The newest fighter coming to Dragon Ball FighterZ could be opening up new opportunities for more games involving a non-canon corner of the franchise that some fans still love, even if it's often ironically. With two new characters coming from Dragon Ball GT, specifically Super Baby 2 and Super Saiyan 4 Gogeta, this could reintroduce a lot of fans to a section of the series' history that Dragon Ball Super was seemingly built to squash.
This wouldn't be the first time that Dragon Ball GT has been included in the franchises tie-in games, but appearing in Dragon Ball FighterZ makes the most solid connection to the Super timeline. Considering the success of Arc System Works' fighting title, these new additions could be a way for Bandai Namco to test the waters and see how perceptive fans are to more content from GT.
It can be difficult to tell if fans really will be receptive of Dragon Ball GT, considering the non-canon series' current status as a bit of a meme factory for the series. However, it did hold some iconic transformations that, while never considered to be legitimate by many fans, did keep the series pushing forward during the long break between Dragon Ball Z and Super. So, while there are sections of the series that are lacking, the high points did reach far enough to cement themselves in certain corners of the fanbase for some time.
Dragon Ball GT's Canonicity and Reception
The main issue that many fans have with Dragon Ball GT is that fact that it is a non-canon entry into the franchise that wasn't directed or designed by Akira Toriyama, though his influence and original works did make it into the show at times. Other designers familiar with the franchise left their own lasting marks on the series, such as Katsuyoshi Nakatsuru who designed the Super Saiyan 4 form for GT, and also acted as the animation lead for the entire Freeza Saga. This new Super Saiyan form, or Super Saiya-jin for fans of the sub, has even received the blessing from Toriyama, not as an official part of the canon, but as a quality reimagining of Saiyan origins from Dragon Ball Z.
Still, Dragon Ball GT fell short in a number of other areas as well, often being criticized for being far too silly and being riddled with enough filler to make it stand out against Dragon Ball Z in that area, which is a feat unto itself. One jarring example would be the Para Para Brothers, a group of triplets who hold an entire episode captive dancing a repetitive dance in a dark cave until Goku, Trunks, and Pan take them out in a single punch each. These seemingly meaningless, dragging episodes combined with the very critical responses to characters like Pan continue to drag down the series as a whole, even if some of the concepts introduced were interesting in their own way.
Dragon Ball GT Characters in Other Games
Strangely, now that fans have had the benefit of time to look back on the strange non-canon series, some have found a sort of appreciation for the things that it did do right with the Dragon Ball formula. This has led to players asking to see Dragon Ball GT in games like Dragon Ball: Kakarot, as well as including the new characters and designs from the show into other games. In fact, some of the most successful Dragon Ball games, like the Budokai series, have at least included Super Saiyan 4 form in some way, sometimes going so far as to bring SS4 Gogeta into these fighting titles.
This isn't to say that Dragon Ball GT is suddenly a beloved classic or a misunderstood gem that simply had a bad wrap when it launched. Many of the initial criticisms of the show still remain valid, though some fans have begun to look past a few of the more silly aspects of the series and at the very least embrace the characters like Super Baby 2 that came out of it. As a result, the inclusion of GT's villains and unique Super Saiyan forms have become highly requested additions to more titles, including the Xenoverse series, and now being realized in FighterZ.
Testing The Waters in Dragon Ball FighterZ
There are few video game adaptions that capture the spirit of a show or movie in quite the way that Dragon Ball FighterZ has, both in the art style and the new storyline following the game's villain, Android 21. So, there's really no better way to test if Dragon Ball players, let alone fans of the franchise as a whole, would be receptive of new GT content than by including some new characters in the fighting game. The series has previously stuck pretty close to the Super timeline with new FighterZ additions like Master Roshi and Broly having filled out some of the latest slots, making the inclusion of characters from GT a big step for the game.
At this point it's up to the fan reactions to these characters joining the Dragon Ball FighterZ roster that may indicate where GT's place will be in the franchise moving forward. Considering the way fans have reacted so far, to both the announcement of Super Baby 2 and SS4 Gogeta, this could have implications for new titles or upcoming content like Dragon Ball: Kakarot's DLC. Of course, being included as additional content is one thing, but if the appreciation is great enough, there may be bigger moves in store for players looking to relive the Black Star Dragon Ball and Shadow Dragon Sagas.
A New Dragon Ball GT Title
The recent history of Dragon Ball games have generally seen the game exploring and pushing the fighter genre, with FighterZ taking a Marvel vs Capcom team battle approach to all new heights. However, previous games have included RPGs, Card Battlers, and pixelated Adventure titles, which may give the franchise a chance to explore a specific series without needing to focus on the huge fighting rosters recent games have had. This could then be an opportunity for a standalone Dragon Ball GT title to come and fix a lot of the blemishes that the show left, with a narrative driven adventure smoothing over the series.
Stepping completely away from the Dragon Ball Super sagas and focusing only on the events of Dragon Ball GT, could make for a compelling, mission-based title spanning the galaxy. From here, the franchise can create a much more tightly contained way to interact with all of the good that came out of GT and hopefully leave some of its weaker moments, like the aforementioned Para Para Brothers, out of the equation. This may be the best way to put a new coat of polish on this non-canon corner of Dragon Ball and make sure that its successes don't get lost behind its criticisms.
Dragon Ball FighterZ is available now for PC, PS4, Switch, and Xbox One.