Bandai Namco's Dragon Ball FighterZ is considered one of the best fighting games in recent years, and is further lauded for its high-quality art and attention to detail regarding the long-running anime series. In June, Dragon Ball FighterZ hit five million units sold, and one fan is wondering whether this might be enough encouragement for Bandai Namco to create a similar title for fan-favorite anime Naruto.
YouTuber and web comic creator Swagkage posted their mockup of a fighting game character select screen with representatives from Naruto, Naruto: Shippuden, and Boruto to Twitter on August 6, and then followed that up with a potential DLC lineup on August 7. They created an animated version of their "Naruto FighterZ" screen with visual and sound effects for Twitter yesterday, making a good case for another Dragon Ball FighterZ-styled game.
There are a lot of similarities between these Shonen Jump manga and their anime adaptations: Each have multiple iterations that present characters at different points in time, and both are regarded as some of the most popular examples of Japanese animation around the world. Dragon Ball and Naruto have also spawned many fighting games leading up to the release of Dragon Ball FighterZ in 2018, so it would make sense for Bandai Namco to give the ninja series a similar level of care.
One big point in favor of this kind of fighting game for Naruto's universe is the longevity and success of Dragon Ball FighterZ as a competitive experience. The game was represented prominently at EVO 2019, with plans to host another tournament this year before the annual event was cancelled due to sexual misconduct allegations against EVO's co-founder.
FighterZ has also thrived due to its DLC adding a breadth of characters ranging from Dragon Ball Z to the series' recent iteration, Dragon Ball Super. Earlier today, Bandai Namco announced new Dragon Ball FighterZ DLC will be revealed August 16, so developer Arc System Works is not done paying tribute to Akira Toriyama's universe.
Video games based on anime are not going anywhere. Aniplex announced a Demon Slayer game from Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot developer CyberConnect2 earlier this year, for example. Swagkage said they are "not going to stop asking" Bandai Namco to make a Naruto fighting game in the style of FighterZ, and based on this mockup it seems like their idea could be a solid one to pursue.
Dragon Ball FighterZ is available now on PC, PS4, Switch, and Xbox One.