The centerpiece mode of play in the game is its Z Battle Gate. This mode is an epic tour de force through the Dragon Ball Z sagas that is just about everything a DBZ fan could hope for. You’ll be able to relive the entire saga from the very beginning when Goku first meets the Saiyans and fight all of the epic battles along the way. In a cool touch this mode adds some special conditions to some of the battles to mimic how they unfolded in the series such as requiring that a particular mode be used to finish of an opponent.

Other modes are more purely focused on moving from one match-up to the next. In Ultimate Battle, you must work your way up a ladder of opponents to reach the top ranking. World Tournament is also a series of matches that you need to win to advance to the championship, but in this mode you’ll also lose a battle if you are knocked outside of the fight area. And of course you can just fight it out with two characters in a single match and a tutorial mode that will let you practice your skills before going into battle for real.

Tenkaichi also includes a feature of prior games in the series in that you can earn upgrades to strengthen and customize your fighters. Tenkaichi adds a new twist in that you can now fuse these bonuses together to create new ones.

Overall the game looks pretty good. It has a suitable cel-shaded look to it and reproduces the vibrant colors and crisp lines of the series quite well. Obviously the developers had to take a little license when moving a 2D cartoon into a 3D game, but the result is good and true to the spirit of the series. The animation is fast-moving and very smooth which is a good thing for a fighter.

In The End, This Game Hath Been Rated: 82%.  If you’re a Dragon Ball Z fan, what are you waiting for? Go out now and buy this game.

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