Dragon Balls longevity in games is insane, if you think about it. Akira Toriyama's anime and manga effectively stopped creating content in the mid-90s, before the franchise really exploded and became a staple of the video game scene. Most of the “greatest DBZ game” that launched for a decade with no new canon content… and yet fans kept coming back to replay the classic sagas.
Although they are not as common as they should be, What-About Dragon Ball stories tend to be the most exciting part of any game that includes them. Budokai and Budokai Tenkaichitheir all-time best reputation stems from their willingness to ask “what would have happened if Raditz had amnesia?” Or, “what if a Roshi also fought Broly?” Manga and anime may not be able to answer these questions, but the games certainly can. Sometimes they even explore some truly “bad scenarios” that could befall the Z-Fighters.
Only Dragon Ball games will be considered.
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The Evil Avengers in DBZ: Budokai Tenkaichi
The Nightmare: Dragon Ball's Worst Villains work together to defeat the Z-Fighters
- Darkness level: 8/10
- What if scenario name: The plan to conquer the earth
- Final: The united villains defeat the Z-Fighters and then begin fighting each other to see who will rule the Earth
- Winner: Bojack, Broly, Frieza, Cooler, Baby Vegeta and Super 17 (but there can only be one)
Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi offers the widest selection of scenarios that embrace the dark, at least on home consoles. “The Plan to Conquer Earth” story has a fairly simple premise: Think again DBZ and GTs major villains join forces to destroy the Z-Fighters?
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That's pretty much it, with each battle simply pitting one of six villains against one of the heroes. Obviously, this concept itself is excruciating, and the definition of a “worst case scenario”, and the ending involves the wiping out of all the Z Fighters. Even the final punchline, aka the villains turning on each other to see who will be the last monster standing, comes with dire consequences for the world and its millions of collateral damage.
There can only be one ruler of this world…
The only thing that hurts this scenario is that it doesn't fit the timeline at all, as there is no idea that these characters could have joined forces to create a united front. All DBZ villains die long before the arrival of Baby Vegeta and Super 17, and while death is not permanent in Dragon Ballthen the arc ignores this part of the action.
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Cell wins in DBZ Supersonic Warriors
The premise: Cell Goes On A Perfect Run
- Darkness level: 8.5/10
- What if scenario name: The story of the cell
- Final: Win Cell Game, Defeat Majin Buu, Destroy Earth
- Winner: Cell
I included Budokai Tenkaichis “home console” warning specifically because Supersonic Warriors and its sequels, such as the handhelds DBZ game has the strongest selection of What If scenarios in the entire franchise. They focus primarily on these types of storylines, with canon being secondary. Cell arguably gets the best story in each game, and they pretty much follow the same formula: He wins.
In practice, Cell's story has no major surprises, except for a few fights against other villains such as Dr. Gero and Majin Buu (or Frieza in Supersonic Warriors 2s version). Simply put, Cell defeats Gohan and wipes out the Z-Fighters. Later, he even defeats and consumes Majin Buu, leaving no one on Earth to challenge him. But he feels a stronger presence in the universe, so he destroys Earth before moving on.
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Majin Buu kills everyone in DBZ Budokai Tenkaichi
The Twist: Majin Buu makes a huge mistake
- Darkness level: 9/10
- What if scenario name: The destructive Majin
- Winner: Majin Buu
- Final: Buu kills all the Z-Fighters and even Janemba, leaving himself as the last person on Earth. However, Buu realizes that being the last one up is a very lonely existence.
Yes, another What If Dragon Ball story that follows the “villain wins, lol” formula. “The Destructive Majin” effectively repeats Cell's Story from Supersonic Warriorsalbeit with Buu as the protagonist. He defeats Vegeta, Goku, Gotenks, and Super Vegito, the last thanks to self-destruction that comes with the bonus of human genocide. As Buu stands alone on Earth, Janemba appears to challenge the Majin, just for it Fusion Reborn villain to also fall at his hands. Simple plot that sounds boringly dark… except for a little note at the end. With no one left around, Majin Buu learns the meaning of loneliness. The soul-crushing meaning.
And now the screams of Majin Buu are all that echo across this land… and there is no one to hear them.
Now, that's a poetic way to end a What If Dragon Ball story that plays things pretty safe. Technically, Cell also feels disgruntled after he kills everyone, but that's because he wants someone to challenge him; in comparison, Buu feels genuinely lonely. As shown in the anime, Buu isn't inherently a villainous character, so this ending hits the mark.
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Emperor Frieza in DBZ Budokai Tenkaichi
The Darkness: The Screams Of The Innocent
- Darkness level: 9.5/10
- What if scenario name: The Cosmic Emperor
- Winner: Frieza
- Final: Frieza kills Goku and even Cooler and declares himself the undisputed ruler of the cosmos
Complete our “DBZ villains win” trilogy, Frieza has (naturally) been given some of these What-If scenarios. Even more so than Cell and Majin Buu, Frieza's win feels particularly dire, as he truly is the embodiment of an irrepressible villain with battle skin.
Budokai TenkaichiThe story mostly follows the same beats as the manga and anime, only with Frieza coming out on top against everyone, including Super Saiyan Goku. With all the Saiyans killed, Frieza's only remaining concern is his brother, Cooler; consequently he kills him too. Frieza doesn't quite manage to become immortal in this storyline, which takes something away from its overwhelming darkness; but an angry Frieza planning to unleash his fury on billions of people across the universe is arguably even scarier.
To this day, the cries of the dying innocent echo throughout the universe in vain…
Special mention to “Raging Frieza” and “The True Ruler” What-If stories from Dragon Ball Z: Budokaiwhich also ends with Frieza winning. In fact, he even becomes immortal, which no doubt makes them even darker Budokai Tenkaichis version. Still, I think the latter ends on a more unfortunate note.
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Fused Zamasu ends mortality in sparks! Zero
Desire: Zero Mortal Plan
- Darkness level: 10/10
- What if scenario name: Proof of Justice / Universe-Enlightening God
- Winner: Goku Black and Zamasu
- Final: Goku Black and Zamasu defeat the Saiyans and allow them to carry out the Zero Mortal Plan
Dragon Ball kicks! Zero leaned heavily on What-If Stories, which makes sense since it was billed as a sequel to Budokai Tenkaichi series. Quite a few end in hellish places, but Goku Black's episode delivers the absolute harshest ending. Basically, Goku Black and Zamasu defeat Trunks and Vegito, leaving no one to stand in their way and stop them from completing their Zero Mortal Plan. Time to wipe out every mortal in all 12 universes.
Yeah, there's really nothing else to say here, and this What-If story has by far the darkest ending of all Dragon Ball franchise. This goes beyond just winning one villain, and its broad reach affects every universe rather than just the main one. Goku Black and Zamasu kill billions and billions of innocent people.
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