Dragon Ball Z: Budokai 3

About Dragon Ball Z: Budokai 3

Dragon Ball Z: Budokai 3 arrived on PlayStation 2 in late 2004 as the third entry from developer Dimps and publisher Bandai. This fighting game centers on a massive tournament where only one warrior stands last. Players select from an ever-growing roster of iconic characters to battle across Earth and Namek. The title introduces a new combat system allowing fighters to teleport, juggle opponents in mid-air, fly around stages, and execute varied attacks. It serves as a direct adaptation of the anime saga while adding depth through unlockable content and internet profile sharing features for those with online access at the time.

Gameplay

Sessions involve picking one of eleven main story characters to navigate a world map during specific sagas like Frieza or Majin Buu. You fight through events that shift based on your choices, such as facing Cooler instead of Frieza in alternate runs. Battles require timing your Z-Soul skills and managing energy bars while executing combos that launch enemies into the air for follow-up strikes. The camera follows the action dynamically as characters fly around the arena. Between fights, you collect items like Dragon Balls or money to unlock bonus fighters like Dr. Gero. The loop consists of clearing mission objectives, battling rivals, and unlocking new roster members to tackle harder challenges on subsequent playthroughs.

What Players Think

Critics and players have rated this title heavily, with an IGDB score of 83.9 out of 100 based on 134 ratings. The community moods lean toward high engagement due to the replayability factor, as data shows many users return to experiment with different character paths and story outcomes. Average playtime often extends well beyond the initial run because of the branching narrative choices available across the four main sagas. Review snippets frequently mention the satisfaction of unlocking all forty bonus characters and the sheer volume of content packed into a single disc. The high completion rates suggest players invest significant time in mastering the combat mechanics rather than just finishing the story once.

PlayPile's Take

This game is worth your time if you want a deep fighting experience with tons of unlockable content on PS2. The price remains reasonable for collectors, and the achievement list tracks your progress through every saga and character path. You should play this if you appreciate how choices alter the narrative flow rather than just watching a cutscene. The roster expands to forty characters, offering plenty of variety for local multiplayer matches or solo challenges. It stands out because the story mode changes with each run, ensuring no two sessions feel identical even after dozens of hours.

Storyline

The story mode in Budokai 3 takes place on a world map called Dragon Universe. This mode consists of 11 playable characters traveling around Earth or Namek during the four main sagas of Dragon Ball Z: Saiyan Saga, Frieza Saga, Cell Saga, and Majin Buu Saga, while collecting items such as money, capsules, Dragon Balls or unlocking other characters for use in the other game modes. The various characters are each unlocked by completing a required task within Dragon Universe (for example, Dr. Gero is unlocked by defeating Dr. Gero with Yamcha in the Androids Saga). The Dragon Universe has a high level of replayability due to events in the game potentially changing from playthrough-to-playthrough. For example, in Goku's first playthrough the majority of the story proceeds as it does according to the anime. However, in the following playthroughs, certain choices can include Goku's fight with Frieza changing into a fight with Cooler instead. These choices can even lead to events such as fighting Broly and Omega Shenron after fighting Super Buu. With eleven characters available for play in Story Mode, and various choices available for each character, Dragon Universe has significantly more replay value than previous Budokai games.