Consoles With the Most Dragon Ball Games

Key Takeaways

The PlayStation 2 has the most DBZ games with 10, including all 3 Budokai & Tenkaichi titles.
The Nintendo DS managed to have 6 DBZ games, with Dragon Ball: Origins being the highest-rated.
The Xbox 360 won over the PS3 with 8 DBZ games, including a Kinect title & the same library as the PS3.

As a kid growing up in the ’90s, I was absolutely enamored with the world of Dragon Ball Z. The thrill of following Goku and his friends on their epic adventures was only amplified when I got my hands on a Game Boy Advance. Oh boy, those were some good times!

There are numerous games based on the popular franchise, Dragon Ball, ranging from fighting games to role-playing games, collectible card games and more. For dedicated Dragon Ball followers, the chance to immerse themselves in the story or overpower friends with Big Bang Attacks is irresistible. Yet, these opportunities were often limited by the console one owned.

For Sega Saturn owners, there were just two Dragon Ball Z games to import, which was better than the Genesis’ single Dragon Ball Z game. The original Xbox only had the poorly received Dragon Ball Z Sagas in its collection. However, if you owned any of these devices, you had a plethora of Dragon Ball Z games to enjoy. This list only accounts for full-fledged Dragon Ball Z games. If we were to consider fractional amounts based on how many Dragon Ball Z to One Piece/Naruto/Gintama/Reborn, etc., crossover games like Jump Super Stars contain, the count would be much higher.

7 Nintendo DS

When 6 Games Are More Than Enough

Highest Rated Game: Dragon Ball: Origins
Lowest Rated Game:Dragon Ball Z: Harukanaru Densetsu

The Nintendo DS had one additional game during the previous console generation, with the PS4, Xbox One, and Switch each offering 5 games. Yet, this situation might shift since both the Switch and PS4 are still in service. Regarding Dragon Ball Sparking Zero, it won’t be coming to these consoles anytime soon; however, they could receive a collection or remastered version of older games instead.

Supersonic Warriors surpassed its predecessor on the GBA, just as DB Kai: Ultimate Butouden outdid DB GT: Final Bout on the PS1. In contrast, players in DBZ: Harukanaru Densetsu engage in battles not with ki, but with cards.

6 SNES/Super Famicom

7 Games, 16 Bits, Plenty of Fun

Highest Rated Game: Dragon Ball Z: Hyper Dimension
Lowest Rated Game: Dragon Ball Z: Super Saiya Densetsu

In the West, when Dragon Ball Z (DBZ) arrived, the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES), also known as Super Famicom, was starting to decline and the PlayStation 1 (PS1) was gaining popularity. This could explain why only a few of the 7 DBZ games were released outside Japan, with Europe often getting them before North America, such as the Butouden series. Although they may seem basic now, these games played a significant role in the 16-bit era, similar to how the Budokai games are significant in the 128-bit era.

Still, if people didn’t like Butouden’s scrappy-looking sprites, TOSE cleaned them up for DBZ: Hyper Dimension. Then, for RPG fans, the two Super Gokuden games went through Goku’s story from the start of DB to when he went Super Saiyan against Freeza on Planet Namek. While DBZ: Super Saiya Densetsu was essentially a remake of 2 Famicom card-based RPGs put together.

5 PlayStation 3

Managing Lucky 7 Entries

Highest Rated Game: Dragon Ball Z: Burst Limit
Lowest Rated Game: Dragon Ball Z: Battle of Z

In simpler terms, while there were technically eight Dragon Ball Z (DBZ) games for PlayStation 3, two of them – the Budokai HD Collection – were released together on a single disc. They weren’t individually available as digital downloads before they were removed from the PS3 store, so these two games combined make up seven DBZ games in the PlayStation 3 library.

Fans had several games to choose from this time around, but they didn’t quite measure up to the ones in the last generation. The two Raging Blast games were just average, and the same could be said for Ultimate Tenkaichi. Burst Limit was decent enough, although it didn’t reach the level of quality found in the Budokai series. Battle of Z only really shone when played online, but it did manage to bring the first Xenoverse game to this platform, albeit a watered-down version compared to its PS4 counterpart.

4 Xbox 360

Edging Out the Competition with 8 Games

Highest Rated Game: Dragon Ball Z: Burst Limit
Lowest Rated Game:Dragon Ball Z for Kinect

It’s not surprising that the Xbox 360 outpaced the PS3 during its launch, given its rocky start and complex cell processor. To bolster its game selection, console-exclusive series such as Tekken expanded to multiple platforms, while developers like Dimps, Spike, Artdink, and others chose to adapt their games for the Xbox 360. As a result, the Xbox 360 boasts the same game library as the PS3.

These Dragon Ball Z games – Burst Limit, Ultimate Tenkaichi, Battle of Z, Xenoverse 1, the Budokai collection, and both Raging Blast games – can run smoothly on Microsoft’s versatile console (Xbox) as well as Sony’s high-end device (PlayStation 3). An additional game, Dragon Ball Z for Kinect, attempted to utilize the Xbox 360’s criticized motion-detecting camera for its controls. Despite facing issues, it still managed to offer more Dragon Ball Z games on the Xbox 360 than the PlayStation 3.

3 NES/Famicom

Two Irresistible Forces Clash to Produce 8 Games

Highest Rated Game: Dragon Ball Z 2: Gekishin Freeza
Lowest Rated Game: Dragon Ball: Shenron no Nazo (Dragon Power)

In the woods where Goku first encountered Bulma in “Dragon Ball”, the Famicom (or NES) had already become a massive Japanese sensation. The success of the series led to numerous games being developed for this console, some of which fans may remember, such as “DB: Shenron no Nazo”. However, due to lack of awareness about ‘Goku’ at the time, this game was rebranded as “Dragon Power” in Western markets. Now that Dragon Ball Z has gained international popularity, it’s fascinating to look back on this unusual game.

The majority of the group remained in Japan, and a significant number of the games were role-playing games (RPGs). However, DBZ: Gekitou Tenkaichi Budokai distinguished itself by coming with a card reader accessory that allowed players to add characters and items simply by swiping cards against it. On the other hand, games such as Daimaou Fukkatsu and Ressen Jinzouningen utilized in-game cards, until DBZ Gaiden opted for traditional RPG gameplay to deliver an original storyline where Goku and his companions were tasked with preventing the wicked Dr Lychee from annihilating the Saiyans.

2 Game Boy Advance

8 Ways to Game with Goku on the Go

Highest Rated Game: Dragon Ball Z: The Legacy of Goku 2
Lowest Rated Game: Dragon Ball Z: Taiketsu

By the year 2000, “Dragon Ball Z” had become universally popular, with a world-wide audience craving for more games than the meager options available on the PS1. The GameCube was unlucky, providing only three Dragon Ball Z games (with its versions of “Budokai 1 & 2” often considered the best). Yet, Nintendo enthusiasts remained optimistic about experiencing some Dragon Ball Z action if they owned a handheld device such as the “Game Boy Advance”.

Despite having its fair share of less-than-stellar games such as the disappointing “DBZ: Taiketsu” and questionable “Legacy of Goku”, the handheld device remains unrivaled in terms of Dragon Ball Z games. While not all titles were winners, games like “Legacy of Goku 2” marked significant improvements, “Buu’s Fury” proved to be a solid choice, and “Supersonic Warriors” provided a significantly better fighting game experience than “Taiketsu”.

1 PlayStation 2

Sets the Number for Other Consoles to Beat at 10

Highest Rated Game: Dragon Ball Z: Budokai 3
Lowest Rated Game: Dragon Ball Z: Sagas

Handhelds are fine and all, but when it comes to consoles, the PlayStation 2 still has the most to offer DB fans. Owners of the mighty machine could treat themselves to all 3 Budokai games, all 3 Budokai Tenkaichi games (the precursors to Sparking Zero), the underrated Super Dragon Ball Z, and the rightly slated DBZ: Sagas and DBZ: Infinite World.

If enthusiasts aimed to gather all ten games, they might struggle locating the elusive DBZ 2 V since it’s a rare, enhanced version of Budokai 2 exclusively distributed in Japan through V-Jump magazine contests. At most, an estimated 2,000 discs remain today, and this edition came preloaded with all content unlocked from the beginning, featuring Cooler and Kuriza as extra Freeza skins.

2024-10-08 06:33