Combine Tenkaichi and Budokai 3 to get this masterpiece of a fighting game - Tenkaichi 2.
The story:
It's obvious that Spike have put a lot of effort into such a game, with Tenkaichi 1's somewhat bland and unfufilling story mode gone, in placement of a vast story mode which sees the Z fighters able to fly around a world map to many locations, much like Budokai 3, and reenact the series accurately. It's like Budokai 3's map, but only so much more detailed, vast and interesting. There is so much to the story mode, it is almost unreal - it took me many straight days just to complete it the first time around... and that's EXCESSIVE playing, probably due to it's addictiveness. You don't even have to have seen the TV series to know what is happening as such events unfold as the Garlic Junior Saga and even Baby Vegeta's reign over Earth. There are even side-battles and extras all over the map, as well as key story points all the way up to Omega Shenron. Excellent in every way, and even has a vast longetivity. It's actually very difficult to find a flaw in the story mode, due to how good it is.
Longetivity:
This game will seriously last you absolutely AGES. The story mode will have you going long enough when playing through it, but even after the good 25 or so hours of the story mode, there is the World Tournament to compete in. And this isn't just one tournament. No. This includes the traditional ring-out tournament on Begginners, Novie, Advanced and Master options, as well as the Cell Games in all four modes to complete it... PLUS Hercule's Galactic Bojack Tournament, with all four modes on, too. Each tournament changes in variety, so it doesn't become dull quickly. Even after this, there is the Ultimate Battle Z mode, which sees many small sagas of characters that you have to fight, earning points depending on what you do in the fight, and gaining A-E rankings on everything you do. This adds to the flavor of the game, and is genuinely fun to work your way up this mode, situated at Korin's tower. As a bonus, this game also offers character biographies for each character, a synopsis on the whole DragonBall story and even a funky Jukebox mode, allowing you to listen to all of the game's tunes. All of these extras show thought and development, and ultimately are excellent into the longetivity of the game.
Battling:
The main focus. Gameplay, if you will. This has improved VASTLY from the original game. Although tricky to master, you can teleport counter the opponent all over the place, and even do very cool charge-up beam attacks. It's varied, and that is always a good thing. The downside is the control system, but as a good result, however, once you learn the combo moves and flying around freely, you feel there is a sense of achievement and put it all to the test. Other plus things about combat is that there really has been in an increase in not only arena size, but arena destructable objects that make everything oh so satisfying to smash opponents into. The screen shakes from the impact, which is a nice bonus, too. Max Power mode has been improved, also - Charge up to max and unleash a dragon rush towards the opponent and press triangle upon impact to launch into a full-fistal pummeling on the opponent, pressing square repeatedly until your enerjy runs out... and just to finish up such a devastating move, fire off a swift beam attack. It's not just the characters and their very much improved attacks (Goku's Sprit Bomb and Bardock as a whole are two examples), but also the arenas which sport varying arenas with something interesting to offer, such as the underwater fighting, which also slows down actions a bit, this time. The only main irritation about battling are those characters who do not fly in the series, since they cannot fly in the game, also. For instance, Master Roshi might be firing his Lightning Surprise attack in the air, when suddenly he falls backwards into the water below, only to be pummelled to death by the opponent. An improvement could be made in this, such as Roshi gaining a turtle to fly upon or something, just as Kid Goku really should gain his flying Nimbus cloud when attempting to fly. The final nice addition is the ultimate attack destruction, which means if a powerful move does hit the floor of the arena in any way, a quick shot of the planet from space is shown, in which a huge explosion can be seen. When the actions returns to the arena, it is destroyed vastly and the character on the receiving end of the blast damaged - such an excellent welcome back that featured in Budokai 3.
Sound:
If everything else has improved tenfold, this has improved twentyfold. Well. guess it depends on opinion. The sound glitches of the first Tenkaichi have all been fixed in this game, so when Goku Super Saiyan 4 defeats Vegeta, he no longer switches to a random Japanese quote. Also, all voices have been upped in volume, so even the ever so quiet Android #19 can be heard clearly. The voice acting is also impeccable in this game, with a good 98% of the voices from the Funimation TV series. Some characters have a few modifications, such as Garlic Junior, who sounds like Emperor Pilaf. The classic posh Frieza, the redneck Android #13 and the moody Pikkon all make very good voice cast appearances. Also, the Japanese voices can be switched on and off whenever from the options menu, for the fans of the Japanese cast, although it's a shame that the Japanese music cannot be toggled as well. Everything else in sound effects wise is typical and what you would expect to hear - punches, chopping swords and soaring characters being hit back, as well as the ever so pleasing explosion sounds. Despite some opinion on the Japanese music being decent in comparion, Tenkaichi 2 EXCELS in the music department of the American and European games. There is a wide range of funky guitar tracks, oriental flute tunes and even a pianoey jazz tune all in this game. In personal opinon, I'd rather these in comparison to the Japanese tunes, since these are original and cool, helping the battle atmosphere, whereas the Japanese version features tunes from the TV series, most of which do not have the battle feeling (Japanese GT theme during a fight is a good example).
Overall:
The bottom line is that this game is a great sequel. No more glitchy sound, superb tracks and such an improvement in the story mode goes without saying this is over three times better than Tenkaichi 1, and even better than the successful Budokai 3. There are a few things that do need sorting out, however. There may be a vast character range, all whom can transform in battle, but somehow the original DragonBall story mode and characters have been missed somewhat in comparison to GT and Z. This game tries to cover everything, and does a very good job of going beyond the Z series. The most poiniant thing, however, it the battling improvement, bringing the fun back into tag-team fighting and single battles. Although, the game DOES need some more combos. Regardless, this is an excellent sequel, and will be one very hard to beat in terms of DragonBall Z goodness. Heck, even the difficulty is perfect and optionable! A top playthrough recommended for all DBZ fans and beyond.
Gameplay: 8
Longetivity: 10
Graphics: 7
Sound: Effects: 7 Voice: 8 Music: 10
Overall: 9