Dragon Ball is no stranger to the gaming market since the NES period, but there are few titles dedicated to him that have the honor of being defined as cult. One of these is the series Budokai Tenkaichior rather the three numbered episodes that filled the homes – and consoles – of enthusiasts.
Go beyond all limits
The first Dragon Ball Z Budokai Tenkaichi came out in 2005 as an exclusive for PlayStation 2. The game stood as a real one Revolution for tie-ins dedicated to the work of Akira Toriyamaseen the over eighty characters present and the freedom of movement offered to the player. The team’s goal Spikes was to create a simple and intuitive gameplay, but that really gave the feeling of being inside the fights of the anime and manga. In this he helped her destructibility of game environmentswhere entire structures could be disintegrated by the mighty blows and energy waves of Goku and his companions.
The title was not particularly appreciated by critics upon its release, but soon managed to capture the attention of fans around the world. The multitude of contents present, such as Z Portal And World Tournamentas well as the great soundtrack, have further contributed to creating a real gaming experience. The result is a game full of flaws, but which fully demonstrates the enormous potential of the developers’ ideas.
Z Evolution
Just a year later, Spike has made the sequel for PlayStation 2 and Wii Dragon Ball Z Budokai Tenkaichi 2. In such a short space of time, the Japanese team managed to improve significantly not just the game formula, but the whole product structure. One of the strong points of the production was certainly the story modecalled dragon adventure, expanded with a world that can be explored in flight, side missions, sequences taken from almost the entire series, and even interesting alternative scenarios.
The gameplay was also improved, also thanks to a more comfortable camera, but always remaining in the standards of a fighting game suitable for everyone. Thanks also to the addition of more playable characters, 129 in the PS2 version and well 135 on Wii, ea new arenas and modalityBudokai Tenkaichi 2 became even more popular than its predecessor, and according to many the best chapter of the trilogy.
Ultimate Z Battle
In 2007, again on Wii and PlayStation 2, the main series ended with the publication of Dragon Ball Z Budokai Tenkaichi 3. A work that further increased the amount of content, with new stages, 161 playable characters, online multiplayer, the ultimate battle mode and much more. A title that further managed to refine the good gameplay of its predecessor, a fighting game that found the right balance to be truly appreciated by every type of player, from the less experienced to the more experienced.
This third chapter got mixed reviews from critics – like the whole trilogy actually – but it had a huge success in the fandom. Even today, many remember it as one of the best video games dedicated to the universe created by Toriyama. Clearly the game had its flaws and omissions too, but it came across as a perfect homage to what Dragon Ball meant to 2000s pop culture.
The experimental period
The main Spike series ended with the emergence of seventh generation consoles and high definition. However, the development team continued its development path with video games dedicated to this branch of the franchise, in addition to the two raging blastalbeit on a more experimental basis.
Dragon Ball Z Tenkaichi Tag Teamreleased as a PSP exclusive in 2010, recovered the typical formula of Budokai Tenkaichi, introducing the mechanic of pair fights. The work in question certainly has limitations compared to the previous numbered episodes, fewer characters and non-destructible arenas, but the result was a product that fully managed to transport the formula inside a portable console.
Dragon Ball Z Ultimate Tenkaichi, released on PS3 and Xbox 360 in 2011, is instead a creature practically on its own. The work presented itself with a well-finished graphic style and detail, different contents and a good cast of characters. The gameplay though was completely different from what the different Tenkaichi have offered up to that point, giving a greater importance to visual spectacularity and QTEs. A result that has disappointed both critics and the public, so much so that Spike has practically “set aside” to give more space to other developers such as Dimps with the series xenoverse and Arc Systems Works with the acclaimed FighterZ.
The power of the community
Over the years, Budokai Tenkaichi have entered the chatter of fans around the world. Many have begun to remember afternoons spent battling tournaments or with unlikely warriors such as Aral and the General Blue (perhaps with some friendship destroyed in the meantime). A part of the community has even started to produce mod for the games in the series, continuously inserting new content such as characters, stages, music or story levels.
A series of events and content that made the Dragon Ball Tenkaichi series a real one pillar for video games dedicated to the brand. A phenomenon that demonstrates that it doesn’t matter to always be perfect to create something special in people’s hearts and memories.
The future
The announcement of a new chapter, during the Dragon ball games battle hour 2023has practically rocked the entire gaming world on the internet. A small teaser that doesn’t show the game in action and that in the end lasts less than a minute, but with its excellent editing and perfect marketing language, it has managed to make practically everyone jump off their seats.
The information shared at the moment they are practically nil, in fact, the Japanese publisher has not even confirmed which development team is working on the product, or the platforms for which it is intended. At the moment the only thing confirmed is that the works are still on in the initial stagesso it is likely that at least a year must pass before its release.
Just a few days after the reveal, gamers’ discussions are already full of theories about this new project: the type of gameplay that will be proposed to us, the amount of characters present, the possibility of completely destructible arenas, a constant DLC plan such as that of xenoverse 2, or maybe a more expanded story. Whatever the plans are behind this product, Bandai Namco definitely has a task important to complete.
Audiences expect a work that manages to achieve the quality in their memories, or even be worthy of the fame it has created. The only thing to do at the moment is to wish the development team a good job, and wish ourselves that it really manages to create the best possible product on a formula that, for better or for worse, is now in the hearts of millions of people .
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