Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 2 (PlayStation 2)

To do: There are some unused fanfares I need to rip from the disc. If Budokai 3's any indication, there'll probably also be textual references to some unused fighters as well, so scour the files for any leftovers. There was a japanese exclusive demo for this game, check if the demo has any differences to the released game.

Unused Characters#

Arale Norimaki#

Arale Norimaki from Dr. Slump was originally planned to appear in Budokai Tenkaichi 2 alongside an exploreable Penguin Village stage in the Dragon Adventure mode. However, both Arale and the Penguin Village stage were ultimately cut from the final release (she would later make her playable debut in the series in Budokai Tenkaichi 3).

Her idle stance, a complete Dragon Library entry, and a placeholder moveset remain in the game files.

Dragon Library Entry#

Despite being cut, Arale has a fully localized and complete profile entry in the game's Dragon Library:

The final paragraph mentions that Arale would have had the ability to fly due to eating the "Painful X-Mas" candy. This feature was not kept when she eventually became playable in Budokai Tenkaichi 3 (where she jumps and hovers ground-bound like other non-flying characters).

Unused Moveset#

Arale has a complete moveset stored in the text files. However, her Special/Blast attacks are purely generic placeholders (using Full Power Energy Wave for both Blast 2 slots and her Ultimate Blast).

Blast Attacks

Melee & Rushing Techniques

Advanced Combos

Unused What-If Scenario#

Audio files and dialogue for a completely unused "What-If" story scenario centered around Yamcha remain in the game files 1.

This cut story mode is present exclusively in the pre-release builds of the game, such as Dragon Ball Z: Sparking! NEO Taikenban (Demo Version)

In this cut saga, Yamcha takes center stage as the hero of the Earth. The story features alternate plotlines including:

• Yamcha defeating Android 19 and chasing Dr. Gero to his lab.
• Cell appearing as a hero trying to save the Earth alongside his Cell Jrs.
• Piccolo allying with Meta-Cooler, who absorbs parts from Android 13 and 19.
• A tournament hosted by Cell where Cell Jrs fight each other.

Despite being almost complete and fully dubbed, there are still some parts that are clearly unfinished:

• Cutscenes: There are no dynamic camera movements during cutscenes, leaving the camera static.
• Audio: The background music track "Farewell, Warriors" plays continuously throughout all cutscenes in the scenario.
• Character Selection Bug: During the "Cell Jr vs Cell Jr" battle segment, a bug in the battle's character count setting prevents progression if played normally. Selecting two of the exact same character locks the menu, requiring the player to select two different characters to bypass the select screen and proceed.

Unused Sounds#

As befitting the sacred DragonBall Z tradition of having scrapped fighters receive unused World Tournament announcements, the name "Galaxy Soldier" can be found hidden at the very end of the audio files for the Cell Games Announcer. The vague name grants no concrete identity to this fighter, although speculation deems it to have been either a placeholder name for Bido, Kogu, Zangya or Bujin before one was finally chosen (as the English dub of the Dragon Ball Z film Bojack Unbound refers to them as the Galaxy Soldiers), or a placeholder for the Frieza Soldier, who would later become playable in Wii ports (sans US) of the game and in all variants of Budokai Tenkaichi 3. It is notable that no audio files corresponding to the Galaxy Soldier are present in the soundbanks for the other World Tournament announcers. It is specifically the Big World Tournament announcer, which on higher difficulties always pits the player against either Zangya or Bojack for the final fight. This clip could have been used for the intro to that fight, before they decided to just use the specific character's name.

Unused Z-Items#

Support Type#

Secret Type#

The first six Secret Z-Items were meant to be bought on the Item Shop, whereas the last 3 were likely unlockable through other means. The first six all correspond to specific characters that give you special fights in the story mode,

For example, Ultimate Science Battle refers to an unused scenario from the Japanese demo, starring Yamcha, which means the item for it was obtained through the completion of Dragon Adventure. The requirement would have been beating the second fight of the Android Saga most likely, however in the final release this fight is an escape battle (run out the clock) instead of a special battle (where losing lets you progress, but winning unlocks a What-If scenario). Tien on the World Map still reminds the player about What-Ifs in the level prior, meaning this scenario was possibly cut late rather late in development.

Fusion Type#

• Senzu Bean
• Memories of Grandpa
• Transform Kit
• SS4 Goku's Fusion
• SS4 Vegeta's Fusion
• Babidi
• Z Sword
• Goku and Vegeta
• Potara
• Perfect Fusion
• Bloody Durag
• Saiyan Prince
• Scouter
• Mysterious Boy in Wilderness
• Mystical Adventure
• Mutaito's Pupil
• Fanky Grandpa
• Great Warrior of West Galaxy
• Rival of Goku
• Vagabond
• Sword Master
• Majin Transmigration
• Training with Goku
• Power of Majin
• Mysterious Music Box

These Fusion Z items all seem to be for unlocking characters, except for Senzu Bean. However, most of these characters are unlocked naturally as you progress through the story mode due to being playable within it. The only exceptions are Master Roshi (Mutaitio's Pupil and Fanky Grandpa) Kid Goku (Mysterious Boy in Wilderness) and Great Ape (Transformation Kit). In the final game, Roshi is unlocked by clearing a specific escape battle before time runs out, Kid Goku by a specific fight given by King Kai, and Great Ape by clearing every mission in the story.