Back in May, I ordered Dragon Ball Z: Budokai 3 for the PS2. I was eager to play the game, as I had watched a lot of gameplay videos of the game beforehand.
Gameplay: DBZ Budokai 3 has a lot of new gameplay mechanics including Teleport Counters, to get out of combos, Beam Struggles, Free Flight and even the chance to turn Super Saiyan 4 for the first time in the Budokai games. All of these mechanics make the game look more closer to the anime and in a very good way as you knock your opponents into stage hazards or charge up your ultimate moves. For a PS2 game, the graphics and the amount of detail put into the special effects look gorgeous!
There are a number of modes in this game, including:
Dragon Universe: This functions as the story mode, where you can go through the story of Dragon Ball Z and even GT if certain conditions are met. You can play as people including Goku, Piccolo, Vegeta, Krillin and even Broly. There is a Map function where you can fly around the world an d interact with various places, whether it is to battle a character or finding Dragon Balls to unlock new content. I love this form of Adventure mode because there is lots of secrets to discover in-between battles.
World Tournament: This is the mode where you can battle people to win loads of Zeni for buying new moves, abilities and characters. You can choose what difficulty and character you want and you can begin fighting for victory. Be careful though, as these CPUs can give you a brutal ass-kicking, even on the lower difficulties!
Duel: This is the Free Battle mode where you can choose your own characters, settings and the stage. You can either play with a CPU or with a friend to see who's the better player.
Overall: Though this game has an issue with advanced CPUs despite their difficulty, this is by far the best Dragon Ball Z game to exist! Everything about the gameplay matches up to the anime as well as the replayable Dragon Universe mode and the other modes. I doubt that any DBZ game will top Budokai 3! It would take a hell of a lot to top this masterpiece of a title!