Dragon Ball Z Tenkaichi Tag Team is an interesting attempt to mix up the normally stale combat of the Tenkaichi series. Instead of jumping into battle and fighting enemies man to man, now you’ll be accompanied by a computer controlled character for most battles.
This may sound like a great idea (and for multiplayer it is) but all throughout the game Bosses will have an extra minion with them while your friends just sit back and let you handle the battle. It’s a sorry excuse of trying to increase the difficulty of the game, especially when you’re able to be revived twice in battle, essentially giving you three lives.
Which brings up a whole other problem, well it not really a problem but after I spent two minutes to drain an opponent’s health the last thing I want to see is them stand back up with full health. It makes it a whole lot less rewarding to defeat an enemy and the game will start to feel really repetitive really quick because of this.
The gameplay is about as simple as it gets. Press the square button rapidly and repeatedly. This is all you’ll ever have to do in the game. If you feel like it, you can mix it up by throwing in a couple of special attacks, but it isn’t necessary. The game is just way too easy. I didn’t have a single problem playing through story mode; in fact I finished most battles without ever dropping below 90 percent health.
Multiplayer in this game can be fun, but only at your opponent’s expense. I know this is how all fighting games work but it’s a little different with this one. Whoever gets the first strike will win 90 percent of the time. Once you get a combo started there isn’t any way to break it. So while it may feel great to beat the living daylights out of your friends, as soon as you’re on the receiving end you might as well throw down your PSP and walk away.
The graphics in the game are what you’d expect. It looks like a 3-D version of the cartoon. This is a good thing as it would just feel wrong to give it any other style of graphics.
The game has a bad habit of forgetting what characters look like though. For example, at the point in the story where Krillin has hair he will still be bald in battle.
The audio in this game is hard to judge. It uses the voice cast found in Dragon Ball Kai (the HD refinement of Dragon Ball Z). So in this aspect the game has completely accurate voices to the show. On the other hand some of the voice actors changed when they redubbed the series. So if you are an old school Dragon Ball Z, don’t expect Gohan or Frieza to have the memorable voices from your childhood.
Oh, Dragon Ball Z, you and I share such sweet memories together. I grew up watching you and absorbing myself in anything that involved you. I own all of the original series and have played more than my fair share of your games. This is why I can’t help but be disappointed in this game.
I’m sorry Dragon Ball Z, but maybe next time.
Dragon Ball Z Tenkaichi Tag Team earns 2 1/2 GiN Gems overall.
Editor’s Note: Game reviewed on a Sony PSP.