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The Dragon Ball Z: Budokai series, known simply as Dragon Ball Z (ドラゴンボールZ) in Japan, is a series of 3-D fighting games based on the popular anime and manga series Dragon Ball and its sub-series Dragon Ball Z and Dragon Ball GT by Akira Toriyama. All games in the series were developed by Dimps and published by Atari, the only exception being Japan's variants whose publisher was instead Bandai.

Gameplay
In each game of the series, the player controls one of many characters directly based upon their counterparts in the Dragon Ball Z anime and manga. As in most fighting games, the player then pits their character against another controlled by either the game's AI or by another player, depending on the mode that the player is in. The player has the option of watching two computer-controlled characters fight as well. The objective of each match is to reduce the opponent's health to zero using basic attacks and special techniques unique to each character that are derived from techniques they use in the source material. For instance, Goku is able to use his signature Kamehameha, while Vegeta uses his Galick Gun. To use these techniques, characters have available a Ki bar, which depletes upon the execution of a special technique. Some characters also have the ability to transform or fuse, such as Goku or Vegeta transorming into a Super Saiyan, and Goten and Kid Trunks fusing to become Gotenks. The gameplay in Shin Budokai is, for the most part, rather similar to that of the Budokai games, being developed by Dimps. However, several elements of the Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi series can be found as well due to producer Ryo Mito's, who is the man behind the development of the Budokai Tenkaichi games, involvement with the games as well.

Each game in the series also possesses numerous modes that offer different styles of play. The game's story mode loosely follows the plot from the anime and manga, Shin Budokai - Another Road being an exception, with a versus mode pitting two players against each other also included. Each game in the series adds new modes, as well as incorporating new features into the game.

Dragon Ball Z: Budokai
Dragon Ball Z: Budokai, released in Japan as Dragon Ball Z (ドラゴンボールZ), is the first installment in the Budokai series. It was originally released on the PlayStation 2, but was remade for the Nintendo GameCube nearly a year after its initial release. It was released on November 1 2002 (PlayStation 2) and November 14 2003 (GameCube) in Europe; December 4 2002 (PlayStation 2) and October 28 2003 (GameCube) in North America; and February 13 2003 (PlayStation 2) and November 28 2003 (GameCube) in Japan.

Dragon Ball Z: Budokai 2
Dragon Ball Z: Budokai 2, released as Dragon Ball Z 2 (ドラゴンボールZ2) in Japan, is the second installment in the Budokai series. Like Budokai, the game was originally released on the PlayStation 2 but later remade for the GameCube. It was released in North America on December 4, 2003 (PlayStation 2) and December 15 2004 (GameCube); November 14 2003 (PlayStation 2) and March 2005 (GameCube) in Europe; November 14 2003 (PlayStation 2) in Australia; and February 5 2004 (PlayStation 2) in Japan.

Dragon Ball Z: Budokai 3
Dragon Ball Z: Budokai 3, released as Dragon Ball Z 3 (ドラゴンボールZ3) in Japan, is the third installment of the Budokai series. Unlike its predecessors, it is the only platform title in the series not to be featured on multiple platforms. The game was released on November 16 2004 in North America, December 3 2004 in Europe, and February 10 2005 in Japan. The game included several new features, such as the ability to teleport.

Dragon Ball Z: Shin Budokai
'Dragon Ball Z: Shin Budokai' (ドラゴンボールZ 真武道会) is the fourth installment in the Budokai series. Unlike the previous installments, however, it is available on the PlayStation Portable. The game was released on March 7 2006 in North America, April 22 2006 in Europe, and May 26 2006 in Japan. The game features 19 playable characters, some of which never before seen in the Budokai series, along with seven stages to fight in.

Dragon Ball Z: Shin Budokai - Another Road
Dragon Ball Z: Shin Budokai - Another Road, known in Japan and Europe as Dragon Ball Z: Shin Budokai 2 (ドラゴンボールZ 真武道会2), is the fifth installment in the Budokai series. The game was released on March 20 2007 in North America, June 7, 2007 in Japan, June 15, 2007 in Europe, and June 22, 2007 in Australia. The game features 24 playable characters and 11 stages.

The story mode revolves around a "what-if" story where Majin Buu has been released in Future Trunks' timeline rather than his younger, present-time counterpart's.

Other games
While not part of the Budokai franchise, some games bare the name, albeit with an added bit to the title. Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi is a fighting game also for the PlayStation 2. In Japan, the game's developer Spike originally released the game as Dragon Ball Z: Sparking!, though the title went through a slight change in other regions by Atari. Due to the Budokai franchise's vast fan base, Atari felt using a familiar title would draw in more attention than a new one.

Playable characters
As a new installment is released, new characters are added to the character selection. Each character is based directly off their anime counterpart, the majority of which using their original voice actors and the same fighting styles illustrated in the series.

Unlike the other Budokai games, the Shin Budokai series allows the player to select their desired transformation before a battle. However, due to the emense size of the character selection, transformations will not be listed.