It’s hard to be a fan of anime and not have some cursory knowledge of Akira Toriyama’s iconic shonen series, Dragon Ball. Dragon Ball has been a massive hit for more than 35 years and there’s still no end in sight as the franchise turns out new manga, movies, and video game content. Reception towards Dragon Ball is typically positive, but the anime-only sequel series, Dragon Ball GT, still has a controversial reputation among the fandom.
For a long time, fans just wanted to forget about Dragon Ball GT, but recent video games have passionately reclaimed characters and events from the series. The events of Dragon Ball GT still don’t mesh with what’s proposed in Dragon Ball Super, but it’s compelling to examine how different games handle this chapter of the series.
10 Dragon Ball GT: Final Bout Is An Awkward Introduction To The GT Crew
Dragon Ball GT: Final Bout receives the honor of the first officially licensed Dragon Ball game in North America, as well as the first fully-3D Dragon Ball fighting game. Final Bout became many North Americans’ entry point to the series even though there was not yet an English dub for Dragon Ball GT. The PlayStation’s Final Bout struggles with its transition to 3D and the characters are very stiff and awkward. The one redeeming feature is the game's Build Up Mode, which allows players to progressively train their characters to grow stronger, but the mechanic is better implemented in Dragon Ball Z: Ultimate Battle 22.
9 Dragon Ball GT: Transformation’s Odd Enemies Hinder The Handheld Experience
Some of the most satisfying Dragon Ball games are the ones that mix things up with adventure and RPG gameplay mechanics. Dragon Ball GT: Transformation is a beat-'em-up title for the Game Boy Advance that in theory should have been a huge success and the handheld’s hardware is quite capable. Transformation covers the first half of GT's story and is largely concerned with the antagonist, Baby. Some especially strange enemies are the most memorable aspect of the clunky title. A sequel that would have covered the rest of GT's story was planned, but ultimately cancelled after Transformation failed to meet expectations.
8 Dokkan Battle Mixes Puzzle & Action Gameplay That Highlights GT’s Wide World
Mobile gaming has found overwhelming success over the past decade and some of the most popular titles are free-to-play endeavors that incorporate gacha elements. Dragon Ball Z Dokkan Battle hit platforms in 2015 and it continues to deliver new updates. Dokkan Battle delivers intense action through puzzle-centric gameplay that's both simple and addictive.
Dokkan Battle doesn’t discriminate with its Dragon Ball content and story elements and characters from GT have become a celebrated part of the experience. Dokkan Battle meticulously covers every corner of the Dragon Ball universe and it gives GT personalities proper respect.
7 Dragon Ball Fusions Incorporates Lots Of GT Ingredients For Its Transformative Recipes
There are many powerful principles and techniques in Dragon Ball, but fusion has become increasingly prevalent in battles against ultimate evils. Fusion allows two, or sometimes more, individuals to collectively pool their strength and powers. Dragon Ball Fusions is a game that’s entirely dedicated to this transformative process. The game has nearly 100 characters from the franchise, which can be combined into nearly 200 original fused fighters. Dragon Ball Fusions recruits plenty of Dragon Ball GT characters to add even more fuel to the fusion fire. It’s especially appealing to combine Super Saiyan 4 versions of characters with their non-GT counterparts.
6 Super Dragon Ball Heroes Leans Into The Novelty Of Fighting GT Counterparts
Super Dragon Ball Heroes has grown into a pivotal pillar of the growing Dragon Ball franchise that takes a wild multiverse approach to the anime’s disparate canon and timelines. Super Dragon Ball Heroes doesn’t just work in every version of every character, but it introduces lots of original ideas. The non-canonical series often feels like it exists specifically to indulge in ideas like Super Saiyan 4 Goku versus Super Saiyan Blue Goku. Super Dragon Ball Heroes also has a corresponding promotional anime series that heavily celebrates the franchise’s GT contributions and puts them on par with Dragon Ball Super’s strongest transformations.
5 The Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi Trilogy Help Popularize GT’s Heavy Hitters
Not to be confused with Dimps’ Dragon Ball Z: Budokai fighting series, the Budokai Tenkaichi trilogy of titles explores the anime’s wide range of characters. Each of the Budokai Tenkaichi games feature some level of Dragon Ball GT appreciation, whether it’s purely in the form of Super Saiyan 4 transformations or through some of the sequel series’ more creative enemies, such as Super 17 and Syn Shenron.
The Budokai Tenkaichi games don’t make Dragon Ball GT their priority, but they deliver satisfying and fast-paced gameplay that further normalizes GT’s story elements.
4 Dragon Ball Z: Infinite World Allows Super Saiyan 4 To Command Respect
Dragon Ball Z: Infinite World is a comprehensive PlayStation 2 game that continues to build upon the foundation of previous fighting titles, like Dragon Ball Z: Budokai and Burst Limit. Dragon Ball Z characters had been exhausted at this point, so Infinite World benefits from working in GT personalities. The inclusions are fairly predictable and feature individuals like Baby, Super 17, Pan, and Super Saiyan 4 representation, but they still make their mark. Infinite World comes out at a time where there’s still lots of novelty in these newer characters.
3 Dragon Ball Z: Budokai 3 Brings GT & Movie Representation Into The Mix
The Budokai trilogy of Dragon Ball Z fighting games were instrumental in the development and trajectory of modern anime fighters. The first two Budokai entries work their way through the original Dragon Ball and Dragon Ball Z’s strongest, which leaves the third game hungry for new content. Dragon Ball Z: Budokai 3 mixes things up with heavy representation from not only Dragon Ball GT, but also the series’ many movies, which exist in a similarly nebulous canon. Budokai 3 refines its predecessors’ gameplay, which allows these GT characters to thrive.
2 Dragon Ball Xenoverse & Its Sequel Celebrate GT’s Supporting Characters
Dragon Ball Xenoverse and its sequel helped revolutionize Dragon Ball fighting games and Xenoverse 2 still has a devoted player base even though the game came out in 2016. Both Xenoverse titles take advantage of how savvy audiences have gotten with the general Dragon Ball canon. The games cover everything from the series, but they also extensively forge their own story through new characters and engaging "What If?" possibilities. The Xenoverse installments are masterpieces in terms of how much content they pack in, but they’ve also embraced Dragon Ball GT materials, even when it comes to more fringe figures like General Rilldo.
1 Dragon Ball FighterZ Distills The Best Elements From GT Into The Precise Fighter
Dragon Ball video games are far from finished, but Dragon Ball FighterZ from Arc System Works has set a new standard for fighting games that’s still going strong several years after its debut. Dragon Ball FighterZ has gameplay and aesthetics that are incredibly polished and it truly feels like the anime has come to life. FighterZ gives Dragon Ball Super lots of attention, but its DLC FighterZ Passes have gradually let GT elements creep into the experience. Super Saiyan 4 versions of classic characters have never felt more powerful, but villains like Super Baby 2 also make a big impression.