick this game up and play it as you would with a normal controller. You have to go through most of the practice mode in order to understand the controls. Once you figure out what the controls are, they are mostly easy. Thrusting the remote forward and shaking the nun chuck around is fun. I really enjoy doing the moves with the remote, it’s just a lot of fun. What I don’t enjoy is everything else. The blocking mechanisms are confusing and moving around involves a lot of waving the nun chuck around that just is a little confusing.
One last bit about the Wii Remote controls is how responsive they are. For the most part, they’re not bad, but I do pretty often have to repeat some of the moves several times before my character actually performs the various moves. I don’t know if it’s because the game doesn’t know what I’m doing or if I’m maybe moving down too much or whatever. I suspect it that the controls just aren’t as nailed down as they could be.
All that aside, I still like the controls. You really get into the game and it adds a lot to the game. I’m pretty pleased with the motion controls as they add a brand new level to an already fun game.
Lasting Appeal – 8.5
With all the sagas, additional story content, customizable character, and having to unlock all 120 characters, there’s a lot to do in Dragonball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 2. It’s safe to say that there is a lot to do in this game and it will take a lot of time to finish the game. You will be easily entertained for days upon days working through the story line and unlocking additional characters. When you have friends over, you’ll love the great multiplayer action as both players get even more into the game because of the motion controls.
Scores Roundup
=================
Presentation – 7.3
Graphics – 8.0
Sound – 9.0
Gameplay – 8.0
Lasting Appeal – 8.5
Overall – 8.2
Overall, Dragonball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi is a welcome addition to the series. Even though the game has obvious problems, confusing controls, and even controls that seem a little unresponsive, the games large amount of content and unique controls offers a very fun experience. For those people that aren’t too thrilled about the motion controls, Dragonball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 2 even offers Gamecube and Classic contoller schemes.
Ok, I’ll admit it: I love Dragonball Z fighting games. Even though they’re the same thing over and over again, I’ve gotten every Dragonball Z Budokai game and I’ve enjoyed them. With each one comes various updates and improvements that try to make each one better. When I heard that Dragonball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 2 was coming to the Wii, I was excited and a little worried.
After watching videos of the game months before the Wii launch, I was pretty worried. People just generally looked confuse while playing the game and I was pretty close to getting the game on the PS2. After I finally saw a video demonstrating the finale control scheme, I was instantly sold. How could you not love a game where you act out your favorite DBZ moves?
After picking up the game and playing it some, it’s still fun and the controls are interesting. Personally, I love the aspect of flailing my arms around like an idiot to pull of the moves. The addition of the Wii Remote feels pretty good, and even though the controls aren’t as responsive as I’d like them to be, the game is fun.
Presentation – 7.3
If you’re a fan of the Budokai games, you’ll be familiar with the look and feel of Budokai Tenkaichi 2. Every menu has its own Dragonball Z theme with voice acting, the colors are bright and interesting, and it just feels right. Even the loading screens are fun with Yamcha breaking tiles. Sadly though, the presentation isn’t all good.
Although it’s a minor thing, the game doesn’t support Widescreen, which I would have really liked to see. I hate having to keep switching my TV from widescreen when in the Wii menu to full screen when playing the game back to Widescreen.
The next major flaw in Budokai Tenkaichi 2 is the cut scenes. It’s been a while since I’ve played the last iteration of the series, but I remember all the cut scenes being of a very high quality. The cut scenes in this game feel very rushes and pretty cheesy. Characters barely move and there is almost no action save for a few parts in each saga. Most action is explained by the announcer while the characters just sit breathing on screen. Add onto that the animations aren’t very well done and don’t work well with other characters. I think the first one I noticed was when Turles was stepping on Goku and his foot was a good..er..foot above Goku.
And while I’m on the topic of the cut scenes, I should mention they just aren’t interesting. They generally consist of the characters breathing, the narrator talking, then you fight. When you’re done, the characters fall and breathe, the narrator talks, and then you do the same fight again. I know this game was a launch game, but I would rather have seen much more work put into the cut scenes to make them more interesting.
I suppose my favorite feature of this game are the selection of characters, all 120 of them. Yes, 120. Even though I would never use 100 of those, it’s still pretty cool that there are that many characters. You have literally every character to choose from so every fan should be pleased that they can play their favorite character.
Graphics – 8.0
There really isn’t much to say about the graphics of Dragonball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 2. There have been minor improvements in the graphics and they look good. Except for blocky hands, the characters all look pretty good. The cell shading style beautifully catches the Dragonball Z style and just comes off well. The graphics aren’t anything amazing, but they do come across well.
What I really liked about Dragonball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 2 are the environments. They’re fairly big and you’re free to roam all over them. Every environment features destructible terrain as battles rage over, under, and on the various. The only thing I don’t like about these nicely sized areas are the nets that keep you from going outside the playable area. It really just ruins the immersion when you’re flying around and then all of a sudden a glowing net keeps you from going further.
Sound – 9.0
Once again, like the previous installments of the series, the sound is very well done. There really isn’t much to say about this area. The fighting feedback is great, the characters all come to live with their speech, and the menus each have a character explaining what the menu is. As an added bonus, you can even have the original Japanese voice actors instead of the American voice actors if you’re into that kind of thing. Overall, I was very pleased with the sound and I wouldn’t expect anything less from the Budokai series.
Gameplay – 8.0
The gameplay of Budokai Tenkaichi 2 is just the same as every other game in the series. You have a rich story mode that covers everything from the Saiyan Saga all the way to the end of Dragonball GT. If that isn’t your fancy, you can play tournaments and duels. You can also customize your characters by winning or buying upgrades.
The big change in this version is the addition of the Wii Remote Control. Before I dive into this portion, I should mention that the game also gives you the option to use the Classic Controller and the Gamecube Controller, which I think is nice. The Wii Remote controls are actually fun, though very confusing at first. You absolutely cannot pick this game up and play it as you would with a normal controller. You have to go through most of the practice mode in order to understand the controls. Once you figure out what the controls are, they are mostly easy. Thrusting the remote forward and shaking the nun chuck around is fun. I really enjoy doing the moves with the remote, it’s just a lot of fun. What I don’t enjoy is everything else. The blocking mechanisms are confusing and moving around involves a lot of waving the nun chuck around that just is a little confusing.
One last bit about the Wii Remote controls is how responsive they are. For the most part, they’re not bad, but I do pretty often have to repeat some of the moves several times before my character actually performs the various moves. I don’t know if it’s because the game doesn’t know what I’m doing or if I’m maybe moving down too much or whatever. I suspect it that the controls just aren’t as nailed down as they could be.
All that aside, I still like the controls. You really get into the game and it adds a lot to the game. I’m pretty pleased with the motion controls as they add a brand new level to an already fun game.
Lasting Appeal – 8.5
With all the sagas, additional story content, customizable character, and having to unlock all 120 characters, there’s a lot to do in Dragonball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 2. It’s safe to say that there is a lot to do in this game and it will take a lot of time to finish the game. You will be easily entertained for days upon days working through the story line and unlocking additional characters. When you have friends over, you’ll love the great multiplayer action as both players get even more into the game because of the motion controls.
Scores Roundup
=================
Presentation – 7.3
Graphics – 8.0
Sound – 9.0
Gameplay – 8.0
Lasting Appeal – 8.5
Overall – 8.2
Overall, Dragonball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi is a welcome addition to the series. Even though the game has obvious problems, confusing controls, and even controls that seem a little unresponsive, the games large amount of content and unique controls offers a very fun experience. For those people that aren’t too thrilled about the motion controls, Dragonball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 2 even offers Gamecube and Classic contoller schemes.
