The age ofDragon Ball FighterZis coming to an end soon, with rollback netcode, modern ports, and one last balance patch sending the game off. It won’t be forgotten, but the time has come for it to join past legendaryDragon Balltitles likeThe Legend of GokuandBudokai 3inDBZ’s gaming hall of fame. Even asDragon Ball FighterZcontinues seeing play years into the future, the widerDragon Ballcommunity will be anticipating newer titles. One of the first will beDragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 4, the surprise sequel to the hitDragon Ballarena fighter trilogy from the mid-2000s.
There are plenty of reasons why fans are so pumped to see anotherBudokai Tenkaichigame, and they all have to do with the older trilogy’s legacy. Even after being followed up by many other arena fighters likeRaging BlastandUltimate Tenkaichi, the classic games still prevail thanks to their entertaining “what if” scenarios and incomparably thorough roster. It’s going to take a lot forDBZ: Budokai Tenkaichi 4to measure upto its predecessors, and the pressure on it is already immense.Budokai Tenkaichi 4would be best served by planning its content carefully, and taking some pointers fromDragon Ball FighterZin the process.
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Dragon Ball FighterZ’s Android 21 Took On A Life Of Her Own
The story mode ofFighterZisn’t focused on as much as the title’s core gameplay, but it does serve an important role in the game. Players can spend countless hours leveling up their heroes and seeing various fun interactions betweenDragon Ball’s extended cast, much like otherDragon Ballfighters. However, the mode also introduces a charismatic new face to theDragon Balluniverse.Android 21, in both her human and Majin forms, immediately drew attention through her strong personality and designs. Both have made for popular playable characters as well, even if Lab Coat 21 introduced some serious balance issues.
ExtendedDragon Ballmedia is no stranger to introducing new major characters in side material, but Android 21 was different. Her popularity drove her farther than evenreoccurringDragon Ballcharacters like Fu and Chronoa. 21 quickly joinedFighterZ’s sister gameXenoverse 2, and then began slowly making her way into other things. This reached its peak when the canonDragon Ball Super: Super Heromovie confirmed that Dr. Gero’s wife looked identical to Android 21. What was intended to be the villain of an experimentalDragon Balltag fighter became so much more, and it would be to their detriment for future games to ignore this.
Budokai Tenkaichi 4 Needs To Introduce Its Own Original Fighter
Obviously,Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 4needs to prioritize building up a strong roster. The entire point of theBudokai Tenkaichiseries, at least in the eyes of much of the fandom, is for fanservice. After establishing a solid base, however,Budokai Tenkaichi 4has room to experiment. There’s no way it can match the roster built up over the course of the original trilogy, so something like a strong original character would go a long way in appeasing fans. Involving said character in the story mode may be a double-edged sword, though.
On one hand,Budokai Tenkaichimade a name for itself with straightforward hypotheticals that fans enjoyed seeing fully realized.Adding an original character toBudokai Tenkaichi 4would implicate a running plotline, which could detract fromBudokai Tenkaichi. Still, that is whatFighterZdid, and many people have no trouble ignoring Android 21’s role in the story because of how her personality shines through in gameplay. Regardless,Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 4should give its best shot at adding a potentially valuable character to theDragon Ballfranchise.
Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 4is currently in development.
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