Dragon Ball Z: Budokai 3

Dragon Ball Z: Budokai 3 is a fighting game developed by Dimps and published by Atari for PlayStation 2. The game uses cel-shaded graphics to replicate the visual style of the television series and introduces a substantially revised set of mechanics compared to its predecessors. The Ki system is rebuilt from the ground up: each character now has a base Ki level that the gauge naturally drifts toward, and exceeding it grants an attack bonus while falling below it provides a defense bonus. Transformations no longer drain Ki continuously but instead raise the base Ki level, making them more tactically stable.

Hyper Mode is a central new system engaged by pressing L2, turning the character red, cutting off the ability to block, and making them immune to weak melee attacks while slowly draining Ki. Hyper Mode gates access to Dragon Rushes and Ultimate Attacks. Dragon Rushes are three-stage chance encounters in which attacker and defender each select one of four buttons; if the defender matches the attacker's choice, the Rush ends early, but each stage reduces the number of available options. Ultimate Attacks require the player to stop a filling gauge at the right moment, with results ranging from a miss to full damage. Teleport Counters allow a character to vanish behind an attacker before impact at the cost of three Ki bars. Dodging replaces a portion of Ki to avoid attacks entirely when timed precisely. Free Flight adds vertical movement to backward dashes, opening aerial combat to all characters without requiring a knockback.

The story mode, Dragon Universe, places eleven selectable characters on a world map spanning Earth and Namek across the four main sagas. Choices made during each playthrough can alter subsequent runs, allowing Goku's Frieza fight to be replaced by a Cooler encounter or adding battles against Broly and Omega Shenron following the Buu arc. One hundred and eleven hidden Story Reenactment bonuses reward players who replicate specific in-universe conditions during non-optional battles.

Budokai 3 extends character and story coverage well beyond the previous two entries. Where Budokai 2 concluded with the Kid Buu Saga, Budokai 3 incorporates characters from the Dragon Ball films, Dragon Ball GT, and even the original Dragon Ball series. Super Saiyan 4 transformations for Goku and Vegeta are playable, and their respective ultimate attacks gain 10x Kamehameha and Final Shine Attack in that form, each hitting at 72 percent more power than the base versions. The fused Super Saiyan 4 Gogeta is also accessible.

Eleven characters are playable in Dragon Universe mode, each following their own path through the sagas. Completing certain story conditions unlocks additional characters, such as defeating Dr. Gero with Yamcha in the Android Saga to gain access to Gero himself. Once a playthrough is complete and all seven Dragon Balls are collected, Shenron grants the player a choice of Breakthrough Capsules, Memories Capsules, or Equipment Capsules. The World Tournament mode supports up to eight-player competition, with prize money scaled to match tournament difficulty and multiplied by Sparking Capsule bonuses.

The game's roster spans the full Dragon Ball franchise timeline. Kid Goku, original Dragon Ball fighters, GT-era characters, movie villains, and transformed variants from across the animated timeline are all present. Skill tray customization carries over from the previous entries, and items equipped from the tray can be used once per fight with various effects including health recovery and temporary Ki Blast immunity.

Budokai 3 is widely regarded as the strongest entry in the Budokai series and one of the most accomplished Dragon Ball fighting games of its generation. Critics praised the revised Ki system, the depth of Dragon Universe's branching replayability, and the expanded roster as improvements that addressed the shortcomings of Budokai 2. The game sold well across all launch regions and received additional editions with expanded content, including alternate costumes and Japanese voice support, that were not present in the original North American release.

A Greatest Hits version incorporating these extras was subsequently published in North America. Both Budokai and Budokai 3 were remastered in HD as part of the 2012 Dragon Ball Z: Budokai HD Collection for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, which also replaced Kenji Yamamoto's original scores following a plagiarism dispute. Budokai 3 remains a touchstone for discussions of the fighting game franchise, frequently cited as the standard against which later Dragon Ball fighting games are measured.