The game features a tournament stage, versus mode, and an item shop. Unlike its predecessor, Budokai 2's story mode, called Dragon World, introduces a unique retelling of all four chapters of Z and plays like a board game as the player assembles a team of Z-fighters alongside Goku to challenge the series' villains. The game has 31 playable characters, including fusions of different fighters, and Majin Buu's various absorbed forms. Many of these forms are unique to Budokai 2, including an original fusion between Tien and Yamcha and Super Buu absorbing Vegeta, Frieza, Cell, and Tien and Yamcha simultaneously, which does not appear in future games. The Japanese version of the game adds new costumes as well as a new stage in story mode. Some of the added costumes were included in the North American GameCube version.