Budokai 1 Thoughts

[funrush]

I was wondering the other day, I wasn't into the Dragon Ball fandom until about '06-'07. A question that kept flying around in my head was, how did most people react to/treat the first Budokai game? Was it generally well-liked?

[Thanos]

I was wondering the other day, I wasn't into the Dragon Ball fandom until about '06-'07. A question that kept flying around in my head was, how did most people react to/treat the first Budokai game? Was it generally well-liked?

Not really. Just watch videos of it on YouTube. The graphics are hideous, there's barely any characters (those that are available only extend to the Cell era, and they're all identical), the effects are inaccurate (yellow Kame Hame-Ha) and amateurish (just bright glowing orbs and bursts, basically), and the gameplay is so very mind-numbingly simple. It's either Punch or kick, punch, punch, punch, punch vs. Block, block, block, block, block, or Punch or kick, punch, punch, punch, energy special attack vs. Block, block, block, block, block/fall to the ground. Every once in a while you'll toss a ki blast (volleying not possible), and most characters share the same cutscene attacks. One of them being a really fast barrage of punches and kicks followed by a heavy hit that knocks the opponent to the ground, or knocking the opponent to the ground, followed by jumping into the air and shooting a volley of ki blasts on them while on the ground... so not unlike Ultimate Blast in the respect. Oh, and you can throw which is also a cutscene.

The only good thing about the game is the Story Mode. The in-game engine is used to recreate scenes from the anime, which are done very well. It's probably not quite as good as Sparking!/Budokai Tenkaichi 1, but suffers many of the same problems. Overly simplistic, two-step formulaic battles, poor effects, identical characters with identical attacks...

I don't really think there are any internationally released Dragon Ball games worth playing until Budokai 3.

[VegettoEX]

While all of that is true, I don't think that's accurate as to how the game was received at the time at all.

Long and short of it was that fans were besides themselves with excitement and enjoyment to play the darn thing.

Keep in mind that most American fans hadn't really played any DBZ games before. Ever. If they were (un)lucky, they played Final Bout back in 1997 (if they were even into the franchise at the time), and other than that, they were only just getting Legendary Super Warriors on GameBoy Color around that same time, as well.

As for the rest of us who had been into it for a while, it had been since 1997 that we had played any new games, and we were ready alongside the Japanese audience to jump into the modern era for the franchise in terms of gaming. It was janky, but it was also oozing with love. The music was fantastic, the presentation was spifftacular (and no, the graphics were NOT universally loathed for their non-cel-shaded look), and it had a lot of great extras to play around with.

[Shiyonasan]

Although I can't speak for everybody, I can say that when I first played this game back in 2002 or 2003 as a pre-teen, I really enjoyed it. I can't really explain why I liked it at the time, since a lot of kids that age don't really think about the various aspects of video games in terms of quality. All I knew was that it had great-looking graphics at the time, and that it was fun to play against my friends who introduced me to the game. It was also one of two reasons I wanted to get a PS2 (the other being Kingdom Hearts).

Also, I had never played any Dragon Ball games prior to Budokai since, like Mike said, American fans hadn't really had Dragon Ball Z games before. When Final Bout initially came out, I wasn't even a fan of Dragon Ball yet!

[InfernalVegito]

I remember the days when my friends and me were so stoked about this game and played it non-stop. I think the impression was rather positive than negative about the game. I mean it was something totally new, the graphics the ingame story-scenes, the flashy attacks, for that time at least. My first game was Final Bout back in 1997 and I remember my friends and I loved it back then. Budokai 1 was like a successor that made everything ten times better.

[SparkyPantsMcGee]

God damn VegettoEX, I was going to say the exact same thing...

Budokai 1 was the first major console release for the Dragonball franchise in the US. I can not tell you how excited I was to get my hands on this game. Final Bout had a small release in the US before but I don't remember ever seeing the game in stores; however I do remember desperately entering every possible sweepstake/competition Beckett Magazine offered just to get my hands on a Dragonball game(I didn't really understand what GT was at the time either). So when Budokai 1 was announced I was ecstatic to say the least. Sure going back now, it's broken compared to newer gamers but that just shows how Dimps grew with each succession.

Probably my favorite thing about the game, aside from the accurate cut scenes, was the game's timing. It came out around the same time the Cell Saga ended in the US. If you don't know, one of the bonus characters was Great Saiyaman. It was like getting a sneak peak at the Buu saga before it aired in the US.

Honestly, there are better games out there now but Budokai paved the way for all of them and to this day I still think it handles the story mode the best out of any other game.

[dbboxkaifan]

I'm thinking on buying this DBZ game also just for its cutscenes being uncensored (Goku and Raditz actually have a bloody hole).

As for the graphics, they were quite good for the time they were released, I'd say.

[Thanos]

While all of that is true, I don't think that's accurate as to how the game was received at the time at all.

Long and short of it was that fans were besides themselves with excitement and enjoyment to play the darn thing.

You're right. In my defense, however, I was 12 at the time of its release, so I don't remember ever hearing about the game outside of my group of friends. My bad...

I too was thrilled by the game at first. After the initial wow-factor, it rapidly became clear to me how shallow the game actually was.

[Saiga]

I found the game amazing, and still do to this very day. I'm going to buy it again and play it

Also, I preferred the yellow Kamehameha - that's how it was shown in a colour page of the manga.

[funrush]

One last thing I was wondering was, I was reading in one of those old game guide things, and it had an ad for Budokai 1 for Gamecube. The ad said that the Gamecube version had enhanced graphics, and I never heard this, owning a PS2. Is this true?

[dbboxkaifan]

GameCube did have better graphics than PlayStation 2 did, but for a great example, Splinter Cell's Chaos Theory it was best played and seen on Xbox. While Xbox had better graphics/hardware than PS2, PlayStation 2 had a bigger catalogue and it is still alive.

Indeed my favourite game for Xbox, I've not yet finished (don't have the game atm).

Sony/Microsoft need to make their current consoles live longer than only a couple years and bring out another one, PS3/360 still feel kinda new and there's so much to do with them.

[Hellspawn28]

VegettoEX said everything perfectly. Budokai 1 was the first major game since 1997 and I remember waiting for a good DBZ game on the consoles before the game came out. I still remember that my friends and I played the game all night long when the game was released. I had to wait a whole year until it was released on the Gamecube because I did not get a PS2 until X-mas 2003.

I doubt the game is not as fun then it was back in 2002 because the game is almost 10 years old (Does anyone else find that hard to believe) but I do remember loving the story mode that the game had. I remember my biggest issue with the game was some of the glitches that the game had and the graphics could have been much better looking at the time.

[Kendamu]

The first Budokai was actually the thing that made Dragonball Z a major interest for me again. At the time that it came out, it was so awesome that a DBZ game was coming to America. A good one, too! Plus, it had cool music and great cutscenes! The graphics weren't hated, either. They were awesome! They only became subpar once Budokai 2 came out because the cel shading does look a million times better. That's probably why, when it finally came to GameCube, it got a cel shading makeover.

Cool part was, for the most part the games just got a lot better each time! Budokai was a great way to start a series of games! Without it, I would've never gotten the Shin Budokai games. Sure, the stories were (more than!) kinda crappy, but Arcade Mode on the go was way more than worth it!

[DonieZ]

I've never bought ot played Budokai 1 before, I'm not sure I was even aware of it on release, but I was kinda young. B2 however was my first console DBZ game, and man do I still hold it my most favourite to date. But this thread is about B1, so I have nothing more to add...

[SparkyPantsMcGee]

Oh yeah, I forgot to add, I still favor the alternative costumes in Budokai 1 over any other game. Come on, Super Saiyan Vegeta in a Leather Jacket...badass!
it should also be noted that Budokai 1 and Burst Limit are the only games to have Trunks with his longer hair down

[DonieZ]

Oh yeah, I forgot to add, I still favor the alternative costumes in Budokai 1 over any other game. Come on, Super Saiyan Vegeta in a Leather Jacket...badass!
it should also be noted that Budokai 1 and Burst Limit are the only games to have Trunks with his longer hair down

Oh yeah I remember from video's they had some pretty decent costumes in the game.

[Hellspawn28]

Budokai 1 is still the only DBZ game to date that has power weighted Perfect Cell. Since Budokai 1, we never had Cell with his power weighted form.

[Son Geeko]

One last thing I was wondering was, I was reading in one of those old game guide things, and it had an ad for Budokai 1 for Gamecube. The ad said that the Gamecube version had enhanced graphics, and I never heard this, owning a PS2. Is this true?

The Gamecube version has enchanted shadow and shading effects to the graphics:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3yWyekzTAe4

[DBZGTKOSDH]

Budokai 1 is still the only DBZ game to date that has power weighted Perfect Cell. Since Budokai 1, we never had Cell with his power weighted form.

Dragon Ball Heroes has him too. But outside from the arcades, yes it's the only one.

[dbboxkaifan]

Weighted power?

Raging Blast 1 on the Downloadable Characters pack Perfect Cell is at his maximum strength power, he even has a blue-ish look.

Gohan SSJ2 powered-up to the max has silver (AF-ish) hair instead of yellow/gold.