The legacy of Dragon Ball is something many fans are familiar with, and it's easy to see why this is the case. The massive power boosts and awe-inspiring battles are imprinted in the minds of anyone who got invested in the series, with the legacy of Dragon Ball Z still palpable to this day. Akira Toriyama was a master of his craft who shaped pop culture in a meaningful way, and his loss still cuts deep to this day.

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With numerous shows, movies, and manga to check out that revolve around the Dragon Ball series, it's easy to see why fans who become invested in what this series has to offer won't be starving for content for quite some time. Even the Dragon Ball games are pretty engaging in their own right, and players who want to check out titles with amazing combat that's befitting a Dragon Ball title will be spoiled for choice in this regard.

Honorable Mentions

As Dragon Ball has an extremely long history, here are a few honorable mentions that have pretty good combat:

• Dragon Ball Z: Hyper Dimension – Shows its age nowadays, but it represented the franchise at its best during the '90s.
• Super Dragon Ball Z – While uneven as an overall package, the combat system was great for its era.
• Dragon Ball Z: Raging Blast 2 – Solid evolution of the Budokai formula. (Burst Limit is also decent)
• Dragon Ball Fusions – Mainly worth playing for the fusion system, but the turn-based combat is pretty deep, even if battles tend to overstay their welcome.

5 Dragon Ball Z: Buu's Fury

The Final Title In The Legacy Of Goku Series That Made Combat More Cathartic Than Ever Before

Dragon Ball games were present on every platform players could think of, including the Game Boy Advance. This system was host to a trilogy of games titled The Legacy of Goku, with the third game being the most accessible of the lot. Buu's Furycovered everything in the story following the time skip after Cell's demise, including movie subplots and anime filler content. This is done tastefully, letting players enjoy one of the most fleshed-out Dragon Ball games of all time despite its handheld limitations.

From a gameplay perspective, Buu's Fury features several QoL changes that let players store food for later use, employ transformations with ease to dispatch enemies and use a suite of attacks against the many enemies standing in their way. Unlike previous games in the series that were somewhat punishing when it came to the combat (especially the first game, which is a test of patience), Buu's Fury lets players enjoy a power fantasy as they steamroll past regular enemies and engage with tough bosses where they need to bring out some powerful attacks to attain victory. It's a gem of a title that Dragon Ball fans love to this day, with the surprising depth of combat being welcomed by many.

4 Dragon Ball Z: Supersonic Warriors 2

A Dynamic Fighting Game That Makes The Most Of The DS' Hardware

Supersonic Warriors 2 is an excellent fighting game that makes the most of the DS hardware to let players enjoy destructive battles with fun combat mechanics. The fast-paced flurries of Dragon Ball are present here along with combo attacks, beam clashes, and everything else fans can think of. To add the icing on the cake, the game features many what-if storylines based on the characters that players control, with each chapter being pretty riveting.

The battles in Supersonic Warriors 2 can be hectic, but it won't take too long for players to come to grips with the core gameplay loop before slowly familiarizing themselves with more complex mechanics. In no time at all, players will be transforming to enhance their attacks, setting up barriers to tank blows, and using powered-up ki attacks to decimate opponents and prevent them from pulling off any kind of meaningful offense against them.

3 Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2

An Excellent Sequel That Builds Upon The Foundation Of The First Game With Some Amazing Gameplay To Boot

There's no denying that Xenoverse brought some decent ideas to the table, but some aspects of the gameplay felt too half-baked for players to get invested in. So, it only made sense that the developer would take all the good ideas and develop a sequel that addressed fan complaints while improving the gameplay to make the moment-to-moment battles as engaging as they come. This led to the release of Xenoverse 2, a game that has slowly won over fans as one of the best Dragon Ball fighting games and continues to receive updates to this day.

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Players can form a character from whichever race they choose, governing everything from the abilities they can access to the transformations they can unlock. With access to five kinds of ki blasts and a suite of combos to make battles more engaging than before, it's easy to see why players who love Dragon Ball games with fast-paced combat will find Xenoverse 2 to be right up their alley.

2 Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 3

Features The Biggest Roster In A DBZ Fighting Game With Excellent Gameplay To Boot

If players want to check out a Dragon Ball fighting game with one of the biggest and most ridiculous roster sizes in any title attached to this IP, then Budokai Tenkaichi 3 is the way to go. The story may be a step down from the previous title in the Budokai Tenkaichi series, but this is made up for with tighter fighting mechanics and a ridiculously high number of characters to mess around with. To make things even better, this title does a great job of letting players slowly grow accustomed to its basic fighting mechanics before experimenting with more complex moves to bamboozle their opponents.

Players start with a basic combo that's pretty satisfying to pull off, along with certain special attacks that can be unleashed after enough ki is stored. However, this is just the tip of the iceberg, with adept fighters learning how to juggle enemies, launch special combos that end in a powerful attack, counter moves to start a beatdown of their own, and school enemies who get too enthusiastic with their attacks.

1 Dragon Ball FighterZ

One Of The Tightest And Most Refined Fighting Mechanics Ever Seen In A Fighting Game To Date

Given their work on the Guilty Gear series, it's easy to see why fans were pretty excited to check out Dragon Ball FighterZ. The unique visual style and cinematic flair made an impression on fans, but what people wanted to see was whether the combat could be engaging enough to keep players interested in the long run. Suffice it to say, Dragon Ball FighterZ didn't disappoint, with players loving the frenetic battles, juggling combos, ki techniques, and character switches when controlling a squad of two or three members.

The best part about FighterZ is how tight the gameplay mechanics are, with player skill being the sole determining factor in who wins battles. Players must execute Vanish Attacks, Dragon Rushes, Sparkling Blasts, and special techniques with great finesse to get past skilled opponents, which is no mean feat. Sure, the roster may not be as expansive as the Budokai Tenkachi series, but this is made up for with a silky-smooth combat system that helped FighterZ stand out in the eyes of many as one of the best fighting games of all time.

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