Dragon Ball FighterZ Wiki – Everything You Need To Know About The Game

Dragonball FighterZ is the collaboration between Arc System Works and Bandai Namco Entertainment. Arc System Works, known best for the Blazblue and Guilty Gear fighting game series has also previously worked on the Persona 4 Arena series. The 2.5D fighter will borrow mechanics from many different fighters, both belonging to Arc System Works and otherwise, and has been praised for its use of the source material. It launches on Xbox One, Windows PC and PlayStation 4 on January 26, 2018.

• 1. Development
• 2. Story
• 3. Gameplay
• 4. Characters

Development

First leaked thanks to a press release prematurely leaked to the public on Bandai Namco’s website on June 9th, the official reveal came a few short days later at Microsoft’s E3 2017 on June 11th. Akira Toriyama, Dragon Ball developer would design a brand new character for the game, Android 21, who functions as one of the antagonists of the title.

A closed beta for the Xbox One and PlayStation 4 would be announced, as well as intention for a Windows release, but the Nintendo Switch wasn’t considered at the time. Bandai Namco would later state that if enough fans asked for it, there was a possibility for the game to come to Nintendo’s Hybrid.

As Hiromi Tsuru, the voice of Bulma would pass away on November 16, 2017, this is the final piece of Dragon Ball media to use her voice.

Following announcement, the Dragon Ball FighterZ fandom immediately latched onto the game and discovered many small nods to the anime and manga within the game, and a playable demo at EVO 2017 allowed professional gamers to comment on the gameplay and versatile playstyles.

Story

The plot of Dragonball FighterZ has been outlined by Bandai Namco very loosely so far, though fans have pieced together a timeline placement somewhere between the Future Trunks Saga and Resurrection ‘F’. Android 16 has been mysteriously revived and brings with him an army of Super Androids who look like Goku and his friends. The android army sweeps through, taking down the Z Fighters with ease. The player will join the story with Goku developing amnesia during these events and work to piece together what’s going on.

While not much is known about her role in the story, a brand new character known as Android 21 was developed by series creator Akira Toriyama. The mysterious woman was under the employ of the Red Ribbon Army in the past, and is said to be the main antagonist of the game.

Gameplay

Though Dragonball FighterZ does borrow mechanics from Arc System Works fighters such as Guilty Gear Xrd and Blazblue, such as roman cancelling, and dust attacks being called “Vanish” and “Sparking Blast” moves respectively, the game borrows the most from the Marvel VS Capcom series. Players form a team of three fighters to do battle with, and can be swapped between or called in for an assist as the tap of a button, allowing a skilled player to continue combos well beyond their natural end. As opposed to the static base moveset seen in the Budokai series, each fighter is set to have their own style to them, much like other fighters like it.

Players will fight with three primary attack buttons, including light, Medium/Heavy and Very heavy attacks, and one character specific action button, which in combination with directional inputs can result in Ki based special moves and Ki blasts. The “Super Dash” functions similarly to other series fighting games, zooming the character close to their opponent. Ki Charge is an ability that most characters can enjoy and functions something like a meter charge from other fighting games.

QoL additions for Dragonball fans who might be new to fighting games persist, such as the auto-combo system like what we saw in Marvel VS Capcom and the Persona 4 Arena series. Each character in DragonBall FighterZ has been given an auto combo for light and medium attack buttons, expanding their options.

Characters

Dragonball FighterZ contains at least 22 known fighters on its roster either at or shortly after launch thanks to DLC. This wiki intends to focus on a handful of the most major players, but we will quickly list out the roster here.

In order, Android 16, Android 18, Beerus, Captain Ginyu, Cell, Frieza, Gohan, Goku, Goku Black, Gotenks, Hit, Kid Buu, Krillin, Majin Buu, Nappa, Piccolo, Tien, Trunks, Vegeta, and Yamcha have all been confirmed for Dragonball FighterZ.

Son Goku is the central character of the whole series. Training himself daily to better his fighting ability, Goku can be a bit naive, but he can’t stand by when he sees another being suffering. He doesn’t fight for any personal vendettas or the greater justice by any means, but because he’s always pushing himself to betterment and to beat stronger enemies. When we join him in Dragonball FighterZ, he’s suffering from amnesia.

Vegeta is one of the most prominent characters in the series outside Goku himself. The prince of the fallen Saiyan race was once a villain on the Frieza Force and a cold blooded killer, he abandoned that life to live on earth. Vegeta is a proud warrior who works hard each and every day to surpass Goku, making him something of an anti-hero.

Goku’s son, Gohan is the elder brother of Goten and something of a pacifist who doesn’t have a passion for fighting like his father. Though he doesn’t like to do it, he can stand with the rest of the Z Fighters when there’s something or someone important to him to defend. He grows throughout the series but in this game appears in both his teen and adult forms.

Android 18 and her twin brother, Android 17 were made by Dr. Gero made from experiments on ordinary people, created to act out the doctor’s campaign against Goku at the time, though they would deviate from their programming. Android 18 takes the roster spot in the game, while her brother assists during certain moves. Android 16 is unrelated to the other two, something of a failed experiment that Dr. Gero never intended to activate. 16 is mysteriously revived during the events of this story, the nature of which will be revealed during the plot.

Android 21 is another android, and new to the cannon in Dragonball FighterZ. Once in the employ of the Red Ribbon Army, she’s a researcher who’s intelligence can rival if not surpass Dr. Gero. Her brains make her a terrifying antagonist for the game’s story mode.

Note: This wiki will be updated once we have more information about the game.