Dragon Ball FighterZ

Plot

The story mode takes place between the Universe 6 and Future Trunks sagas of Dragon Ball Super. Android 21, a former human turned android by the Red Ribbon Army after her son became the model for Android 16, repairs 16 and uses the Dragon Balls to resurrect Frieza, Cell, Nappa, and the Ginyu Force. She seals the powers and souls of Earth's strongest warriors. To control the monster within her, she and 16 develop a linking system that allows a human soul (the player) to possess warriors.

The player possesses Goku and awakens near Bulma, who asks him to address the crisis of cloned fighters and missing Z Warriors. After confronting 16, Beerus and Whis explain the soul link but refuse to intervene. Goku rescues Krillin, battles Cell, and meets a woman claiming to be a Red Ribbon scientist. The reunited Z Fighters learn that Android 21 leads the Red Ribbon Army.

The scientist reveals herself as Android 21, destroys 16, and knocks out Goku. The player briefly possesses Cell to fight 21 before returning to Goku. 21 devours the resurrected villains and waits for the heroes to grow stronger. Goku brings the fight to the Sacred World of the Kai, where the Z Fighters obliterate 21. Whis expresses disappointment over unanswered questions about her.

Development and release

Dragon Ball FighterZ is Arc System Works' fourth Dragon Ball game, following the Dragon Ball Z: Supersonic Warriors titles and Dragon Ball Z: Extreme Butōden. Despite comparisons by western outlets to the Marvel vs. Capcom series, Hiroki said there was no intention to emulate that series. Android 21 was marketed as an original character supervised by Akira Toriyama, who finalized her design based on developer suggestions but had no direct input into her story. The developers sought Toriyama's involvement to generate interest with a slick design for a transforming character.

Reception

The game received generally favorable reviews, with critics praising the art style, combat system, character roster, and story mode. Several called it the best Dragon Ball game and one of the best fighting games in years. The online connectivity was criticized. Mike Fahey found the story mode surprisingly good and praised Android 21 as a delightful new character who eats transformed warriors as snacks.

The second playable version of Android 21 drew a divisive response; some players called her unbalanced and claimed her presence in competitive play led to declining interest from high-profile professionals. The game was frequently compared to the Marvel vs. Capcom series, with many considering it superior to Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite. At EVO 2018, FighterZ drew 2,530 entrants, the highest registration for a non-Street Fighter game at the tournament.

The grand finals between SonicFox and GO1 peaked at about 258,000 concurrent Twitch viewers, a record for an EVO main event at the time. SonicFox won the inaugural EVO championship; at EVO 2019, GO1 defeated SonicFox to claim the title.