Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 2 - Character Profiles #3

Recently released for both the PlayStation 2 and the Nintendo Wii, Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 2 is a 3D fighting game that is closely based on the Dragon Ball Z manga and anime. In addition to fast-paced combat, noteworthy features in Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 2 will include role-playing elements, environmental damage, and in-game character transformations. The most exciting feature of the game, however, is the roster of more than 100 playable fighters. This is particularly true if you're a big DBZ fan and in this our third and final character profile update for the game, Atari details a good number of the DBZ characters that you can pit against each other.

Chiaotzu
Chiaotzu is from a military family and hails from the Crane School. He is also an expert cook. He specializes in telekinesis and uses his psychic abilities to fix the results of the World Tournament lottery, among other things. Chiaotzu is devoted to his fellow student and role model, Tien. Wherever Tien goes, Chiaotzu is sure to be at his side. In the fight with Nappa, Chiaotzu made the ultimate sacrifice, self-destructing to save Tien. He actually only has one hair on his head.

Raditz
Raditz is one of the few surviving Saiyans and Goku's older brother. Raditz went to Earth to help with the planet's invasion and to persuade his younger brother Goku to join the Saiyans in their conquest. However, disappointed to discover that Goku had lost his memory and adjusted to life on Earth, Raditz kidnapped Gohan and tried to force Goku to become an ally.

Though in battle he mainly relies on brute strength, he also displays a cunning side, like when he pretended to reform his ways to make Goku drop his guard. Though Goku and the other Z-fighters were awestruck by Raditz's display of power, to the elite Saiyans like Vegeta and Nappa, Raditz is still considered a weak "low-class" soldier.

Vegeta
After the battle on Earth, Vegeta fights against Frieza on Planet Namek. In order to defeat him, Vegeta is forced to join Goku and the Z-fighters. After using the Dragon Balls to escape Planet Namek, he began living with Bulma's family on Earth. Vegeta's goal is to defeat Kakarot, and to this end he began to train tirelessly every day. At some point during his training, he developed a relationship with Bulma and Trunks was born.

Once having the cruel and fierce personality of a Saiyan warrior, he has mellowed a bit since living on Earth. However, because of his pride and his shame at becoming soft, he displays a cold attitude toward others, even his son Trunks, who came from the future. Much like Goku, he does not have much interest beyond fighting. He spends his days training and never holds any sort of "real job." This begins to annoy Bulma to some degree, but Vegeta pays her no mind. For him, beating Goku is all that matters.

Vegeta (Super Saiyan - Early Period)
This is Vegeta's Super Saiyan form. Vegeta drove himself to the breaking point, furious at his inability to surpass Kakarot no matter how fiercely he trained. This, however, proved to be the key, as it was his inner rage that allowed him to unlock his Super Saiyan abilities for the first time. When Vegeta transforms into a Super Saiyan, his outward appearance changes and his power level rises dramatically, but his personality is also affected. He becomes hyperaggressive and overly self-confident when in this state. The first time he appears in this form, he unveils his signature move, the Big Bang Attack.

Super Vegeta
This is Vegeta as an ascended Saiyan, having achieved a level between Super Saiyan and Super Saiyan 2. Vegeta's defeat at the hands of Android 18 served as a painful lesson that Super Saiyans were not invincible. Therefore, he reasoned, there must be a level beyond Super Saiyan. After a year's worth of severe training in the Hyperbolic Time Chamber, he was finally able to achieve this form. When transformed into Super Vegeta, his entire body becomes bigger, but he does not have the lightning-like aura associated with Super Saiyan 2. The first time Vegeta fought in this form, he used his unprecedented level of power to unleash a new signature attack, the Final Flash.

Zarbon
Zarbon is one of Frieza's top henchmen. His fearsome fighting abilities were demonstrated on Planet Namek, where he soundly defeated Vegeta. Like Frieza, Zarbon has the ability to transform. He possesses striking good looks not commonly seen in villains, but when he transforms, he becomes a wild and hideous monster. Though his powers are increased in his true, monstrous state, Zarbon cannot bear to be seen in such a hideous form. Therefore, very few people have witnessed his transformation and even fewer have lived to tell about it.

Super Zarbon
This is Zarbon's true, monstrous form. Though he had hidden his despised true shape for many years, in danger of being overwhelmed by Vegeta on Planet Namek, Zarbon put aside his vanity and transformed. At first glance, the transformation may not seem impressive, but beneath this hideous exterior lurks a fearsome fighting ability.

Dodoria
Dodoria is one of Frieza's top henchmen. Dodoria's brash and vulgar demeanor is a sharp contrast to the more refined attitude seen in Zarbon. After traveling to Planet Namek with Frieza, Dodoria demonstrates his power by single-handedly defeating a team of fierce Namekian warriors. He also appears in the TV special Bardock: The Father of Goku. On Planet Meat, after killing Bardock's friends Tora and the others, Dodoria ambushes Bardock when he arrives at the scene.

Super Saiyan 2 Vegeta
This is Vegeta in his Super Saiyan 2 form. In an effort to buy Goku the time he needed to form the Spirit Bomb, Vegeta transformed into this state during the battle with Kid Buu on the Supreme Kai's planet.

Great Ape (Lower-Class Warrior)
This is a lower-class Saiyan warrior after being transformed into a giant ape by the light of the full moon. The Saiyans have also developed an "artificial moon," which they can activate to transform at will. Upon transformation, a Saiyan's fighting strength increases tenfold, but he loses all reason and becomes a raging beast. Saiyans in this form have but one weak point: If their tails are cut off, they turn back to normal. When the Saiyans wish to conquer a planet inhabited by strong warriors, they launch their invasion at the time of the full moon, aiming to take control of the planet in one decisive attack.

Great Ape Vegeta
This is Vegeta transformed into a giant ape. In his first battle with Goku, Vegeta was caught off guard by Goku's surprising level of strength. Unable to defeat Goku in his normal state, Vegeta swallowed his pride and launched an artificial moon into the air, transforming himself into a giant ape. Unlike most Saiyans, Vegeta is able to retain his reason as a giant ape. Therefore, he is able to utilize his increased powers to the fullest. Vegeta has but one weakness in this form: If his tail is cut off, he will return to normal.