Best Dragon Ball Fighting Games

Dragon Ball received video games almost as soon as it started with 1986's shoot 'em up Dragon Ball: Dragon Daihikyou, and its first action game in Dragon Ball: Shenlong no Nazo (aka Dragon Power). From then on, it's had an installment in nearly every genre going, from RPGs to VR games, each trying to replicate battles from the series, or even whole arcs from beginning to end.

However, given the series is best known for its angry monkey men shouting and punching each other, it's no surprise there have been Dragon Ball fighting games as well. They've varied in quality over the years, like the humdrum Dragon Ball Evolution PSP game. But most have managed to provide thrilling, high-impact experiences, with these being the best of the bunch.

12 Dragon Ball Z: Shin Budokai - Another Road

Metascore: 65

The last game to carry the Budokai name was Dragon Ball Z: Shin Budokai - Another Road, the sequel to the PSP-exclusive Shin Budokai. Both games were essentially simplified takes on their console big brothers, with the Dragon Rushes replaced with easier equivalents, and the Ultimate Attacks were trimmed down. Combined with the smaller roster, both games were easy to overlook compared to Budokai 3 and the like. However, Shin Budokai came with a unique story mode that saw Majin Buu turn up in Future Trunks' timeline.

Unable to beat him on his own, Trunks goes on a journey across time to recruit the Z Fighters and bring them back to the future to stop Buu. Many of the story chapters come with an alternate branch or ending depending on the player's decisions (e.g. Using the Spirit Bomb or Kamehameha on Kid Buu) or whether they won or lost certain battles. It's not a Budokai 3 beater, but it's worth fans' attention.

11 Dragon Ball Z: Budokai

Metascore: 67

Dragon Ball is one of the most famous and ubiquitous series around. Yet there was a drought of console-based DB games following the 1997 release of the less-than-stellar Dragon Ball GT: Final Bout. It wasn't until 2002 that Dimps managed to give fans a break with the first in their famous Dragon Ball Z: Budokai series, and compared to its sequels, it's a humble affair.

Its character customizations are pretty simple, letting players pick which skills they want to augment their main with. The gameplay is fairly basic without Budokai 3's frills and thrills, but its short Story Mode has often put it ahead of the comparatively dry Budokai 2. It only covers a few battles from the Saiyan, Android, and Cell arcs, but they're told with as much aplomb as the main series, and come with some fun What If scenarios ("What if Cell Absorbed Krillin?!"). It was a solid, fun start to DBZ's premier fighting series.

10 Dragon Ball Z: Xenoverse

Metascore: 69

Life can be funny sometimes. Dimps made their name by producing the one-on-one DBZ: Budokai series. Then, perhaps to tie it into Dimps' games, Spike Chunsoft's arena fighting DBZ: Sparking! Series got renamed to DBZ: Budokai Tenkaichi in the West. Once that series ended (bar the upcoming Sparking! Zero game), Dimps came back to give arena fighting a go with Dragon Ball Z: Xenoverse.

Their arenas are wider and more open than BT's, to the point where players can roam around like it was an open-world game. Yet it still focuses on combat, ranging from 1-vs-1 to 3-vs-3 bouts, where players can use their Ki and Stamina meters to pull off its different super moves and transformations. More interestingly, players can make their own characters and level them up RPG style in Universe mode, where they can help restore the timeline by taking part in classic DBZ battles.

9 Xenoverse 2

Metascore: 72

DBZ: Xenoverse was a neat, new direction for the games, though it suffers from the grind as the character's different transformations could only be obtained at high enough levels. Dragon Ball: Xenoverse 2 improved on it by reducing the grind, expanding the world, and giving the player more to do. They could still create their own custom character and take them through a story to protect the DB timeline. But now they could do new quests based on whether their custom character was Human, Saiyan, Namekian, etc.

They had access to different minigames and transformations too, alongside a more helpful Training School to help players master their ki-blasting skills. If that wasn't enough, they could transfer their original characters from DBZ: X1 to X2 and expand them further. Fundamentally, it was still wide-open arena-style combat, with the same 1-3-person combat. It just streamlined its progression to make it a more enjoyable experience overall.

8 Super Dragon Ball Z

Metascore: 72

The more famous Budokai games were made by Dimps, a company made up of ex-Capcom and SNK staff headed by Takashi Nishiyama, producer of King of Fighters, creator of Fatal Fury, and co-creator of the original Street Fighter. They were simple compared to those fighting games, but that made them easier to get to grips with. But if fans wanted something more on par with a classic fighting game, the little-known Super Dragon Ball Z had their backs.

It was made by Arika and Crafts & Meister, headed up by ex-Street Fighter 2 developers Akira Nishitani and Noritaka Funamizu, respectively. It combined SF-style motion inputs with Mortal Kombat/Tekken-style "dial-a-combo" hitstrings. It was more technical, but also slower compared to Budokai, and with a smaller roster. That didn't help it stand out over its bigger, louder rival. But its in-depth combat, character customization, and mix of modes (collect the Dragon Balls to access its version of MK's Krypt) made it a cult classic among keen DBZ fighting fans.

7 Dragon Ball Z: Burst Limit

Metascore: 72

• Developer: Dimps
• Platforms: PS3, Xbox 360
• Release: June 2008
• Genre: Fighting

Despite being made by the same company behind the Budokai games, and resembling a (then) next gen-looking version of the Budokai titles, Dragon Ball Z: Burst Limit was meant to be its own thing. Its Assist characters only provide bonuses instead of being fighting partners like in Shin Budokai, and players use Drama Pieces instead of Skill Capsules. They're basically in-game cutscenes the player can activate if they need a pick-me-up (e.g. A scene of their character scoffing down a Senzu Bean, etc).

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By  Joseph Heindl

They can also relive the series from the Saiyan saga to the Cell Games, with two unique scenarios based on whether Bardock and Broly went to Earth to get in trouble instead of their canon and movie stories. It also came with Survival, Time Attack, and a Battle Points Mode based on high scores. It seemed like a good start for a fresh series, though compared to the Budokai games, it was low on extras, and the Drama Pieces could bog down the fights with its cutscenes compared to the quicker Skill Capsules. The game took two steps forward, then two steps back.

6 Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 2

Metascore: 72

• Developer: Spike Chunsoft
• Platforms: PS2, Wii
• Release: October-November 2006 (PS2), November 2006-April 2007 (Wii)
• Genre: Fighting

It's hard to gauge which DBZ: BT game is the best. Fans are often split between the two, and Metacritic gave both games a Metascore of 72. Players often favor BT3 for having more polished combat, but give Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 2 the nod for being less restrictive. Its dashes automatically lock in on the opponent, and players can transform as soon as they unlock it, rather than waiting for a particular moment in a story mode fight.

DBZ: BT2 also features an extensive Adventure Mode that practically covers the entire series up to GT, including the movies. It offers a massive 129-character roster (135 for JPN/EU Wii owners) and plenty of ways to customize each character for combat. It was enough to keep players busy for up to 60+ hours. That's without throwing in its Ultimate Battle, Dragon Tournament, and other modes.

5 Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 3

Metascore: 72

Still, some players found DBZ: BT2's Dragon Adventure mode a little too big. It could be hard to dip back into for quick bites, and the thought of tackling it all over again from the start was like being expected to eat an entire Thanksgiving dinner by one's self. As such, to continue the food analogy, they found Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 3 more appetizing when it trimmed down its prior portions and refined the way they were cooked.

Instead of an adventure mode, Dragon History Mode uses its fights to tell scenes from the series from the Dragon Ball days to GT, with a few What Ifs spread about. Ultimate Battle was expanded, as was Dragon Tournament into Dragon World Tour, and it had new modes like Duel Mode, and Dragon Net Battle for online battles (which no longer works since the Wii's online servers were shut down). With a 162-character roster, improved mobility with the Sonic Sway and Z-Burst Dash, and more, its long-awaited sequel Sparking! Zero has a lot to live up to.

4 Dragon Ball Z: Supersonic Warriors

Metascore: 73

Long before they got to make Dragon Ball FighterZ, ArcSystem Works joined forces with Cavia, the original developers behind Drakengard and NieR, to make Dragon Ball Z: Supersonic Warriors. It's a one-on-one fighter but comes with an extra mode where players can form 3-character teams, and mix light and heavy attacks with light and heavy ki blasts, which help build up "Certain Kill" moves, which are basically super moves that can aim up, down or all around towards the opponent.

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On top of being a precursor to DBF with its 3-on-3 bouts and Challenge Mode, it's also a predecessor to the Xenoverse games. The Story Mode gave players either progress through the canon story, or go through alternative scenarios (e.g. Where Gohan and Vegeta have to beat Majin Buu instead), which each leveled the characters up enough to gain new abilities and moves. The DS sequel has a bigger roster, but the first game offers more to do for a tiny GBA game.

3 Dragon Ball Z: Super Butouden 2

GameFAQs Score: 3.7/5 Stars

• Developer: TOSE
• Platform: SNES
• Release: December 1993 (Japan), June 1994 (Europe), November 2015 (US)
• Genre: Fighting

If anyone was lucky enough to be a DBZ fan in Japan or continental Europe during the early 90s, they would've gotten hold of the first few, true DBZ fighting games in the Butouden series. Nowadays, they're more infamous for producing the stodgy Dragon Ball GT: Final Bout and the aged-upon-release Dragon Ball Z: Ultimate Battle 22. But in their early days, they hit a high point with Dragon Ball Z: Super Butouden 2.

Like the first Butouden game, it was essentially Street Fighter 2 with DBZ characters. Compared to newer games, it looks primitive and has a fairly small roster. But for its time, it was a fast fighter that did a good job of capturing the series' fast-paced action, from counterattacks to meteor combos and lots of ki charging. As far as old-school fighting goes, DBZ: SB2 is the best of the bunch.