Note that this is going to be doing a combo review of both games, as SB2 is really just an upgrade of SB1, or because there's not much difference between either. Gonna put it all in quotes too, to make it a bit easier on the eyes and to section it off better incase anyone just wants to read one section.
INTRO - HISTORY
For those who don't know it, there are currently two different Budokai series in the US. The first Budokai series (known as simply DragonBall Z, Z2, and Z3 in Japan) started in 2002, and was developed by Dimps (a small development studio currently owned by SEGA-Sammy, and formed by ex-Sammy/ex-Capcom employees) while published by Bandai in Japan and Atari in the US/Europe. Apparently Bandai no longer had a US video game branch in 2002 (they did back 1997 when GT Final Bout was released in the US) but with the recent merger between them and Namco they now currently have a US branch again. It remains to be seen if Namco-Bandai will get the US/European publishing rights from Atari, though it will probably make no difference other then the less informed gamers saying the games are developed by Namco-Bandai instead of Atari. That's if it ever switches publishers.
The second Budokai series, known as Budokai Tenkaichi in the US/Europe, and Sparking! in Japan, is developed by Spike! and published by Atari in the US/Europe, while published in Japan by (Namco) Bandai. The producer of this series is Ryo Mito.
In 2006 Dimps' Budokai series continued (sort of) on the PSP under the name Shin Budokai (in all regions) which continued the tradition of upgrading and refining Dimps' Budokai engine, however this new version of the Budokai series is produced and supervised by Ryo Mito (Budokai Tenkaichi) who did not work on the first three entries of the Budokai series, and has made several changes to the gameplay/engine to make it more like that of his Budokai Tenkaichi series. Some changes for the better, some for the worst. More on that below.
Over the years (starting back in 2002 with the first Budokai game) many believed that Atari and/or FUNimation had no say so in what was done with the Budokai games, nor what went into them and what didn't. This however might not hold true though as none of the Budokai, Budokai Tenkaichi, or Shin Budokai games ever displayed anything that the American version of DBZ hadn't already shown or released, with the exception of Gogeta in Budokai 3, who most American fans seemed to already be well aware by B3's release. There's also the fact that the first Shin Budokai game had a plot that was loosely based on Movie 12 (Fusion Reborn) which had a US release date of March 17th 2006, with Shin Budokai being released 10 days earlier on March 7th 2006 in the US. On a somewhat interesting note in Japan Movie 12 (Fukkatsu no Fusion!! Gokū to Vegeta) was also original released in the month of March on March 4th 1995. Budokai Tenkaichi 2 and Movie 13 (Wrath of The Dragon) also shared a similar situation with BT2 featuring Movie 13 characters (which none of the other games from 2002 onward had yet to feature) being released only two months apart, even though it was known that FUNimation had finished dubbing Movie 13 quite sometime before they released it.
As for why Dimps' Budokai series didn't continue onwards with Budokai 4 on the PS2 and/or why the Budokai Tenkaichi series started up in it's place, it's somewhat of a complicated issue. Ever since the 2002 release of the first Budokai game we in the US have had a new DBZ fighting game every year since. Often times less then a year later, which means that these development teams like Dimps and Spike! are putting together sequels for these games in a couple months time, where as a lot of the bigger companies out there don't really do that very often and take more then a year or two (or three in some cases) developing games, but it seems as if Bandai, Atari, FUNimation and fans/players have now grown used to this annual tradition to the point where Bandai/Atari needs to have a new DBZ fighter each and every year, and what ends up happening is that we the consumers essentially keep getting upgrades to the previous game(s) rather then traditional or full on sequels (examples - Resident Evil 3 to Resident Evil 4, Zelda: Wind Waker to Zelda: Twilight Princess, etc) and apparently Dimps (or the director/producer of the Budokai series) began to have a real problem with this method seeing that they (Dimps) could make a much better overall product with a two year production time citing that had they could've essentially gone from what Budokai 1 was straight to what Budokai 3 did had they been allowed a two year production period, and admitting that Budokai 3 was basically what they wanted to do with Budokai 2 but weren't able to due to time constraints, IE Dimps basically viewed Budokai 3 as the full on sequel to Budokai 1, and would of rather had it gone that way in terms of progression then it did with the three games they put out. So given the situation Dimps no longer wanted to continue the Budokai series (for the time being) so Bandai/Atari felt the only other choice was to get a new developer to make them a new DBZ fighter to continue on with the annual tradition they had going, and thus the Budokai Tenkaichi/Sparking series was born. Sometime after the release of Budokai 3 and Budokai Tenkaichi, the producer of the BT series (Ryo Mito) and Dimps began production on Shin Budokai. Bandai wanted a portable DBZ fighter now that handhelds were becoming more and more popular, and using Dimps again seemed logical given they already had a completed DBZ game engine, and had quite a bit of experience developing for handhelds by that time, however the producer of the previous Budokai didn't want to do it, which why/where Ryo Mito came into the project.
That all brings us to now, with the sequel to Shin Budokai.GRAPHICS
To start off the first Shin Budokai game (SB1) makes a very nice presentation with the way the menus are set up and the way they look graphically, although the sequel (SB2) doesn't make as good of an impression with it's menus. The first game overall had a much nicer set up, or feel, while the second seems very generic.
The actual in-game graphics, use the style of graphics found in Budokai 3, however they appear much more pixelated on the PSP compared to the PS2. There's also 2 or 3 character models that have this weird blurred space of coloring similar to that of pictures that people have photoshoped. This only seems to very apparent on Bardock's chest though. It's not as bad in the 1 or 2 other places it shows up.
The story mode featured in SB2 titled "Another Road" (which is very similar to that of the Dragon Adventure mode found in Budokai Tenkaichi 2) features a number of the in-game character models flying around a world map. These models though have been severely reduced in quality to the point where their polygon count is like that of PS1 models, possibly even less. This isn't uncommon to find on the PSP as in order to achieve PS2 quality textures without a lot of pixelation developers will sacrifice the poly count of the character models. The other route to go is using PS2 quality character models with a decent poly count, while sacrificing resolution, IE they keep they keep the high poly count, but everything becomes more pixelated, which is what the Shin Budokai games do with the in-game (fighting) character models.
The pixelization found on the in-game characters doesn't look all that bad in the close up shots of the models (like victory poses) and infact in those shots pretty much mirror that of B3 on the PS2, it's just everything else (which is the majority) that looks pixely.
The only new character models created for the SB games are that of Janemba, Pikkon, and Future Gohan, all of which look great (aside from the pixelization) and animate very well. All of the Ki blasts or Ki based moves graphically look amazing, and possibly better then they do on the PS2. A number of existing animations (of the non physical moves) seem to have been touched up, and definitely for the better.
As a minor note I have to mention that the artwork used in SB2's dialog exchanges is some of the best artwork that's ever been featured in a DBZ game.SOUND
The sound found in the SB games may be the best found in the DBZ games of this post 2002 era. Not only are almost all the songs from the previous Dimps Budokai games there, but there's also a number of new tracks as well, all of which fit very well. The music in the SB games really seems to take the best aspects of the Japanese and American soundtracks and meshing them together to create a lot of great BGMs that fit very well in the places they're used.
Both SB games also allow you to listen to each and every song, with SB2 featuring a total of 61 songs.
A nice little music treat for certain fans is that in SB2, Trunks' Super Butoden theme has been remixed for the game, which are tracks No.30 and No.31. Both are exactly the same except No.30 features a very soft intro that No.31 does not have. It is of course quite fitting for this song to appear in SB2 (Another Road) given that storyline focuses on (Future) Trunks, and really great to hear the first time you play through Another Road hearing or realizing this very familiar Trunks theme, for those that know the original version anyway.
Like a lot of the more recently released DBZ games (with the exception of Super DBZ) the SB games have the option of switching between the English and Japanese voices. There's also various points in the story modes of both games where the dialog is voiced.
Lastly a number of attack sounds have either been added, changed, or modified.CONTROLS
I feel that I need to go over the controls as they've been modified to work on the PSP which features less buttons then that of the PS2 controller.
In terms of what buttons are used for gameplay there's...
D-Pad
Analog
Square
Triangle
Circle
X
Left Trigger
Right Trigger
The D-Pad works exactly the same way it did in B3, but with a few changes. Holding Forward or Back will allow your character to slowly glide in whichever direction, while double tapping and holding the directions will allow you to glide back and fourth. Tapping Down or Up twice allows you to side step (no longer needing to hold the X but in conjunction) and perhaps the biggest change movement wise is that you can now dash in a 360 degree rotation around your opponent by tapping and holding Up/Down twice. This is a really nice improvement for a number of reasons, as your able to get better views of both the character models and stages, while also allowing you a better opportunity to dodge opponents. It's also cool being able to see Ki blasts firing off into the distance at certain angles as they miss. You can not do anything else while dashing 360 degrees though (fire Ki blasts, Punch, etc) and for good reason too, as you could easily just circle your opponent firing off Ki blasts constantly, without them being able to do anything.
The Analog basically equals Auto Dash, IE your character will automatically dash it whatever direction you press, instead of tapping whatever direction twice on the D-Pad.
One of the more controversial changes with SB1 when it was first released was that Punch and Kick buttons were now lumped together into single button (Square) as the weak attack (Rush Attack) button of sorts, while all the strong (physical) attacks were now placed on the Triangle button as the strong attack (Slam Attack) button, and even though it takes a bit of getting used to at first, it ends up being a change for the better in the end. You're able to switch between strong and weak attacks very quickly with quite a variety of combo strings.
Circle remains virtually unchanged in that it still controls all your Ki attacks, however the major change to it is with it's connection to the D-Pad/Analog. Death Moves, Ultimates, and Transformations are all now all bound to Circle + D-Pad. The Death Moves work like they did in B3 pressing forward and/or back to perform the Death Moves (Kamehameha, etc) while the Ultimates are now triggered by Up + Circle, and transformations activated with Down + Circle. All and all this makes things much, much more easier in terms of controls, and it's a lot easier to remember and use/perform then B3's set up.
Another change to both the controls and gameplay is that now all Ki based moves can be charged. For instance pressing Circle, Circle, Circle, will still fire off multiple Ki blasts as it's always done, but if you hold down Circle you'll charge up a Ki blast, and the same goes for all Death Moves, and certain Ultimates. So if with Goku if you press Forward + Circle he'll fire off a Kamehameha, but if you hold Forward + Circle he'll charge it up. Every Death Move can be charged too, with some having differences between there charged and un-charged versions, like with Frieza his charged Death Beam fires multiple beams instead of a single one like his un-charged version does. The Ultimates work much in the sameway too, with certain ones being able to be charged, like with Goku's Spirit Bomb, if you don't charge it, it's about the size it is when Goku first uses it in the Saiyan Saga, while the fully charged version is the large massive ball of energy that we all know. Some Ultimates also have multiple parts too now that can only be activated after hitting Circle after the first part of the Ultimate has reached a certain point. Some of these Continued Ultimates are things like the Super Spirit Bomb, and the Father-Son Kamehameha. For a little more on this see the Gameplay section below.
The X button guards and dodges just as it in Budokai 3, but it's also tied into one of the new features added in SB2 (Aura Guard) See Gameplay below for more on that.
Both Triggers are mostly tied to new gameplay mechanics (see below) with the exception of Charging/Powering up, which is done by pressing and holding the L Trigger.GAMEPLAY
a lot of the gameplay is taken straight from Budokai 3, but there are a number of changes, some of which I described above with the controls.
The biggest change in terms of gameplay in Shin Budokai is that now everything is in real-time, which means there is no longer any cut-scenes during gameplay, nor are there anymore pauses before firing off Death Moves like in B3. There is still a slight pause when transforming though, and also a very brief one with the Ultimates where the camera zooms in on the character performing the Ultimate for a split second. The great about having it in (almost) complete real time is that it keeps the action constantly going at a really good and fast pace. It's also really nice being able to dodge and block Ultimates too now instead of dodging or blocking the attack that starts the Ultimate like in the other Budokai games. Another advantage is that the Ultimates are quicker and that you no longer have to see the exact same sequence every time from the same angle(s) or whatever like in the previous games, plus the chargeable and Continued Ultimates really mix things up too, not having it always be the same every time.
As I mentioned above there are now Continued Ultimates, or Two Part Ultimates, that you the player has control over provided you have enough Ki. The most famous or well known of these two probably being the Super Spirit Bomb and Father-Son Kamehameha. With the Super Spirit Bomb you have to be in Goku's base form with max Ki, perform the Spirit Bomb, then as it's hitting the opponent, you press Down + Circle, Goku will then go Super Saiyan and perform the Super Spirit Bomb, all in real-time. Note that you have to have selected Kaioken, SS, SS2, or SS3 Goku in order for it to work (doesn't apply to SS4) and it's quite cool seeing SS3 Goku perform the Super Spirit Bomb. The Father-Son Kamehameha works in a similar way in you have to be SS2 Gohan with max Ki and once his Super Kamehameha connects or as it's hitting you simply press Circle to activate Father-Son Kamehamha.
With all the additions Shin Budokai makes it also removes or alters a couple of aspects found in Budokai 3. The Hyper Mode and Dragon Rush from B3 have been completely removed in these games as the shift to real-time and addition of Pursuit (see below) made them completely useless. Beam-Struggles have been taken out, along with the Capsule System, and alternate costumes have also been removed, with darker shaded characters being used as alternates, much like the old Mortal Kombat games. The transformation system has also been altered only allowing each of the characters (who can transform) to only transform once per battle, IE you pick Super Saiyan 3 Goku, and then can only use Normal Goku and Super Saiyan 3 Goku for that match. Basically nobody can use all their transformations in battle. You can start the battle transformed if you wish to, by holding down the L Trigger when selecting a transformation character. In SB2's Story Mode (Another Road)
Now I believe all or most of the changes (good and bad) that the Shin Budokai games make are the result of producer Ryo Mito who I think personally for whatever reason did not want Shin Budokai to have any advantage over Budokai Tenkaichi, so stuff like alternate costumes which BT1 didn't feature aren't included in the game. It seems odd to "sabotage" a game like that just because of another game, but honestly I don't see what else it could be, because at first I thought the lack of alternate costumes and the the changes to the transformation system were done to conserve disc space and reduce loading times, except there's still quite a bit of space left over on the UMD in both games, and the loading times are still just as bad as they are on the PS2, if not worse as you're constantly looking at the now loading screen in the story modes. So I'm not exactly sure what they're doing with these games as far as some of these changes go.
Aside from what I mentioned above, the Shin Budokai games add a couple other new mechanics, and these include...
Shin Budokai:
Aura Burst (R Trigger) Allows characters to move very quickly around the screen at high speeds towards and away from their opponent. When combined with the strong attack while bursting towards on opponent the character can launch and attack that will leave the opponent stunned for a brief moment. You're also able to perform a 180 degree burst in which you're to burst from your opponent's front side to their back side in half a second.
Another Road:
Pursuit (R Trigger after knocking away the opponent) After knocking away an opponent with a strong attack you pursue them by clicking the Right Trigger for a follow up attack. By continuing to click the Right Trigger during this sequence you will automatically teleport up to two more times attacking your opponent before finishing off the sequence with a specific move (Kamehameha, etc)
Aura Burst Charge (L Trigger + R Trigger) Designed to turn the tide of battle in the users favor. It's something different for every character, from boosting strength for a limited amount of time or regenerating a full bar of health.
Aura Guard (Hold X + R Trigger) When performed the character will stand straight up and charge their aura to a massive size, which is able to defend the user from almost any kind of attack, including Ultimates, while draining Ki at a rapid rate.
Defense Gauge - A new horizontal blue bar that appears just under the Ki bars that depletes each time you block, either normally or with the Aura Guard. If it completely empties you're unable to block the next hit and will suffer an automatic Guard Break.
SB2/Another Road also features a card system for upgrading characters.
Another new feature added to SB2 is the Camera Angle(s) which allow to the set the camera angle to 1 of 16 positions. Angles 1-14 are simply the angles between angle 0 (the classic horizontal styled Budokai angle) and 15 (the angled position seen the sceenshots) and while a nice feature to include, it be nice if you were able to adjust it on the fly, instead of having to go into the menu screen, however with the PSP's lack of a second/right analog that would be hard to achieve (perhaps it can be done if Budokai 4 is done on the PS2/PS3) The controls don't adjust either with the angle change, which is kind of odd when set on 15, as you'd think Up would move you towards your opponent (like in Budokai Tenkaichi) but instead it moves you sideways just as it does when set at angle 0. It also would've been nice if the angle count had gone up to 20 (or 25) to give you a true over the shoulder position, like that of Budokai Tenkaichi so that players would be able to see how the Dimps Budokai games played when set at the angle the BT games use, but only if the directional controls changed, or you were able to pick a control config from the menu that suited that particular angle.MODES
Both games feature 7 (how fitting) different modes, and these include...
Story Mode (Dragon Road, Another Road)
Arcade
Z Trial
Network Battle
Training
Profile Card
Option
The Story Modes of both games I'll explain in more detail below.
Arcade is like that of the Arcade Mode (or Story Mode) in most every other fighting game, where you battle several opponents to reach some kind of short ending. Even though there is no story is this mode, both games feature character specific endings (all of SB1's centered around wishes made with dragon balls) however SB2 has character specific dialog between each of the characters prior to the fight, most of which is funny or comical in nature.The text found in the Arcade Mode(s) is much more light hearted in nature then what's found in the Story Mode(s) and it's obviously meant to be funny, which is a nice contrast to the serious Story Mode(s)
Z Trial consists of various battles with set conditions (time limit, low health, etc) while the Profile Card mode consists of using stamps you've collected in the game(s) that allow you to make your own unique profile card to be shared over the Network Battle mode.
I think everyone can pretty much figure out the what Network Battle, Training, and Option modes are. I have to mention that it's very disappointing the Training Mode features no sort of Tutorial/Lesson Mode as both games feature a number of new gameplay aspects that the (crappy) manuals don't tell or teach you how to use, and it's not exactly easy figuring out what exactly the new features are or how to use them, even when you do discover them.STORY
Okay so the major difference between the Shin Budokai games is their Story Modes, which I will briefly go over.
Dragon Road
The story of Dragon Road is based loosely around Movie 12, and I say loosely because what Dimps had to do was find a way work in the 18 characters they decided to use in the game while also stretching out the story, because if it were a direct adaption of Movie 12, there would only be a couple of fights.
Progression wise the story is very similar to that of the first Budokai Tenkaichi game in which there are various fights mapped out with alternate paths. These alternate routes can only be achieved by meeting certain conditions or through a text based choice in the dialog in the story, which overall isn't too bad. It's weak in certain parts and the translation is pretty bad at times, but the story itself isn't horrendous. It could've been better but given the characters they had to use they did a pretty decent job with the story.
There's really nothing wrong with Dragon Road aside from the bad translation. Those who really enjoyed B3 and BT2's Story Modes might be disappointed with it's progression or presentation, but a world map really wouldn't have worked given the story.
Another Road
The story in Another Road takes place in Future Trunks' time line set a few years after he defeated the Androids. It mainly focuses on how Babidi revives Buu, stretching out the story across seven chapters, much like Dragon Road (Shin Budokai) did with Movie 12's plot. Like Dragon Road, the plot had to be written around what characters they had to use. For instance all 18 characters from SB1 return, which is no surprise since SB2 is more of an upgrade to SB1 instead of a proper sequel.
Another Road has a number of great ideas story wise, but much like DBGT, the ideas are executed poorly, or poorly written.
Gameplay wise there is a world map much like what is found in B3 where you're able to fly around, but unlike B3 you're not really free to do whatever you want while flying around as the world maps are all mission based featuring missions like "Stop the enemy from destroying the cities" or "Don't let City F fall 50%" or "Defeat All Enemies" and things of that sort. There are also bonus or side missions of sorts that are presented in the missions that are often somewhat difficult at times like "Defeat the enemy without taking damage" and these are what lead to getting better card upgrades, more money, and alternate story paths depending on if you fail or succeed them.
Early on you'll be playing and flying around as Trunks and Trunks only, but a little ways in you'll have allies join you who fly around the field map with you and help you battle enemies. The ally battle are controlled by the AI, and you have no control over them, aside from boosting your ally's stats with cards. The battles between your allies and the enemies use the animations from the Burst Mode in B3 (where you rotate the analogs quickly while the characters hit each other back and fourth really quickly) with health gauges for the enemies and allies displayed at the bottom of the screen.
The first play through of Another Road can be quite frustrating as the missions can be overwhelming at times while the enemy AI tends to be overly cheap spamming certain tactics to death, most notably with the Aura Guard. After beating Another Road though you're able to go back through and play it with any character, which makes things a lot easier. There are no dialog changes however.CHARACTERS
Shin Budokai
Goku (Normal, Kaioken, Super Saiyan, Super Saiyan 2, Super Saiyan 3)
Teen Gohan (Normal, Super Saiyan, Super Saiyan 2)
Gohan (Normal, Super Saiyan, Super Saiyan 2, Elder Kai Unlock Ability)
Vegeta (Normal, Super Saiyan, Super Saiyan 2, Majin)
Trunks (Normal, Super Saiyan)
Krillin (Normal, Unlock Potential)
Piccolo (Normal, Fuse with Kami)
Frieza (Final Form, 100% Full Power)
Android #18
Cell (Perfect Form, Super Perfect Form)
Kid Buu
Cooler (Normal, Final Form)
Broly (Super Saiyan, Legendary Super Saiyan)
Gotenks (Normal, Super Saiyan, Super Saiyan 3)
Gogeta (Super Saiyan)
Vegito (Normal, Super Vegito)
Pikkon
Janemba
Another Road
Goku (Super Saiyan 4)
Future Gohan (Normal, Super Saiyan, Super Saiyan 2, Elder Kai Unlock Ability)
Future Trunks (Normal, Super Saiyan)
Majin Buu
Super Buu (Normal, Gotenks Absorbed, Gohan Absorbed)
Dabura
Bardock
I want to note that all the character names, and forms listed above come from the in game text of the US version. Except for those bypassed by the forum (like FRlEZA and PlKKON)
I think that at first glance people will notice that the Shin Budokai games don't feature many characters compared to the near 40 that Budokai 3 had. SB1 features 18 characters, with SB2 adding 6 characters and 1 transformation. Between the two games (when compared to B3) only 3 new characters have been added (Janemba, Pikkon, Future Gohan) but thankfully these few additions are pretty unique when compared to the existing characters. Note that Future Trunks isn't really a completely new character the way the others are as his character model and moves (except his Ultimate) all existed in the engine prior to SB2.
Both games do carry on the tradition that Budokai 3 started with refining each character and making them more unique from one another in various aspects. In SB1 the character with the biggest difference from their B3 counterpart is Trunks, while in SB2 it probably have to be Bardock. Both feature a number of new attack animations and combo strings, not to mention new Ultimates as well. Pikkon and Janemba are also diverse and unique among every character featured in the Dimps series. Future Gohan is kind of this weird amalgam of new features plus what already existed in the engine, and he plays differently from the regular Gohan which is a really nice touch. One of the best features about him is seeing him perform moves that Gohan knows or could possibly know like the Masenko, Burning Attack, and Special Beam Cannon.
The Fusion characters have also undergone a few changes too. The most notable changes are that they no longer have a timer and are separate characters. This is a really nice improvement I think as you really get to enjoy the characters themselves a lot more rather then playing in a set amount of time in panic. In B3 when Goku and Vegeta fused into either Gogeta or Vegito, the fusion would play a lot like that of the character you were playing as, IE if you were Goku and became Gogeta, Gogeta would play similar to Goku, however in Shin Budokai they've changed it up a bit making Gogeta play like Goku (being more of a punch heavy character) with Vegito playing like Vegeta (being a more kick heavy character) Vegito also has a much more unique set of animations compared to Gogeta, in that most of Vegito's animations are his and his alone while a lot of Gogeta's come from Goku.
All of the returning characters from B3 each have at least one new move, whether it be a Death Move or Ultimate. These are all really enjoyable to experience for those who have played B3 to death, and/or wanted to see some more variety in the Death Moves/Ultimates. A number of characters have their (non physical) attacks completely changed between transformations. For instance Piccolo has different Death Moves and Ultimates between forms.
For those wondering what moves the characters have now, or what's been changed, here's the move list for SB2.MOVE LISTKey =
NAME
- Death Move 1
- Death Move 2
- Ultimate (Continued Ultimate)
- Aura Burst Charge
- Pursuit Finisher
(+) = Move can be continued with another attack/hit/blast. Only Goku and Teen Gohan altered/different names for their continued Ultimates.GOKU
- Kamehameha
- Spirit Shot
- Spirit Bomb (Super Spirit Bomb)
- Weasel's End (The the character's Health, the more powerful the defense provided)
- Kamehameha
Kaioken
- Kamehameha
- Super Dragon Fist
- Spirit Bomb
- Kaioken (Consumes Health to increase attack, and the higher the multiple the more is consumed)
- Head Charge
Super Saiyan
- Kamehameha
- Super Dragon Fist
- Warp Kamehemeha
- Golden Warrior (Continually consumes Ki in exchange for raising Attack and Defense)
- One Handed Kamehameha
Super Saiyan 2
- Kamehameha
- Super Dragon Fist
- Warp Kamehemeha
- Golden Warrior (Continually consumes Ki in exchange for raising Attack and Defense)
- One Handed Kamehameha
Super Saiyan 3
- Kamehameha
- Super Dragon Fist
- Dragon Fist
- Last-Ditch Power (Consumes Ki in exchange for raising attack)
- Kamehameha
Super Saiyan 4
- x10 Kamehameha
- Super Dragon Fist
- Dragon Fist
- Last-Ditch Power (Consumes Ki in exchange for raising attack)
- KamehamehaTEEN GOHAN
- Kamehameha
- Masenko
- Full Power Energy Wave Barrage
- Power of Mixed Blood (Raises Attack and Defense)
- Riot Javelin (Blue)
Super Saiyan
- Kamehameha
- Masenko
- Super Kamehameha
- Golden Warrior (Continually consumes Ki in exchange for raising Attack and Defense)
- Riot Javelin (Yellow)
Super Saiyan 2
- Kamehameha
- Soaring Dragon Strike
- Super Kamehameha (Father-Son Kamehameha)
- Last-Ditch Power (Consumes Ki in exchange for raising attack)
- KamehamehaGOHAN
- Justice Punch
- Justice Kick
- Super Kamehameha
- Power of Mixed Blood (Raises Attack and Defense)
- Riot Javelin (Blue)
Super Saiyan
- Kamehameha
- Soaring Dragon Strike
- Super Kamehameha
- Golden Warrior (Continually consumes Ki in exchange for raising Attack and Defense)
- Riot Javelin (Yellow)
Super Saiyan 2
- Kamehameha
- Soaring Dragon Strike
- Super Kamehameha
- Golden Warrior (Continually consumes Ki in exchange for raising Attack and Defense)
- Riot Javelin (Yellow)
Elder Kai Unlock Ability
- Kamehameha
- Z Sword
- Super Kamehameha
- Last-Ditch Power (Consumes Ki in exchange for raising attack)
- Charging Back FistFUTURE GOHAN
- Masenko
- Burning Attack
- Special Beam Cannon
- Power of Mixed Blood (Raises Attack and Defense)
- Riot Javelin (Blue)
Super Saiyan
- Spirit Shot
- Evasive Kick
- Super Kamehameha
- Golden Warrior (Continually consumes Ki in exchange for raising Attack and Defense)
- Riot Javelin (Yellow)
Super Saiyan 2
- Kamehameha
- Evasive Kick
- Super Kamehameha
- Golden Warrior (Continually consumes Ki in exchange for raising Attack and Defense)
- Riot Javelin (Yellow)
Elder Kai Unlock Ability
- Kamehameha
- Z Sword
- Super Kamehameha
- Last-Ditch Power (Consumes Ki in exchange for raising attack)
- Charging Back FistVEGETA
- Galick Gun
- Final Impact
- Full Power Energy Wave Barrage
- Warrior Race Awakening (The Lower the character's' Health, and the more powerful the attack provided)
- Galick Gun
Super Saiyan
- Galick Gun
- Big Bang Attack
- Final Flash
- Golden Warrior (Continually consumes Ki in exchange for raising Attack and Defense)
- Galick Gun
Super Saiyan 2
- Atomic Blast
- Big Bang Attack
- Final Flash
- Golden Warrior (Continually consumes Ki in exchange for raising Attack and Defense)
- Finish Buster
Majin Vegeta
- Atomic Blast
- Atomic Rush
- Final Explosion
- Health-Risking Attack (In exchange for lowering Defense, this raises Attack)
- Finish BusterTRUNKS (with Sword)
- Masenko
- Shining Slash
- Burning Slash
- Power of Mixed Blood (Raises Attack and Defense)
- Burning Attack
Super Saiyan
- Buster Cannon
- Shining Slash
- Heat Dome Attack
- Ultimate Power (This consumes Ki to raise Attack power)
- Burning AttackFUTURE TRUNKS
- Finish Buster
- Buster Cannon
- Heat Dome Attack
- Power of Mixed Blood (Raises Attack and Defense)
- Burning Attack
Super Saiyan
- Finish Buster
- Evasive Kick
- Cyclone Buster (+)
- Ultimate Power (This consumes Ki to raise Attack power)
- Burning AttackKRILLIN
- Kamehameha
- Sun Fist
- Scatter Kamehameha (+)
- Ki Release (This consumes Ki to raise Defense)
- Kamehameha
Unlock Potential
- Destructo Disc
- Sun Fist
- Fierce Destructo Disc
- Ki Control (Ki raises while Guarding)
- KamehamehaPICCOLO
- Destructive Wave
- Maou Shot
- Special Beam Cannon
- Regeneration (Restores Health)
- ?
Fuse with Kami
- Light Grenade
- Explosive Wave
- Hellzone Grenade (+)
- Regeneration (Restores Health)
- ?FREEZA
- Death Beam
- Death Wave
- Death Ball
- Hyper Mode (Provides Hyper Armor and raises Attack)
- Death Beam
100% Full Power
- Death Slicer (+)
- Death Crasher
- Death Ball
- Hyper Mode (Provides Hyper Armor and raises Attack)
- Death BeamANDRIOD #18
- Destructo Disc
- Energy Field
- Accel Dance
- Unlimited Energy (Ki is not reduced with use)
- ?CELL
- Kamehameha
- Energy Field
- Super Kamhameha
- Regeneration (Restores Health)
- Death Beam
Super Perfect Form
- Death Beam
- Tail Shoot
- Warp Kamhameha
- Regeneration (Restores Health)
- Death BeamMAJIN BUU
- Innocence Cannon
- Innocence Express
- Angry Explosion
- Regeneration (Restores Health)
- Innocence CannonSUPER BUU
- Ill Flash
- Ill Ball Attack
- Genocide Rain
- Regeneration (Restores Health)
- Ill Flash
Gotenks Absorbed
- Victory Cannon
- Galactica Donuts
- DIEDIE Missile Barrage (+)
- Regeneration (Restores Health)
- Kamehameha
Gohan Absorbed
- Kamehameha
- Evasive Kick
- Super Kamehameha
- Regeneration (Restores Health)
- KamehamehaKID BUU
- Kamehameha
- Assualt Rain
- Vanishing Ball
- Regeneration (Restores Health)
- KamehamehaDABURA
- Hell Blitz
- Evil Blast
- Hell Blade Rush
- Demon King's Will (The the character's Health, and the more powerful the attack and defense provided)
- Hell BlastCOOLER
- Destructive Ray
- Sauzer Blade
- Supernova
- Hyper Mode (Provides Hyper Armor and raises Attack)
- Death Beam
Final Form
- Destructive Ray
- Sauzer Blade
- Supernova
- Hyper Mode (Provides Hyper Armor and raises Attack)
- Death Beam
Metal Cooler
- Destructive Ray
- Sauzer Blade
- Supernova
- Hyper Mode (Provides Hyper Armor and raises Attack)
- Death BeamBROLY
- Buster Shell
- Gigantic Press
- Gigantic Meteor
- Warrior Race Awakening (The Lower the character's' Health, and the more powerful the attack provided)
- Gigantic Hook
Legendary Super Saiyan
- Buster Shell
- Gigantic Press
- Gigantic Meteor (+)
- Warrior Race Awakening (The Lower the character's' Health, and the more powerful the attack provided)
- Gigantic HookGOTENKS
- Kamehameha
- Galactica Donuts
- Super Ghost Kamikaze Attack
- Mircacle Full-Force Power (Lowers Defense in exchange for restoring Ki more quickly)
- Super Buu Buu Volley Ball
Super Saiyan
- Kamehameha
- Galactica Donuts
- Super Ghost Kamikaze Attack
- Mircacle Full-Force Power (Lowers Defense in exchange for restoring Ki more quickly)
- Super Buu Buu Volley Ball
Super Saiyan 3
- Victory Cannon
- Galactica Donuts
- DIEDIE Missile Barrage (+)
- Mircacle Full-Force Power (Lowers Defense in exchange for restoring Ki more quickly)
- Super Buu Buu Volley BallGOGETA
- Big Bang Kamehameha
- Soul Strike
- Soul Punisher
- Mircacle Full-Force Power (Lowers Defense in exchange for restoring Ki more quickly)
- KamehamehaVEGITO
- Final Kamehameha
- Savage Counter
- Spirit Sword
- Energy Blast: No Effect (Automatically deflect energy blast)
- Galick Gun
Super Vegito
- Final Kamehameha
- Savage Counter
- Spirit Sword
- Last-Ditch Power (Consumes Ki in exchange for raising attack)
- Galick GunPAIKUHAN
- Blazing Shoot (+)
- Hyper Tornado
- Thunder Rush
- Concentration (Ki consumption is lowered)
- Riot JavelinJANEMBA
- Hell Gate
- Rakshasa's Claw (+)(+)
- Needle Hell Mountain
- Regeneration (Restores Health)
- Finish Buster (Purple)BARDOCK
- Riot Javelin
- Heat Phalanx
- Saiyan Spirit
- Knowledge of the Future (Discerment uses less Ki)
- Riot JavelinNotes:
- I made up some of the names for some of the Pursuit Finishers, and/or also used names of other character's attacks that were exactly the same or very similar (for instance a number characters use something almost exactly like Bardock's Riot Javelin for their finisher, but the ki formation/blast is just slightly different, with Bardock's version being unique to him and him only, but I think everyone gets the idea)
- The Pursuit Finishers I makred with a "?" seemed like attacks that had official names (that I didn't know) or I wasn't able to make out the attack name that they said while performing the attack (nor is it listed it the command menu)
- Everything listed above comes from the in game command menu (except the Pursuit Finishers) and thus the names are all from the FUNimation spellings/names, aside from those that are bypassed by this forum (Frieza, Pikkon, etc)
- If anyone is curious about any move, just ask, ie what it is, what's it like, etc.
THE FUTURE
In this little section I'm just gonna go over what the future might hold in store DB/Z/GT fighting games. It's pretty much all opinion based, unlike the above review where I mostly just tried to stick to the facts. I'm not going to go into anything like what should be done and what shouldn't, and instead a brief overview of things.
Shin Budokai 3
I think there's a good chance that we'll end up seeing one more SB game. It (if made) probaly won't be much, but hopefully the SB games are just stepping stones to Budokai 4, ie gradually building upon the Budokai (3) engine before heading into Budokai 4, if it's ever made.
Budokai 4
I wonder if it will ever get made as long as the Budokai Tenkaichi series remains around, or if Dimps and Spike will eventually co-develop a DBZ fighter combining all the best aspects of both series. It seems possible to a certain extent given that Ryo Mito is currently the producer of both series, and how both Shin Budokai games made changes to be more like Budokai Tenkaichi.
Budokai Tenakichi 3
I'm pretty sure we're going to see this, but I don't think it'll be next-gen like a lot of people are assuming it will. I think it'll be on the PS2 and Wii just like BT2 was before they move onto the PS3/360.
Super DBZ 2
I heard a rumor that a sequel had begun production, not sure if it was true though. Whatever the case there probaly will be a sequel as it did better with the fighting game audience then the Dimps and Spike games did, ie it has an audience, which might be enough to get a sequel out there.
Next-Gen
While a lot of people are anxious for next-gen DBZ games, I personally wonder if there should even be any yet given the production values of the current games, IE what's the point in going next gen if one they (Dimps/Spike) can't even get everything out of the current gen systems yet and two only spend a couple months of development time on these games.
) has very close ties with Sony.
