Sparking/Budokai Tenkaichi: Pass or Buy?

[Xyex]

Every game gets repetitve since you're doing the same thing over and over again. I've never understood that arguement. It happens to/with all games. So, even though I don't have the game, yes. I mean, by definition, it's impossible for any game not to be repetitive.

[SuperFusion]

I've seen Goku repeatidly do the same combo over and over again. It doesn't look like you can mix up the moves like you could in the previous Budokais.

[lost in thought]

You guys, and Mike are all the reason why I bought it! Take pride, I was definitely going to pass. And now that Mike's got me hosting the opening theme, I am fucking psyched.

Oh, and...

I've seen Goku repeatidly do the same combo over and over again. It doesn't look like you can mix up the moves like you could in the previous Budokais.

Well on gameplay movies you would. The people recording those aren't going to go all freaky-deeky bad ass with the movies, they're just going to do a punch/kick combo, maybe a special move, wham-bam-thank you-ma'am.

There are probably quite a few moves per character, and probably just as many moves that are static to each character. As far as getting any hard details of the fighting system, hopefully someone who has the game (Mike!!!) will grace us with a little insight.

[Leotaku]

I mean, by definition, it's impossible for any game not to be repetitive.

*Obscure reference to Calvin and Hobbes*
Not if it's Calvinball.

Anyway, whether that's just for the video or not, I have heard some complaints about combos (or lack of).

From reactions that I've read, this game unfortunately doesn't seem to be blowing anyone away. But, at least it's not being thoroughly trashed either.
I'm surprised I haven't seen more input from people HERE. I would've thought more people importing it or whatever would've gotten their hands on it by now.

I'm still very eager to play this game though. My brother is generously buying it for me.

[Xyex]

From what I've heard the actuall gameplay quality is somewhere between B1 and B2. Apparently every combo starts the same. At least, according to a number of people on Gamefaqs. And it seems they only have 5 combos each, most of them the same. Not sure though and I don't really care. I loved the first Budokai game (though the story mode was it's major selling point and the cutscenes in BT are pathetic) so I'll probably love this one too. Can't wait till it gets here.

[Eclipse]

Some dude over at DBU Unlimited Forums imported the game from Hong Kong. This is his insight

yea i imported it from hong kong. what i meant by original theme was the background music you heard throughout the japanese db series. and super vegeta? one word: STRONG.

after playing for a while, i noticed some things that werent too great. i mean, i still love it, but if it were up to me, id change a few things.
1. no alternate costumes
2. all the graphics are good, except the hands; they just look so awkward sometimes, like when doing the kamehame ha or making a fist.
3. for some reason, their bodies look a little stiff; kinda like a robot...its barely noticeable, but when they do something like cross their arms it really shows.
3. short fights. it ends in like 2 minutes! there is only one life bar, and even though the damge taken is reduced, it ends up being too quick for my liking.
4. boring cut scenes
5. no destroyed arenas**
6. camera angles and controls get really annoying; especially when youre flying around trying to avoid being stomped on by an angry oozaru

on the plus side,

1. challenging (maybe cuz I'm new to the game Tongue)
2. shitload of characters to choose from
3. fully 3d environment
4. OOZARU!!! (they are damn near invincible, the only way to beat em is to run out the clock)
5. really cool looking menu
6. did a really good job making the characters face resemble the anime/manga
7. cinematic death moves(imagine dragonrush or hyper mode each time you fire a kamehameha)
8. you can play as the hero OR villain in story mode
9. no more rock paper scissors
10. no pikkon(lol sry pikkon lovers)
More!
1. the bumps and bruises after a difficult battle(lol goku looked ready to pass out after barely defeating majin buu)
2. you can teleport at ANY point in the fight(well almost)for example, you start off with a simple combo, and anytime you want, you can teleport behind your opponent(and although you could kind of do this in b3, sparking! doesnt require you to wait for him to attack and plus, doing it barely takes any ki at all)
3. there ARE alternate costumes(in a way Tongue) i discovered it only after playing as the same fighter(ex. vegeta vs vegeta) but, the costumes arent really 'alternate'. its just a different color(although vegeta DID look pretty cool in an all black outfit, flowing with electricity Grin) but the thing that really confuses me is the fact that i cant just pick the alternate costume at will, it only happens when the two opponents are the same character.
4. you can aim your attacks(rapid ki blasts only) at anything you want, kind of like a 1st person shooter, only you bring down whole mountains in the process Grin)

well i probably left out a whole lot but oh well. either way, despite its minor flaws(like every game has) this is a very good game! if you ask me, everyone who is a fan of dbz shouldnt miss out on this great game.

lol wow, sry, i didnt mean to turn this into a review or anything, its just too exciting to keep it to myself; i just thought you guys would like to know
---peace---

**What he means is that once you do a super attack like the Genki Dama, the arena will not destruct and turn into a wasteland like Budokai or Budokai 3. It's still destructible though

Here's another trailer. Does anyone know the name of that song and when it was played in DBZ??
http://open.tekken.net/dbzs-01.zip

[Fuujin]

One question, are the cut-scenes even marginally better than on trailers, or does Raditz still need to take a leak?

[Xyex]

From what I've heard... he's still looking for th bathroom. It's sad really. I figured that they'd at least try and match the quality of the cutscenes in B1. But from what I've seen we'd have been better off with clips from the anime instead.

[LaRésistance]

They couldn't put clips of the anime in the story mode since there are "what if" cut-scenes.

[Leotaku]

Xyex: Quality between B1 and B2? I was hoping more for something between B1 and B3, at least. Then again, I would imagine it's hard to compare these games, since Tenkaichi is certainly different.

Eclipse: Thanks for posting that quote. It's a pretty nice rundown of pros and cons, at least from that person's perspective (for some of the points, which are more opinionated than factual).

Regarding negatives
3. ( Uh...he has 2 number 3s )2 minutes for a fight is actually long, compared to most fighting games. But I guess we all expect / are used to long DBZ fights.

Regarding positives
4. I think it would've been cool for one option of fighting the Oozaru to be able to attack the tail, and try to sever it for an easier win.

8. Hero or villain in story mode sounds nice to me.

10. Agh...not that I was expecting him, but it would've been fun to have Paikuhan in. I'm not a fan, but it never hurts to see new characters.

[lost in thought]

the cutscenes in BT are pathetic

Have you seen the opening theme? Because, even though they *do* look some-what pathetic in stills, or in poor quality videos, the opening theme is fucking awesome.

[Conan the SSJ]

the cutscenes in BT are pathetic

Have you seen the opening theme? Because, even though they *do* look some-what pathetic in stills, or in poor quality videos, the opening theme is fucking awesome.

Dude, the opening theme is not a cut scene, it's merly ... the opening theme. Yeah, we all think the opening theme is cool (despite myself prefering the 2D CG openings from B2, B3, and Sagas). But the opening theme is NOT a cut scene, it's merly what it is; an opening theme.

I think the reason the cut scenes in BT are so stale and boring compared to B1's is because B1 had a good 2 years of work done on it, while BT over-all had been in development for maybe a full year if lucky enough. See the trend? BT built an all new fighting engine from the ground up, had they simply used Dimps', the cut scenes may have gotten much more attention and may have likley been mind blowing. It sucks that we've lost the world traveling element from B3 in exchange for (in comparison to B1) sub-par cut scenes, but oh well. It's better than Sagas' amatur 28 minute AMV attempt.

[Xyex]

They couldn't put clips of the anime in the story mode since there are "what if" cut-scenes.

Original animation could be used for those. They could have left it out. Whatever. What-ifs are not enough of a reason to have such HORRID cutscenes... The cutouts in B3 were better, the animation for the movies in B2 were far superior... it's just plain bad.

[LaRésistance]

They couldn't put clips of the anime in the story mode since there are "what if" cut-scenes.

Original animation could be used for those.

I totally agree, that would have been great.

[Xyex]

the cutscenes in BT are pathetic

Have you seen the opening theme? Because, even though they *do* look some-what pathetic in stills, or in poor quality videos, the opening theme is fucking awesome.

Somehow I missed this post earlier so I'll reply now. As Connan said, that's not a cutscene. That's a specialy rendered FMV opening. The cutscenes in the game are, as with B1, in game. They use the game models and engine, badly at that.

And I have seen that intro. It's... eh. Bleh. Bah. I like the previous intros from all thre Budokai games far more. First time I saw it I didn't like it. I watched it some more and it grew on me a little. It's decent but that's it.

[Eclipse]

Eclipse: Thanks for posting that quote. It's a pretty nice rundown of pros and cons, at least from that person's perspective (for some of the points, which are more opinionated than factual).

Regarding negatives
3. ( Uh...he has 2 number 3s )2 minutes for a fight is actually long, compared to most fighting games. But I guess we all expect / are used to long DBZ fights.

Regarding positives
4. I think it would've been cool for one option of fighting the Oozaru to be able to attack the tail, and try to sever it for an easier win.

8. Hero or villain in story mode sounds nice to me.

10. Agh...not that I was expecting him, but it would've been fun to have Paikuhan in. I'm not a fan, but it never hurts to see new characters.

Yeah, about the double 3's. It's because most of the quote was quite early, and he later added some more in a later post. I simply edited this quote to feature some of that stuff.

I saw the intro. It was kinda weird at first, but it makes sense, with BT's engine and what not. What also suprised me is that the vocal opening is We Gotta Power..

It seems in the US version that all previous music are gonna be re-used, since only the anime themes are gonna be in the Japanese version.

[The S]

I can't wait until a proper guide comes out for this game. I want to hear tips from people who don't think Captain Planet is a DBZ character (seriously, there's a whole topic on that in the Sparking thread on GameFAQs...)

[lost in thought]

They use the game models and engine, badly at that.

One mans mud is another mans gold. I am not quite that superficial. Hell, I'll buy a game no matter how good, bad, or dated the graphics, if I can enjoy it.

[Jord]

Bad movies? Can anyone direct me to a site where I can find a few of theose sory mode movies?

[Xyex]

They use the game models and engine, badly at that.

One mans mud is another mans gold. I am not quite that superficial. Hell, I'll buy a game no matter how good, bad, or dated the graphics, if I can enjoy it.

Oh, I'm still getting it. Hell, I plan on getting Sagas eventually. I have no problem with bad or dated graphics, I care about the quality of the game, but see, with something like this that uses cutscenes before and after fights, part of that quality comes in with the effort put into those cutscenes. They consist of Characters A and B standing around saying back and forth, their mouths flapping, and that's about it. Sure, there's a few other parts. Characters flying in to attack suddenly, crawling across the ground, etc.. but it's still poorly done.

It's not enough for me to not buy the game, hell no. But it's enough to gripe about because it could be sooooooo much better. B1's cutscenes were superb. And yes, I know, B1 had more time to be worked on and wasn't as big a game as this with number of battles and such, but still. They could have easily made the cutscenes at least a little better.