Dragon Ball Xenoversetook a step forward that very fewDragonBallgames have taken in the past, allowing players tocreate a customDragon Ballcharacter. This had been done once before inDragon Ball Online, but never in a title as mainstream asXenoverse. While this was a huge factor in why many were so excited about this title, it may be time forDragon Ballto take things one step further, abandoning the stories of Goku, Vegeta, Gohan, and the other Z Warriors in favor of something completely new.
It’s common knowledge that the story ofDragon Ball Zis a little worn out by now. CountlessDBZgames have retold it in various ways, culminating inDragon Ball Z: Kakarot’s extremely faithful and enjoyable recreation of it. From here, there’s almost no way to revisit that story that hasn’t already been done, so the nextDragon Ballgame needs to try something new. Taking a page out ofDragon Ball Xenoverse’s book is a great place to start, but it will need to forge a path all its own if it wants to stand out and continue a legacy of greatDragon Ballgames.
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Dragon Ball Xenoverse and the Time Patrol
Dragon Ball Xenoverseallows players to create their own character by picking from one of several races, Earthlings, Saiyans, Namekians, Majins, and members of Frieza’s race. After this, the player joins up with Future Trunks and the Time Patrol to stop time travelling criminals from messing with the timeline. This story idea worked great initially, providing a fresh new way tolook back at the story ofDragon Ball Z, even allowing for some minor changes to be made here and there, but it still fell into the same pitfalls that otherDragon Ballgames do.
Players still had to go through all the steps of battling Raditz, the Ginyu Force, the Androids, and so on just like they’d done before. Due to the timeless nature ofDragon Ball Z’s story, this was still enjoyable, but it can’t be denied that fans are looking for something new. That’s whyDragon Ball Superwas so popular, as it allowed fans to see what truly came next for the Z Warriors after defeating Majin Buu at the end ofDragon Ball Z. Since there’s nonews on aDragon Ball Supergamein the near future, fans need to look elsewhere.
Dragon Ball Super and the Multiverse
The answer to solvingDragon Ball’s problems already exists, and it lies withinDragon Ball Superitself. While there is still awell of untapped potential forDragon Ball Supergames, that series also opens up a ton of other possibilities, particularly when it introduced the multiverse. This sequel makes it clear that the universe that Goku and Vegeta live in is just one of twelve universes, each with vastly different worlds, races, and adventures to be had. Though universes tend to mirror one another (ie. Universe 6 and Universe 7), that still leaves six very distinct universe types to play with.
Dragon Ballgames need to capitalize on this newfound lore, using this as a chance to tell stories that have never been told before. The style ofDragon Ballis iconic in its own right, and aDragon Ballgame that makes no mention of Goku could probably still perform rather well. In this scenario, players would be able to make their own character from a selection of races and live out their ownDragon Ballstory in another universe. There are a number of different ways Bandai Namco could go about this.
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Other Dragon Ball Universes
Though fans are most familiar with Universe 7,Dragon Ball Supercreated 11 other universesthat could be explored, potentially more. Of these, certain choices seem most likely to be featured in a future game. First, Universe 6 is very much like Universe 7 since the two are twin universes. Setting aDragon Ballgame here would be great as it would still allow players to use the races they are familiar with as Saiyans, Namekians, and Frieza Clan characters all exist within this universe. Likewise, Universe 6 is the only other universe in the multiverse that has a set of the titular Dragon Balls.
Beyond this, Universes 1 and 12 would also be good picks, as they are listed to have the highest mortal power of the multiverse. This would allow players to experiment with brand new races that would still have the potential to become as powerful as a Saiyan. Picking a universe with a more balanced out mortal power level would help avoid the problem ofSaiyans being the only race capable of attaining god-like levels of powerand races like Earthlings and Namekians becoming trivial.
Dragon Ball Super’s 6 Erased Universes
Finally,Dragon Ball Superbriefly mentions six other universes, presumably numbered 13 through 18, that Grand Zeno erased at some point. Whereas all the other universes have some established lore about them like theirGods of Destruction and Angelsas well as their ten strongest fighters, these universes would be completely free of creative restrictions, allowing the makers of the game to do really anything they want. One option would be to have the game set before these universes were erased, perhaps showing the events that led up to that erasure or simply exploring untold stories from that time, but there’s another way players could visit these universes.
At theend of the Tournament of Power, Android 17 wishes on the Super Dragon Balls to restore all the universes that were erased. It is clear that his intent was likely to return the universes that were erased as part of the Tournament of Power, but that isn’t exactly what he said. It’s possible that this wish could have restored the other six universes that were erased as well, so perhaps the nextDragon Ball Zgame could show what is happening in these universes after their revival. Regardless, it would be nice to see aDragon Ballgame take a brand new approach like this soon.
Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2is available now on PC, PS4, Stadia, Switch, and Xbox One.
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