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!
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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!
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So kicking off the gaming side of the DBZ movie/game marathon-thingy is the game that feels like it kicked off Dragon Ball games, as it was the first released here in the west that was any good (for context: you can find my reviews of “Ultimate Battle 22” and “Final Bout” by clicking on them here…) Admittedly as with most things that are the start of a series with multiple sequels this game is quite lacking in polish and modes it still created a solid framework to build on, and has a few unique gameplay ideas that I hadn’t experienced before or really since beyond its sequels. Sadly it looks like crap (even at the time I thought it looked off) but hey-ho. Let’s take a look!
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I’m not sure why it’s taken me a year to get round to writing the review for the second classic Battlefront game, but here we are anyway! Battlefront II was one of those sequels that improved on the original in literally every aspect and then added a whole bunch more besides. Dedicated space battles, playable heroes, the ability to actually run… you name it, they added it or improved it. That being said, what’s it like to play now in the mid 2020s? Well…
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Here’s a review I never really thought I’d do, or at the very least it wasn’t on my mind, but thanks to the re-release of the two “Classic” Battlefront games I thought there would never be a better time to look at these PS2 greats from my early 20s than now. The original Battlefront was interesting because most things I remembered about the PS2 era Battlefronts comes from countless hours playing Battlefront II, I mean I played this a hell of a lot, don’t get me wrong, but as soon as BFII came out the following year I naturally stopped. So I made sure to play this a bunch (including a couple of hours of multiplayer with the same friend as the first time round!) before touching its sequel to make sure this review is focused on just the original. Oh and yes, the Battlefront Classic Collection was rough on launch, but for me who just plays offline by himself or with friends/family split-screen after the first patch I’ve had no issues… Let’s take a look!
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A short while ago I mentioned starting two game review features on one series I’ve always wanted to play, Kingdom Hearts, and another I’ve played many times and the Metal Gear series is the other half of that, as after the likes of Sonic and Resident Evil it’s probably the game series I’ve replayed the most across my life, and pretty much all entries to boot. Speaking of which, I went back and forth on where to start from, since I’ve already reviewed the first Solid game, but since Snake Eater is getting a full on remake in the near future I thought I’d give as much time between them as I could, plus it’s the earliest game in the franchise timeline-wise, so it made sense in that way too. Sadly it’s often considered to be the peak of the series, especially story-wise, but is it really all downhill from here? Does it still even stand up? Let’s take a look!
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It’s time to bring a close to my look at the PS2 GTA trilogy and their “Definitive Editions” with the iconic San Andreas. As you’d hope with the final entry in a trilogy it built upon what came before it and added so much more… everything, even cities to explore. Sadly this is the one game where its Definitive Edition is still a bit of a mess, but ignoring that little modern road bump I’ve had nothing but praise for San Andreas since it came out, let’s see if that still holds true in 2023, nearly 20 years later (bloody hell…)
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After the original Legends of Wrestling was a “Fun experiment” that I quickly grew tired of Legends of Wrestling II came along and much to my surprise was far more playable than I was expecting, crossing over into just plain “good” thanks to the new territories-based career mode and the addition of four World of Sport era legends from the UK (in the PAL version). Does it still hold up in 2022 though? The answer may not be as straight forward as I would’ve thought!
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The Dynasty Warriors film is up next in this marathon, so why I am reviewing Dynasty Warriors 5 and not the first Dynasty Warriors? Well, the first was a pretty poor 1v1 fighting game rather than the series that film is based on that started with DW2, and DW5 was the first game in the franchise (and indeed the first Warriors game in general) I ever played, so it made the most sense. It’s not like they don’t all share the same story anyway! So let’s take a look at Dynasty Warriors 5 as well as its “XL” expansion, given you needed the original game to play it anyway so it’s more like DLC, to use modern terminology…
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The next entry into the Smackdown! series of WWE games is the rather stupid sounding “Shut Your Mouth”, I guess they’d already used “Know Your Role” on SD!2 and “Just Bring It!” in the last game so ran out of Rock catchphrases? (Well, baring in mind “Smackdown! If You Smell” sounds weird) Subtitle aside SYM and its sequel are the high point of PS2 WWE games and frankly among the best in the whole Yukes SD/SvR/2K run that only recently came to an end. So let’s take a look!
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Hogan Reviews 