Dragon Ball Z: Budokai cover art

Dragon Ball series

Dragon Ball Z: Budokai

Join us on a wild ride through the best action cartoon series on TV, Dragonball Z. The story begins after Goku defeats Piccolo at the World Marital Arts Tournament and he comes to visit Master Roshi, when all…

85 2 November 2002

Dragon Ball Z: Budokai is a fighting developed by Dimps, released 2 November 2002 on Nintendo GameCube and PlayStation 2. The main story takes about 8 hrs to finish.

Verified Sources: IGDB , Wikipedia

What Dragon Ball Z: Budokai is

Dragon Ball Z: Budokai is a fighting game developed by Dimps and released in 2002. It was published by Atari, Inc.. It is available on Nintendo GameCube and PlayStation 2.

The premise, in the publisher's words

Dragon Ball Z: Budokai, released as Dragon Ball Z in Japan, is a fighting video game developed by Dimps for PlayStation 2 release in 2002 and GameCube release in 2003. The first game in the Dragon Ball Z: Budokai series, it is based on the Japanese anime series Dragon Ball Z, part of the manga franchise Dragon Ball. It was published in Japan by Bandai and in North America by Infogrames, and was the first console Dragon Ball video game since Dragon Ball GT: Final Bout (1997).
Description from Wikipedia · source

How it plays

It is played from a side view perspective. Its themes are action. It is a single-player game with no multiplayer component. Available modes: Multiplayer and Single player.

Where it sits in the Dragon Ball series

Dragon Ball Z: Budokai is the 42nd of 179 entries we hold in the Dragon Ball series. The next entry was Dragon Ball Z: The Legacy of Goku II in 2003. Its critic score of 85 is 18 points above the series average of 67. The highest-rated entry is Dragon Ball Z: Budokai 3 at 88.

See all 179 Dragon Ball games in release order →

How it was received

Dragon Ball Z: Budokai holds a critic score of 85 out of 100. That places it above 88% of the 981 rated fighting games in our database, which average 68. Games released in 2002 averaged 68, so it scored 17 points above the year average. Players rate it 76, 9 points lower than critics did — a gap worth knowing about before you buy.

How long it takes, and what that costs

The main story runs about 8 hrs. Completing everything takes closer to 12 hrs, roughly 1.5 times the length of the critical path.

What it launched against

Dragon Ball Z: Budokai launched on 2 November 2002, within three weeks of Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, Metroid Prime, Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell and Metroid Fusion. All of them reviewed better.

Released around the same time: Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, Metroid Prime, Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell, Metroid Fusion.

Cheats and codes

We have not confirmed any working cheat codes for Dragon Ball Z: Budokai yet. Rather than reprint a list we have not tested, this section stays empty until one is verified.

Know one? Send it in and we will test it →

Official trailer

Trailer thumbnail

Sourced from the publisher’s YouTube channel.

Screenshots

All media

Dlc

Quick answers

Dragon Ball Z: Budokai — frequently asked questions

When did Dragon Ball Z: Budokai come out?
Dragon Ball Z: Budokai was released on 2 November 2002 for Nintendo GameCube and PlayStation 2.
How long does it take to beat Dragon Ball Z: Budokai?
The main story of Dragon Ball Z: Budokai takes around 8 hrs, or 12 hrs for 100% completion.

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