Dragon Ball FighterZ Roster - every playable character announced so far
From its years of very rich, complicated lore, Dragon Ball FighterZ has a lot of characters to choose from...
But that hasn't stopped series creator Akira Toriyama from designing a brand-new character for the Dragon Ball FighterZ roster. The mysterious Android 21 has now been confirmed as playable, transforming into a Majinn-like appearance to join the fray.
2018 is shaping up to be a pretty decent year for fighting games, and January alone is rather busy. We've got Street Fighter 5 Arcade Edition, and crucially we also have Dragon Ball FighterZ- the latest fighter from Namco that combines the enormously popular Dragon Ball universe with top-tier fighting action from Arc System Works. ArcSys really do know how to make a good fighting game, and FighterZ is a strong take on the genre, with three-on-three action that somewhat resembles Marvel vs. Capcom 3. Three-on-three means a large character roster - and that's what we're here to talk about.
The Dragon Ball universe is full of characters to choose from, and ArcSys has spread out the fighter archetypes among their chosen roster well. From 30 years of content comes this limited roster, but it seems to be a pretty positive character list so far, with fans reacting well.
We'll keep updating this page as Dragon Ball FighterZ gets close to launch, keeping this character list up to date with the officially announced roster plus any additional leaks - and any future DLC. So, let's get to it - here's the characters:
Dragon Ball FighterZ Characters - the complete character roster
Here's the confirmed character roster for Dragon Ball FighterZ - we'll keep updating this as we get closer to launch, and add more information on how each character plays as we see more of them.
- Android 21
The latest and reportedly final character to be added to the Dragon Ball FighterZ roster, Android 21 was first revealed in story trailers as far back as last September. She was dressed like a scientist at that point, but in an issue of Japanese magazine V-Jump, it's been revealed that she'll change into a Majin-like form to fight, complete with pink skin, black eyes and baggy white pants. As for moves, it seems like Android 21 will have the power to absorb energy from her opponent and use their own attacks against them.
- Goku
It wouldn't be a Dragon Ball game without Goku, of course, and so he's the basic character for Dragon Ball FighterZ. Think of him as your Ryu. He comes packing two Kamehameha super moves and one extra super move that sees him transform into his Super Saian 3 form before delivering one massive Kamehameha. As you'd expect.
- Vegeta
You can't have Goku without Vegeta, so here he is as one of the first members of he Dragon Ball FighterZ roster. He's got loads of great beam attacks and one of his supers is the simply-named Big Bang Attack - a giant ball of ki that'll chase down his foes.
- Gohan (Teen version)
Gohan's half-human, half Saiyan in the Dragon Ball lore, but that doesn't stop him from being damn powerful. In FighterZ Gohan even has a super move where he calls in his dad to give him a helping hand - though this isn't the last we'll see of Gohan...
- Trunks (Super Saiyan Future version)
Trunks is a warrior from the future who comes to the past to warn of incoming threats and even help to battle a few here and there, and unlike most of the Dragon Ball FighterZ cast he has a weapon, a sword, that he can deploy during combos.
- Krillin
Krillin is Goku's original training partner and is said to be the strongest human around. He's got the martial arts skills you'd expect for that reputation, and can fire off some pretty impressive ki attacks with his supers.
- Piccolo
If the green, antenna-having look doesn't clue you in, Piccolo is an alien. He's got a few particularly powerful supers for zoning out your opponent and keeping them away, and in Dragon Ball FighterZ he's also got Dhalsim-like skills so he can stretch his extremities to hit from a distance.
- Frieza
As evil emperors go Frieza would rank pretty high, especially with moves like, you know, Death Ball and Surprise Death Beam. He's big on the death, basically. In FighterZ he can also assume his Golden Form, which powers him up significantly.
- Cell
Cell's name is pretty on the nose, since he's created from a mixture of DNA scraped from the best fighters in the universe. In Dragon Ball FighterZ he's a highly mobile opponent with command grabs, some great normals and even a few good ranged zoning options.
- Buu
The evil side of Buu has long since been destroyed, and so the one we're getting in FighterZ is the eccentric, bubbly, sizable fighter who has a suitably eclectic move set. In FighterZ a Buu player should be able to force their opponent to guess thanks to his wide range of abilities.
- Android 18 (with Android 17)
Android 18 is actually two characters in one in Dragon Ball FighterZ, since Android 18/Lazuli is joined by Android 17, with the latter tagging in during certain moves. This will prove difficult to master, but when used properly it should be just as difficult to battle against.
- Android 16
Android 16 is actually modeled after the dead son of his creator, which, yes, is a touch morbid. While engineered to kill Goku, he actually turned out to be a pretty good guy. In Dragon Ball FighterZ he's a grappler character with all manner of command grabs that lead to instant and deadly damage unless you get out of the way.
- Tien Shinhan (with Chiaotzu)
Tien Shinhan is another character who brings some assistance to the battlefield, offsetting his lower power level. He can summon the cutesy Chiaotzu to prevent his opponent from using their moves to let you begin your attack.
- Yamcha
Despite the game having a Z in the title, Yamcha isn't a complete jobber in Dragon Ball FighterZ. He's all about rushing down the opponent with high speed and quick but weak attacks - death by a thousand cuts, so to speak. Even his level 3 super involves a dashing assault on his opponent.
- Captain Ginyu (and the Ginyu Force)
Captain Ginyu works for Frieza, though he's no lackey - he has his own group of friends, the Ginyu Force. In Dragon Ball FighterZ he makes heavy use of them as assist characters, with Ginyu's core moves involving calling in his friends Guldo, Recoome, Jeice and Burter to help him out. This can obviously be difficult and challenging to fight against - so if you can master this, it can make you a challenging opponent.
- Nappa
Another of Frieza's buddies, Nappa also used to be Vegeta's partner in crime. Nappa is a big bloke, and he has the powerful, overwhelming attacks you'd expect for somebody with such power. He also has some really useful ranged techniques including the ability to summon an explosion at the feet of his opponent in an instant.
- Gotenks
Gotenks is on the small side but isn't lacking in power despite that - he's got some incredibly strong powers, and his level 3 super even involves humiliating your opponent by turning them into a particularly explosive volleyball. Given his size it likely won't surprise to learn that he's incredibly fast on his feet, and that fact turns him into a full-on rush-down character in FighterZ.
- Gohan (Adult version)
We touched on the teenage version of Gohan earlier, but you can also play as his adult form in Dragon Ball FighterZ. Think of this as a twist on the same character, since adult Gohan shares many moves with his earlier self - just the properties are quite different and he has a few new tricks to boot. The big gain is the Unlock Potential super, a huge buff for the character's skills.
- Kid Buu
Multiple versions of the same character are a big thing in Dragon Ball, you might notice - and so here we have another version of Buu. Kid Buff is a buff, evil demon, and a lot of his moves are stolen from other fighters. There's also more Dhalsim-style stretchy limb action and a great ranged area-of-effect super move, Assault Rain.
- Hit
Hit is an assassin who comes with one absolutely key ability - Time Skip. This lets him freeze time and jump forward by just a fraction of a second - something that in a fighter can prove pretty useful. The time skip is used in a bunch of Hit's moves including his supers and a command dash, and he's a dangerous close-combat rush-down character as a result.
- Beerus
Somehow it isn't all that surprising to learn that the God of Destruction is a cat - and Beerus has all the abilities and pain befitting a god more than a cat. In Dragon Ball FighterZ Beerus comes packing an absolute shed load of projectile moves making for a formidable zoning character. His level 3 super is a deadly grab.
- Goku Black
What's one more Goku, right? In Dragon Ball Super, Goku Black is - you guessed it - an evil version of Goku. I mean, he's not technically Goku but... ahh, I digress. In FighterZ, Goku Black retains some of Goku's move set but plays very differently thanks to his God Slicer, a deadly energy blade he holds and uses in battle. His supers are amazing looking - he summons things like lances and a scythe from the God Slicer energy to attack with them.
- Super Saiyan Blue Goku & Vegeta
This isn't one character but rather is two - but they're similar enough that it makes sense to group them together here. The Super Saiyan Blue versions of these characters are said to be the most powerful versions of them - and in Dragon Ball FighterZ that manifests in the form of increased speed, increased power and generally more powerful moves. These are 'glass cannon' characters, however, so they have low health. Think Akuma when compared to Ryu. These guys aren't unlocked from the start unless you pre-order the game - then you'll get a code to play as them right away.
Dragon Ball FighterZ Stages - a complete stage list (so far)
So far a variety of stages have been confirmed for Dragon Ball FighterZ. The stages cover a wide variety of areas from throughout the Dragon Ball lore. Here's the stages:
- World Tournament Stage
- Islands
- Destroyed West City
- West City
- Planet Namek
- Destroyed Namek
- Cell Games Arena
- Space (Earth)
- Spinach Wastes
- Wasteland
- Wasteland (Dusk)
- Sacred World of the Kai
- Underground Lake
Dragon Ball FighterZ updates
Ahead of its release on the Nintendo Switch on September 28, new 1v1 and 2v2 gameplay options will allow players to select one or two characters to comprise their team, instead of the standard 3v3 matches. The update also adds new levels to Ranked Match play, as well as the new Galactic Arena stage.
