Dragon Ball Z Budokai Tenkaichi 2

SCORE: 62

Dragon Ball Z has been a rather prolific anime about a group fighters defending Earth from a variety of villains. Budokai Tenkaichi 2 on the Nintendo Wii (also on the PS2) outlines a large portion of the many series’ story arcs. Fortunately for those of us who don’t know a thing about the series, this game is very accessible. DBZ:BT2 is a single and two-player fighting game that, in spite of a simplistic approach, provides a fun, usually high-speed, and (frequently) intense battles that are loaded with the over-the-top action and style that the series is known for. As that last sentence would indicate, this game is fun, and it made for a strong non-traditional fighting game for the Wii’s launch. In the context of the game, the plot is fairly insignificant when it comes to moving the game along, but the plot is well representative of the plotlines of the series; that’s something that should please existing fans of the series, but, due to the nature of the game, newcomers to the series can still enjoy the gameplay even if the story seems confusing.

The gameplay, possibly the game’s strongest and weakest point, is exceptionally fun on the Wii. The fighting system is simple enough to start out, but there are countless nuances and techniques for fighting fans to discover and create. One of the highlights of the controls on the Wii, is the way that players use the remote and numchuck to mimic the special attacks (called “ki blasts”); fans of anime will generally love the ability to motion for a ki blast. There are a few different game modes and a great number of things to unlock. The addition of a fairly robust system for improving the characters’ strengths and abilities is a nice feature. The graphics in the game, while not mind-blowing, do a very good job of recreating the anime; there are some nice special effects thrown into the mix. The music in the game is by no means phenomenal, but it sets the atmosphere for the game. The voice acting varies from annoying to pretty good; fortunately, there’s more good voice acting. The game also gives the option to use the original Japanese. The combat system is quite possibly DBZ:BT2’s weakest aspect. Fans of “serious fighting games” will probably not like the simplicity of the control (as only two buttons are used for primary combat). Worse yet, nearly every character has the same basic move set. The biggest difference between the characters is largely one of appearance; however, characters do tend to have different attributes (including special attacks). The Wii version of the game allows use of the Classic and Gamecube controllers, but some of the unique gameplay is lost in doing so.

The game developers didn’t do anything to push the boundaries in the graphical department, but the artistic style makes up for that. As mentioned above, there is a lot to unlock; there is almost too much to unlock. It will take a very long time to unlock everything in the game; worse yet, is that many of the characters that players will want to unlock are deep within the game. In terms of immoral content, DBZ:BT2 is one of the cleanest fighting games on the market. There is no blood or gore, and the violence is so fast and over-the-top that much of the brutality is lost.

There are some elements of the supernatural in play (such as one of the protagonists, Goku, dying and coming back to life, and the ever present use of ki blasts that is an all-present life-force/energy), but nothing seems exceptionally worrisome for those that don’t know anything about the show. Some of the unlockable characters are of a “demon” or “god-like” nature (“Demon King Nabura” is the only such character). A shop owner resembles a witch and claims, “even hell runs on money.” There might be some minimal profanity in the plot segments. There is nothing sexual in the game. The game does have some positive elements, however, and those include protecting others even when injured greatly, working with rivals for a common goal, and, most significantly, the importance of family.

On the whole, for families that are accepting of over-the-top fighting games, Budokai Tenkaichi 2 is a fairly solid game. Though not without its technical and moral shortcomings, this game manages to get a lot more things right than most games that have been based on a film/cartoon license. All the same, be sure to keep the over-the-top violence and mixed in supernatural elements in mind when deciding if this game is right for you and your family.
- Kenny

Graphics: 55%
Sound: 66%
Replay/Extras: 70%
Gameplay: 70%
Family Friendly Factor: 50%
System: Wii
Publisher: Atari
Rating: 'T' for Teen
{Cartoon Violence}

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