Dragon Ball (Z) Fighting Games-

[Battlesmurf]

Alrighty- I'm pretty excited about the Dragon Ball Z Dragon Box(es) coming out here in America. About darn time.

That being said- I want to play some Dragon Ball Z games- problem is that I haven't really played any since the Sega Megadrive (Buu Yuu) and Saturn's Legends. Does anybody here have any reccomendations on what I should check out (if any?)

Thanks!

[Jockel]

Attack of the Saiyans, that RPG Game for the SFC (there's a ROM-Translation too).
And DBZ Hyper Dimension (also SFC).

[Ruldra]

What's the name of that SNES game where it tells the story of Goku, from the tournament fight with Piccolo to Frieza? That one is really good. There's a sequel too, but I don't know if it's as good as the first.

Also, DBZ Budokai 3 for the PS2.

[Ganelon]

Butohden series (Super Butohden 1-3, Buyu Restuden, Shin Butohden) - Less characters and features but better graphics as things went along; the 2 games on Sega platforms are very smooth and control noticeably better
arcade (1-2) - Really nice looking (esp. 2) but the mechanics are about as blocky as the Super Butohden games
V.R.V.S. - Never played. Looks like a PunchOut clone
Hyper Dimension - Insanely good graphics, solid if slow mechanics, low character count, broken but fun
Ultimate Battle 22 - Slow, clumsy, ugly, the poor first iteration of Shin Butohden
Final Bout - Very slow, very clumsy, pretty ugly
Legends (Goku, Dragon Ball) - Mindless action-oriented positioning "game"; not really a fighter; the PCE version is basically cutscenes with a shallow playable portion
Taiketsu - Slow, clumsy, funny looking 3D rendered sprites
Supersonic Warriors (SS1-2) - Fast, solid successor to the Butohden series that emphasized team battles
Budokai series (Budokai 1-3, Shin Budokai 1-2, Infinite World, Burst Limit, Evolution) - incredibly bland; some semblance of a fighter; nice fanservice
Budokai Tenkaichi / Sparking series (BT1-3) - Even more generic; pointless characters for the sake of having each form as separate characters; not really fighting games
Super - A more traditional take on 3D fighting but still very combo-obsessive

[kengou]

I enjoyed all the SNES fighters, Hyper Dimension being the best one.

Of the PSX games, I enjoyed Ultimate Battle 22 and Legends, but they weren't anything special. Final Bout was terrible.

On the PS2, I haven't played a bad one yet. The entire Budokai series was awesome and only gets better as it goes along. You can pick up 3 as it's the best one.

Then there's Tenkaichi, probably the best DBZ series ever. I only played 1 but I hear 3 is the best in every way.

I've tried the demo of Burst Limit and wasn't too impressed, felt like they stripped some of the depth from Tenkaichi.

[Mortificator]

There's a little site called superpope that gives impressions of all the Dragon Ball console games up to the Saturn.

Personally, I didn't like any of the sprite-based fighting games, which is kind of disappointing considering that DB started as a comic. I haven't tried the PCE game or Supersonic Warriors 2, though.

If you want one of the Budokai line of games, I'd recommend either Budokai 3 or Infinite World. If you want one of the Tenkaichi games, Budokai Tenkaichi 3 is the obvious choice. The former have 3D graphics with mostly 2D gameplay, while the latter are viewed over-the-shoulder. You might want to look at some YouTube vids to get an idea of what style appeals to you more.

I can't objectively recommend Final Bout on its gameplay, but it has a great soundtrack.

[Strider77]

I hate DBZ with all my soul, and thought most of the games sucked beyond belief.

Hyper Dimension was a exception, but the other SNES ones were horrible games. Ugh and ultimate battle 22 (I think it was called that) and the other totally 3D one on PS1 were amazingly bad also. Legends was OK.

I have tried to give DBZ a chance so many times b/c of it's insane popularity, I figured that maybe I was being a poor sport or trying to be a snob or something. Every time I try to watch it, it just feels like it's really drawn out, predictable, redundant, silly and not all that pretty animation wise. It's just one of those things I've never understood why folks liked, to the point of doubting my own opinion and giving a it multiple chances.

[Acid King]

Ugh and ultimate battle 22 (I think it was called that) and the other totally 3D one on PS1 were amazingly bad also.

Oh man, Dragon Ball GT? Terrible, awful game. When I worked at Funcoland back in the day, people used to ask for it all the time. It was pretty expensive for awhile, if I remember correctly.

[Ganelon]

Yeah, Final Bout was the first PS game to break 3 digits on the PS. At its height, it got up to $150. And then, Infogrames released the remake and even the original copies shot back to the $20 range. Even Shin Butohden and Hyper Dimension used to keep their retail prices for a long time. But now, DBZ isn't really in-demand anymore.

I still think it's interesting that Hyper Dimension is probably still the best looking DBZ game of all time; the artists really outdid themselves. Most of these games are for fans though and probably wouldn't sell well without a license.