Dragon Ball Z: Budokai HD Collection Review | GamersCast
Dragon Ball Z: Budokai HD Collection Review | GamersCast
Ten years ago, the first Dragon Ball Z Budokai game was released for PlayStation 2, I was about to turn 11 at the time, the series was still in full swing being broadcast in America at this point, and so everything was fun and good. Oh, and this game was the coolest thing ever to a kid in the 4th grade. Two years later, we got Budokai 3. The may not encompass every game in the Budokai series, but those are the only two we got in the Dragon Ball Z: Budokai HD Collection. And I think that’s one of this game’s biggest flaws. Only the first and third Budokai game are on disc! They awkwardly skipped the second one and omit all the Tenkaichi Budokai games, Shin Budokai games, and Ultimate World. So, the package just feels a bit incomplete.
Next issue I have is, this remake feels incredibly lazy, in every sense of the word. Nothing about these games has changed except for newly replaced textures to give the game a shiny new coat. Except the presentation value is horrid. All the menus and cutscenes are shown in 4:3 with really half-assed minimalistic borders, while the all the fighting sequences are upgraded to 16:9 widescreen. So, the constant switching of borders and no borders is annoying. And one of my biggest gripes with the game is, the music.
With a game release like this released in the manor that it was, you figure your biggest selling point would be nostalgia to kids like who grew up with the series. However, by not licensing any of the original music from these games you complete shatter that and leave it feeling incredibly awkward. And the music from the original games was great.The replacement music is like replacement refs, they’re uncomfortable and it just feels like they shouldn’t be there. You figure they would have made brand new music, if they couldn’t secure the rights to the old scores right? Nope, they just ripped music from later Dragon Ball Z games and shoved it in here! At least they kept “Rock the Dragon”, though they didn’t fix the pacing issue with that cut-scene.
As for the in-game, Budokai has aged horribly. It wasn’t a great game when it first came out, but to an 11-year-old, you can hide that by the fact you’re playing through the Dragon Ball story, that and it was 2002, so it was a bit more acceptable then. Nowadays, as a 21-year-old, it’s annoying. Cheap tactics, not being able to quickly get back on your feet after taking a fall and all the original issues that made this game frustrating, are now equally, if not more frustrating as they were then. Not to mention, if you planned on jumping right into multiplayer and just playing that, well, you’ll be disappointed as you have only have 4 characters to play with (a sixth of the full character list), without having played through the game’s story mode first. So, have fun with that. Well, do the new HD textures look good at least? Honestly, not really. They are noticeably improved, but when improving on the graphics of the first game’s style just looks odd. It looks like it wasn’t meant for the PlayStation or Xbox that you’re playing on.
So, if you do get this pack all you will be playing is Budokai 3. With a much more robust character roster, vastly improved combat, and a much more streamlined quickened paced storyline, Dragon Ball Z: Budokai 3 was easily amongst the best Dragon Ball Z games. Just like Budokai, all the music here was swapped too. For those who really just love fighting games, you should probably steer clear from this one, as this is a pretty good fighting game, but long winded dragon rushes and ultimate attacks will just serve to get on your nerves. No, to thoroughly enjoy this, you absolutely need to be a DBZ fan prior to going in. If you are, you should be satisfied with what you get back. Personally, I’ve stopped playing DBZ games after Tenkaichi 2 as I personally couldn’t enjoy them as much as I did Budokai 3. So, if you’re into the free-roaming style of the newer Dragon Ball Z games, this one will be a bit of a change for you. Whether that’d be good or bad, is upto personal preference. As for the HD upgrade here, Budokai 3’s visuals perfectly complemented the series back when this game first came out, so this HD texture was very well done.
It really pains me to say it, but it is hard to recommend the Budokai HD Collection.
October 25, 2018 @ 8:34 pm
I when people don’t know the difference between a collection/compilation and a remaster/remake.
October 25, 2018 @ 8:37 pm
They skipped Budokai 2 because it was a terrible game that was only worth playing for Majin Buu.
October 25, 2018 @ 8:37 pm
now they should make shin budokai another road collection for psvita, or bring then to pstore along with tag team at least
October 25, 2018 @ 8:39 pm
Budokai 2 wasn’t included because of its poor reviews (partly due to its lame story mode). The Budokai Tenkaichi series wasn’t included because it’s actually not even part of the Budokai series. The japanese title is Dragon Ball Z: Sparking! – they just slapped the Budokai name on in order to profit from that series – and it was made by different developers.
October 25, 2018 @ 8:41 pm
you do realise that they had to remove those orginal soundtracks due to the fact that composer was doing copyright copyright infringement with them? =)
October 25, 2018 @ 8:41 pm
Sounds like a poor hd remake.. but i just wanna replay the games, so thats fine for me.
Cheers for the review
October 25, 2018 @ 8:45 pm
I’m thinking of buying a new dragon ball z, having recently bought the tenkachi 3, i want another. but I’m confused on what game to get. i have both ps3 and ps2. can someone help me?
October 25, 2018 @ 8:46 pm
I would have bought this if it weren’t for the music. It just doesn’t feel the same
October 25, 2018 @ 8:47 pm
think ill still to my budokai 3 on ps2 then
October 25, 2018 @ 8:48 pm
i can however, at least respect that he likes rock the dragon.
October 25, 2018 @ 8:52 pm
Copyrighted music still doesn’t excuse the fact that it was still a half-assed "collection"…would’ve been better off not even doing it in the first place
October 25, 2018 @ 8:53 pm
dragon ball Z budokia 2 was a great game I enjoyed fat buu super buu and kid buu and that devil dude was master babidis hench man
October 25, 2018 @ 8:54 pm
tenkaichi sucks^^
its allways the same stone paper, sissor, gameplay.
just one hit button and after every 4 hit combo you and the opponent have to select a button.
i played them all and give them away for free but the budokais are still in my collection^^
October 25, 2018 @ 8:55 pm
Budokai 2 was the best
October 25, 2018 @ 8:55 pm
Budokai 2 was my first DBZ game when I was 10 and that was the coolest thing for me.. no matter for those bad reviews, but it still holds a special place inside me..
October 25, 2018 @ 8:56 pm
fuck you
October 25, 2018 @ 8:57 pm
I dunno about all the music but part of the reason some didn’t come back was because some was plagiarized. Also, trophy/achievements is pretty important, or at least essential. If they weren’t there people would whine til a patch was made. With a new generation of DBZ fans and old they probably just wanted a quick buck and did work to that degree.
October 25, 2018 @ 8:57 pm
he was 11 when I was born I was 11 in 4th grade also weird
October 25, 2018 @ 8:58 pm
You probably know this by now, but the reason why Dimps could not use the music from the original game was due to copyright infringements that were apparently made by the games original composer, Kenji Yamamoto. Such a shame too 🙁 they were really great songs.
October 25, 2018 @ 8:59 pm
it wasn’t that the old music wasn’t licensed but that they used music that was in clear violation of copy write laws, one example here Dragonball Z Budokai 3 Capsule Obtain / September (Earth, Wind & Fire) Mashup
October 25, 2018 @ 9:01 pm
Although I hate the new music in game, I did like the new version of the Budokai 3 opening, I unserstand they did to get any copyrights but it was good, next time they make a "Budokai HD" collection they better add the budokai series IE
Dragon Ball Z Budokai
Dragon Ball Z Budokai 2
Dragon Ball Z Budokai 3 (With W Bakuretsu Impact graphics)
Dragon Ball Z Shin Budokai (With W Bakuretsu Impact graphics)
Dragon Ball Z Shin Budokai – Another Road (With W Bakuretsu Impact graphics)
Dragon Ball Z Infinite World (With Dragon Ball Heroes graphics)
October 25, 2018 @ 9:01 pm
Why the hell wasn’t 2 included in the collection? It’s supposed to be a "collection" isn’t it?
October 25, 2018 @ 9:01 pm
Since Kenji Yamamoto’s original soundtracks have been accused of plagiarism, both included games have entirely new soundtracks mixed from the soundtracks of Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 2, Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 3, Dragon Ball: Raging Blast, Dragon Ball Z: Tenkaichi Tag Team, and Dragon Ball Z: Ultimate Tenkaichi, plus entirely new music and the American Dragon Ball Z theme song from the original game and show.
October 25, 2018 @ 9:02 pm
Did they fox the capsule shop or is it still in out in out with randomly generated selection???
October 25, 2018 @ 9:02 pm
Dang I was looking forward to playing this but then I found out they also censored some violent parts in the game and screwed around with the dialogue I guess I’ll just buy all 3 games for ps2
October 25, 2018 @ 9:03 pm
Even though the music kicked MAJOR ass, some of my favorite game music (especially the beginning intro, nostalgia man) they had to remove it for copyright, because apparently, the composer slightly changed songs from sort-of-mainstream bands, and namco wouldn’t let them release it again with the songs. If you want to play the original, just get a PS2 emulator, and find an ISO.
October 25, 2018 @ 9:05 pm
This dude just found every reason too hate on this game lol
October 25, 2018 @ 9:05 pm
I agree man budokai 3 and tenkaichi 3 was the shiznit back in the day. I miss my ps2 🙁
October 25, 2018 @ 9:05 pm
for people that are confused that budokai 2 was not in the collection lets be honest… WHO PLAYS BUDOKAI 2? the first budokai was for the story and the 3rd one was for the fighting mechanics budokai 2 was cool at the time but 3 overshadows it by improving the mechanics so there was no point adding it in.
October 25, 2018 @ 9:07 pm
Budokai 3 is best game ever,
October 25, 2018 @ 9:09 pm
Hearing the Budokai 3 intro music again made me realize what I was missing when I picked up the HD pack.
Budokai 1 has aged pretty badly, but 3, even with a "new" soundtrack, remains my all time favorite fighter and I was so happy to discover it was on PS3.
October 25, 2018 @ 9:14 pm
Did they fox the capsule shop or is it still in out in out with randomly generated selection???
October 25, 2018 @ 9:14 pm
Budokai 2 was terrible
October 25, 2018 @ 9:16 pm
Budokai Tenkaichi is an entirely different series of games, dude. I’m pretty sure the others you listed are as well.
October 25, 2018 @ 9:18 pm
Geez, stop complaining!
October 25, 2018 @ 9:20 pm
They omitted Budokai 2 because it did not address a lot of problems with 1. They felt it was budokai 1.5 rather than a game worth a full release. I think it was wise too since in Budokai 1 and 2 you dont keep the momentum you’d think a DBZ game would have. Tenkaichi sucks dick imo. I can’t stand it. The canvas is way too wide open, its not focused in enough for me to feel like I’m having a one on one fight with someone. When they can just run off and charge up.
October 25, 2018 @ 9:21 pm
The original music was plaugerized and the guy was arrested in 2011
October 25, 2018 @ 9:23 pm
I’m really disappointed to hear they cut the second game, as I particularly enjoyed the strategic ‘map’ story.
October 25, 2018 @ 9:25 pm
learn to say budokai properly
October 25, 2018 @ 9:27 pm
I think i would only get the hd collection mainly becuz i want more dbz games on my xbox 360. I mean, i still have budokai 1 on gamecube and budokai 2 and 3 on ps2 but who knows maybe ill like it☺
October 25, 2018 @ 9:28 pm
you broke it down….booyaa
October 25, 2018 @ 9:29 pm
Budokai 2 was the best out of them all, wait for the haters.
October 25, 2018 @ 9:29 pm
I love this game I don’t care what people say I love this game
October 25, 2018 @ 9:29 pm
The only reason the music has changed is because the composer for the DBZ games was fired for plagiarism.
October 25, 2018 @ 9:32 pm
HOLD UP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
video time 1:37 to 1:41…. did he just compare nfl to a DRAGON BALL FIGHTING GAME WHICH A LOT OF LAZY PEOPLE PLAY?????????????? AND THE COMBAT SYSTEM STILL HOLDS UP TODAY! what does he mean "it aged horribly".
October 25, 2018 @ 9:33 pm
I own this game for Xbox 360 the toughest challenge is rotating the analog sticks on the Xbox 360 controller to get raditz in the special beam cannon I played the ps2 version of dbz budokia
October 25, 2018 @ 9:33 pm
I don’t personally care about the low rating. It’s gonna be so much fun to boot up the originals again. Love the games, love the universe!
October 25, 2018 @ 9:33 pm
really good review. wow this game is a peice of fucking crap. how stupid are these people to take out all of the good music and only include 2 dbz games out of atleast 6? yeah thats not a collection thats a fail. the texture pack only bugs my eyes the graphical improvement is complete trash. stick to ps2 emulator people the origonal games are the best. AGAIN HD COLLECTION IS A PEICE OF FLAMING TRASH AHAHA fail!
October 25, 2018 @ 9:33 pm
I think you’d like Infinite world. It’s like Budokai 3 but the way the ultimates work is way better
October 25, 2018 @ 9:34 pm
I can get all the budokai games with all the tenkaichi games including a PS2 for a cheaper price than this collection…that is sad.