Platform guide
All Dragon Ball GameCube games
There are two. Dragon Ball Z: Budokai reached Europe on 14 November 2003 and Budokai 2 followed on 18 March 2005 — both PAL discs, both one-on-one fighters, both ported from the PlayStation 2. A third GameCube Dragon Ball, Sagas, was only ever sold in North America, so a European collection is complete at two.
The short answer
Two discs: Budokai (2003), whose story runs from the Saiyan saga to the Cell saga, and Budokai 2 (2005), which adds the Buu saga and the board-game style Dragon World mode. Want just one? Budokai 2 is the fuller game. Both need a GameCube memory card to save, and both run on an early Wii.
Dragon Ball GameCube discs in stock
European versions, checked on a real GameCube before they were listed — disc surface, loading and saving.
Every Dragon Ball release on the GameCube
| Release | Europe | Format | Today |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dragon Ball Z: Budokai | 14 November 2003 | Disc (PAL) | Still available second-hand |
| Dragon Ball Z: Budokai 2 | 18 March 2005 | Disc (PAL) | Still available second-hand |
| Dragon Ball Z: Sagas | Never — North America only (22 March 2005) | NTSC disc | Import only; will not run on a PAL GameCube |
Dragon Ball Z: Budokai (2003)
Dimps made Budokai for the PlayStation 2 in 2002, and it was the game that gave Dragon Ball its modern fighting-game shape: a proper one-on-one fighter with the cast drawn the way the anime drew them, rather than the sprite games of the Super Nintendo years. The story mode plays through the series from the arrival of Raditz to the defeat of Cell, with the fights staged as the episodes staged them.
The GameCube version came a year later, ported by Pyramid, and it is the same game on a smaller disc. It is the one to pick if you want the series as people first met it — before the cel-shaded look that Budokai 2 introduced — and it is usually the cheaper of the two second-hand.
Dragon Ball Z: Budokai 2 (2005)
Budokai 2 is the bigger game. The roster grows, the story reaches the Buu saga, and the straight story mode is replaced by Dragon World: a board-game map on which you move Goku and the others from square to square, picking up capsules and running into fights along the way. It splits opinion — some people miss the episode-by-episode retelling — but it is the version with more to do.
On the GameCube it arrived late: December 2004 in North America and 18 March 2005 in Europe, well over a year after the PlayStation 2 original. By then Budokai 3 was already out on PlayStation 2, and it never made the crossing — which is why the GameCube series stops at two.
And the one that never came: Sagas
Dragon Ball Z: Sagas (2005) is a third-person action game rather than a fighter, and it was released on the GameCube, PlayStation 2 and Xbox in North America only. There was no European release, and as a region-locked NTSC disc it will not start on a PAL console. If you see one offered as a PAL GameCube game, it is not.
Or buy one that has already been checked
Every GameCube disc we sell is European, checked for surface damage, and started on a real console before it is listed — so it loads, saves to a memory card and plays through. We have been doing this since 2019, with 1400+ verified reviews at 5.0★, and we ship tracked to all 27 EU countries.
See every GameCube game we haveQuestions we get asked
How many Dragon Ball games are there on the GameCube?
Two in Europe: Dragon Ball Z: Budokai (14 November 2003) and Dragon Ball Z: Budokai 2 (18 March 2005). Both are PAL discs and both are fighting games by Dimps, ported over from the PlayStation 2 originals. A third GameCube Dragon Ball exists — Dragon Ball Z: Sagas, an action game from 2005 — but it was only ever sold in North America, so it never counted for a European collection.
What is the difference between Budokai and Budokai 2?
Budokai is the first one: a one-on-one fighter whose story mode retells Dragon Ball Z from the Saiyan saga up to the end of the Cell saga. Budokai 2 goes further — it adds the Buu saga and more fighters, switches to a cel-shaded look, and replaces the straight story mode with Dragon World, a board-game style campaign where you move Goku and friends across a map between fights. If you only want one, Budokai 2 is the fuller game; Budokai is the one to pick for the series as it began.
Why did Budokai 2 arrive so much later on the GameCube?
Both games were PlayStation 2 games first. Budokai came to the GameCube about a year after its PS2 release, ported by Pyramid; Budokai 2 took longer, reaching North America in December 2004 and Europe in March 2005 — more than a year after the PS2 version. That is also why there was never a GameCube Budokai 3: by then the series had moved on and the third game stayed on PlayStation 2.
Are GameCube discs region-locked?
Yes. A PAL disc only runs on a PAL GameCube, or on a PAL Wii that still has GameCube support. That is why the American-only Sagas is not an option for a European console without modification. Everything we sell is the European (PAL) version.
Does a GameCube Dragon Ball disc work on a Wii?
On the original Wii, yes — the early models play GameCube discs and take GameCube controllers and memory cards through the ports under the flap on top. The later Wii Family Edition and the Wii Mini dropped that support, and the Wii U never had it. You still need a GameCube memory card to save, whichever console you use.
What should I check on a used GameCube disc?
The playing surface first: GameCube games are small discs and scratches near the centre matter more than they do on a DVD. Then whether it loads past the title screen and saves to a memory card, because a disc that only starts is not the same as a disc that plays. Every disc we sell is checked on a real GameCube before it is listed, and the condition is stated per copy.
Do you ship Dragon Ball GameCube games across the EU?
Yes — tracked shipping from the Netherlands to all 27 EU countries, no customs charges inside the EU, and 30 days to return an order. Your country’s exact rate appears at checkout before you pay.
More Dragon Ball: the whole series in order. Same disc slot, different franchise: all Mario GameCube games, all Zelda GameCube games and all Pokémon GameCube games.
Dutch reader? GameCube-games — het hele aanbod in het Nederlands.