History YMMV / DragonBallZBudokai

* NarmCharm: While some fans don't like ''Budokai 2's'' story mode for its BroadStrokes approach with adapting the story of the anime and manga, as well as not having the cool cinematics of the first game, others like it for the craziness it brought. It can add a lot of replayability due to bringing in characters from later in the story earlier than they're supposed to be, as well as some decent LampshadeHangings later on when Cell and Frieza are brought back to life for the ''second'' time where they don't remember being brought back and powered up by Babidi by Goku, confused, bringing up how they'd just fought prior. The story mode is also the only way to properly unlock all of the characters and a lot of the special moves outside of the item shop, with the player having to do 2-3 playthroughs ''at least'' to get them (if the player knows what they're doing, or has a guide handy), as well as can only get Babidi's Spaceship and special capsules like the Breakthroughs through playing it a ''lot'' to completion [[note]]at least with how the game was originally designed to play, as the [=PS2=] version allowed you to bypass the requirements needed to get them through a glitch with the item shop, but this was fixed in the GameCube port[[/note]], so this can be very much appreciated by those who enjoy the mode enough to do so.

* SugarWiki/VisualEffectsOfAwesome: Most of the Ultimate Attacks look fairly impressive in the first game, and the spectacle was cranked up big time from ''2'' onward, especially when you use certain world-destroying Ultimates that change the arena into one of the two "ruined" stages. Using a sphere-shaped or explosion-based super move gets one of two scenes of the ball exploding on the planet's surface giving the player an epic view from the planet's orbit. Using a beam-type Ultimate, you see the beam shooting outward from the planet, also viewed from orbit. And the beam is ''gigantic'' if said successful Ultimate was Super Saiyan 4 Gogeta's 100x Big Bang Kamehameha.

* PolishedPort: Despite the lack of the original soundtracks, the menus and cutscenes not being expanded to widescreen, and no ''Budokai 2'', the [=PS3=] and Xbox 360 ports of the first and third games are really good. The graphics pop with the upgrade to HD and the framerate is increased to 60fps. The first game also has a gameplay improvement in that for the versus mode, the second player can ''finally'' choose the "Custom" option for their character's moveset, which was oddly left out of the original [=PS2=] and [=GameCube=] releases. They're also based on the original Japanese [=PS2=] releases, which means the extra costumes in ''3'' are in the game's code that were initially left out for a later re-release internationally are still unlockable with the same codes as they were originally, though that means the cel-shaded shadows from the [=GameCube=] port are absent, unfortunately, and ''Budokai 1'' doesn't have more than 1 language option in the international releases for some reason. It's a shame that ''Budokai 2'' wasn't included, as it would've benefited greatly from these upgrades, though the jazzy soundtrack would've been very missed as a result.

* PolishedPort: Despite the lack of the original soundtracks, the menus and cutscenes not being expanded to widescreen, and no ''Budokai 2'', the [=PS3=] and Xbox 360 ports of the first and third games are really good. The graphics pop with the upgrade to HD and the framerate is increased to 60fps. The first game also has a gameplay improvement in that for the versus mode, the second player can ''finally'' choose the "Custom" option for their character's moveset, which was oddly left out of the original [=PS2=] and [=GameCube=] releases. They're also based on the original Japanese [=PS2=] releases, which means the extra costumes in ''3'' are in the game's code that were initially left out for a later re-release internationally are still unlockable with the same codes as they were originally. It's a shame that ''Budokai 2'' wasn't included, as it would've benefited greatly from these upgrades, though the jazzy soundtrack would've been very missed as a result.

** In battle, with the exception of his lines for certain moves (and his transformations in ''3'' and ''Infinite World''), [[Creator/DameonClarke English!Cell]] speaks with his Imperfect Form's nasally voice at all times. The voice itself isn't the problem (and Perfect Cell ''does'' briefly revert to using it in the anime when revealing himself to the world and announcing the Cell Games), but hearing high-pitched kiais and other odd-sounding yells from his later forms for most of the fight [[VocalDissonance creates a lot of unintentional hilarity]].

** ''Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot'' also did this, adapting aspects of the ''Super'' manga and made its own version of the story.

* MisBlamed: For the [[UpdatedRerelease HD re-releases]], the developers took the blunt of the blame for the soundtrack being changed. This had nothing to do with them and everything to do with [[Anime/DragonBallZKai Kenji Yamamoto's plagiarism controversy]].

*** The most prominent being that physical-based Special Attacks not only return Ki upon successful hits, they were also not affected by damage scaling. This means characters like Goku or Yamcha can effortlessly pull of a [=ToD=] combo against opponents with even 7 bars of health.

** In the [=PS2=] version of ''Budokai 2'', by holding the L2 Button while entering and exiting the shop, a random capsule will be added to your inventory. This includes stage and character capsules. This was fixed in the GameCube port, unfortunately.

** In the PS2 version of ''Budokai 2'', by holding the L2 Button while entering and exiting the shop, a random capsule will be added to your inventory. This includes stage and character capsules. This was fixed in the GameCube port, unfortunately.

** In ''Budokai 2'', by holding the L2 Button while entering and exiting the shop, a random capsule will be added to your inventory. This includes stage and character capsules.

** ''Burst Limit'' is also this to those coming off the heels of ''Budokai 3'' and even ''Infinite World''. On one hand, despite being an early-[=PlayStation=] 3/Xbox 360 ''Dragon Ball'' title, it's still a solid fighter that uses ''Shin Budokai'' as the base for its gameplay, meaning those familiar with the previous games will feel right at home, the graphics still hold up, it's just as cinematic as ''Budokai 1'', and the soundtrack is nothing short of baddass (Kenji Yamamoto notwithstanding). However, it's also very easy to see where corners were cut, with some assuming that the game is an ObviousBeta, having its share of recycled animations from previous ''Budokai'' games and a stilted presentation, not to mention the poorly-thoughtout Drama Pieces system (see ScrappyMechanic below). ''Burst Limit'' also doesn't go any further than the Cell Saga, and even worse, teases Mecha Frieza and Super Saiyan 2 Goku in the pre-rendered cutscenes, but are unplayable by any means.

* ContestedSequel: ''Infinite World'' is this to ''Budokai 3''. Strikes against it include ''Infinite World'' actually removing characters and features (including, most jarringly, the [[BeamOWar beam struggles]] that were finally included in ''Budokai 3'') while not adding any new stages, [[MissionPackSequel which makes it feel more like an expansion pack than an actual sequel]]. Defenders, however, will point to how ''Infinite World'' actually added far more new characters compared to those who were left out [[note]]Kid Goku, Supreme Kai, Uub, and Cell Jr. were omitted in favor of the ''[[Anime/DragonBallGT GT]]'' versions of Goku, Vegeta, and Pan, alongside Pikkon, Great Saiyaman 2, Super Janemba, Super Baby Vegeta 2 (shortened to Super Baby 2 here), Super 17, and Syn Shenron[[/note]], streamlined the various characters' transformations into a single skill (Transform!) for convenience, gave several characters new moves (including Krillin's Solar Flare), and retained all of the costumes found in ''Budokai 3'' and its Greatest Hits version (save for Piccolo's [[Manga/DragonBall King Piccolo]] costume) while adding more.

** In Budokai 2's story mode, it's possible to make Goten invincible; simply have Goku and Kid Trunks move to the same spot as him which will give him a whopping 60% increase to his defense. Then equip him with Mysterious Vest and also have him pick up a few shields on the map and nothing can damage him. Not even the infamous endgame Kid Buu can hope to stop you.

** While there is still a clear rock influence in the ''Budokai 3'' soundtrack [[labelnote:(For example...)]]The opening to [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e6X3KvGsoRg "Over the Galaxy"]] was lifted from Music/EltonJohn's [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=26wEWSUUsUc "Saturday Night's Alright for Fighting"]] whereas [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=47w0YzktIho "Embrace the Blue Sky"]] is [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PCpeuJ6swro "Be Good to Yourself"]] by Music/{{Journey}}[[/labelnote]], Yamamoto also branched out a bit more into disco and R&B: [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U3pLjPeiX3Q the Duel Mode character select theme]] is [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4GtyMeEcPPE "Upside Down"]] by [[Music/TheSupremes Diana Ross]], [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BB1Hy9nBTbI the Level Up/Status Screen theme]] is [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FOx81aG-EN4 "Everybody Dance"]] by Music/{{Chic}}, and [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O77tX-FyVz4 "An Old Friend"]] is [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gs069dndIYk "September"]] by Music/EarthWindAndFire. (One fan even made [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sDFjnylW5Ss some]] [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ooSEdnLZ79M mash-ups]] of the latter two examples in light of the above controversy.) The common consensus is that, even if Yamamoto stole a lot of songs when composing the [=OSTs=], he had undeniably good taste in music.

* GoodBadBugs: In ''Budokai 2'', by holding the L2 Button while entering and exiting the shop, a random capsule will be added to your inventory. This includes stage and character capsules.

* ContestedSequel: ''Infinite World'' is this to ''Budokai 3''. Strikes against it include ''Infinite World'' actually removing characters and features (including, most jarringly, the [[BeamOWar beam struggles]] that were finally included in ''Budokai 3'') while not adding any new stages, [[MissionPackSequel which makes it feel more like an expansion pack than an actual sequel]]. Defenders, however, will point to how ''Infinite World'' actually added far more new characters compared to those who were left out [[note]]Kid Goku, Supreme Kai, Uub, and Cell Jr. were omitted in favor of the ''[[Anime/DragonBallGT GT]]'' versions of Goku, Vegeta, and Pan, alongside Pikkon, Great Saiyaman 2, Super Janemba, Super Baby Vegeta 2 (shortened to Super Baby 2 here), Super 17, and Syn Shenron[[/note]], streamlined the various characters' transformations into a single skill (Transform!) for convenience, gave several characters new moves (including Krillin's Solar Flare), and retained all of the costumes found in ''Budokai 3'' and its Greatest Hits version (save for Piccolo's King Piccolo costume) while adding more.

** ''Shin Budokai: Another Road'''s storyline is about Majin Buu being released in Future Trunks' timeline and Future Trunks having a hard enough time fighting him that he has to enlist aid from the present day Dragon Team. ''Anime/DragonBallSuper'' revealed that yes, Future Trunks having to deal with Majin Buu in his timeline is canon... except in that version of the story, thanks to assistance from the Supreme Kai and Kibito, Future Trunks easily defeated Dabura and Babidi before they could unseal Majin Buu in the first place. Even funnier is that one of the branching storylines in ''Another Road'' does exactly that as well, which can be done in the first chapter, even! The only difference between ''Another Road'' and ''Super'' is that the former has Future Gohan and Pikkon brought back for a day to help out and Supreme Kai isn't killed by Dabura unlike in ''Super.''
** Similarly, in ''Budokai 2'' and ''3'', Future Trunks strangely has access to the Super Saiyan 2 state despite never achieving it during ''Z''. (In the first game, he correctly has his Super Saiyan First and Second Grade forms, labeled as "Super Trunks" and "Super Trunks 2.") Then in ''Super'', it turns out Trunks really did obtain the real Super Saiyan 2 form.

** The names of a select few Broly-only items refer to him as the "God of Destruction" - a fitting title at the time. Of course, a [[Anime/DragonBallZBattleOfGods few]] [[Anime/DragonBallZResurrectionF years]] [[Anime/DragonBallSuper later]] that title would be appropriated by [[Characters/DragonBallBeerus someone else...]]

** One of the ([[MultipleEndings potential]]) final bouts in both Goku and Vegeta's Dragon Universe stories is a brawl between Super Gogeta and Gotenks at the World Martial Arts Tournament Arena, set to ''Budokai 3'''s main theme [[SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic "The Ultimate Energy."]] [[RuleOfCool For the sake of the battle]], both fused characters have an infinite timer, making it impossible for either fighter to de-fuse. Because the timer will never be emptied no matter what Gogeta or Gotenks do, this translates to infinite ki, which ultimately helps Gotenks far more than it helps the player. For one, expect Gotenks to immediately ascend to Super Saiyan 3 so that he can spam Victory Cannon as much as he likes, which can and will rip your health bar to shreds in no time flat. Even on lower difficulties does Gotenks have a bad case of PerfectPlayAI, leading him to teleport counter your attacks and [[TeleportSpam repeatedly counter]] [[NoIAmBehindYou your own attempts to counter]] ''[[NoIAmBehindYou his]]'' [[NoIAmBehindYou teleports]]. If that wasn't bad enough, the moment Gotenks enters Hyper Mode, he will stay in it until he either initiates a Dragon Rush or his Ultimate, the player does the same to him to forcibly knock him out of the state, or Gotenks is KO'd. It is also impossible to win by ring out; you've got to beat Gotenks the old-fashioned way.

* ContestedSequel: ''Infinite World'' is this to ''Budokai 3''. Strikes against it include ''Infinite World'' actually removing characters and features (including, most jarringly, the [[BeamOWar beam struggles]] that were finally included in ''Budokai 3'') while not adding any new stages, [[MissionPackSequel which makes it feel more like an expansion pack than an actual sequel]]. Defenders, however, will point to how ''Infinite World'' actually added far more new characters compared to those who were left out [[note]]Kid Goku, Supreme Kai, Uub, and Cell Jr. were omitted in favor of the ''[[Anime/DragonBallGT GT]]'' versions of Goku, Vegeta, and Pan, alongside Pikkon, Great Saiyaman 2, Super Janemba, Super Baby Vegeta 2 (shortened to Super Baby 2 here), Super 17, and Syn Shenron[[/note]], streamlined the various characters' transformations into a single skill for convenience (TRANSFORM!), gave several characters new moves (including Krillin's Solar Flare), and retained all of the costumes found in ''Budokai 3'' and its Greatest Hits version (save for Piccolo's King Piccolo costume) while adding more.

** When it comes to the lack of ''Budokai 2'' in the ''[[CompilationRerelease HD Collection]]'', do you not mind it [[note]]Between the superior single player content of the first game and the superior gameplay of the third, ''Budokai 2'''s inclusion would ultimately feel like an unnecessary MasterOfNone[[/npte]], or does the collection feel incomplete without it?

* ContestedSequel: ''Infinite World'' is this to ''Budokai 3''. Strikes against it include ''Infinite World'' actually removing characters and features (including, most jarringly, the [[BeamOWar beam struggles]] that were finally included in ''Budokai 3'') while not adding any new stages, [[MissionPackSequel which makes it feel more like an expansion pack than an actual sequel]]. Defenders, however, will point to how ''Infinite World'' actually added far more new characters compared to those who were left out [[note]]Kid Goku, Supreme Kai, Uub, and Cell Jr. were omitted in favor of the ''GT'' versions of Goku, Vegeta, and Pan, alongside Pikkon, Great Saiyaman 2, Super Janemba, Super Baby Vegeta 2 (shortened to Super Baby 2 here), Super 17, and Syn Shenron[[/note]], streamlined the various characters' transformations into a single skill for convenience (TRANSFORM!), gave several characters new moves (including Krillin's Solar Flare), and retained all of the costumes found in ''Budokai 3'' and its Greatest Hits version (save for Piccolo's King Piccolo costume) while adding more.

* ContestedSequel: ''Infinite World'' is this to ''Budokai 3''. Strikes against it include ''Infinite World'' actually removing characters and features (including, most jarringly, the [[BeamOWar beam struggles]] that were finally included in ''Budokai 3'') while not adding any new stages, [[MissionPackSequel which makes it feel more like an expansion pack than an actual sequel]]. Defenders, however, will point to how ''Infinite World'' actually added far more new characters compared to those who were left out [[note]]Kid Goku, Supreme Kai, Uub, and Cell Jr. were omitted in favor of the ''[[Anime/DragonBallGT GT]]'' versions of Goku, Vegeta, and Pan, plus Pikkon, Great Saiyaman 2, Super Janemba, Super Baby Vegeta 2, Super 17, and Syn Shenron[[/note]], streamlined the various characters' transformations into a single skill for convenience (TRANSFORM!), gave several characters new moves (including Krillin's Solar Flare), and retained all of the costumes found in ''Budokai 3'' and its Greatest Hits version (save for Piccolo's King Piccolo costume) while adding more.

** Not as bad as some other fighters but they're definitely present. Omega Shenron is top tier in ''3'' due to powerful combos and by default having 7 base ki bars, meaning he fills up to max ki without having to charge, while Piccolo, Cell, and Dabura are up there with him because of their fast-ranged physical combos. Bottom tier is [[JokeCharacter Saibaman and Mr. Satan]].

** When it comes to the lack of ''Budokai 2'' in the ''[[CompilationRerelease HD Collection]]'', do you not mind (between the superior single player content of the first game and the superior gameplay of the third, making ''Budokai 2'''s inclusion something of an unnecessary MasterOfNone), or does the collection feel incomplete without it?
** Whether the original soundtrack or the HD collection soundtrack is better (the original having to be replaced after the composer was fired due to plagiarism in both this game series and his work on ''Anime/DragonBallZKai''). There is more of a preference for the former (see directly above), but that is not to say that the reused music from the ''[[VideoGame/DragonBallZBudokaiTenkaichi Budokai Tenkaichi]]'' games and ''Raging Blast'' is "bad" ''per se''; it's just that some of the replacements don't quite fit. This is particularly noticeable in ''Budokai 1''[='s=] Story Mode, where the choice of music feels rushed due to the MoodWhiplash-y nature of some of the selections compared to the original score.

** When it comes to the lack of ''Budokai 2'' in the [[CompilationRerelease HD collection]], do you not mind (between the superior single player content of the first game and the superior gameplay of the third, making ''Budokai 2'''s inclusion something of an unnecessary MasterOfNone), or does the collection feel incomplete without it?