In some silly ways, Dragon Ball is a victim of its massive popularity and cultural influence. Son Goku's epic saga has become such a blockbuster franchise that it spawned more spin-offs than anyone could keep track of. Take Dragon Ball Heroes, which is a title that only the most hardcore Saiyan fans would even know of.
While not exactly as household name among Western fans, Dragon Ball Heroes is actually one of the biggest and most important aspects of the Dragon Ball name. Without exaggeration, Dragon Ball may not even be enjoying its modern-day relevance were it not for this particular spin-off.
10 What Exactly Is Dragon Ball Heroes? It's A Trading Card Arcade Game
Dragon Ball Heroes is a multimedia off-shoot of Akira Toriyama's legendary manga. Developed by Dimps in 2010, Dragon Ball Heroes is part of the trading card-based fighting game franchise Dragon Ball Z: Data Carddass. These games are predominantly playable on arcades and the Nintendo 3DS.
Here, players build a team of any five Dragon Ball characters. The goal is to either beat the computer or another player in a turn-based team battle. Fusing, Saiyan transformations, team attacks, and more are all viable strategies. As an added challenge, the players' fighters share one health bar and damage or defense output is determined by a quick time event.
9 Is Dragon Ball Heroes The Same As Super Dragon Ball Heroes? Yes, The Latter Was The 2016 Update
Dragon Ball Heroes has been going strong ever since its 2010 debut, and some changes and updates were inevitable. In 2016, the game got a massive update. Many of the improvements and additions focused on gameplay and graphics, making this update more of an overhaul.
Since it was basically a new game that marked the franchise's newest step forward, Dragon Ball Heroes was renamed to Super Dragon Ball Heroes. The name stuck since then and, as of this writing, there's a PC and Nintendo Switch port entitled Super Dragon Ball Heroes: World Mission. Expect World Mission to get a sequel or follow up in the near future.
8 Is Dragon Ball Heroes Canon? No, It's An Alternate Universe
Even if the series stars Son Goku, his friends, family, and foes, none of Dragon Ball Heroes is canon. The franchise's entire selling point and point for existing is to indulge in the fanbase's biggest "What if?" questions and fights. Here, otherwise-impossible scenarios can occur without negatively affecting the mainline canon.
Dragon Ball Heroes' roster pulls characters from every timeline and iteration of the Z Fighters' stories, while also breaking the power scales and rules for fun's sake. For example, Broly and Gohan can unleash Super Saiyan 4, Gotenks has an adult form, Goku can Fuse with Xeno Goku, and Cell can fight and/or ally with Beerus despite him being long dead before the God of Destruction's introduction.
7 Does Dragon Ball Heroes Do Anything New? Yes, It Introduces Original Characters & Arcs
Aside from indulging in the fanbase's biggest dream fights, Dragon Ball Heroes also expands the canon. Toriyama supervised everything featured in the games, from characters' currently game-exclusive power-ups and new costumes, to wholly new fighters like the Frieza Clan or the overarching villain Mechikabura.
While many of these new ideas were made only for the games, some have since migrated to other Dragon Ball media. For example, Bardock's Super Saiyan form and Super Saiyan 3 Future Trunks first appeared in Dragon Ball Heroes. Similarly, the villains of the Dark Empire faction made their debuts here.
6 Are The Games Any Good? Yes, They're Incredibly Popular in Japan
Dragon Ball is one of the biggest franchises ever made, which makes Dragon Ball Heroes' immense popularity even more impressive. The original arcade game is ridiculously popular in Japan, and is credited for being one of the core spin-offs that keeps Dragon Ball lucrative and relevant even decades after its debut.
The original arcade ranked as the country's number one digital card game for nine years straight before its reboot, and it's estimated to have raked in upwards of ¥40 billion (around $362 million). The game maintains a concurrent playerbase numbering in the millions, has collaborated with different franchises, and its ports continue to be profitable.
5 Why Can't I Find The Games Anywhere? They've Been Exclusive To Japan For The Longest Time
Since the franchise's start in 2010, Dragon Ball Heroes has been mostly locked to Japan. The only way gamers outside of the country could play the games was to either bootleg them or buy an untranslated copy from Japan. Official English language arcades got a test run across America in 2018, though they didn't get a widespread release afterwards.
It wasn't until Super Dragon Ball Heroes: World Mission's debut in 2019 that the franchise finally got a full overseas launch. World Mission comes with the cards and characters used pre-overhaul, allowing fans in Western territories to experience the original games through one convenient purchase.
4 Did The Games Have Other Adaptations? Yes, There's A Web Anime & Manga
As mentioned earlier, Dragon Ball Heroes is a multimedia franchise. To capitalize on the games' immense popularity, the franchise expanded into an anime and countless manga. Super Dragon Ball Heroes started in 2018 and is still ongoing. The episodes are notably short, lasting only six minutes. Canonically, the series takes place after Dragon Ball Heroes.
The franchise's manga adaptations include: Dragon Ball Heroes: Victory Mission, Dragon Ball Heroes: Super Charisma Mission! (later relaunched as Super Dragon Ball Heroes: Ultimate Charisma Mission!), Super Dragon Ball Heroes: Dark Demon Realm Mission!, Super Dragon Ball Heroes: Universe Mission, and Super Dragon Ball Heroes: Big Bang Mission!!
3 Who Made The Anime? Toei Animated It
Like the rest of the other titles in the franchise, Super Dragon Ball Heroes was made by Toei Animation. That said, it wasn't exactly made with Toei's best animators and directors since they were busy with the movie Dragon Ball Super: Broly. Additionally, the web anime was little more than a series of promotional shorts, so not much effort or resources were expended on it.
Super Dragon Ball Heroes followed an inconsistent schedule before it was given fixed monthly release dates in 2020. The first 20 episodes are collectively referred to as Super Dragon Ball Heroes: Universe Mission, while Episode 21 onwards comprise Super Dragon Ball Heroes: Big Bang Mission. As of this writing, there are 36 episodes in the second series.
2 Where Can I Watch The Anime? YouTube Is The Best Option
Like its games, Super Dragon Ball Heroes is exclusive to Japan. The shorts didn't premiere on Japanese televisions, but on streaming services and official websites that are also region-locked. Unlike the recent Nintendo Switch port, there are currently no plans to translate or dub Super Dragon Ball Heroes.
Unofficial uploads and fan translations surfaced on YouTube, which is really the only way fans can even get a glimpse of the web shorts. One of the most prominent fan translations was managed by Terez27, who's a moderator on the Dragon Ball subreddit, and her team.
1 Is The Anime Any Good? No, It's Really Bad
Another reason why nobody really talks about Super Dragon Ball Heroes is because it's unquestionably terrible. The shorts were criticized for being hollow and repetitive, even by the relatively low standards of promotional anime. The sloppy and pointless storytelling, which was only marginally better than bad fanfiction at best, didn't help matters either.
In fact, the anime's horrible quality is one of the many reasons why Terez27 and her team dropped it after they wrapped up Episode 19. The one episode to score praise and adoration was the second special Push Forward To The Battlefield! Dragon Ball Heroes, which had nothing to do with the games' story and instead focused on two kids enjoying the arcade game itself.