Dragon Ball Z: Budokai 3 Competitive Tier List

[DBZAOTA482]

https://tiermaker.com/list/video-games/dbz-budokai-3-tier-list-80050/677028

Top Tier
Cell – Cell has good reach, fast starters with his neutral P being the single fastest starter in B3, high damage potential, and ridiculous offensive pressure. Energy Field is short ranged but it's nearly impossible to counter (even negating teleport counters) and he has three permanent transformations pretty much out the gate which increases his ki baseline up to 5. He also has a juggle throw.

Omega Shenron – This one is as clear as day. Omega Shenron has a maxed out ki baseline which gives him a considerable edge in teleport wars (as teleporting only requires 3 ki gauges) though it makes him vulnerable when low on ki, has an extremely varied and unique combo platform that requires considerable labbing time, and he can charge Dragon Thunder by stacking one on top of another.

Piccolo – Piccolo is the best zoner in B3 as he has insane range with his >P strings, he has good footsies, and has two permanent transformations. Light Grenade (only used when in Fuse With Kami form) requires only half a ki gauge but does the damage of a lvl. 2 death move fireball.

Dabura – Dabura has great zoning with his sword attacks and has similar pressure tools to Cell although his starters don't have as much speed. Evil Blast is also a very practical lvl. 2 move. It has short buffering time and is a fireball so it does a lot of damage.

Bardock – Bardock is the undisputed juggle king in B3 and has the highest damage potential. He’s great at bringing the pressure and has an infinite that ignores damage scaling (Heat Phalanx). His only weakness is a standard ki baseline of only 3 with no way of increasing it.

Upper Tier
Vegeta – Vegeta is a very easy-to-use character with a fast and varied combo platform. His reach is a bit stubby but he has good starters, decent offensive pressure (notably with his PPP>P cancel and his >P starter which is an overhead punch that can be charged), a juggle throw, and three transformations that increase his ki baseline up to 6 and his attack up to 40%. Final Shine Attack is also amongst the most damaging death moves and it only requires 1 ki gauge.

Super Buu – Super Buu is bested only by Omega Shenron in terms of mixups and his reach is also up there. His starters are very slow (with exception to his neutral P) but he has a very high ki baseline of 5 (which can be increased), III Ball Attack is an unguardable lvl. 2 death move, the fastest ground sidestep in base form, and Absorption consumes no ki and has good range making it useful against good players plus it can increase his already high damage potential depending on who he absorbs.

Majin Buu – This Buu is not as big on mixups but his starters are much faster and he still has incredible reach. Innocence Express is unguardable like III Ball Attack but it’s a bit slower. He also has a good ki baseline of 4.

Android #18 - #18 has a very strong defensive combo platform and she’s one of the best jugglers in B3. Her <P starter is one of the few that negates physical attacks and her <P<P chain is an easy infinite. She also has a good ki baseline of 4.

Trunks – Trunks takes bit after his father but lacks the variety, the insane boosts from transformations, and juggle throw. However, he can bring the pressure quite well as his PPP>P has a better cancel window than Vegeta's and he has some range with his sword combos which can put in some nasty frametraps. He also has two fireballs for his death moves making them pretty safe on neutral.

Goku – Goku is a solid all-rounder with beginner-friendly combos (>PKK and KKKK are safe, easy cancels) but his more advanced combos require quite a bit of labbing (notably his PPP>P cancel). He is very transformation happy as he has five transformations in total with a similar boost to Vegeta (including 10x Kamehameha which as much damage as Final Shine Attack) and Dragon Fist is highly versatile. His offensive pressure is somewhat lacking, though.

Teen Gohan – Teen Gohan is quite small which gives him high combo resistance, but his reach suffers for it. He has good offensive pressure along with some range due to Piccolo's training, can rack up a lot of damage, has a juggle throw, and Soaring Dragon Strike (only used when in Super Saiyan 2 form) is the best death move bar none. The range is not that long but It negates physical attacks, it breaks guard, does a lot of damage, and is safe even if the opponent counters it.

Kid Buu – Just like the other Buus, he has crazy mixups and long reach but the latter is somewhat diminished due to his smaller size. He is also plagued by slow starters but he has tons of chargeable attacks, has great damage potential and Vanishing Ball is a fireball but it does more raw damage compared to Innocence Express or lll Ball Attack. His ki baseline is incredibly high with 6 gauges.

Middle Tier
Yamcha – Yamcha’s <P starter is one of if not the best pokes in the game as it negates physical attacks, is decently fast, and can be viably canceled halfway making it very safe on neutral. He has both the K<K and KKKK axe kick cancels which can throw opponents' defensive game for a lop. He also breaks tradition by having two lvl. 1 death moves one being the old fashioned Kamehameha while the other is Wolf Fang Fist which is good for wakeups and is a decent combo extender.

Krillin – Krillin is around the same size as Teen Gohan so he has the same strength and weakness. His neutral P is a bit slower than average but has better range with solid strings and his K+G is one of the best pokes in B3 as he can slide under most attacks, making him a solid character for defensive players. He also has a transformation out the gate that increases his ki baseline up to 4.

Broly – Broly is something of a bulldozer with his great reach, high amount of chargeable and guard breaking attacks, and high raw damage. However, he’s a HUGE target (much larger than everyone in his Legendary Super Saiyan form) with a slow and predictable combo platform. He also has a great ki baseline starting with 4 and increasing to 5 with Legendary Super Saiyan form.

Gohan – Gohan takes quite a bit more from his father here but he lacks the more elaborate combos and his transformations aren’t as useful. He still mixes it up with moves from Piccolo so he has somewhat better range and Soaring Dragon Strike is still the best death move in the game (albeit it's a more simple here).

Goten – Due to his training with Gohan, Goten has inherited some moves of his father but he adds his own flavor to it including the great PPPK pressure tool. His ground dash is slow and he lacks the multiple Super Saiyan transformations that his father has but he’s a small target (even smaller than Krillin or Teen Gohan) and his lvl. 2 death move Charge is unguardable, tracks sidestepping opponents, and can allow him to dodge projectiles completely.

Kid Goku – Kid Goku is pretty much Goku but miniature size and no transformations. Rock-Scissors-Paper is not as versatile as Dragon Fist but it only costs 1 ki gauge and it has multi-ended extensions. He also has considerable reach for his size due to his guard breaking Power Pole strings though they leave him very much open to attack so they're good mostly for pokes.

Gt. Saiyaman – Gt. Saiyaman is fresh off the heels from 7 years of not training so his offensive pressure is not as good as it was before and he uses none of his transformations, but his bigger size gives him better reach than Teen Gohan. His >K+G is the same as Krillin’s K+G only it puts the opponent in a juggle state rather than a stun and he has two lvl. 1 death moves that break an opponent’s guard, though they still don’t hold a candle to Soaring Dragon Strike.

Kid Trunks – Kid Trunks is like a little slitting-image of his father (minus the multiple Super Saiyan forms) but just like Goten, he mixes it up with his own stuff including his >K+G which has great range and a good cancel window. Final Cannon is mostly useless, however.

Cooler – Cooler has decent mixups and two death moves that are hard to counter especially Sauzer Blade. His starters are a bit on the slow side but he has good reach and a good ki baseline of 4 (5 permanently when in Final Form).

Android #16 - #16 is a big guy with great reach and solid defensive combo platform that also allows for some good mixups. He only has one death move but it’s much stronger than the average lvl. 1 death move.

Tien – Tien has a very basic combo platform. His <P starter is like Yamcha’s only it can’t be cancelled but its follow-ups are slightly better particularly his <PP cancel. Dodonpa has very little buffer time so it can be used as a spacing tool. Ki Blast Cannon has great range on top of doing a lot of damage but has a long buffering time.

Supreme Kai – Supreme Kai's combo platform is decent both offensively and defensively though his starters are pretty stubby. His neutral P starter is chargeable but it comes out fairly slow and you wont get too much range with it. Supernatural Abilities can be effective in many ways, but it’s also random in which object he throws. His main strength is the drastic attack increase of 30% when he fuses into Kibito Kai.

Frieza – Just like Cooler, Frieza has decent mixups but he has slightly better range due to his tail combos. He has worse starters overall and death moves are easier to counter although Death Wave is a projectile unlike Saulzer Blade. Death Beam is like Dodonpa but it's a bit slower and can start a beam clash. He also has 4 permanent transformations that increase his attack up to 20% and his ki baseline up to 4.

Android #17 - #17 has a defensive and juggling game similar to his sister but it’s not as effective. He's slightly more efficient offensively as he has a better <P starter and Energy Field.

Low Tier
Kid Gohan – Kid Gohan has very limited offensive options including having only one death move (Masenko, which admittedly has good buffering). On the other hand, he is small in size, his <P starter negates physical attacks and is a juggle starter, and he has a transformation out the gate like Krillin.

Dr. Gero - Dr. Gero has a defensive combo platform much like the android twins but none of the juggle ability. His strength lies on Ki Blast Absorption which absorbs any ki-based projectile.

Captain Ginyu – Captain Ginyu has some solid defensive options like having a chargeable <K starter and good range with his >K starter. However, it is hard to perform damaging combos with him and his offensive game is pretty bad. He has a chargeable and unguardable physical lvl. 2 death move, though.

Raditz – Raditz is basically a weaker version of Bardock. He lacks the juggle ability and his offensive pressure isn't nearly as strong. Raditz has better range namely with his death moves including Saturday Crush which does more raw damage than Heat Phalanx and is a fireball.

Nappa – Nappa is a big target that’s a little slow on the ground mainly due to his sidestep. His neutral P starter is among the slowest but it has considerable reach while on the ground, his >P starter is a solid offensive tool like Vegeta's along with his follow-ups, and his >P+K has good reach and damage. However, Break Cannon is a lvl. 2 beam so it can start a beam clash.

Recoome – Recoome is of a similar size to Nappa (though he has better reach) but he’s not much for offensive pressure. He does have some decent defensive options like a chargeable <K starter like Ginyu or his >P+K being a relatively safe poke and he also has a chargeable, unguardable physical lvl. 2 death move.

Uub – Uub has a similar mixup game to his Boo incarnations but lacks the reach (though with faster starters) and he lacks ranged attacks in general. His only ranged attack is Ki Cannon which is one of the few projectiles that negate Ki Blast Absorption. He also can’t teleport which let leaves him vulnerable to juggles but he has a high ki baseline of 5 and Fierce Flurry is a good combo extender.

Bottom Tier
Videl – Just like Uub, Videl can’t teleport and she has no ranged attacks so she’s a very fragile character especially from a distance. Her only merit is her <P which has good reach and can be charged, and Hawk Arrow is a decent lvl. 1 death move that breaks guard.

Cell Jr. – Cell Jr. is another small character you can’t do much with but he’s more limited than Kid Gohan due to having next-to-no combo ability and only one death move with no transformation. The only good thing about him is the reach he has with his neutral P starter and having a juggle throw.

Saibamen – Saibamen is even more limited than Kid Gohan or Cell Jr. in just about every way. He has the Saibamen Bomb which instantly K.O's Yamcha but the command grab for it is so slow that it’s nearly impossible to land.

Hercule – Hercule is just like Videl only with worse options and a low ki baseline of 2 which can only increase to 3 with High Tension (which requires 4 ki gauges). Though, he has slightly better neutral P and >P strings.