While the most well-known video games in the Dragon Ball franchise are from the fighting game genre, the popular fighting anime has spawned many incredible RPGs. It seems unlikely that a series so heavily linked to incredible fights and action would lend itself well to the slower and more tactical nature of RPGs, but Dragon Ball fans will be surprised by the series' flexibility.
These Dragon Ball games have proven to be some of the best the franchise has ever made. While many of these excellent games have never made it out of Japan, the ones that did cemented themselves as the best of the best.
10 Super Dragon Ball Heroes: World Mission Is Full Of Messy Fan Service
The first foray of Super Dragon Ball Heroes outside of Japan, this arcade game port removes the need for the cards that form the game's central gimmick. The RPG elements come from the player character and their NPC allies, who can level up and get stronger in traditional RPG fashion. There’s also a fun mechanic that revolves around fighting alongside specific characters from Dragon Ball’s extensive canon, bonding with those characters to learn their techniques in a fantastic form of fan service.
Unfortunately, Super Dragon Ball Heroes' gameplay and original story don’t hold up as well as the RPG elements. The traditional turn-based combat has been upended with a slew of quick time events the game masterfully manipulates against the player. In the end, this port would've benefited from including the collectible cards central to its arcade origin.
9 Dragon Ball Z: The Legacy Of Goku Is A Rough First Foray
One of the first Dragon Ball RPGs ever released in the west, Legacy of Goku was a rough game with as many flaws as it had strengths. The first in a trilogy of action RPGs, Legacy of Goku follows the plot from Dragon Ball Z's Saiyan and Frieza arcs.
Legacy of Goku does this poorly, however, as the plot never strays from Goku’s perspective. Major moments like the Z-Fighters’ struggles against Frieza’s first three forms are replaced by Goku overshadowing them to fight Frieza in every form. Additionally, the game is horrifically unbalanced against the player and includes many tedious fetch quests.
8 Dragon Ball Z: Buu’s Fury Is A Fitting End To A Trilogy Of Games
The final installment in the Legacy of Goku series, Buu’s Fury is the conclusion to the trilogy of games that introduced many fans to the world of Dragon Ball video games. Buu’s Fury kept many of the changes made in the second game of the series and improved on them. When characters leveled up, they gained extra stat points that could be assigned to their stats.
Characters could also equip armor and other items to boost their stats, and more characters were playable. The only thing holding this action RPG back was that it remained one of the easiest RPGs in the Dragon Ball franchise.
7 Dragon Ball Z: Legendary Super Warriors Makes An Excellent First Impression
The first Dragon Ball RPG to get a western release, Legendary Super Warriors makes an excellent first impression. The game takes players through the many story arcs of Dragon Ball Z and features several playable characters who level up as they fight.
Legendary Super Warriors utilizes turn-based combat and cards to represent the various powers of the playable characters. It also features massive degrees of replayability as the sagas can be revisited with different characters for alternate results. Considering this was the first Dragon Ball RPG ever introduced in the west, it accomplished an impressive amount.
6 Dragon Ball Xenoverse Ushered In A Whole New Era
Few games released in the Dragon Ball franchise have made an impact as strong as the one made by Dragon Ball Xenoverse. This action RPG gave players the ability to create their own character, fully customizable and able to fight alongside famous characters and in iconic moments from Dragon Ball’s history.
Xenoverse held all the hallmarks of an excellent action RPG. While the gameplay was excellent, subtle technical issues caused the game to fall short of its full potential. Despite that, Xenoverse remained one of the best games of the 2010s.
5 Legacy Of Goku II Perfects The Series’ Mechanics
After Legacy of Goku's less than stellar release, its sequel's sequels success shocked many. The game took players through the Android and Cell Sagas and now featured enough playable characters to take the player through every major scene of the sagas instead of forcing the player to stay attached to Goku’s perspective.
Legacy Of Goku II also better embraced the RPG elements of the action RPG genre. Battles against the androids felt far more balanced than the fights in the previous game. Between the better combat balances and overall quality of life improvements, it’s no wonder why this was considered the best of the Legacy of Goku trilogy.
4 Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot Allows Players To Freely Explore The World
Few genres have as detailed a world as Dragon Ball. Anyone who’s ever watched the series has dreamt of exploring the world and going on adventures of their own. Kakarot allows players to do that by setting the game in an open world, granting them free rein to explore the world's wonders.
While it takes players through the well-trodden path of Dragon Ball Z's original sagas, the open-world nature of the game brings a bit of fresh life into the proceedings. The action RPG elements also come together wonderfully well to create a stellar experience that expands with new DLC.
3 Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2 Ups The Ante
A direct sequel to the first Xenoverse, Xenoverse 2 appropriately doubles down on everything that made the first game so interesting. It featured more customization options, refined the RPG elements, and even included the player character from the first game as an NPC for players to fight alongside.
Xenoverse 2 felt much more like an MMORPG than its predecessor and even boasted raid bosses for players to team up and battle. As far as sequels go, this was one game that did everything right and continued to expand its roster with new characters.
2 Attack Of The Saiyans Is A Masterful RPG
Very few Dragon Ball games can hold a candle to Attack of the Saiyans. Taking players from the end of the original series through the Saiyan Saga of DBZ, everything about this game wonderfully comes together to create an amazing experience.
A turn-based RPG, Attack of the Saiyans has players build the characters to fulfill certain roles like tank or support. Players can even swap out members of their team during battle. The story is also incredibly faithful. While it does include some filler, it serves to expand the story rather than pad it, making every moment of the game worth playing.
1 Dragon Ball Fusions Is Fun And Innovative
Dragon Ball Fusions is easily the more unique games ever released in the Dragon Ball franchise. Besides being the best handheld game, Dragon Ball Fusions centers on the player’s character and involves collecting different heroes and villains from the various series to fight alongside. The RPG mechanics are solid, allowing characters being to level up and learn different moves.
Dragon Ball Fusions' main gimmick comes from the ability to fuse various characters to make them stronger. The game includes well-known fusions like Gogeta and Gotenks as well as less-expected ones like Coolieza, the fusion of Cooler and Frieza. Between solid RPG mechanics and a refreshing gimmick, Dragon Ball Fusions easily remains one of the best Dragon Ball RPGs.