I was first introduced to Dragon Ball Z: Budokai during middle school by a friend, and ever since that day I was hooked on to it. We played countless hours, fighting each other with our favorite characters over and over again. During a time when I should have grown out of the anime, this game solidified my passion for it. Then a few years later Budokai 3 was released. I can't really say anything about the game that hasn't been said already, but to this day it still remains one of my top favorite fighting games of all time.
When I first saw the announcement for Dragon Ball Z: Budokai HD Collection, I wasn't sure what to think. Part of me was very excited to see two games that I played all the time be ported over to next gen consoles. At the same time, part of me wondered whether or not these two games would be enough to make up for the huge disappointment that was Ultimate Tenkaichi. After playing the collection, I can safely say that it still retains that same satisfaction, but it is now without its flaws.
For starters, the collection only has two games from the entire franchise: Budokai 1 and 3. There is no Budokai 2, Shin Budokai/Another Road or Infinite World, and none of the Tenkaichi series. This will ultimately serve as a deal breaker to the collector who wants every single game in the franchise. Personally, these were the two I played the most, so I didn't see much of a problem with it. In fact, most fans will probably still buy the collection for the sole reason of playing Budokai 3 on a next gen console, especially those who didn't have the PS2 original. On top of that, I wouldn't be surprised if another HD collection of the Tenkaichi games is released in the future, which could potentially explain their absence in this collection to begin with, but it does seem strange not to include the others, in particular Budokai 2.
Another point that has caused massive backlash from fans is the replacement of the original music. All of the music in both Budokai 1 and 3, save for "Rock the Dragon," has been replaced with music from the Tenkaichi games. The reasoning behind this is Kenji Yamamoto, the composer of the music used in the games as well as Dragon Ball Z Kai, was fired from Toei Animation for suspected infringement of rights of possible third parties, leading Toei to replace all of his compositions. This leads to some awkward music scores in certain scenes throughout the story mode and in the end loses that extra spark the originals had. While not all of the music is terrible, it is still disappointing to play the game without the great music tracks, in particular the original theme to Budokai 3.
Finally, there is the issue of the lack of online multiplayer. In an age where fighting games essentially need to include online play, it is a shame to see it missing here. Does it need online play? Not really, but I honestly can't see it being very difficult to add, as evident with the Mortal Kombat Arcade Kollection supporting online play for all three games. While offline versus is still available, it would have been amazing to play what many gamers still consider to be one of the best fighting games made on Xbox Live or PSN.
So after these three major flaws, you are probably wondering why I said the collection was still satisfying. Even with these flaws, both games are still as much fun to play as before. All of the modes from both games return, including Legend of Hercule in Budokai 1 and the Dragon Arena in Budokai 3. Even with the change in music, I still felt like I was playing the Budokai games I knew and loved. I was even willing to overlook the fact that the fighting in Budokai 1 had not aged as well because I still received that sense of nostalgia from when I first played it. Even more rewarding is playing Budokai 3. It is still fast paced, hectic, brutal fun, and that is why I wanted to come back to these games in the first place.
Along with the great gameplay, both games look beautiful in HD. The difference between this version and the original is staggering. Even Budokai 1 looks incredible in HD. The only downside to the presentation is that for some reason, cutscenes and menus still display in the original 4:3 aspect ration and then switches to 16:9 for the fighting. It's a minor annoyance that I didn't find too much issue with, but it still would have been nice for the entire game to be in full HD.
To sum it up, Dragon Ball Z: Budokai HD Collection has some glaring flaws that will alienate fans of the original. The lack of online multiplayer, original music, and full games will likely turn away those who were hoping for a definitive collection that would be perfect for next gen consoles. At the same time, those who are willing to overlook these flaws will find extremely fun gameplay done in beautiful HD remastering. If you have been disappointed with the recent batch of games and want to return to gameplay that was truly worthy of the Dragon Ball Z name, this is the collection for you. Just be prepared for some changes.
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