History YMMV / DragonBallZBudokaiTenkaichi

** Zangya's line "Don't cha wish your girlfriend was tough like me? Don't cha?" It's an obvious reference to the Music/PussycatDolls' song ''Don't Cha'' that was popular at the time, and firmly dates the game to the UsefulNotes/TurnOfTheMillennium.

** Kid Trunks (both base and Super Saiyan) only have unique ultimates while their specials are both the same attacks: Full Power Energy Wave and High Speed Rush.

* ToughActToFollow: Being the grandfather of all anime arena fighters, ''Budokai Tenkaichi'' is seen as '''the''' golden standard all anime fighters should attain to in quality and {{Fanservice}}. As a result, it's not uncommon to see people use this as a measuring stick whenever a new arena fighter gets announced, even more so when they end up [[FollowTheLeader following the same template to a lesser degree]] as the more recent ''VideoGame/NarutoUltimateNinjaStorm'' series. Even later ''Dragon Ball'' games suffers from this as {{Spiritual Successor}}s such as ''VideoGame/DragonBallRagingBlast'' and ''VideoGame/DragonBallXenoverse'' gets unfavorably compared to ''Tenkaichi'' almost every other day. Even ''ZERO''itself , a straightforward new entry in the ''Budokai Tenkaichi''/''Sparking!'' series, suffers from this, being compared to the previous entry, ''Budokai Tenkaichi 3'', during the prelaunch lead-ups by fans unsure if it will stack up.

* SignatureScene: In a similar vein to ''[=FighterZ=] '', the transformation sequences in ''Sparking! ZERO'' harken back to the original source material, in ways even closer than the original entries to the ''Tenkaichi'' series, making full use of the Unreal Engine, the modern generation technology, and the cel-shaded style.

* ToughActToFollow: Being the grandfather of all anime arena fighters, ''Budokai Tenkaichi'' is seen as '''the''' golden standard all anime fighters should attain to in quality and {{Fanservice}}. As a result, it's not uncommon to see people use this as a measuring stick whenever a new arena fighter gets announced, even more so when they end up [[FollowTheLeader following the same template to a lesser degree]] as the more recent ''VideoGame/NarutoUltimateNinjaStorm'' series. Even later ''Dragon Ball'' games suffers from this as {{Spiritual Successor}}s such as ''VideoGame/DragonBallRagingBlast'' and ''VideoGame/DragonBallXenoverse'' gets unfavorably compared to ''Tenkaichi'' almost every other day. Even ''ZERO'' itself suffers from this, being compared to the previous entry, Budokai Tenkaichi 3, during the prelaunch lead-ups by fans unsure if it will stack up.

* ToughActToFollow: Being the grandfather of all anime arena fighters, ''Budokai Tenkaichi'' is seen as '''the''' golden standard all anime fighters should attain to in quality and {{Fanservice}}. As a result, it's not uncommon to see people use this as a measuring stick whenever a new arena fighter gets announced, even more so when they end up [[FollowTheLeader following the same template to a lesser degree]] as the more recent ''VideoGame/NarutoUltimateNinjaStorm'' series. Even later ''Dragon Ball'' games suffers from this as {{Spiritual Successor}}s such as ''VideoGame/DragonBallRagingBlast'' and ''VideoGame/DragonBallXenoverse'' gets unfavorably compared to ''Tenkaichi'' almost every other day.

* FanNickname: Before ''Sparking! Zero''[='=]s title was officially revealed, many had referred to the game as ''Budokai Tenkaichi 4'' (despite the name already being used for the fan-made mod) as the marketing referred to the old title in the reveal trailer.

** In the ''Budokai'' trilogy and ''Tenkaichi 1'', Ginyu's Body Change ultimate was a GameBreaker, being able to switch positions with a stronger opponent to gain the upper hand. The Body Change fell into this come ''Tenkaichi 2'' and ''3'', where it was nerfed '''horribly''' to the point where it became useless, borderlining Ginyu in the JokeCharacter zone. Rather than switching bodies with the opponent, Ginyu will randomly switch with another character off the field (mostly from the Frieza Saga). However, not only are his stats worse than before, he loses access to all of his special attacks, even from his orginal body.

* ShockingMoments: After nearly 13 to 16 years of silence following the last major ''Budokai Tenkaichi'' game, fans had rightfully came to terms that the series had long since passed, especially after it looked liked ''Xenoverse'' would be here to stay... then everything changed with a special announcement from Dragon Ball Games Battle Hour 2023. A teaser trailer showing gameplay footage from ''Tenkaichi 3'', before shifting to modern footage of Goku transforming into his Super Saiyan Blue form in the style of the ''Broly'' movie. The ending image then informed us that '''''[[BackInTheSaddle "A New Sparking/Budokai Tenkaichi Begins."]]'''''
* SignatureScene: In a similar vein to ''[=FighterZ=] '', the transformation sequences in ''Sparking! Zero'' harken back to the original source material, in ways even closer than the original entries to the ''Tenkaichi'' series, making full use of the Unreal Engine, the modern generation technology, and the cel-shaded style.

* UnexpectedCharacter: There are plenty of these to go around, given how big the roster is (''3'''s in particular is enormous) but the most notable is probably [[PosthumousCharacter Grandpa Gohan]] and Selypa/Fasha, with the latter not even having on-screen fight scenes in her only appearance, making the game's moveset original. Ironically, Fasha's Great Ape form has the most unique ultimate attack compared to other Great Ape forms.

--->'''Goku:''' Stand tall, Gohan! You’ll have to protect everyone in the future!

** This can be quite apparent with the battles based on ''Anime/DragonBallGT''. In this game, Super Saiyan 4 Goku is now a transformation for the newly-included GT Goku. If the deep-voiced [=SS4=] Goku is getting beat up in a story battle, there's a chance that he will comment on this situation in his much younger voice that he would've otherwise had in any of his other forms. This isn't a noticeable problem in Japanese dub, as Goku's voice remains the same regardless of his age, while [[TimeShiftedActor the English dub has different voice actors for Goku depending on how old he is]] (Stephanie Nadolny voicing the kid version of GT Goku and Sean Schemmel voicing Goku while he's in his adult body as [=SS4=]). Since the game is programmed to use a catch-all line for the character currently in battle, it will always play the same line used for GT Goku (which is while he's in his kid form).

* MemeticMutation: Outside of Japan, Chi Chi's [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CGj4yalC0uU commentaries in the third game]] became this due to her sheer overuse of the word "delinquent" thanks the localizers translating an idea in Japan where coloring one's hair blond indicates being a troublemaker. Because this idea was lost to many in the English speaking world, especially children playing the game, numerous comments roasted Chi Chi constantly saying the word delinquent and memed the idea it was just another word for "Super Saiyan", ''except'' for Super Saiyan 4 where one can't use that word since there's no blonde hair.

** This can be quite apparent with the battles based on ''Anime/DragonBallGT''. In this game, Super Saiyan 4 Goku is now a transformation for the newly-included GT Goku. If the deep-voiced [=SS4=] Goku is getting beat up in a story battle, there's a chance that he will comment on this situation in his much younger voice that he would've otherwise had in any of his other forms.
** Also, the player can set the game to be in either Japanese or English. The English voice actors give it their A-game, while the Japanese seiyuus just read their lines out loud. In a fighting game.

* UnintentionalPeriodPiece: Gotenks in ''Budokai Tenkaichi 2'' and ''Budokai Tenkaichi 3'' has a chance of saying "Peanut Butter Jelly Time!" when switched out in battle. This references a meme which was popular during the 2000s, slightly dating the game from when it was made.
** Zangya's line "Don't cha wish your girlfriend was tough like me? Don't cha?" It's an obvious reference to the Music/PussycatDolls' song ''Don't Cha'' that was popular at the time, and firmly dates the game to the UsefulNotes/TurnOfTheMillennium. Also doubles as a {{Narm}} moment.

* SignatureScene: In a similar vein to ''FighterZ'', the transformation sequences in ''Sparking! Zero'' harken back to the original source material, in ways even closer than the original entries to the ''Tenkaichi'' series, making full use of the Unreal Engine, the modern generation technology, and the cel-shaded style.

* AwesomenessWithdrawal: Both the ''Sparking! ZERO'' trailer - which was a little over a minute - and the teaser - which was under a minute - managed to set the fanbase on ''fire'' and truly show what to expect.

* AwesomenessWithdrawal: Both the ''Sparking! ZERO'' trailer - which was a little over a minute - and the teaser - which was under a minute - managed to set the fanbase on *fire* and truly show what to expect.

* AwesomenessWithdrawal: Both the trailer - which was a little over a minute - and the teaser - which was under a minute - managed to set the fanbase on *fire* and truly show what to expect.

** ''Sparking! ZERO''[='=]s official reveal trailer shows off the regularly expected characters like Goku, Vegeta, and Frieza, but then shows flashes of its playable roster. While some people expected ''Anime/DragonBallSuper'' characters like Jiren and the ''Anime/DragonBallSuperBroly'' version of the titular character, Bergamo was among those quickly shown. Bergamo isn't that popular of a character despite his unique build, powers, and frame, not even making an appearance in ''VideoGame/DragonBallXenoverse2'' at the time of ''Sparking! ZERO''[='s=] reveal (though he was a potential character addition based on an in-game character poll and his clothes were added to the game in a post-launch content update).

* InconsistentDub: In ''Budokai Tenkaichi 3'', Chiaotzu's attack "Farewell, Mr. Tien" is a direct translation from Chiaotzu calling Tien as Tien-''san'' in Japanese. In the English dub of the anime, Chiaotzu never calls Tien "Mr. Tien". A similar Crane School example is Tien's Kikoho/Tri-Beam being translated as Ki Blast Cannon in the move's description, despite Tien himself calling the attack out as "Tri-Beam". Tao is also referred to as General Tao, despite not being a general in any capacity in the anime or manga.

* {{Narm}}: [=BT3=]'s story mode has a system that allows fighters both watching and participating to spout off lines based on how the character is performing in battle or under certain conditions, but due to the lines triggering a few seconds afterward can get ridiculous because they tend not to match the action on screen (e.g. a fighter making a BadassBoast while getting their ass royally kicked).

* SuspiciouslySimilarSong: Unsurprisingly, the first ''Tenkaichi'' game is rife with this due to its soundtrack being lifted wholesale from the ''Budokai'' trilogy, in itself was infamous for housing Kenji Yamamoto's plagiarized tracks despite their popularity.

* SuspiciouslySimilarSong: The track [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LD4hE7rb6JQ "Dueling"]] from the first Budokai Tenkaichi sounds pretty similar to [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EuAzPR0ACVw "Bad Dogs no Biscuits"]] from Anime/CowboyBebop, specially during the second third of the song with the catchy trumpets.

** ''Sparking! ZERO''[='=]s official reveal trailer shows off the regularly expected characters like Goku, Vegeta, and Frieza, but then shows flashes of its playable roster. While some people expected ''Anime/DragonBallSuper'' characters like Jiren and the ''Anime/DragonBallSuperBroly'' version of the titular character, Bergamo was among those quickly shown. Bergamo isn't that popular of a character despite his unique build, powers, and frame, and didn't make an appearance in ''VideoGame/DragonBallXenoverse2'' at the time of ''Sparking! ZERO''[='s=] reveal (though he was a potential character addition based on an in-game character poll).

* AwesomeArt: The graphics for ''Sparking! ZERO'' look incredible, where it is taking cues from ''VideoGame/DragonballFighterz'' and ''VideoGame/DragonBallZKakarot'', giving the characters cel-shaded textures that make them pop against the background and give a crisp anime-styled look.

* {{Narm}}: [=BT3=]'s story mode has a system that allows fighters both watching and participating to spout off lines based on how the character is performing in battle or under certain conditions, but due to the lines triggering a few seconds afterward can get ridiculous because they tend not to match the action on screen i.e. a fighter making a BadassBoast while getting their ass royally kicked.

** A downplayed example. Tien Shinhan's moveset fits well but there are many attacks that he could have been given. Examples of these techniques are the Volleyball Attack (which is given to SSJ3 Gotenks), Multi-Form technique and the Four Witches Technique (technique where Tien grows another set of arms). A ''Dragon Ball'' version of Tien which uses his more unique attacks from the original series similar to how Goku has multiple playable forms in ''Budokai Tenkaichi 3'' would have solved this issue.