Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 10th annivesary

[Hellspawn28]

Well it's been 10 years since the first Sparking game was released in Japan. I remember when the game was first announced with the scans of just Goku, Vegeta and Janemba. The game look so awesome and lots of fun to play. EB Games around that time had a pre-order listing for Budokai Tenkaichi before Atari officially announce it and people where debating if Budokai Tenkaichi was it's own game or the US release of Sparking. Atari later announced the game and everyone got hype up. I follow the news very close when it was coming out. The game was finally released and the game was very mixed by the fans. People where hating on the game for it's bad story mode, bad graphics, horrible camera and bad combat. While other fans where in fanboy mode and where defending the game. When I first got the game, I was disappointed deep down and knew that my fun would shortly last.

For fun, here is a look back from old threads from 2005

http://www.kanzenshuu.com/forum/viewtop ... =11&t=1958
http://www.kanzenshuu.com/forum/viewtop ... =11&t=2097

[Captain-Sora]

People where hating on the game for it's bad story mode, bad graphics, horrible camera and bad combat.

Don't forget the save corruption issue that occurred if you saved your data too often. Not sure if that was fixed in later batches of the game, but all the first copies were at risk of that problem.

[EXBadguy]

So Tenkaichi was hated on the interwebz since it first came out? Shiiit, and I thought most people liked it for what it was, along with getting them rid of their Budokai 3 copies in the process. Man, those were the good days until the later sequels blew it out of the water. I can just remember a decade ago playing it mostly for the ranking mode after I beat the story, which had an okay length at the time.

[ShadowDude112]

Man, the first one was actually not that great. The models were kind of garbage and the combat wasn't fun. I'm glad they changed it and made it better for the sequels though. But still, whenever I think of BT1, I think of how jarring the switch from 1 to 2 is.

[Shiyonasan]

Yup, I still remember Budokai Tenkaichi 1 being announced and many fans loathing the idea of the game because it wasn't similar to the Budokai series. It seems as time has gone on, people remember the game a little more fondly due to nostalgia, but still with some dislike.

I do think that BT1 is the worst of the series, but at best, I would consider it an average game. I don't dislike it as much as some people do. However, I do agree that BT2 and BT3 are much better games. I very rarely ever go back to the first game, mainly because there's not much reason to play it anymore. Like you guys alluded to, it was interesting to see each sequel improve from the previous game. BT3 is still fun to go back too every once in a while because of the huge roster and BT2 because of its story mode.

Never was a huge fan of the graphics in any of the three BT games either, but overall, the latter two games are good for what they are.

[Lord Beerus]

The first Budokai Tenkaichi was awful. I hated it right from the get-go. The visuals were awful, the story was terrible and the combat was limited and clunky. It just makes what Tenkaichi 2 turned to be all the more remarkable.

[DBZAOTA482]

Oh Budokai Tenkaichi/Sparking!, I fondly remember being so excited to play a open-world DBZ fighter (and my first fully 3D fighter) and getting (almost) everything in the game but yeah.... the game aged poorly.

Still hope to see it within a possible Budokai Tenkaichi HD Collection with 2 (NEO) and 3 (METEOR).

[Hellspawn28]

So Tenkaichi was hated on the interwebz since it first came out?

The game got mixed reviews from critics and fans. A lot of people where hoping it to be Budokai 4 and end up being let down. People on Gamespot and Gamefaqs at the time seem to dislike the game while others like it. I still think the first game is pretty bad.

[90sDBZ]

I remember being majorly hyped for it at the time. Some sites actually listed it as Budokai 4 early on. The thought of having full 3D battlefields and a roster bigger than that of Budokai 3 excited me a lot leading up to the release. When the game came out I played the hell out of it for a couple of months before eventually getting bored of the limited gameplay. Ironically it had the best graphics out of the whole trilogy. I do still give it a play every once in awhile, even though it doesn't come close to its 2 sequels or the Budokai games. And it had the Kenji Yammamoto music so that's always a plus. I remember being stuck on the Vegeta vs Kid Buu 2 minute survival fight for ages with "Hurricane Challenger" playing the whole time. Good times.

[Darknat]

The first Sparking was really bad gameplay wise, but the engine itself had a lot of potential that thankfully was used on it's sequels.

I feel more or less like that with Xenoverse, even though it's gameplay and presentation are better than the first Sparking. I don't like it, but it has a lot of potential.

I'm still waiting for a re-release of Sparking Meteor, but I don't think it will happen on PS3 since the console is already dying, specially outside Japan.

[Zenkashuu]

Wait, what?! People were complaining about BT's graphics? I can understand the reasons for its gameplay, since it was a mess but for its graphics? They're miles better than Sagas and Budokai 3 (latest titles).

[Hellspawn28]

I remember people back then felt like the characters models sucked and the hands looked really blocky. People seem to take notice that the mouth movement didn't move with the dialogue.

[Zenkashuu]

Do you remember if there were any reactions for Budokai 3's graphics or Sagas? I don't know, maybe fans expect too much from a budget licensed game.

[Darknat]

Wait, what?! People were complaining about BT's graphics? I can understand the reasons for its gameplay, since it was a mess but for its graphics? They're miles better than Sagas and Budokai 3 (latest titles).

The first game graphics were wrose than the second and third game. I'm not sure if that happened with all 3d models, but Goku's 3d model was changed. Graphical effects for attacks were bad. They got better on the second game and finally got a major overhaul for the third one (check for instace the Kaioken or the Genkidama).

And finally, characters were blocky and kept being blocky on later installments, but I actually didn't mind that all that much.

[DBZAOTA482]

Wait, what?! People were complaining about BT's graphics? I can understand the reasons for its gameplay, since it was a mess but for its graphics? They're miles better than Sagas and Budokai 3 (latest titles).

Trolling? Budoksi 3's graphics shit on top of the first Tenkaichi's.

[90sDBZ]

After reading this topic I decided to give the game a play last night for the first time in awhile. I really like how the story tries to be faithful by making you win under certain conditions, such as beating Nappa with the Kaioken attack. The story mode menus were cool, and I always liked that music that plays after you win a fight and unlock Z items. And the survival missions feel true to the show. For example, surviving against an overpowered 3rd Form Frieza for a minute as Piccolo makes much more sense than kicking his ass easily, only to see Piccolo all beat up in the following cutscene.

I think the game deserves credit for what it brought to the table. It was the first game to make Great Ape's playable, the first game to include battle-damage, the first to feature many movie characters, and the first to allow you to fight in a full 3D environment. Even though I'm more of a Budokai fan, I have to give this game credit for being the landmark that it was.

[Zenkashuu]

Wait, what?! People were complaining about BT's graphics? I can understand the reasons for its gameplay, since it was a mess but for its graphics? They're miles better than Sagas and Budokai 3 (latest titles).

Trolling? Budoksi 3's graphics shit on top of the first Tenkaichi's.

Budokai 3's 3D models were more blocky compared to Tenkaichi ones.

[MCDaveG]

Interesting, Budokai Tenkaichi or Sparking! series is the first series where my trend of one game per series started.
I was fan of Budokai series for sure, I've played all titles up to the Infinite World and during the same time as IW, I've bought Budokai Tenkaichi 3.
I remember that it was that time when the one game per year have started and during the time I was thinking about going for BT1, they've already announced BT2.
So I've somewhat skipped those altogether.

[ShadowBardock89]

Interesting, Budokai Tenkaichi or Sparking! series is the first series where my trend of one game per series started.
I was fan of Budokai series for sure, I've played all titles up to the Infinite World and during the same time as IW, I've bought Budokai Tenkaichi 3.
I remember that it was that time when the one game per year have started and during the time I was thinking about going for BT1, they've already announced BT2.
So I've somewhat skipped those altogether.

BT2 is definitely worth the pick up. There are just some elements from BT2 that weren't carried over to BT3 that I really like.

[MCDaveG]

Interesting, Budokai Tenkaichi or Sparking! series is the first series where my trend of one game per series started.
I was fan of Budokai series for sure, I've played all titles up to the Infinite World and during the same time as IW, I've bought Budokai Tenkaichi 3.
I remember that it was that time when the one game per year have started and during the time I was thinking about going for BT1, they've already announced BT2.
So I've somewhat skipped those altogether.

BT2 is definitely worth the pick up. There are just some elements from BT2 that weren't carried over to BT3 that I really like.

I would love to, but my PS2 is out of order, so I am emulating. My PC is not up to date, as I can play 5 years old games on full, but have trouble with Force Unleashed and all the recent ones.
I've tried to illegaly DL BT2 to try it out (So I won't buy a ''new'' game just for the shelf show-off), but as all the other games (DBZ Budokai, Sparking Meteor, Gundam etc.) I am emulating just fine (I make images from the bought ones) I had lot of lagging with BT2 so I didn't bought it at all. What are the differences in the game?