Dragon Ball Z Budokai Tenkaichi 4 has recently been announced to much fanfare and anticipation. Its predecessors have all been successful, with critical acclaim and widespread fan approval. Budokai Tenkaichi 4 has a lot to live up to and considering how long it's been, fans have a lot of expectations.
Dragon Ball Z Budokai Tenkaichi 3 was one of the best DBZ games ever made, it did largely everything right, but for a modern entry in the franchise, there would definitely need to be a ton of quality-of-life changes, as well as some substantive ones to push the game to popularity for a new generation of players.
5 Balance
Budokai Tenkaichi 3 was kind of broken, certain characters were outright busted, and while it is understandable that it is important for characters like Vegito or Gogeta to have certain pros attached to them by virtue of who they are, some things should remain constant. Basic attacks should all do the same amount of damage. Gogeta SS4 in Budokai Tenkaichi 3 was busted, and that can't happen again, it would ruin the competitive integrity of the game.
Larger characters or beast units like Hirudegarn should be balanced around their size and strength, with some obvious drawbacks. While this is a difficult task for sure, given the time since the last entry and how the new entry has a blueprint in the form of Dragon Ball FighterZ, it should be achievable.
4 Cross-play
Cross-play is becoming more and more prevalent again, and it's vital for online games to grow and maintain a concurrent online player base. Games like Fortnite paved the way, and now Cross-play, especially for a game like Budokai Tenkaichi 4 should be a must. There aren't any massive discrepancies or advantages players could gain in a fighting game of this sort anyway.
Not only would cross-play keep the player base active and make it easy to find matches, but it would also ensure friends on different platforms could play together. Tying in with this, the Budokai Tenkaichi series isn't exactly known for its high-quality online play, whilst the developers were indeed limited by the technology of the time, this should also be addressed. Rollback netcode is slowly becoming the norm, and if a new Budokai Tenkaichi game is looking to make a mark on the fighting game scene, it's a must. Coupled with this would be obvious additions like a proper ranked system with rewards and multiple different online modes.
3 Game-Mode Variety
The series has had a ton of different game modes like the What-If mode which had different alternate world scenarios featuring less prominent characters, there was also the World Tournament Mode and of course the story mode. While all these modes were great in a vacuum, there can definitely be more variety and depth added.
What-If is a fantastic idea, and it should be developed using some of the newer characters and making them interact with characters from early on in the franchise, the likes of Raditz especially could definitely be used more. Moreover, there can definitely be more online modes to develop the game beyond a couch co-op feature. Tying in in-game rewards to these game modes could be a great idea too, especially when it comes to different accessories, hairstyles, and attires. There's a lot of room for exploration and this should be a focus.
2 Character Depth
This game series is infamous for its amazing character roster, featuring every character in the franchise at that point in time, from the likes of General Blue and Garlic Jr. to multiple versions of Vegeta and Gohan to every single movie villain as well, the game had everything. Fans are obviously expecting something very similar, especially considering all the new entries in the franchise owing to the Dragon Ball Super installment.
Budokai Tenkaichi 3 did admittedly falter when it came to character depth for minor characters in the game, the likes of the various Frieza soldiers and the earlier characters from Goku's childhood seemed a bit lazy. It is obviously a balancing act considering the sheer volume of characters in the games, but players are hoping to see side characters get the same love, or something similar, even if it comes at the expense of some sacrificial lambs (No shade to Cui and Appule).
1 Stages And Destructible Environments
One of the biggest features of the Budokai Tenkaichi series was the attention to detail given to the stages, and the fact that most major environments in the stages were destructible. Players could Final Flash their opponents through mountains and whatnot. However, perhaps due to technological limitations of the time, the interactable environments didn't actually do much or feel right.
A big change to make, which is a must is making the destructible environments carry some weight, the force used to punch through a building should have some weight, it should leave visible marks on the opponent and perhaps even do additional damage at the cost of an energy bar.
Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi4 game is now in development.