Akira Toriyama’sDragon Ballhas been a staple of pop culture for roughly four decades, and Goku has been starring in games for about as long as he has been on our TV screens. Even when the manga and anime stopped producing new content for roughly 20 years, Bandai continued to releaseDBZgamesat an almost annual rate, ensuring Saiyan-themed adventures were always on the horizon. Despite, honestly, having a pretty mediocre overall track record, there is just something about the franchise that gets people excited. Personally, I will be forever ready to try a newDragon Ballproject.
Over the years, quite a fewDragon Ballgames failed to live up to their hype. Even though I got some enjoyment out of them,Battle of Z,DBZ: For Kinect,The Breakers,Ultimate Tenkaichi, andExtreme Butōdenfell well short of even moderate expectations. The sheer volume of releases also causes new projects to feel like retreads of past glories, even if the games end up being great in key areas (aka,Raging Blast 2’s gameplay). However, every once in a while, expectations fuse with quality to provide all-time greatDragon Ballgames.
Without exception,Sparking! Zerois themost hypedDragon Ballgameever. Promoted asBudokai Tenkaichi 4, many fans had been waiting for this spiritual successor/sequel since the PS2 era. Along with featuring the best graphics in the franchise’s history,Sparking! Zerowas set to launch with a massive roster of more than 170 characters. Beyond that, Spike Chunsoft announced the inclusion of custom What If events, essentially allowing players to tell their own stories. The hype was so loud and strong,Sparking! Zeroneeded to be pretty much unquestionably the greatestDragon Ballgame ever to meet expectations.
Once the initial honeymoon phase passed, some ofSparking! Zero’s shortcomings started to become more obvious. The much-hyped custom scenarios feature ended up being pretty shallow, and the single-player content largely consisted of short episodes covering arcs that had been covered to death (and better) already. The game came with a few built-in What If scenarios, but they were all over the place in terms of quality.Sparking! Zerostill has a decently active online scene, but you need to put in a lot of time to even stand a chance of putting up a fight.
So, clearly, the game is not perfect. However,Sparking! Zeroshines in a few very important areas. In terms of 3D arena fighters, Spike Chunsoft put together pretty much the best and smoothest gameplay ever, and that goes beyond justDragon Ball. Yes, the AI is not particularly well-balanced, but the combat is otherwise fantastic. Visually, the game is jaw-dropping, and the roster was exhaustive at launch and has only grown more impressive since then. The fact thatSparking! Zeroeven came close to living up to the hype speaks to its quality, even if some things could have been done better or needed more time in the oven.
After twoXenoversegames andFighterZ,Dragon Ball Z: Kakarotneeded to do something special to stand out. Firstly, Bandai Namco hired CyberConnect2, the developer that created magic with theNarutofranchise. Secondly,Kakarotdove into open-world RPG territory, promising to provide one of the most detailed and extensive retellings ofDBZ’s arcs. Finally, thelive-action “We Are Son Goku” commercialdropped.
If you haven’t seen this commercial, give it a search on YouTube. Some unofficial uploads are available.
This commercial is the definition of hype. Frankly, I was not particularly excited about anotherDBZgame that goes through the main arcs while centering around basic 3D arena combat; however, this video got me right in the nostalgia and feels. Yes, we can all be Son Goku. Fortunately,Kakarotended up being pretty good and a solid story-driven alternative toFighterZ’s multiplayer-focused action. The open-world was somewhat empty, but it was fun to explore and just about good enough to scratch that nostalgic itch. The RPG elements were decent, too, as was the combat. The latter played like a stripped-down version ofXenoverse 2’s system, albeit with a heavier focus on spectacle. It suited the game.
AfterBudokai Tenkaichi 3,Dragon Ballgames kind of fell off a cliff. While producing a few decent projects over the next decade, Bandai Namco struggled to find a subseries that could define this new era. With the anime returning in the form ofDragon Ball Super, the franchise needed to strike while the iron was hot and craft a game that deserved to carry theDBname.Xenoversewas that project.
After a string of some of the most disappointingDBgames of all time,Xenoversewas a breath of fresh air, particularly its custom playable character feature and the introduction of new(ish) villains who would drive an original story.Dragon BallneededXenoverseto be a success, and it mostly lived up to those expectations. The idea of picking a race, creating a unique character, and gradually increasing their power level was incredibly exciting in 2015, and it was a novel idea for a console release. The roster was reminiscent of theBudokai Tenkaichidays, and the combat was flashy and easy to grasp.
If there is something that holds the originalXenoverseback, it is the fact that a sequel dropped the very next year.Xenoverse 2rendered its predecessor obsolete, and there is absolutely no reason to pick up the latter anymore. The sequel is still around, too, asBandai droppedDaimaDLC in 2025. As a series,Xenoversewas clearly a triumph.
Going by the endless galleries of stunning fan art, people love their non-canonicalDragon Ballfusions. So, it was only a matter of time before Bandai Namco would attempt to tap into this part of the fandom. This attempt came in the form of a Nintendo 3DS exclusive rather than a multi-platform release, butDragon Ball Fusionsproved to be a good fit for the handheld system since it would not need to compete withXenoverse 2, which dropped in the same year.
Fusionsis a turn-based JRPG with very long battles that, honestly, outstay their welcome after a few hours. Telling an original story that follows a similar “What If” time-traveling structure asXenoverse,the story is pretty good by the standards ofDragon Ballgames, even if it gets repetitive after a while.
Ultimately, none of the above matters.Dragon Ball Fusions' hype was entirely dependent on the possibility of merging dozens of characters to create combos that used to be restricted to fan fiction. In that area, the game completely knocked it out of the park, providing a ridiculous array of silly and awesome fusions that are as addictive to discover as Pokemon are to catch.
OK, look, I don’t exactly know how hypedDragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 3was in 2007. I assume most fans were dying to get their hands on this sequel based on this subseries' reputation and this game’s iconic status nowadays, but that is still somewhat speculative. That said, as somebody who lived and breathedBudokaiandBudokai Tenkaichi, there was no other2007 releaseI needed more. Yes, in a year that producedCall of Duty 4: Modern Warfare,BioShock,Super Mario Galaxy,Mass Effect,God of War 2,Manhunt 2, andHalo 3,Budokai Tenkaichi 3was still THE game.
Even after nearly two decades and multiple projects with arguably superior combat/graphics/stories/etc,Budokai Tenkaichi 3is still considered to be the standard-bearer by quite a lot of people. Part of that is nostalgia, but Spike Chunsoft created the pinnacle of fanservice that launched with enough content to keep someone busy for months, if not years.BT3is the best celebration ofDragon Ballof all time, and a culmination of years of consistent work. Is it dated nowadays? Sure, but that is part of its charm.
For a license known for its fighting,Dragon Ballnever had a presence in the competitive scene.Super Dragon Ball Zcame the closest to crossing that line, but it flew under the radar and was never a big deal. However, everything changed with the announcement ofDragon Ball FighterZ, a 2D fighter by Arc System Works, a developer known for fantastic anime fighters. The trailers were spectacular, the visuals looked like the anime but better, the studio has an undeniable pedigree, and the small roster seemed well-tuned for balance.FighterZseemed almost too good to be true.
Then the game came out, and most fears were put to bed. Putting aside the fun but repetitive single-player campaigns,FighterZmarried depth, accessibility, style, and skill nearly perfectly, creating an experience that waswelcoming to beginnerslooking for a casual fighter and veterans craving a new PvP prospect to sink their teeth into. You could argue thatFighterZeven surpassed expectations, as Arc was known for creating overwhelming combat systems that took a long time to master. That was not the case with this 2018 masterpiece, so it even managed to introduce a wide audience to Arc System Works.
