This is for all you Dragonball Z fans out there. Yes, there is a Santa Claus, and this year he's bringing us Dragonball Z: Budokai 2. Set for release around December of 2003, here are some of the first details I had the privilege of learning during a behind the scenes trailer at the Atari Booth this year at E3. Picking up right where the first installment left off, Budokai 2 promises more characters, more destructive and interactive environments, a few new modes of play, and the return of all the english voice actors.


If you're familiar with the original Budokai, then you know it concluded at the end of the Cell Saga. As most fans will tell you, this is know where near the end. There's still the matter of the infamous Majin Buu and his reign of terror which must be addressed. Not to mention quite a few upgrades in power for our band of Z warriors. For those of you who aren't familiar with the series, it has been airing regularly on Cartoon Network's Toonami for the last couple years. So have no fear kids, Atari hasn't forgotten, and they plan to give you what you need at the end of this year.

Here's the scoop: all your favorite characters from the first installment will once again be present for Budokai 2. Not to mention, there will be 11 new characters joining the fray. Taking it's cues from Akira Toriyama himself, Budokai 2 will now incorporate a technique referred to as 'Toriyama Shading'. For those unfamiliar, during the course of the series, Akira Toriyama changed his drawing style mid way through the series to incorporate a finer degree of shading which added more detail. A prime example would be Goku's transformation into a Super Saiyan during the Freeza Saga. For those who never noticed his hair seemed to be completely yellow. Later in the series, around the end of the Cell Saga and the beginning of the Buu Saga, transformations into Super Saiyans brought golden hair along with more shading to provide more depth. Atari has cleverly employed a cell shading technique to bring 'Toriyama Shading' to your home console. Though this may not seem like a big improvement, a true DBZ fan will tell you it makes everything a whole lot better.

The fighting engine remains the same as the original Budokai with very minor tweaks and changes. As some of you may know the fighting engine itself was the main complaint of the last Budokai. Not having the ability to jump or duck proved to be a major sour note for a lot of gamers out there. But Atari once again reintegrates, this is a game for fans, and not something to blow away titles such as DOA or Soul Caliber 2. Trying to stay true to the anime, some of you may realize that the engine is a duplicate of the fights in the series. Have you ever seen how DBZ characters seem to take punches rather then avoid them? Or how people seem to fly rather then jump? Get the picture now? Some of the tweaks I mentioned earlier mainly lie in the Ki Blast mechanics. Similar to Dragonball GT: Final Bout (Nobody can forget that travesty. But don't worry it's not the same), players will now be able to battle back and forth during their special attacks. So when Goku launches a Kamehameha and Cell counters with the same technique, the blasts will now meet in the center where the button mashing battle between players will kick into high gear. Similar to the burst mode, you will now have to battle back and forth to see who has the privilege of dealing the damage and who bears all the punishment.

Some additional improvements for this installment of the series lie in all the extras that will be included. First and foremost, all the capsules you earned from the first Budokai can now be uploaded into the second installment. So your hard work wasn't in vain people. But Atari has stressed that once you import your information into Budokai 2, you will not be able to use it for the first Budokai anymore. So be sure to make a backup. Including all the new characters, the grand total is now bumped up to about 34 warriors. Not to mention a couple new side stories which will bring about 2 never before seen "what if" fusion characters. If you recall Atari's colorful side stories such as Cell's nightmare, then you'll love the new ones. The first is Goku and Hercule (Mr. Satan as some fans may know), and the second will be Tien and Yamucha. I personally can't wait to see how they'll pull these off. If it's on any level with the Cell/Kuririn (Krillin) fusion then I'm sold. One of the final new additions I had the pleasure to learn about is a new mode of play called "Dragon Mode". In Dragon Mode, you will play as Goku and lead a team of 3 other warriors as you battle AI opponents for the purpose of collecting the Dragonballs. So that means 4 on 4 fighting kids, just like the old DBZ Legends title. Just thinking of the possibilities means lots of fun in store this holiday season.

Overall you're looking at another excellent addition to the DBZ universe kids. The folks over at Atari really have a sense for all the fans out there, so I have no doubt that they'll be able to deliver. With all the new fan-friendly additions and even more destructible environments (nothing beats seeing Goku and Vegeta thrash each other through buildings around Orange Star High School), it looks like the console community will get a nice treat this holiday season. With the announcement that Atari is now partnering up with Funimation to bring Yu Yu Hakusho to eager fans, I expect Atari will become a leader in anime based games. As a last tidbit of info I was privileged to learn, I'd also like to mention that with the announcement of the partnership to do Yu Yu Hakusho, the folks at Atari have also informed us that this same partnership will be maintained for the development of Dragonball GT. Finally someone is getting things done right. Time will tell if everything works out, and I surely hope it does.