“Budokai Tenkaichi 3” (originally released in Japan as “Sparking! METEOR”) for the Sony PlayStation 2 has officially hit store shelves in North America:

Atari’s Dragon Ball Z(R): Budokai Tenkaichi 3 for Wii(TM) and Playstation(R)2 System Headed to Store Shelves for Holiday Season
— The Ultimate Dragon Ball Z Title Features More In-Depth Story Mode and Enhanced Graphics –

NEW YORK, Nov. 13 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — Atari, Inc. (Nasdaq: ATAR), one of the world’s most recognized brands and a third-party video game publisher, today announced that Dragon Ball Z(R): Budokai Tenkaichi 3 has shipped to retailers in North America for the PlayStation(R)2 computer entertainment system and will be arriving for the Wii(TM) later this holiday season. Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 3 is rated T for Teen and is available for a suggested retail price of $49.95.

Developed by Spike, Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 3 is the first Dragon Ball Z title to incorporate online play with the Wii, making it one of this holiday’s must-have fighting titles. Fans playing on the PlayStation 2 system have the option to unlock several more hours of hidden game play with the Disc Fusion System, which requires either Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 1 or 2 to unlock never-before-seen battles.

“We’re pleased to bring exclusive content and online play to the loyal fans of the Dragon Ball series,” said Donny Clay, Producer, Atari, Inc. “We have delivered what we believe is undoubtedly the best Dragon Ball game yet. This is a must-have for the holidays.”

Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 3 features a roster of over 150 playable characters, 30 enormous and varying 3D battle environments, fine-tuned fighting controls for the Wii and revamped audio, including the original Japanese voices. For more information on Dragon Ball Z video games, please visit http://www.atari.com/dragonballz.

While the music in the North American version is supposedly better than average, there is no selectable Japanese music option, which is a bummer for all of you that were holding out hope. The Japanese voice cast is at least selectable, though.

As a reminder to everyone, Meri and I gave our initial thoughts on the game (based on the JP “Sparking! METEOR”, of course) back on Episode #0099 of the podcast. We will be following up with our final thoughts on the game in the next week or so — look forward to it!