All trademarks and copyrights contained in this document are owned by their
respective trademark and copyright owners.
Dragon Ball Z: Shin Budokai
Author- Nnamz25@hotmail.com
Version 1
This may be not be reproduced under any circumstances except for personal,
private use. It may not be placed on any web site or otherwise distributed
publicly without advance written permission. Use of this guide on any other
web site or as a part of public display is strictly prohibited, and violation
of copyright.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
INTRODUCTION
Let’s get this out of the way first. Goku is not a good character in this
game. In fact, he's pretty terrible. When Dimps started this series Goku was
at his prime. In fact, the game seemed made for him. >PKK was an excellent
starter with great reach, decent speed, and can cancel if blocked. He had it
all. Budokai 2 was also kind to him, since it didn't really add much, just
fixed and balanced things. Goku was easily top Tier in that game as well.
However Budokai 3 did add things, a lot of things. Most characters evolved to
better fit with the new combat system, but Goku didn't. He was, give or take,
the same character he was in Budokai 2 competing with everyone else in a new
game. He was instantly hurled from Top Tier in Budokai 2, to middle Tier in
Budokai 3. Still, he was worth playing.
Dimps had its most radical change in the series with the jump from Budokai 3
to "Shin" Budokai. Virtually every returning character had a complete move
list overhaul. Nobody was left the same.....except Goku. Dimps made the change
from "punch and kick" to "rush and slam" and slam combo starters were
essential to compete. However since Goku was more or less unchanged in terms
of chains, he's still stuck with the traditional >PKK- (except it's called
>RSS- now) starter, which starts with a rush and really can't compete with
slam starters. Maybe Dimps thought of this for a bit and decided that he
needed a slam stun. So they gave him one, his <S*. The problem is that this
stun hit's his opponent into a low juggle when connecting against an attacking
opponent (i.e. 90% of the time a slam starter actually connects) ruining
combo opportunities off of it. And this game is no kinder to Goku; he's
virtually the same character he was in Shin Budokai 1.
Dimps evolved the series, but left Goku behind. Hopefully though, this won't
be Goku's swan song and he'll come back better then ever in Shin Budokai 3.
For now though, I'll do my best to make him almost playable.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
GOKU'S ADVANTAGES
- Dragon Fist is a very high priority special attack and can start
combos. It eats through almost any physical attack (except some death moves
with even higher priority like Pikkons Hyper Tornado). In this game though,
they made it even better in that it can even eat through some beam attacks.
(You still take "recover" damage)
- Last Ditch Power is an excellent Burst Charge. It cranks Goku's attack up to
184% while he's in SSJ4 and to 181% while he's in SSJ3. It lasts for 10
seconds, but it really cranks up the damage he can do with his combos.
- His >S is the best >S in the game. It has HUGE priority, even for a slam
starter and has pretty big reach as well. It also knocks Goku's opponent into
the air, where Goku actually does more damage and fights better.
- Kaioken is a decent Burst Charge. It can be used up to 5 times, and if used
in a row can bring Goku's attack up to 311%. It does cost a lot of health to
do, but giving up health is better then giving up all your ki.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
GOKU'S DISADVANTAGES
- He doesn't have a good slam starter. <S* just doesn't cut it in this game.
It has low reach, but even more important is the fact that it can't combo off
of a counter hit.
- His ki building is rather low. Goku only builds 2.5 ki bars on the ground
with his main combo chains, and even less if he combos into Aura Burst charges
and rushes and his Super Dragon Fist.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
GOKU'S MAIN STRATEGY
In the previous game I assigned <S* as Goku's primary starter, since I felt
that even though it will rarely present a combo opportunity it was still
better with the unsafe >RSS- rush starter. But I've changed my mind on this
for a couple of reasons. First and foremost, Goku HAS to be risky to have any
hope of winning a match. I've learned this through watching my friends play
against me while I'm using Piccolo or when I'm playing against a decent
Piccolo. If you just play it safe all you're going to do is prolong the match
and still lose. Second, most slam starter in this game have lost (if ever so
slightly) a bit of priority. While using rushes against slams will more then
likely end up in you eating it, it's more of a viable option in this game
then it was in the last game. So Goku's main starter in this game is his
trademark (and generic) >RSS- starter.
However from close range, use <RRRS-. Remember, slam attacks only nullify 1
hit. "<RR" is faster then ">RS", so if you could get the first 2
hits off in
that chain against someone charging a slam attack, you'll land it and force
them to teleport or face a combo. "<R" also comes out faster then
">R" and is
better at catching someone in transition from blocking to attacking.
*How do I deal with normal slam starters?*
To compete against the rest of the cast evenly, Goku needs to not only fight
risky, but he needs to fight unconventional. To be able to fight at their
level I had to kick it way back to Budokai 2 for some strategies. In that
game, I used Piccolo a lot, who was very unconventional (but albeit, a lot
better in that game then Goku is in this game). One of the nasty ways he can
combo into his SBC was off of a win in the burst zone. So I would
intentionally charge Piccolo's nullifying P+K whenever I saw or anticipated
someone doing a nullifying move of their own, which if I was right, would end
up in a Burst Zone and a combo opportunity if I won. But to get there I had
to use P+K, which isn't a combo starter on its own. So I looked at Goku's
moves and thought of his >S as Piccolo's P+K. It has huge priority and
nullifies attacks when it's being charged and like all slam starters it can
be canceled. But there is no Burst Zone in this game, so what's the pay off
for Goku? Well he'll be able to nullify one of his opponent’s attacks, even
if it's a slam starter. If you let it fly and catch your opponent they get
hurled up into the air, where you fight better anyway. Also most characters
chains push them forward as they perform them, so just using it and nullifying
1 attack then canceling it puts your opponent at a closer proximity, where
<RRRS can be employed.
*What do I do once I get the ki advantage*
If you go through Goku's whole platform, you'll notice that he doesn't have
anything usable for the rushdown in his whole move list. So again, think
outside the box and be risky. Use [AB]<E in this case. You already have the
ki advantage, so using a bit doesn't hurt that much. Also, it's a very hard
move to heal with, especially when every hit will be fully charged by the
[AB] and will be coming out as fast as if they weren't. You can cancel each
one into a throw, or an RRRS attempt. The best part about it is that your
opponent can't block it and gain ki. They have to dodge or sidestep it with
proper timing.
*When should I activate my burst charges*
When you're in his Kaioken form you can use it 5 times. Whether you chose to
get a small boost 5 times, or a massive boost at the cost of a whack load of
life once, is up to you.
When you're in SSJ3 or SSJ4, use it either when you have the ki advantage or
when your opponent is fatigued.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
COMBO SECTION
(Canceling? Stunning? Juggling? Burst Canceling? If any of these words are new
to you or you simply do not know what they mean or how to perform them then
read Goryu's Cancel Combo Guide found at this link:
http://www.gamefaqs.com/portable/psp/file/924588/42016 then proceed to the
beginners section)
***ALL COMBOS ARE DONE AT MAX KI AGAINST GOGETA AT MAX KI***
Legend:
R = Rush attack
S = Slam attack
> = Towards opponent
< = Away from opponent
/\ = Up on the D-pad
E = Energy Button
- = Cancel
* = Stun
' = Fully charge upcoming move
[AB] = Aura Burst
-[AB] = Aura Burst Cancel
Beginners Section
(No cancel knowledge needed)
Base
<R<R*, <S*, >RSS>E [Kamehameha] 11 hit's, 761 damage. Opponent gains 0.6 ki
bars.
Kaioken
<R<R*, <S*, >RSS<E [Super Dragon Fist] 12 hit's, 841 damage. Opponent gains
1
ki bar.
Intermediate Section
(Burst Cancel knowledge not needed)
SSJ2
>RSS-, <S*, <RRRS-, \/S>E [Kamehameha] 14 hit's, 1122 damage. Opponent gains
0.9 ki bars.
SSJ2
>RSS-, <S*, <RRRS-, /\E [Warp Kamehameha] 18 hit's, 1669 damage. Opponent
gains 0.7 ki bars.
Advanced Section
SSJ3
>RSS-[AB]S*, [AB]R*, <S<EE-, <RRRS-, /\E [Dragon Fist Explosion] 26 hit's,
2519 damage. Opponent gains 1.8 ki bars.
SSJ4
(Combo must be done while airborne)
>RSS-[AB]S*, [AB]R*, >>R*, <S<EE-, RSE-, <RRRS-, /\E [Dragon Fist
Explosion]
29 hit's, 2808 damage. Opponent gains 1.9 ki bars.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Special Thanks
CJAYC - For creating the n00b infested boards in which the depth of this
series was created.
Dimps - For continuing this series.
Drunken Pilot, Zejitox, philff138, cml64, Brogeta, Goryus, Sjsman, vegeta1,
kekken5, EVIL CAPTIAN AMERICA, SuperShinySonic, superior13 - and the rest of
the users on the Shin Budokai: Another Road board who give a damn about the
games depth.
More updates to come....