Dragon Ball Z: Budokai HD Collection

Dragon Ball Z: Budokai HD Collection is a remastered compilation developed for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, released in November 2012. The package includes both Dragon Ball Z: Budokai and Dragon Ball Z: Budokai 3, each updated to high-definition resolution with full Trophy and Achievement support. The graphical presentation of Budokai 3 in its HD form closely resembles the visual style of Dragon Ball Z: W Bakuretsu Impact, reflecting the updated rendering approach applied during the remaster process. Duel screen aspect ratios were extended from 4:3 to 16:9 in both games, broadening the field of view during combat.

Both included games received entirely new soundtracks rather than retaining the original Kenji Yamamoto compositions, which had been subject to plagiarism allegations. The replacement music draws from the soundtracks of Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 2, Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 3, Dragon Ball: Raging Blast, Dragon Ball Z: Tenkaichi Tag Team, and Dragon Ball Z: Ultimate Tenkaichi, supplemented by entirely new compositions and the American Dragon Ball Z theme from the original Budokai release. Japanese language audio is optionally available in both games, though the European version of Budokai offers only Japanese voice acting, matching the original European release configuration.

Several specific improvements distinguish the HD versions from their original releases. The second player in Budokai can now select a custom skill configuration from the character selection screen, a feature absent from the original. Story and fight scene transitions in Budokai are replaced with a new Z-shaped wipe. Budokai 3 retains all alternate costume codes from the Japanese, Collector, European, and Greatest Hits versions of the original game. Budokai 3 HD also censors one phase of Broly's Gigantic Meteor ultimate attack by fading to white rather than showing the original ground slam animation.

The collection presents both fighting games as they existed in their most content-complete forms. Budokai includes 23 playable characters with 60 moves each, covering the story from the Saiyan Saga through the Android Saga. Its modes span Story, Duel, World Tournament, and the Legend of Hercule challenge. Budokai 3 provides over 40 characters from Dragon Ball Z, its theatrical films, and Dragon Ball GT, with the Saiyan Overdrive Fighting System delivering the aerial acrobatics, cinematic attacks, and combo depth established in the original 2004 release. Character profile passwords from Budokai 3 can still be shared between players.

The compilation was officially announced at the Japan Expo convention in France in July 2012, following an early leak on a Spanish retail site that mistakenly identified it as a Budokai Tenkaichi HD Collection. Its winter 2012 launch window delivered the package to both major seventh-generation consoles simultaneously, making the remastered versions of both games accessible to players who had not encountered the originals on PlayStation 2.

A new title sequence in the European version of Budokai replaces the original static opening with footage compiled from in-game scenes, giving the presentation a more dynamic introduction. These region-specific refinements reflect the layered history of different localized releases that surrounded both games during their original lifetimes, particularly Budokai 3, whose various regional editions each carried slightly different content.

The Budokai HD Collection arrived as the seventh console generation was entering its final years, offering players on PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 a chance to revisit two of the most celebrated Dragon Ball fighting games from the PlayStation 2 era. The choice to include Budokai and Budokai 3 rather than assembling a trilogy reflected both the critical standing of those two entries and the practical complications surrounding Budokai 2's soundtrack, which shared the same composer whose other work had drawn plagiarism claims.

The soundtrack replacement that affected both games was a consequential decision, permanently altering the auditory experience of the HD versions relative to the originals. For players whose memories of both games are tied to Yamamoto's compositions, the new music represents a significant departure. The collection nonetheless preserved the mechanical content of both titles faithfully and introduced Trophy and Achievement support that gave longtime fans measurable progression goals to pursue within games they already knew well.