Dragon Ball FighterZ recently ended its latest World Tour, which came alongside some announcements. The PC rollback netcode beta for Dragon Ball FighterZ will run in spring 2023, with a proper release and next-gen ports coming later. In a surprise move, the game will also receive one more balance patch after it was previously announced that no more were coming. There is a little more time to go before the game assumes what could be its best state, and while it feels good to see a light at the end of the tunnel, there is still more that could be done.
All in all, Dragon Ball FighterZ has been a major step up from the average licensed anime fighting game. Thanks to Arc System Works' pedigree with boundary-pushing cel-shaded animation and over-the-top, deep gameplay, DBFZ will go down in history as a dream game that once felt impossible. Even as the hype for Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 4 grows, FighterZ will retain a loyal section of fans thanks to its competitive qualities. There aren't many goals left for Dragon Ball FighterZ to reach, but perhaps a sequel could spread the love farther than just Goku and his friends.
Little is Preventing Dragon Ball FighterZ From Hosting a Crossover
When it comes to the face of Shonen Jump, many casual fans around the world would think of Dragon Ball first. However, there are a lot of series that have passed through Jump's pages, and many are still popular today. There's a good reason why games like J-Stars Victory Vs. and Jump Force are still being made. Thanks to a lot of shared conventions between popular Shonen Jump works, properties like Dragon Ball, Naruto, One Piece, and Bleach can casually cross over in natural ways, even through fan-made model swaps.
One reason for this is Bandai Namco, the publisher of most modern licensed anime games. With so many adaptational rights falling under its umbrella, some opportunities appear that wouldn't otherwise exist. Soul Calibur and Tekken's large guest fighter lists are easy to point out, but other projects get in on the action as well. The best examples that don't involve outright crossover games include Goku gaining a Sage Mode costume in Dragon Ball Z: Battle of Z, and returning the favor with a Goku outfit for Naruto in Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 4. It's not hard to imagine something more involved happening in one of Bandai Namco's most popular fighting games.
Dragon Ball FighterZ's Crossover Fighters Could Build Further Excitement
With its massive installed base and good word of mouth, Dragon Ball FighterZ is ripe to receive some crossover characters. These could be anything from a repeat of Budokai Tenkaichi 3's Arale cameo (coming from Dragon Ball creator Akira Toriyama's Dr. Slump), a surprise like Tekken's Lars appearing in Ultimate Ninja Storm 2, or channeling the spirit of a Jump crossover by inviting protagonists from other manga properties. Dragon Ball FighterZ may not have any room left for such a major update, but a hypothetical Dragon Ball FighterZ sequel could pick up the slack down the line with additional new content in tow.
One big reason fans want to see crossover characters isn't just for the crossover itself. If a Jump character in particular were to appear, this could be a tease for something greater. Plenty of fans that would love to see their favorite properties get the traditional fighting game treatment, as something with more diverse character abilities like Bleach or One Piece would really let Arc System Works flex the creativity it has become famous for. That's not even getting into the dream of Arc System Works' handling a 2D Jump Vs. fighter. One crossover character in Dragon Ball FighterZ would be worth celebrating, but if it can lead to something greater, that's even better.
Dragon Ball FighterZ is available now on PC, PS4, Switch, and Xbox One, with PS5 and Xbox Series X/S versions in development.