#35 - Dragon Ball Z: Budokai 3

Let's set the record straight - I haven't played too many Dragon Ball Z games, but the few I played gave me the impression that they're not all great, and the earlier ones feel like encyclopedias with the game thrown in as an afterthought. Surprisingly, this is when they got their shit together and started making games. Too bad this is the best one by far. The rest that went in this style just didn't feel as good, and honestly, I couldn't give a *bleep* about the Tenkaichi games because they literally feel like button mashers that require like no skill to win. And yes, I do realize the irony in saying that to criticize the Tenkaichi games when I've admitted to liking Call Of Duty, which apparently takes no skill to play. Well, Call Of Duty is fun and I didn't find Tenkaichi fun, so *bleep* you.

Budokai 3 does have some flaws - mostly in that most, if not all of the characters play very identically with the only differences being maybe one or two inputs being different for each of their special attacks. There are plenty of features, but good luck seeing even half of them more than once. Technically speaking, the fighting is nowhere near as technical as the likes of Blazblue or even Street Fighter 2. In fact, the only fighting game this is more technical than is the Super Smash Brothers series. A lot of the combos and special attacks are easy to pull off... and in a bout of inconsistency, the ones that have any semblance of challenge to pull off are bloody *bleep*ing hard unless you're fighting against an opponent controlled by an arthritic grandma.

But none of that ever really stops it from being fun to play. A lot of fun, in fact. That's this game's biggest strength - it's so much fun to play through despite a simple and somewhat flawed combat engine. Now you're probably going to ask yourself where Super Smash Brothers will be on this list. Well, here's spoiler alert - nowhere. I generally find that series to be extremely overrated and actually quite a bore unless I have 2 or 3 friends to play it with and telling me that "that's the point" is an extremely laughable defence that my little sister could knock down by just walking into it. But that'll be for another time guys - until then, umm, this game is awesome and yet somewhat flawed, but it still kicks ass.

Summary - A simple yet very fun fighting game based off of one of the most popular anime series in the world (for good reason).
Rating - 8/10

playstation 2 gaming related