Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 3 (Wii)

Main Review
It's time for the Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 3 review, for the Wii.

That has got to be the LONGEST title for a game I've ever played. Are there any other games that are longer? Hm...

Let me start off by saying I am a HUGE Dragon Ball, Dragon Ball Z, and Dragon Ball GT fan... well, GT wasn't the best, but I still enjoyed it. The only DBZ games I have played in the past were Budokai 2, Budokai 3, The Legacy Of Goku, DBZ Sagas (ugh, garbage), and Budokai Tenkaichi 1. Sagas was just embarassing, and the control scheme for Tenkaichi 1 for the PS2 was so different from Budokai 3 that I couldn't even pass the first tutorial. I know, sad. I just couldn't get used to it, so with that said, I was very skeptical about playing Tenkaichi 3. Since it was for the Wii, I thought the controls would be even worse. But thankfully, they were not. I heard that Tenkaichi 2 had horrible controls, but I don't know since I've never played it.

If you've never played this game, or any other DBZ game, or aren't even a fan of the anime or manga, this game might seem a bit wierd to you. You start out by choosing the game mode you wish to play. For those of you who don't know a thing about this game, I highly, HIGHLY recomend you start with the tutorial. Trust me, with any controller you pick, you will need the tutorial if you want to succeed. The tutorial, depending on how long you can get used to the controls, will take at least 30 minutes. It took me about an hour with the Wiimote- Nunchuck combo, and I still had a little trouble.

Once you finally get used to the controls, you will want to start the main section of the game, Dragon History. In this mode, you will go through most of the battles of the DBZ storyline. Now, what I've heard and read, Tenkaichi 2 had more story, but less battles, while Tenkaichi 3 was the other way around.

Back to the controls again. If you use the GameCube or Classic Controller, your gaming experience will be... mediocre at best, in my opinion. If you want to have some REAL fun, you will want to use the Wiimote- Nunchuck combo. The controls are very percise, and you will really feel you are a part of the game, because of the way you unleash your attacks. Instead of pressing buttons for a Kamehameha, you have to put your two hands together, then launch them out in front of you, just like in the story. You will have to do other hand motions for your other powerful attacks, which MOST of them work perfectly. The only hand motion I found to be off was the one where you have to raise your hands in the air, like this.

This Review's Comedy Skit
(FreQuenczy raises his hands in the air, but to no avail. He does it again, but it also fails.)

FreQuenczy: (sighs) Wrong one. I dunno.

Main Review
The graphics are awesome. When it comes to Dragon Ball Z, you don't want the game to be as realistic as possible; colorful, cartoon anime is the best style for DBZ. It really makes the game more enjoyable.

The voice acting is terrific; all of the main stars from Funimation are in the game, which is great. It would have REALLY sucked if they had impersonators. Well, then again, why would they have impersonators? I'm just saying, it wouldn't have been the same without Goku 's or Vegeta's real Funimation voices. (plays a scene to demonstrate)

Goku: I don't want to give Majin Buu any energy. I'm going to end this quickly, with my full power.

Vegeta: I look forward to it. Let's see the fruits of your training in Other World.

(Back to the review)

There are over 150 characters; wait, (imitating Vegeta) over 150?! (normal voice) That's insane. I've never played a game with that many characters. I wonder how long it took to do the voices for all of them? (whistle)

There are tons of unlockable items which will help your characters' abtributes, and there's other game modes, like Ultimate Battle, Tournaments, Duels, Practice, and the ability to play online. All of these modes are very fun... except the online mode. Why? I never found a match. Now I've said in past reviews that my Internet connection sucks, and it does, but at least with all my other online- capable games, I was able to play. But with Tenkaichi 3, I couldn't even try it out. I've heard that even if you can find a match, the lag is soooo bad. So, in a way, I'm kind of glad I wasn't able to play it.

I bought this game for only 20 bucks, but I just don't understand one thing: if Tenkaichi 2 had bad controls, and recieved a lower rating on most of the gaming websites, why is it $10 more than Tenkaichi 3?

This Review's Other Comedy Skit
(We see FreQuenczy in the video game section of a Walmart store.)

FreQuenczy: Okay, now over here, this is 30 and under games, $30 and under, and look what's here. (camera zooms in on Tenkaichi 2) Tenkaichi 2, 30 bucks. Okay, now over there, come on, over here, turn that way, that way (camera starts following FreQuenczy as he goes to another part of the section) This is 20 and under, and look what's here. (camera zooms in on Tenkaichi 3) Tenkaichi 3, 20 bucks. I don't get it. Explain it to me!

(Back to the review)

Oh well.

Closing Verdict
This game is so amazing. Great controls, awesome graphics, fun, addictive, competitive gameplay, terrific voice acting, and all for only 20 bucks. For any and all DBZ fans out there, this game will definitely not disappoint, and for anyone who just enjoys a great fighter, you will also enjoy this game.

This game gets an-

Vegeta: ...over 9000!!! (The screen goes dark.)

Uh, sorry. I mean, this game gets a 4.25 out of 5, with the title of Awesome!

Other Game Information
Developer: Spike Chunsoft

Publisher: Atari

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