Dragonball Z Shin Budokai

by Atari

Product Features

• Enhanced version of Saiyan Overdrive Fighting for all-new moves and combos
• Select multiplayer mode, to become the bad guys

Product Details

• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S. and to APO/FPO addresses. For APO/FPO shipments, please check with the manufacturer regarding warranty and support issues.
• ASIN: B000CSUL18
• Product Dimensions: 7 x 4.2 x 0.8 inches ; 3.2 ounces
• Media: Video Game
• Release Date: March 7, 2006
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #5,945 in Video Games (See Top 100 in Video Games)
  • #10 in Video Games > Sony PSP > Action > Fighting
• Discontinued by manufacturer: Yes

Product Description

Dragon Ball Z: Shin Budokai is the first DBZ game to have wireless multiplayer action! The fast and furious combat rockets into a new dimension, with all the ounter-attacks, super high-speed bouts, flight and Ki (energy) management you've come to expect. Challenge some of the most evil characters in single-player mode, or select multiplayer and play as the bad guys themselves. The choice is yours -- either way, you'll fight hard to reach your goal: Becoming the most feared and powerful warrior in the universe!

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Fun isn't all that matters, ya know?, April 11, 2006

By 

Justin "Funkyfresh Pinoy" (California) - See all my reviews

= Fun:4.0 out of 5 stars 

This review is from: Dragonball Z Shin Budokai (Video Game)

Dragon Ball Z: Shin Budokai is a port of the incredibly popular Dragon Ball Z: Budokai line. Shin means new or better, so get ready for a new clean game.

Story
5/10

The story of Shin Budokai roughly follows Dragon Ball Z Movie 12: Fusion Reborn. A few plotholes here in there, kind of an unoriginal story A.K.A., Son Goku finds a new enemy, enemy gets followers, Son Goku and friends eventually kill the enemy. The Shin Budokai story is FULL of grammatical errors. It's kind on annoying, but it's also common in most portable Dragon Ball Z games.

Graphics
9/10
AMAZING graphics. The menus aren't too special, words, nice looking letters, colorful, yea. The battlefield is pretty darn amazing though. The stages are the same as the ones from Dragon Ball Z 3, with the exception of Hell of course. The 3D backgrounds are nicely done. The characters are nicely done, not just clothing, but like all of the little details from the anime are right there. The only flaw is a slight freeze in between frames and the lack of changing facial expressions (e.g. Broly is always grinning).

Gameplay
7/10
so if Shin means new, does the mean it is a new battle system? Pretty much. This battle system is supposed to be an amped version of the DBZ3 battle system. The gameplay flows perfectly. It is very fast paced. The brand new Aura Burst lets your character fly around freely and quickly. It is like taking the good parts of Dragon Ball Z 3 and Dragon Ball Z: Sparking! and throwing them into one battle system. Combos are still available, and can go on just as long as the PS2 combos. It sounds like I'm pretty happy with the gameplay, so why did I give it a 7? Well, after Dragon Road is complete, there is absolutly nothing to do. Afterwards, you only have your Survival, Free Battle, and Time Attack Modes. And the Profile Cards are REALLY boring. It's like customizing a school ID with Dragon Ball stickers. Also, the lack of multiple In-Game Transformations makes combos a lot harded to think up. And every character is pre-equipped with techniques, unlike in Dragon Ball Z 1, 2 , and 3 where you get to choose what techniques your character gets. Making every character the same.

Sound
6/10
I hate the new theme song. Also, the music is the same recycled music that we've been hearing sicne 2001. While many of the good tracks are still in Shin Budokai, I want some new music. I mean, Atari and Bandai have legends of American and Japanese music. They can totally do better than what they've been using for the past 5 years. What I love about the sound, Japanese voice actors. Plain and simple. The English voice actors are great too, but the original is just where it's at.

Overall
7.5/10
Dragon Ball Z: shin Budokai puts tons of new mechanics on the table, but doesn't give you too much new stuff that's good. The game gets REALLY boring after you beat Dragon Road and you may feel like you wasted your money after about a week. The game still delivers what a Dragon ball Z fan wants though, fast paced action. The game could do with better mini-games other than Dragon Pace and Profile Cards. Also, I feel kind of annoyed that Atari would advertise Wireless online Play when you can only play using Ad Hoc WiFi.

Rent or Buy?
A rent for sure, if you like games that last 3-5 hours after spending $40, then go ahead, buy it.

8 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Dragonball Z Shin Budokai........, July 4, 2006

By 

blackaciddevil (in the USA somewhere.....) - See all my reviews

= Fun:5.0 out of 5 stars 

This review is from: Dragonball Z Shin Budokai (Video Game)

Looking through my collection of Playstation Portable games, I realized that the only genre of game that I didn't have for the system was a fighting game. So, I set out to find me one. Thankfully, the only one I found was Dragonball Z Shin Budokai. Being a longtime fan of the Dragonball series and of the Budokai games, I thought I'd give Shin Budokai a chance although I'll admit I was a little hesitant at first. Well, Dragonball Z fans, you can rejoice. Shin Budokai takes everything you like about the series and gives you a portable experience that is positively worth spending your hard-earned money on. It's a solid effort by its' developers and it shows. I'm especially impressed by the cel-shaded graphics and the gameplay that I actually felt like I was living out the storyline of "Fusion Reborn". There's alot to like about Shin Budokai, like the fact that players can play one another via wireless combat, unlock unlockable material and more.

I'll have to agree with other reviewers on this site that most fighters on the PSP are mediocre at best. Until properties like Tekken, Soul Calibur or Mortal Kombat grace the system; we'll have to do with the best 3-D game on the system now and that, my friends, is Dragonball Z Shin Budokai.

I hope we see another Shin Budokai grace the Playstation Portable. That would, definitely, be nice.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars From someone who knows nothing about DBZ, June 3, 2007

By 

J. Leigh "jleigh7" (chicago) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

= Fun:4.0 out of 5 stars 

This review is from: Dragonball Z Shin Budokai (Video Game)

Overall I like the concept of DBZ though I've never had the patience to watch an entire episode.

As far as the game is concerned:

Pros:
- Game is responsive and fight mechanics are well implemented.
- Visuals are as good as I've seen them on Budokai 3 on the PS2.

Cons:
- In the "quest" mode- which is essentially a string of fights punctuated by chatter between characters, unless you are a DBZ fan, it makes no sense whatsoever. So I ended up just clicking X until the lengthy dialog was over so I can resume fighting.

If you're a fan of the show then this game's great.