Dragon Ball Z Budokai Tenkaichi 2 : Review

Dragon Ball Z Budokai Tenkaichi 2 is the second episode of the Tenkaichi game series and it is known as Dragon Ball Z Sparking Neo! in Japan.
The game was published in 2006 and is a Playstation 2 exclusive.
Like Tenkaichi 1, Tenkaichi 2 is a full 3D fighting video game where the characters are free to go anywhere on the maps and even lost track of each others.
Tenkaichi 2 has even more characters than its predecessor and it is the episode which includes for the first time in the series the possibility for the characters to transform themselves during the matches.
Also, the story mode of Tenkaichi 2, where the characters are free to travel around the World map, is considered to be the best amongs all the Tenkaichi games.

The characters and arenas of Tenkaichi 2

The characters of Dragon Ball Z Tenkaichi 2

Dragon Ball Z Budokai Tenkaichi 2 has 73 playable characters (without counting the transformations and the fusion characters). And like in the previous episode of the series, most of the characters are from the Dragon Ball Z era, even thought there are a few more movie characters and more Dragon Ball GT characters too. Last but not least, the base form of some characters (like Super Janemba) which weren't in Tenkaichi 1 have been included in Tenkaichi 2.

And this is without counting the many non-playable story characters like Karin or King Kai.

The maps of Tenkaichi 2

The game has 16 playable arenas and they are :

- Wasteland. - Rocky Area. - City (Ruins). - Mountain Road. - Islands. - Kame House. - Glacier. - World Tournament Stage. - Cell Games Arena. - Ruined Earth. - Kami's Lookout. - Hyperbolic Time Chamber. - Supreme Kai's World. - Planet. - Namek. - Dying Namek.

Dragon Ball Z Budokai Tenkaichi 2 has 5 more maps than its predecessor and it is now possible to destroy completly the maps with some of the ultimate attacks :

The game modes of Tenkaichi 2

- Dragon Library.
- Dragon Adventure.
- Ultimate Battle Z.
- Dragon Tournament.
- Dueling.
- Ultimate Training.
- Evolution Z.
- Item Shop.
- Data Center.

Dragon Library is the Biography mode of Tenkaichi 2, Dragon Adventure is the story mode, Ultimate Battle Z is some sorts of Ranking Mode symbolized by Towers and where the player has to fight a list of opponents.
In the Tournament mode, it is possible to participate to 3 different tournaments : The World Tournament, the Cell Games and the World Martial Arts Big Tournament which takes place in various maps (Just like in the Dragon Ball movie where the Z Fighters fight Bojack and the Space Mercenaries).
There is also a training mode and the Evolution Z Mode returns from the last game with more special z items in store.
Last but not least, the Data Center mode is useful for creating custom characters and with the Sparking menu, the players who also have Dragon Ball Z Budokai Tenkaichi 1 are rewarded with an additional game mode.