Turning the epic anime Dragon Ball Z into a video game is tricky, especially when trying to include the story. The anime is incredibly long, with hundreds of episodes filled with lengthy battles, side stories, and an inconsistent pace. While the original series is beloved, it doesn’t always tell a tight, streamlined story. That’s why some games take the story and improve upon it, rather than trying to recreate it exactly.
Some games cleverly rework familiar stories with better pacing, different viewpoints, and ways for players to get involved. By trimming unnecessary parts, showing events through multiple characters’ eyes, or letting players directly experience the action, these titles demonstrate that sometimes the best way to enjoy Dragon Ball isn’t just watching it – it’s actually being a part of the story.
Dragon Ball Z: Budokai 2
The First What-Ifs
As a huge Dragon Ball Z fan, I always loved how Budokai 2 did things differently! Instead of just watching the story, it lets you play through it like a board game. You move around a map and actually trigger the big fights and cutscenes from the whole Saiyan to Buu saga. It’s a really cool way to experience the story and feel like you’re part of it!
This new format cuts out much of the slower parts of the anime, concentrating on the most important battles and choices. It also lets players explore different storylines and see how things could have changed, giving them more control over the story. The result is a Dragon Ball Z experience that’s quicker, more engaging, and offers more variety than the original series.
While newer games like Dragon Ball Z: Sparking Zero include key battles and alternate storylines, they often leave out a lot of content. Buokai 2, despite not covering the most recent arcs, stays truer to the original story than many other Dragon Ball games.
Dragon Ball Z: Budokai 3
The Ultimate Budokai
Dragon Ball Z: Budokai 3 offers a particularly interesting way to experience the story with its ‘Dragon Universe’ mode. Unlike most games that tell the story from one point of view, this mode lets you play through the events as different characters like Goku, Vegeta, and Gohan.
Players control different characters as they journey across the world map, experiencing story events and battles unique to each one. This allows for a closer look at smaller, often-overlooked character interactions from the anime, giving less prominent fighters more important roles in the story. While the game follows the main story arcs from the Saiyan Saga through the Kid Buu Saga, experiencing the story through different characters’ eyes makes it feel fresh, personal, and more engaging than a simple rehash of the original anime.
Although it doesn’t heavily feature content from Dragon Ball GT, Budokai 3 does include some elements. Removing all the extra, non-story content, it’s the best fighting game for experiencing the DBZ saga – especially if you prefer classic fighting game gameplay.
Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 3
The Complete Experience
When it comes to fully representing the Dragon Ball saga, Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 3 truly stands out. The story mode brings iconic battles to life from across the entire Dragon Ball timeline – including the Z and GT series, as well as the movies. While there isn’t a lot of lengthy conversation, the game makes up for it by featuring a huge number of fights, so you won’t miss much of the main story. It even includes content from the very first Dragon Ball series, with a fun guest appearance from Arale!
The game lets players see how the story could have unfolded differently, something the anime rarely does, and mostly only in movies. By giving players lots of choices and control, it creates a story that feels much bigger and more engaging, though it might not have the same polished look as the anime.
Many fans call Dragon Ball Z: Sparking Zero the successor to an older game, often referring to it as ‘Tenkaichi 4,’ and it’s a great choice for players who like to unlock and collect characters. However, when it comes to revisiting the original Dragon Ball Z storyline, it doesn’t quite measure up to Tenkaichi 3.
Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot
The Best Way To Relieve Dragon Ball
Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot initially appears to be the ultimate retelling of the Dragon Ball Z story, and for the most part, it delivers on that promise. The game covers the entire saga, from Raditz’s arrival to the defeat of Kid Buu, presented as an action role-playing game with open environments, optional quests, and a wealth of background information. What truly sets it apart is its ability to enrich the Dragon Ball universe, allowing players to discover more about the world and its inhabitants beyond the main battles.
Kakarot is, notably, a single-player game.
The adaptation also cuts out some of the anime’s less essential scenes, prioritizing key plot points like the story of Trunks’s origins. This creates a more focused and efficient narrative by removing unnecessary content, but still maintains the important emotional impact of the story.
Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot includes a lot of downloadable content that lets you experience more of the story, like the 23rd World Tournament, the Super saga, and even the new Dragon Ball Daima arc. It’s truly the best way to revisit and enjoy the world of Dragon Ball.
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Bonus Entry: Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2
The Best Original Plot
Although Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2 doesn’t simply retell the original Dragon Ball story, it’s notable for the way it reimagines it. Instead of re-experiencing events as they originally unfolded, players join the Time Patrol and fix changes that have been made to history.
The game lets famous scenes, such as Goku achieving Ultra Instinct, unfold in fresh and surprising ways, adding an element of unpredictability not found in the anime. It also delves into lesser-known backstory and features new characters, making the story feel like a continuation of the original rather than a repeat. This approach can be particularly captivating for dedicated fans who appreciate something beyond simply reliving familiar moments.
Plus, in Xenoverse 2, you create your own character, which is a big draw for many players. While some might tire of revisiting the Dragon Ball Z story, Xenoverse 2 offers a fresh take with time travel. You can also battle other players using the characters you’ve customized in versus mode.
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2026-03-30 11:35