Budokai 3 is the “peak” of the Budokai series of games, although some handheld versions and a sort-of reboot happened after they all had little issues that dragged them down to below this game. I was definitely excited about it at the time and I was looking forward to replaying it for this countdown and I can say it held up exactly like I knew it would, sadly didn’t exceed my expectations but thankfully didn’t drop in my estimation either. Want to know more? Let’s take a look!

Budokai 2 is where the Dragon Ball Z games finally clicked for me. The cel-shaded art style was great, the roster was bigger and more varied and there was a lot more to do. Hell back then I even really enjoyed the QTEs that happen frequently during matches, something I’ll admit to disliking now, beyond the odd beam clash or high-speed punching, anyway. The thing I most remember about Budokai 2 though is the story mode, which instead of anything resembling a traditional set up is a strange board game thing, plus this game has a bunch of “what if?” fusions which are a really fun feature that sadly never returned, even in the direct sequel. So, let’s take a look!