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Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 3
Author: Brian Ehlert

Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 3 is the final installment in this particular series of DBZ fighting games. The game's predecessor, a Wii launch title, managed to score a grade of B+ from The Wiire, so lucky number three has quite a lot to live up to. Even though it will be competing against two other anime fighting games this fall, Naruto: Clash of Ninja Revolution and Bleach: Shattered Blade, Tenkaichi 3 benefits from being a second-generation Wii title. Atari has now had time to perfect the controls and add online play, which could be a key factor in putting this game ahead of its competition.

One of the major changes to the controls is that players no longer have to point the Wii Remote at the screen. The developers discovered that this method can become tiresome, so now gamers can hold the controllers however they feel comfortable to play the game. Because some players prefer to make exaggerated motions while others like simple wrist flicks, all special moves can now be done either way. The team also wanted to move away from swinging the Wii Remote like the game's competitors. They instead returned to the tried-and-true button-pressing control scheme, which gives players a greater sense of feeling completely in control with every blow thrown.

Movement of your character is done using the joystick on the Nunchuk; the C and Z buttons are used to fly vertically up and down, respectively. Players can press A to deliver a punch-kick combo or press B to perform other attacks like sweeping kicks and shooting projectiles. While it seems confusing at first, with neither button having any set action, it's a very simple two-button fighting system that most people could pick up and play with ease.

Don't discredit this game as a simply button masher, however - as our demonstrator showed, there is a lot of depth to the control scheme. Skilled players can execute long combos, smash their opponent to the ground, launch projectile attacks at them on the way down, and teleport for a counterattack.

Holding a direction on the d-pad will begin charging your special attack meter. The longer players hold the button, the more blocks that will be filled up. While charging, a mirrored image of the character is shown in the bottom-left corner of the screen, who demonstrates the motion that players need to mimic in order to execute the move. This might include punching your right hand, dropping both hands, or lifting both hands in the air. To reiterate, players can execute all of these moves with only a slight flick of the wrist. For example, if you need to drop both hands, you can simply flick both the Wii Remote and Nunchuk downwards to accomplish the same task.

Tenkaichi 3 used the air combo system quite heavily, which allowed for much of the match to take place above the ground. The game was easy to play from the onset, and it didn't take long to figure out the various A and B button combinations needed to execute combos. Getting the special moves to work took a few attempts, especially in the middle of a fight where you would often get attacked while trying to watch the animation in the corner of the screen. Once learned, however, players do not need to wait for the animation - they can execute as soon as the character begins charging the move. The game was a lot to take in during the short amount of time available and I was forewarned that the learning curve is about 15-20 minutes. Judging from my time with the game, that estimate is fairly accurate.

Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 3 will feature over 150 characters and 30 arenas, not to mention be Wii's first online fighting game. While the game is far too expansive to take in during one sitting, I walked away wanting more. The game featured a style of play I haven't experienced since the days of Marvel vs. Capcom, and that's definitely a compliment. With the wide selection of characters and newly added online play, Tenkaichi 3 could easily be considered the best fighting game on Wii upon release. If the comments I made by the crowd during our demonstration are any indication, gamers have taken notice.

Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 3 will be released on November 13 in North America. You will be able to find the full review here at The Wiire.

PREVIOUS GAME: Naruto: Clash of Ninja Revolution

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