Highlights

• Dragon Ball games have had hits and misses, with the likes of Budokai Tenkaichi 2 and Xenoverse standing out for their unique gameplay styles.
• Burst Limit impresses with stunning visuals and fluid combat, while Supersonic Warriors offers unique 'what if' scenarios.
• FighterZ stands out for competitive play, Dokkan Battle dominates mobile gaming with its animation quality and strategic team-building.

No other anime outside of Pokemon has impacted the world of gaming quite like Akira Toriyama's Dragon Ball. Dragon Ball, Dragon Ball Z, Dragon Ball GT, and Dragon Ball Super have long been licensed to gaming studios, and new games continue to be churned out like clockwork.

The games are definitely not all winners. For example, Dragon Ball Z: Ultimate Battle 22 dropped into game stores without any fanfare or critical love. Yet, there are a bunch of them that are genuinely great. Some are wonderful because they're technically brilliant, while others stand out because they capture the spirit of the series. Out of them all, though, these are the greatest.

Updated April 22, 2024 By Ben Jessey: Sparking Zero is on the verge of release, so now it's a good time to look back on the best Dragon Ball games the world has seen so far. In an effort to do that, we've returned to our collection of the greatest to add a few more.

19 Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 2

The Budokai Tenkaichi series is a favorite among fans. Yet, the original is fairly mediocre. It was the sequel that really helped popularize the series. While the reason for this can’t be put down to the box art with Trunks and his blade, that certainly didn’t hurt, as it looks incredible.

More incredible, though, is the impressive roster in this title. While it might not quite be Tenkaichi 3, it still contains most people you expect to be in a DBZ game and some you don’t. On top of that, the arena fighter combat is fluid and fun.

18 Dragon Ball Xenoverse

One complaint you could have about Dragon Ball games is that they rarely veer from the classic Dragon Ball Z story. Xenoverse, however, does tell a more original tale, even if it isn't entirely different. The narrative revolves around two villains manipulating time to change the events of Dragon Ball Z.

So, you still play through the major DBZ moments, but the specifics of the events are a bit different. One major difference is that your created protagonist is now there. The game is an action RPG, so you build up your hero over the course of the game. Both the story and progression are fun, while the core combat is just fine.

17 Dragon Ball Z: Burst Limit

The first thing to notice about Burst Limit is how beautiful the game looks; it makes a serious argument for the most beautiful Dragon Ball Z game. Few Dragon Ball titles include character models as stunning as the cel-shaded ones featured in this 2008 fighter. While Burst Limit's visuals are its biggest strength, it's not the only thing the game offers.

Battles provide plenty of substance to go with the game's style, as each fight plays out at a brisk and enjoyable pace. Even though it might seem simple at first, there is satisfying depth to the gameplay. If only there were more depth to the roster, as one of the few downsides to the title is its small set of characters. Luckily, all the main figures pre-Buu saga make the cut.

16 Dragon Ball Z Supersonic Warriors

Most of the best Dragon Ball Z games simply re-tell story arcs from the anime. Supersonic Warriors is no exception, but it also includes multiple 'what if' scenarios. These unique stories play around with the well-known DBZ narrative to provide something different. For instance, at one point in Piccolo's scenario, he brings back and fuses with Demon King Piccolo to gain the strength required to take on Buu.

These somewhat original storylines are fascinating and spotlight characters who deserve some extra attention. The gameplay, on the other hand, isn't as groundbreaking, but it's enough to keep you entertained.

15 Dragon Ball Z: The Legacy Of Goku 2

It's always nice when the DB franchise dabbles in other genres. In fact, some of the best Dragon Ball Z games don't focus solely on fighting, such as Legacy of Goku 2. This 16-bit title is an RPG that puts some focus on the adventures the characters have instead of just the big fights.

Of course, there are still many fights to be had in the game, but you don't jump from fighting Android 19 to immediately squaring up to Android 18. Instead, you travel around the immersive world of Dragon Ball, finding treasures and talking to people. On the whole, the exploration is fun, and the combat is simple yet oddly satisfying.

14 Dragon Ball: Raging Blast

Raging Blast aimed to take the formula for 3D, action-packed fights to the next level with more cinematic elements and grand, flashy attacks. For its time (and even now), the game is a graphical masterpiece that expertly captures the style of the DBZ manga and anime.

Gameplay-wise, Raging Blast doesn't introduce many new elements to the series as it plays similarly to the Tenkaichi series. Yet, battles are still fluid and fun, even if the wonky camera can be annoying. Plus, it provides something the anime never did: Super Saiyan 3 Vegeta.

13 Dragon Ball Z: Xenoverse 2

The main issue with Xenoverse 2, and something you should know before playing it, is that it is similar to the first one. You're still trying to stop some villains from altering the events of Dragon Ball Z as a customizable protagonist.

Yet, out of the two games, the sequel is slightly superior. This comes from the fact that it's a bit more polished and significantly bigger. It's certainly bigger if you count the DLCs. This game has a whole host of additional content that was continually released long after the game came out.

12 Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 3

Tenkaichi 3 remains one of the most talked about and beloved games in Dragon Ball history. A topic that generally gets brought up when discussing the title is its roster. This game has pretty much everyone. Joining the standard names like Goku and Vegeta are fighters such as Fasha, Spopovich, and Devilman. It's really the ultimate Dragon Ball Z toy box game.

This roster is best showcased during the underrated Mission 100 mode. In this mode, you have a set of challenge fights to complete against pre-set opposition, and you control a team of your choosing. It's pretty challenging and enjoyable to play.

11 Dragon Ball: Fusions

Dragon Ball: Fusions is a surprising video game that few imagined would be as enjoyable as it is. As a Dragon Ball RPG, it is already a rare beast in the DBZ Universe. It is an off-the-wall RPG that focuses primarily on fan service, full of tongue-in-cheek references throughout the universe.

The game is a bit of an oddball that serves up a unique RPG experience, offering fans the sort of quirky content never really seen in a DBZ title before. However, it can leave a few fans feeling a little off, so go into it with an open mind if you plan on diving into this bizarre journey.

10 Super Dragon Ball Z

When it released on the PlayStation 2, many fans didn't really care for Super Dragon Ball Z. The fast-paced gameplay of the Budokai and Budokai Tenkaichi series left fans hoping Super Dragon Ball Z would be an exciting action game, but what they got was a far slower-paced, technical fighter with far fewer characters than expected. Tenkaichi 3 had over 150 fighters, so it was a shock when Super Dragon Ball Z's roster fell far short of that mark.

But as time passed on, fans of well-structured fighting games re-discovered this hidden gem, and remembered "Wait, this game was made by Akira Nishitani — you know, the guy who made Street Fighter 2." And you can tell. Plus, you get to play as Chi-Chi, which is a rarity worth celebrating.

9 Dragon Ball: Advanced Adventure

There are very few specifically Dragon Ball games out there as most titles are rooted in the popular Dragon Ball Z saga. The old-school series is often neglected for the more over-the-top action, and fans who go back to the old series often don't care for the softer, comedic tone of Dragon Ball.

Many fans made a huge mistake overlooking Dragon Ball: Advanced Adventure, a Gameboy Advance beat-em-up game where you play from the start of the series to the final fight with King Piccolo. With a combination of platforming, flying, and fighting stages, the game boasts incredible variety even before considering you can play through it using multiple characters. It's one of the best Dragon Ball handheld titles and well worth a revisit.

8 Dragon Ball Z: Buu's Fury

For many Americans growing up in the early Toonami era of Dragon Ball Z, Legacy of Goku 2 was the best Dragon Ball Z game. Sadly, when the Budokai series came out, many gamers forgot about these old-school games in order to focus on the new 3D fighting game entries.

Many didn't even play Buu's Fury, Legacy of Goku 2's sequel. It took all the great gameplay of the prior games — western RPG gameplay, for example — and made it even better. Plus, it has digital renditions of Bruce Faulconer's Dragon Ball Z music, which, for many growing up with the series, provides a huge dose of nostalgia.

7 Dragon Ball Z: Attack Of The Saiyans

Dragon Ball Z: Attack of the Saiyans for the DS is another often-forgotten entry by fans of the series. It isn't the first adventure game to tell the story of the Saiyans -- or even the first RPG to dive into the Saiyan Saga.

While that doesn't sound like a lot of content, it starts in the Dragon Ball era and adds a lot of content to pad things out. However, what it offers is a complex, interesting JRPG gameplay system. For fans sick of DBZ fighters, this game is a great example of the variety of genres the series encompasses.

6 Dragon Ball Z: Infinite World

As the PlayStation 2 neared its demise in 2008, one last Dragon Ball game was released to add to the already fantastic lineup the PS2 was known for. This game is essentially like a Budokai 4, taking most good elements from Budokai 3 and tweaking some major flaws.

The "Dragon Rush" feature from Budokai is entirely left out here, which is a huge plus. While not nearly as popular as its predecessors, garnering quite a few low review scores from game critics, this game is loved by many fans and stands as one of the most underrated and underplayed games in the franchise.

5 Dragon Ball Z: Super Butoden 2

To modern players, it may seem like borderline blasphemy to place some ancient, 2D fighting game above the like of Budokai Tenkaichi or Xenoverse. Other people who might've been on the old-school internet should recognize the sprites as being omnipresent on forum signatures since the early '00s.

But few have actually played this incredible SNES fighting game. Among SNES fighters, this game was superb. It features stages so massive with so many different environments the game needed a split-screen. While it features far fewer characters than modern Dragon Ball Z games, none of them feel like model swaps. It also features a unique story that leads to some strange plot threads involving Bojack.

4 Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot

One of the newer entries in the long list of Dragon Ball games is the highly-rated Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot. It attempts to do what has been done countless times: have the player punch and ki-blast their way through Dragon Ball's lovable story, but this time, it adds some key RPG elements and polishes the 3D battle system.

Kakarot is a fantastic single-player experience that really appeals to die-hard fans. However, one of the few downsides is the lack of content for players who haven't grown up with this anime titan. The RPG elements are fun and intuitive, but they get extremely repetitive and stale quickly. However, looking past the minor flaws, this is a must-play for any aspiring Saiyan warrior.

3 Dragon Ball Z: Budokai 3

For several years, Dragon Ball Z: Budokai 3 was the best fighting game in the series. It featured a terrific balance of characters, gameplay mechanics, fast-paced action, story mode, and just plain fun. No other game has managed to integrate a rock-paper-scissors mechanic or featured a cast of well-balanced Dragon Ball Z fighters like Budokai 3 did.

Budokai 3 exists as a love letter to the whole franchise, featuring characters from the entire timeline. It offered fans a way to compete against one another (in a sense) in the pre-online-heavy days of video games. It made the less-appreciated Dragon Ball GT cool — arguably more so than anything has before or since. It even made character transformations feel valuable.

2 Dragon Ball FighterZ

So how many Dragon Ball Z fighting games are played competitively? Very few, but FighterZ has such a balanced, responsive, and technical fighting system that the game remains a popular choice in Esports. The 2D title is also very easy for less-experienced fighting game fans to enjoy, and it's arguably the purest fighter ever released under the Dragon Ball banner.

Battles are fast, fluid, and look beautiful. Plus, the best characters feel distinct from each other and not just like mere remodels. The game even attempts to deliver a unique storyline, and while it's not the best Dragon Ball narrative ever told, it's still compelling.

1 Dragon Ball Z: Dokkan Battle

From its incredibly powerful LR units to its fantastic animation quality, Dokkan Battle continues to dominate the mobile gaming space, frequently finding itself at the pinnacle of the top-grossing charts. Since its split release in Japan and globally in 2015, Dokkan has made immense strides, revolutionizing the franchise as well as the mobile gaming space.

Longtime fans of Dokkan can attest to the incredibly high standard of animation that Akatsuki adheres to. The game's seventh-anniversary units push the boundaries of what is possible on mobile devices. The gameplay remains simple, with a larger emphasis placed on team-building and pre-fight strategy. While there's certainly more to fights than just tapping bubbles, you can absolutely clear a majority of the available content without fully understanding how collecting KI spheres even works.

This low bar of entry is welcoming to new players but beware of the most difficult modes, like Red Zone, which are tailored for expert players with a diverse roster of powerful Saiyans and villains to choose from for their team.