I’m no stranger to the world of anime, manga or the inevitable glut of videogame spin-offs this prolific area of Japanese culture awards us. But even I struggle to decipher even the smallest of Dragon Ball Z’s details, and since the very first game adaptation appeared, nothing has come along to change that. By some miracle, however, Dragon Ball is a mythology that’s remarkably enjoyable even without understanding, and this is never more obvious than in its high-octane tournament fighter games.

So far, there’s been over 50 different Dragon Ball games spanning more than 20 systems. This latest outing is a direct sequel to two previous Budokai Tenkaichi one-on-one fighting games, which many (including myself) might suggest are the most faithful adaptations of the anime thus far seen.

These previous titles have awarded developer Namco Bandai considerable notoriety, and while the format of this latest offering hasn’t changed a great deal from its predecessors, it epitomises the kind of annual update ardent fans have come to expect from their franchise of choice.

The quintessential requirement for such updates is, of course, additional playable characters. Atari informs us there are over 160 (technically correct, as additional information suggests there are 161) different playable characters in DBZ:BT3 – no small feat for a rapidly aging console like the PS2. Of course, I had neither the time nor inclination to work my way through so many variables and count them as I went, but rest assured, fellow otaku, every fleeting appearance of obscurity you’ve ever glimpsed on the TV show is present – and replete with their own interpretations of the increasingly extensive moves list.

Now, here’s another expectation of a franchise update – the moves list. Ever since Street Fighter 2 and Mortal Kombat it’s become a prerequisite for fighting games to provide a six foot long shopping list of violence for each and every character, and DBZ hold fast to that unbreakable rule. Unfortunately, such lists are so lengthy these days, even the most conscientious beat-‘em-up jockey struggles to learn (and master) enough of these moves to consistently thwart the blasphemous button masher, and while DBZ:BT3 isn’t anywhere near the exasperatingly complex Virtua Fighter 5 in its finger and thumb dexterity, it does have enough combinations to slightly over complicate a good onscreen rumble.

The core essentials of fighting in BT3 are very much to hand, however, so prolonged play will undoubtedly help the trained hands of a Dragon Baller eventually pick up the intricacies of mid-air hand-to-hand combat. In the meantime, the fundamentals of battle are enough to keep players afloat providing they also pay close attention to defensive and manoeuvring techniques. And, after all, those three aspects are the essential ingredients for an exciting fighter, and clearly Namco Bandai have paid attention when it comes to acclimatising players to the expansive control system.

We’re also told there are in excess of 30 different battle stages, though once again it boots nothing to sit and count through them, since the variety of alternative play modes make it difficult to keep track of when and where in the Dragon Ball canon we’re currently doing battle. As before, suffice to say there are enough well conceived environments to ensure the background eye candy of DBZ:BT3 never gets repetitive or boring, and recreates the stylistic worlds seen in the anime quite superbly.

Of course, none of this helps when it comes to figuring out what the hell is going on. Even after extensive research and hours in front of the TV, I can’t fathom the faintest glimmer of reason from Dragon Ball Z – in any of its mezmerising incarnations. Contrary to this inherent confusion, I can’t help but love it. The mythos of DBZ, albeit bewildering, is richly entertaining, and this is an aspect that the developers have managed to permeate the game with and deftly sidesteps the perplexity problems it would otherwise suffer from.

As a side note, statisticians among us might be fascinated to know that the original Dragon Ball manga series actually outsold the bible, so anyone interested in jumping onto the DBZ anime train would actually do well to pick up a Budokai Tenkaichi game to help in their education.

To that end, it makes it almost impossible to attempt to explain the variety of gameplay modes saturating Budokai Tenkaichi 3. From re-enacting snippets from the prolific and extensive manga and anime storylines to competing in league based martial arts tournaments (my personal favourite mode of gameplay, which holds most true to the established protocols of one-on-one beat-‘em-ups quite superbly) and a form of “pseudo turn-based-strategy” training before a fight, there’s enough variance and peculiarity to keep gamers busy simply by navigating menus, let alone pitting five different DBZ characters against some super-powerful alien invader. As soon as any form of battle commences – whichever it might be - what sounds like a distinct design flaw during a game review becomes of little consequence, however, and the fast paced, dazzling action provides wonderful reward.

Ever since the Budokai series of games began, the cell shaded 3D characters have proven a big hit with fans of the anime. It would’ve been a strong temptation for the developers to try and fully realise the DBZ character in a more accurate, realistic, human-esque visage, but their adherence to the flat colour shading of the cartoon (which made the concept so famous in the first place) was a wise decision. Budokai Tenkaichi 3 retains and refines this stylistic appearance, and while the cell shading grows ever more dimensional and closer to fully-rendered photo realism, it only does so to reflect the increasingly detailed levels of artwork seen in contemporary Japanese animation.

This applies not only the characters, but to the huge amount of eye-blisteringly superb special effects. All manner of energy moves and motion-blurred flying techniques add fathomless depths to the cartoon-esque visuals, and pull gamers into the animation by the eyeballs, refusing to let go until someone lies unconscious in the well-animated dirt. The remarkable high speed and crystal clear clarity also makes me wonder if the last generation of consoles weren’t retired a little too early, as the trusty old PlayStation 2 doesn’t appear to struggle in the slightest with the fast zooming and expansive environments or blindingly alluring special effects.

In lieu of the online content that we tend to expect these days, this third instalment of the Budokai Tenkaichi series gives loyal fans some form of adaptive recompense in way of the new “Disc Fusion System”. By inserting the original or the previous sequel into the PS2 during play, addition gameplay modes are unlocked. Although I was unable to test this mode out, it does sound like something of a small but valuable thank you to gamers who’ve followed the franchise so devotedly, and adds another reason for updating the series rather than just starting again with the previous, very similar, game.

The Wii version is yet to be released (watch this space for a comparative review) – which is the first version to promise online play – but it’s genuinely hard to imagine how the visuals could be improved upon from this impressive sixth gen realisation of the wonderful Dragon Ball Z mythology.

After everything good I feel inclined to say about Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 3, it boils down to a very simple comparison: if you like the one-on-one tournament fighter, and fancy something a bit more playful and dynamic to the realism of Virtua Fighter 5, DBZ:BT3 is currently without competition on the game store shelves and is a must for anime and magna fans everywhere. If you’re a heretic button masher with only a vague interest in the fighting genre, however, you’ll be unlikely to invest the time required to really unlock the delights hidden away deep within Budokai Tenkaichi 3, and should stick to Brain Training with all the other humourless nerds.