Dragon Ball Z: Shin Budokai Review (no fat)

by Atari / Bandai Platform: PSP Genre: Beatemup	ESRB Rating: Teen Release: 2006-03-07	Dragon Ball Z: Shin Budokai Features: Cel-Shaded Characters Muliple Modes of Game Play Multiplayer Capabilities Via Ad Hoc In Depth Story
	Egamer's Rating: 4 / 10. Reviewed on: 2006-04-14

Game Description

Finally, Dragon Ball Z games have reached the PlayStation portable. Fans of Dragon Ball Z have been waiting for this moment ever since the portable console was unveiled. The wait is over though, with the release of Dragon Ball Z: Shin Budokai. The game follows along with the story of “Fusion Returns”, the Dragon Ball Z movie that was released.

Dragon Ball Z: Shin Budokai Gameplay

The game offers lots of stuff for lovers of the series to feast on. Dragon Ball Z: Shin Budokai features two standard modes of play, the arcade mode and Dragon Road story mode, as well as a Z trial mode and unlockable items in the shop - All that should be enough to keep gamers interested and involved for quite a bit.

Combat is very easy and simplistic. Basically, gamers smash buttons throughout their battles to win. The combos are easy to master as they only involve 2 buttons and the control stick. The attacks could have been a little bit more complicated to execute to keep gamers interested, right now, its all too easy.

The main attraction of battles is the special attacks that can be used. Ki energy is stored until the gamer wishes to use the special attack against their opponent. When the attack is executed, the Ki energy is drained. To replenish Ki energy, players must hold L down. This can get a bit complicated as the enemy isn’t going to wait for the gamer to charge his Ki energy. The best way to do this is to attack the opponent until he is knocked down, then charge up the Ki energy. Every character in the game has their own special attacks, and gamers get to play as each and every character throughout the story. This way, you can see every special attack in action and what the effects are on the enemy. That should change up the pace a little bit and keep you from getting bored.

The storyline is odd and doesn’t make sense most of the time. Also, the characters in the game make some of the weirdest remarks that have ever been heard. These also don’t make sense. This should keep gamers interested between battles, and give them a break from all the button smashing. However, the game does feature a lengthy and in depth storyline, if you dont take quality into account.

Dragon Ball Z: Shin Budokai Graphics

The special attacks are presented very nicely. Cel-shading of the characters give it a nice anime feel, as it follows the graphics of the actual T.V show. Environments aren’t graphically detailed, but are in the 'ok' category. Most of the time the fighting is done above ground and the T.V. show didn’t have detailed backgrounds either. All in all, the graphics and the special effects of the special attacks are good quality, and follow right along with the show.

Dragon Ball Z: Shin Budokai Audio

The audio will leave your minds numb. Techno music plagues almost every inch of this game, along with crappy sound effects. The voice acting is alright, but everything else could have been put together a lot nicer than it is. That’s what you get with a cartoon-based video game. Turn the volume down on this one folks.

Dragon Ball Z: Shin Budokai - Verdict

The only gamers that are going to find any fun in this game are the die-hard fans of Dragon Ball Z. The audio is pathetic and the storyline is cracked out...need we say more?

A $39.99 price tag is slapped on a $19.99 game. A rip-off.