Dragon Ball Z: Budokai GameCube

Perhaps the most popular Japanese television series in the United States, Dragon Ball Z hits the Nintendo GameCube in this 3D brawler. Just as in the animé TV show, fighting is the focus of this PS2 game. The main Story mode allows players to battle through crucial moments from theDragon Ball Z Saiyan, Namekian, and Andriod sagas, through to the Cell Games, learning new skills and upgrading their characters along the way. Other modes allow players to enter customized battles with their improved characters, to edit their characters' acquired skills, and to go head-to-head against other human-controlled fighters.

The game features seven different modes of play in all (one for each Dragon Ball), but some of the later modes must be unlocked. Nearly two dozen characters from the television series are playable in the game, each with as many as 60 combo moves. Goku, Gohan, Piccolo, Vegeta, Frieza, Krillin -- all the major players are featured. Designed to please the countless avid fans of the Dragon Ball and Dragon Ball Z animated shows, the game's character voices are also accurate, provided by the original FUNimation actors from the series. ~ Scott Alan Marriott, All Game Guide