Dragon Ball games and I

 I'll repeat what I've said countless times already: While I don't particularly care about Dragon Ball's manga and show, I do love the videogames. Doesn't matter the console, except the Nintendo 64, you can count on Goku and company to make their appearance somewhere, somehow. So, lo and behold, these are the Dragon Ball games I like the most:


10) Dragon Ball Z - Attack of the Saiyans

 Attack of the Saiyans is fairly interesting in that it's both underrated and overrated at the same time. Y'see, those that know of it, consider it to be the second coming of Jesus or something, which it isnt', but the people that do know it are very few! To be fair, it's my favorite Dragon Ball RPG, followed closely behind by the SNES card-based RPG, that also covered the Saiyan Saga(And the Frieza Saga!). But I digress. The combat system is fun, the sprites are gorgeous, and while they did have to pepper the game with 'filler'(It is an RPG after all), it's not too bad. What holds the game back are the reused enemy sprites, the slowness of the combat(I mean, attacks look very cool, but they are also very slow!), the high encounter rate and the slow pace of the dialogue speeches. Were 'emotion bubbles' needed as well?
 The game ends with a teaser for the Frieza Saga, but it never got a sequel.

9) Dragon Ball Z - Hyper Dimension

 Despite what people would have you believe, the SNES Dragon Ball fighting games have aged very, very poorly. Choppy animations, that make for poor gameplay(When it comes to fighting games, having such few frames for each attack actually affects the gameplay) and very shallow mechanics. Super Butoden 3 even lacks a Story Mode, and the character roster is questionable to say the least. Then there's Hyper Dimension, not only is it downright gorgeous, but the gameplay is fairly unique; your life gauge doubles as Ki bar!, then there's Fatal Fury-like background attacks.
 It's the only SNES Dragon Ball fighter I actually go back to every now and then.

8) Dragon Ball Kai - Ultimate Butoden

 Ultimate Butoden isn't a very good fighting game, I'll give you that. There's about 3 'character templates'(Kids, Adults, Heavies) that share Normals, and each character has only three special attacks to set them apart from the rest of the cast. Ultimate Attacks engage in dumb little mini-games, and characters are balanced according to the show instead of seeking balance among every character. But, BUT! it has an excellent Story Mode, even if it lacks voices, has a great character roster, for a first entry AND a DS game, characters have alternate costumes that they wore and that no other game has given them and for the first time in Dragon Ball history, you could customize, somewhat, the appearance of every character.
 When not looking for a serious fighting game, but a Dragon Ball game on the go, Kai is my go-to game.

7) Dragon Ball Z Budokai

 When it was released, it wasn't a particularly deep fighting game, and by today's standards, it's downright terrible. But it has the best Story Mode of any other Dragon Ball game, and among the very best Story Modes in Fighting games, perhaps only behind Mortal Kombat. While I'd never pop this game for casual play, every now and then, even as of 2015, I'll marathon the entire Story Mode in one go. It's that good. And no other Dragon Ball game, beside Ultimate Butoden, has ever come as close to it.
 This is a Fighting game that I play for the Story, and for what it's worth, back in the day, I also played it for its gameplay.

6) Dragon Ball Z Supersonic Warriors

 Supersonic Warriors is among the most original Dragon Ball fighters out there. It takes inspiration from Psychic Force, 1 on 1 battles(Even though you can make teams of up to three fighters and tag them on the fly) on a 2-D plane, but you have free movement over all 8 directions while both fighters face each other automatically. It's fast paced, looks good and the game lends itself to the on-the-go format. Supersonic Warriors would go on to have a sequel on the DS, but while the redrawn sprites and new characters are a great addition, the combo system is busted, it feels slower and the balance is even worse.
 I would go on to clock hours upon hours on this one

5) Dragon Ball Z Tenkaichi Tag Team

 We can all agree in that Dragon Ball Tenkaichi 3 is the most popular Dragon Ball Z game out there, and some would even call it the best. Now, take Tenkaichi 3 and add two-on-two battles and you get Tenkaichi Tag Team. I wasn't expecting a whole lot out of this game, but it manages to have a more than respectable character roster, and they managed to keep the gameplay intact from the PS2's Tenkaichi 3.
 I admit that I didn't play this one as much as I would've liked, but I blame it on how hard it is to take the PSP around!

4) Dragon Ball Raging Blast 2

 When I first tried Raging Blast 2's demo I hated it. They changed the controls, and the game felt weird. But for whatever reason I decided to buy it... and I liked it. Controls are different from Tenkaichi 3, but it doesn't make them worse. There's less characters, but it's understandable. And the story mode? There's none. But for as many things that Tenkaichi 3 did better, Raging Blast also has its merits. It looks gorgeous, there's more unique Ki auras, projectiles have many new and different particle effects, transformations are more detailed. Not to mention that characters have been given more unique animations(Even if a lot are shared between each other), and the controls have been simplified so that it's easier to pick up. Not to mention that it has a couple of characters that no other Dragon Ball game had had at the time, like Tarble.
 A more than admirable reimagining of the Tenkaichi series, it's a shame it ended after Raging Blast 2.

3) Dragon Ball Z Budokai Tenkaichi 3

 People still play this game to this day, and there's a reason for it: No other game mimics Dragon Ball as well as this one, nor do any of them have as many different playable characters. Sure, most of them are clones, but in an anime game, does it matter? The game wants to be a Dragon Ball game, not a Fighting game, and in that regards it's the best one there is.
 Back in the day people would argue over which series was better, Budokai or Tenkaichi. And my answer was: Want a Fighting game based on Dragon Ball? Budokai. Want a Dragon Ball game based on Fighting? Tenkaichi.

2) Dragon Ball Z Densetsu

 A Japan exclusive, Dragon Ball Densetsu is a 3-on-3 fighting game of sorts. There's no life bars,well, there are, but the way in which you deal damage is fairly novel. You must hit enemies, and avoid being hit, in order to fill the 'momentum' bar with you color, once it's filled you character will use a Special attack and deal some damage. Rinse and repeat until you defeat your enemies. And you move by holding Up on the directional pad in order to fly towards your targeted enemy, or Down in order to retreat. Sounds simple, even awkward, but it's very fun. Back in the day, it was just amazing watching all 6 characters flying around, duking it out.
 I love Dragon Ball Densetsu, there's been some attempts at borrowing some elements, like Battle of Z and Xenoverse, but none managed to be quite as fun.

1) Super Dragon Ball Z

 I love fighting games, so it's no surprise that this is my favorite Dragon Ball game. It's funny, because most Dragon Ball fans don't 'get' this game. Most complaints lie on the very small character roster, but they don't get that each character, minus the bonus Console characters, are very different from each other, and balanced properly. Yes, Kuririn and Chi-Chi can fight one-on-one with Buu just like that. Then there're the complaints on the few modes, which are valid, but this being a proper fighting game... you don't need fluff. Arcade, Versus and Survival, that's where it's at. Lastly, the graphics have also being a point of contempt, citing how dull it looks... but unlike other Dragon Ball games, this one didn't go for flash, but rather style. It tries to look like the manga, as opposed to the anime, which translates into saturated colors, and the hand-drawn-like stages are beautiful. And Cell? Cell stands in a Muai-Thai stance, he's never looked this badass before.
As for what makes it stand out, as far as I'm concerned, there's the fact that this is, as I've said before, a proper fighting game, with real combos, command special moves and cancels, and it all moves at a very fast speed, which I love. To sweeten the deal, there're never-been-playable-before characters like Z-Sword Gohan and Chi-Chi, and a redesigned Cyber Frieza. Characters can also be customized throughout skill trees and by collecting the Dragon Balls and wishing to inherit special attacks, so that no two custom characters are alike.