Bandai Namco released Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 2 in Europe 20 years ago today. First released for PlayStation 2 and later brought to Wii, the fighting game became a favorite among fans of Akira Toriyama’s series. In Japan, it was known as Dragon Ball Z: Sparking! Neo.
The sequel built on the first Budokai Tenkaichi with a larger roster, gameplay improvements and nine modes. Its story mode covered nearly all of Dragon Ball Z, the franchise’s films and Dragon Ball GT, letting players revisit many of the battles from the series.
The game featured more than 100 characters, or 136 when transformations are counted, alongside 16 stages. Its 3D battles let players move and fly freely through arenas, aiming to recreate the fast-moving clashes of the series. New features included team fights with up to five characters and the ability to transform during battle.
The Wii version added motion controls for performing techniques with gestures inspired by the series, as well as five characters not included in the PS2 release.
Sources: Vandal.