Needless to say, since we've written previews for the last six months about the latest title in the Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi series, you, the readers, seem to have an unquenchable interest in the games. The lion's share of coverage has focused on the upcoming PS2 version of Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 2, but as that gets ready to go gold and ship to stores, the attention shifts to Atari's version for Nintendo's new console. The buzz surrounding the Wii is hotter than ever as we are now five weeks and some change from launch time. We've given an overview of the game's features, which are similar to the PS2 game in regard to scale, scope and spectacle, but we hadn't actually gotten to play the game. That's changed.

If you want to know more about the game's plotline and features, check out some of our past previews, such as the one from Atari's press event in August. All of the features of the PS2 game, again, will be intact on the Wii. What's different, you might ask? I might answer with another question: Why are you asking questions you already know the answer to? It's all about the controls, baby.


Quite honestly, the Wii version feels much more interesting and fun to play than the PS2 game. There are people out there who enjoy the Budokai series immensely on PS2. There are others who either hate most video games based on anime or feel that DBZ games aren't nearly of the quality of franchises like Tekken, Virtua Fighter or Soul Calibur, all games that are quite predominantly featured in competitive tournaments. No matter what, there's something fun about getting physical with the Wii controller and using it to incapacitate a Saiyan.

One testament to the intuitiveness of gameplay lies within the circumstances of the demo. The game's producer wasn't able to show it off, but we were able to see it, thanks to Atari's PR. However, neither of the Atari guys had been able to get really hands-on with it before the day or two that they'd been out on the road for demo sessions. Since everyone was mostly flying blind going in, it made the experience even better for learning and adapting to the controls.

The most physical action seems to lie in the Nunchuk. Sure, the movements are mapped to the C-Stick, just as movements would be relegated to the left analog stick on the PS2 game. However, the rest of the non-combat-related motions involve the functionality of the Nunchuk. Upward hovers are accomplished by holding the C button and gesturing upward. The opposite motion will bring a fighter back down to terra firma. A thrust forward will cause the character to dash forward toward his or her opponent. Shaking the Nunchuk will allow the player to make a super dash. Z charges up the player's Ki energy, which as fans know, can be used for more powerful combos and (potentially) special attacks.