Score
Gameplay:	9
Graphics:	8
Sound:	9
FunFactor:	9
PlasmaFactor:	9
Overall:	8.8

Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 2 Review
June 21, 2007 by Tiffany Wiggins

Dragon Ball, Dragon Ball Z and Dragon Ball GT have reached an audience of all ages and has managed to capture the imagination of children and adults. Now, for DBZ: BT2 for Wii, the great DBZ action gets a lot sweeter and refined! Fighting is NOT a spectator sport in this game and it has appeal for fans and newcomers alike.

Gameplay

DBZ: Budokai Tenkaichi 2 literally has TONS of things for its players to do. Dragon Ball Z Sagas is the main stage and it allows you to fight out all of the Sagas with all of the original characters. If being able to be some of your favorites (like Piccolo and Goku) isn’t enough, you also have the option of changing the outcome of certain battles and setting up situations not in the original story line. The one downside to story mode is that there is the possibility of you encountering a foe who is EXTREMELY strong, and more powerful than the previous one. When a break is in order, jetting over to the tournament-option gives you continuous battling, without the story line. Tournament-mode is a great way to earn money and get a control of how fighting works. The best part of this mode is great selection of good and bad-guys from the beginning. Along with these two modes there's a practice/dueling mode, a survival type mode and an extras section. On top of that you can use codes to unlock outfits and create your own characters. Fighting in this game is a serious workout and trying not use much effort seems hard at times. You can fly, block, kick, powerup and do amzing combos. The combo feature in this game is amazing! Watching your character fly up, punch, phase to the side, use a ki blast then phase again to knock the enemy on the ground is unbelievable. Overall for gameplay though, I must say that the multiplayer isnt too up to par. It is easy to loose intrest.

From a little bit about the fighting to the controllers...

Fighting and the controllers in this game go hand-in-hand, unfortunately the controls are the main problem. The one downside (depending on your preferences) is that kicking your opponent when they’re down is a great tactic, and sadly you might find that it is the best way to win. Even with practice and effective use of the Dueling Mode, getting a handle of the controls takes some time. Remembering the buttons isn’t the hard part, it’s the combination of remembering the buttons AND moving the controller. Doing combos/juggles and special movies proves to be a difficult task with the Wii-mote. Certain moves call for thrusting the Wii-mote forward, and when caught in the heat of battle a perfect chain can be ruined if that is forgotten. You can pause to read how to do their moves but it takes away from the experience. Each character has their own special attacks, learning and remembering the moves can become pretty annoying. However overall these problems are overshadowed by all of the positives.

Graphics and Sounds

The backgrounds are graphically mediocre but the interaction between the characters and the playing field is perfect. You can smash your opponent into a cliff and watch it fall apart, or you can spin kick your target into the ground and see a crater in his/her place. One of the best parts of the game is to see how the environment is affected by the battles in certain matches! Fighting under water is pretty-hot too, except it’s not as exciting as one would hope. Under water actually looks much like the surface, only blue. Each stage offers a great tune to set the mood and after a couple of battles certain songs just seem to catch your fancy. The sound effects are great, none are overpowering and are just right.

Funfactor

Its great taking a stroll down memory lane, luckily there is also the option to hear the characters in their ORIGINAL Japanese voices! This option is confusing at first but being able to hear where these characters originated from is a plus for fans and even a bit for the curious!

Plasmafactor

Z-items are the ultimate accessory…. for success! These little gems are great for buffing-up characters allowing you to customizing them the way you want. This way, even weaker characters can become amazingly strong. Z-items cost money but money is fairly easy to come-by in this game. The slight downside is that while Story mode if a person dies or is unavailable to play, the Z-items that are in possession are inaccessible. Until they are available again or you exit out of story mode and un-equip them elsewhere, they will continue to be unavailable.

 

In the End...

Dragon Ball Z Budokai Tenkaichi has a mix of both good and bad, however the mix of ups-and-downs make for a fairly balanced game that is very fulfilling. Now truly you can be a Z-Fighter, and for a fan, whats cooler than that? It seems that Nintendo isn’t the only company who can make great games for the Wii.