by Jason Parker (Ragachak)
Now, despite how ridiculous the power levels in Dragon Ball become, it’s still one of my all-time favorites. There’s a lot of nostalgia tied to the franchise, so I’ll gladly go see any new Dragon Ball content. I’m not very good at Dragon Ball FighterZ, but that’s due to not practicing as I should. Despite that, I love the game. But I’m seeing a pattern that I think is pretty disappointing – there are TOO MANY DAMN GOKUS. With the latest leak, the next character to come to Dragon Ball FighterZ is Dragon Ball GT’s Kid Goku. GT?! The series so many people revile as “not being canon” (which it admittedly is not, it’s a side-story/alternate story as far as I’m aware). Do you know how many characters are in Dragon Ball as a franchise? A bunch. Over 50? 100? Far more than that? How did we get to this point where close to a third of the cast is Goku? Sure, it would be incredibly clunky to have one or two Gokus that change forms, but this could have been handled far better.
Still a Goku.
I get it, you want people to want to buy the DLC characters, that’s where the money is. But you don’t only have to pick the “highest power-level” characters. That’s clear from having Captain Ginyu, Videl, and even Lord Yamcha in the game. There are so many characters to pick from, why are we going down this road? Why not have a diverse roster, like Dragon Ball Z Tenkaichi 3 had, or any of the SNES/PS1 fighters? Why not Piccolo Daimao? Android 8/Eighter? If we’re going with non-canon characters, why not Lord Slug? Omega Shenron? Janemba? Any of the Red Ribbon army? Hell, you could make General Red a Ginyu style character that summons his various subordinates. Adding more Gokus probably won’t make everyone upset, but it sure as Hell disappointed me. Not enough to uninstall, sadly, but man. There are so many amazing non-Saiyan characters in Dragon Ball FighterZ. So. How many Gokus are in the game?
- Goku (Normal)
- Goku (SSJ)
- Goku (SSJ3)
- Goku (SSJB)
- Goku Black (He Counts)
- Goku (Base)
- Vegito (SSB)
- Gogeta (SSB)
- Soon – Goku (Kid Goku, DBGT)
He saved the universe, and this is the thanks he gets?
There are about half the Vegetas. There are also two Brolys, which I absolutely expected. I also anticipate Goku (Ultra Instinct) somewhere down the road this year, probably when it’s closer to the return of Dragon Ball Super in July. What if Goku gets a new form in Super? We’ll probably see that too. When Dragon Ball FighterZ was on the way out, my biggest fear was that it was going to be “Oops, All Gokus!” and as it turns out, it is just that. If we’re going to add Saiyans, why not Caulifla? Why not Kale? I would rather see Western Kai than see another form of Goku. Goku’s not even a bad character! But he has enough forms to form three different teams of Gokus. Is Kid Goku’s super going to turn him into SSJ4 Goku? Or is that going to be a separate character somewhere next year? Now if it were tied into a re-release/remake of Dragon Ball GT, I would still be disappointed (I do love GT though, and I won’t apologize for it), but come on.
Launch has so much potential too.
Why do we keep coming back to the Goku Well? Are the other characters of the franchise that unrecognizable? Are they worried that people will complain that “low-power level characters shouldn’t be good”? Then why was Yamcha so damn strong when this game came out? Why even put Tenshinhan, Captain Ginyu and Videl in the game? So that can’t be it. Dragon Ball Z is one of the most-recognized Intellectual Properties in the entire world. Even people that don’t watch or like anime know what DBZ is. So it’s not like Goku’s the only recognizable character in the show. He’s the star, arguably, but the people around him are just as important. More important, I’d argue, if this were a website that focused on anime news. Without people to defend and fight for, he probably would have never become a Super Saiyan. So who else could they add that is not a Goku? Here are ten major/minor characters that would be a good fit.
- Hercule Satan
- Android 13
- Garlic Jr.
- Launch
- Piccolo Daimao/King Piccolo
- Caulifla
- Luud
- Dabura
- Piano
- Commander Red
- Mercenary Tao
- Master Roshi
Who do you want to see in Dragon Ball FighterZ that isn’t another Goku? Let me know in the comments below!
