77
Honestly, I don't know how long the load time is because I like to smack the Master Roshi Icon using the D-pad buttons while the game loads. I think it loads fast because of it, but thats just me being easily amused.
Graphics - 78
The graphics look just like Dragon Ball Z: Budokai 3. One of my favorite things in the visual department of this game was watching the characters preform their specials. IT would instantly zoom on them, and they'd say something cool like "ITS TIME TO DIE!" or "HAHA!" and... BOOM! Huge explosion, and lots of lights.. really shiny shiny if you ask me.
The reason why the visuals didn't get a perfect score from me was because story mode played all in 2d without any in-game cinamatics. It was a huge disappointment! Basically two pictures of the characters facing each other in one pose with text at the bottom.... Boring...
Sound - 70
Decent, you get your oofs, and other sorts of grunts, plus all the super effects when you activate your characters special abilitys. But the only thing I thought was really cool was that you can:
1. Turn the voices to japanese, or english.
2. Turn off the background music.
Gameplay - 80
The game is fast paced, and fun!! It includes a Story Mode, Training, Survival Mode, and Time Mode. The story is a boring bit, and the game is rather quick. But I think the best part was the Mulitplayer. The game auto-records your stats, and you can even customize the cards on which your stats are displayed on with bonus bits you earn for fighting at special letter grades. (Guess what the top grade is) Although the game was fun, and all. It didn't play like the PS2 versions. Think of this game as a DBZ: Budokai 3 LITE.
Story - 30
What story? I had a hard time paying attention, cause I kept pressing X to skip to the fighting. The 2D bit was just too dang annoying... X please!
Overall Value - 76
I've said it before, and I'll say it again, I believe the PSP has the power to delivery the quality of that of the PS2, and Xbox. Dragon Ball Z: Shin Budokai does not totally, quite meet the bar. Yet its still an above average game, and a joy to play!
+ Fun Fast Paced DBZ Action.
+ Great Graphics, and Cell-Shaded Anime.
+ Its DBZ
- It maybe DBZ but it's a DBZ lite 
- 2D/Text story is boring
- Not a long enough game.
95
First off I want to say that I am a die-hard Dragonball z and GT fan. Ive played the Budokai games, the GBA games, and the PS1 title. Ive watched almost every episode and consider myself a Dragonball Z encyclipedia. When this game was announced I was so happy.
I LOVE this game. It's too short, though. And the range of character selection causes times of bordem. The story mode (Dragon Road) is around 55 battles long, ranging from quick bouts to frustrated battles which take 20 tries to beat. The battlegrounds are colorful and for the most part, highly detailed. The storyline is very confusing though, I found that I had to go back multiple times just to understand certain fights. The sound isn't anything spectacular, but it accurately depicts the show and fight scenes.
After the story mode is beat there is nothing realy left to do except beat arcade mode and play modes like survial and time attack, which get VERY boring after you beat them with even one character. I found the only thing I did was set the difficulty to max and play in practice mode. The online aspect is quite fun, simply for the fact that it dissipates the bordem. There is also a card collecting aspect but it has no point except to construct lame Profile Cards.
Sound - 70: Sounds depict the show
Multiplayer - 90: Very fun
Overall - 80: Its fun and addicting, but with slight changes to gameplay and the addition of few more characters this game would of been so much better
75
I havent beat the game yet, but I have got through a lot of the Dragon Road (story mode) only to exit out of the game not realizing the autosave feature wasn't on losing all of my progress. So please do note to save frequently or to turn the autosave function on.
Having only dabbled in the PS2 Budokai series I can't say exactly how comparable the PSP version is to the others. I do know for certain its more like DBZ:Budokai 2 and 3 then 1. It is definately more fun then the first game yet it is still missing some of the mini games I would have enjoyed finding in the PSP version.
Gameplay - 8
It plays smooth and fast and the control scheme doesnt miss a beat. its a fluid experience that catches the high intensity feel of the series. it is missing the second analog so the rotating power battles are missing on the PSP but I honeslty dont miss them much. everything feels good and the gameplay is fast paced and very enjoyable
Controls - 9
Like I said, controls work very well for the game. simple enough to pick up and play in no time and in depth enough to take time mastering your technique.
Graphics - 7.2
Not the best i've seen on the PSP but definately not the worst. cell shaded works well. it looks as good as the second game in my opinion.
Audio - 7
No voice work for the cut scenes and actually the lack of actual cut scenes should have brought the score down lower, but all the in fight sound efx are there like all the battlecries and such from the anime including the japanese voice cast as well. Skip through the boring static image texted cut scenes with the start button.
Extras - 6
Its a great fighting game, but there doesnt seem to be as many game modes as the console versions. I miss the tournament from Budokai 1
Overall - 7.5
Its a really fun game that is true to the series and to the later games in the Budokai series. while it has all of the core elements of a good game, I missed the little extras that the PS2 versions offered. All DBZ fans will love this as it is the best DBZ game on the go in my opinion.
Rent or Own - Rent
While I own the game myself I am an oldschool DB fan and enjoy the fast paced yet simple fighting scheme the Budokai series offers. I think its definately a buy for DB fans but not enough of a great game on its own to be a must buy for hardcore fighting game fanatics.
68
I wanted to get this game because I have all the Budokai games and all the GBA DBZ games, so I figured this would be a welcome addition.
First off, it's too short. I beat it today (March 13). It consists of a weird storyline, which has no voiceovers, and it only took me about 3 hours to beat. It was relatively easy, because of my extensive Budokai knowledge. Your only reward is new fighters and transformations, and useless Zenie. The Zenie is used to buy 'stamps' for your card that only shows up when you play someone, which I haven't.
In conclusion, don't buy this game unless you are a diehard DBZ fan (which I am not) with $40 laying around wanting to be spent. Skip this one. I'm confident that Atari will have a new one that's 3 times better soon.
84
Colorful graphics and furiously fast gameplay make this a fun game to play. Depth isn't the greatest since the mechanics are pretty simple but the multiplayer story mode is deep enough to keep you coming back for a few weeks at the least.
Gameplay - 86
Music - 77
Sound - 80
Control - 83
Depth - 78
Fun Factor - 88
Overall (not an average) - 84
85
I have been a DBZ fan for a long time and I love the games. I have every DBZ Budokai for PS2 and now that I own a PSP I just had to get Shin Budokai.
The graphics are very colorful. The loadtimes are very fast, one of the best I seen on the PSP. The sound is ok but nothing great. The story mode is called the the Dragon Road. The story is based on the upcoming DBZ movie, Fusion Reborn. One thing I don't like about the story mode is that there are no voice overs. Overall I like this game because of the crazy fighting.
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9