The age of Dragon Ball FighterZ is coming to an end soon, with rollback netcode, modern ports, and one last balance patch sending the game off. It won't be forgotten, but the time has come for it to join past legendary Dragon Ball titles like The Legend of Goku and Budokai 3 in DBZ's gaming hall of fame. Even as Dragon Ball FighterZ continues seeing play years into the future, the wider Dragon Ball community will be anticipating newer titles. One of the first will be Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 4, the surprise sequel to the hit Dragon Ball arena fighter trilogy from the mid-2000s.
There are plenty of reasons why fans are so pumped to see another Budokai Tenkaichi game, and they all have to do with the older trilogy's legacy. Even after being followed up by many other arena fighters like Raging Blast and Ultimate Tenkaichi, the classic games still prevail thanks to their entertaining "what if" scenarios and incomparably thorough roster. It's going to take a lot for DBZ: Budokai Tenkaichi 4 to measure up to its predecessors, and the pressure on it is already immense. Budokai Tenkaichi 4 would be best served by planning its content carefully, and taking some pointers from Dragon Ball FighterZ in the process.
Dragon Ball FighterZ's Android 21 Took On A Life Of Her Own
The story mode of FighterZ isn't focused on as much as the title's core gameplay, but it does serve an important role in the game. Players can spend countless hours leveling up their heroes and seeing various fun interactions between Dragon Ball's extended cast, much like other Dragon Ball fighters. However, the mode also introduces a charismatic new face to the Dragon Ball universe. Android 21, in both her human and Majin forms, immediately drew attention through her strong personality and designs. Both have made for popular playable characters as well, even if Lab Coat 21 introduced some serious balance issues.
Extended Dragon Ball media is no stranger to introducing new major characters in side material, but Android 21 was different. Her popularity drove her farther than even reoccurring Dragon Ball characters like Fu and Chronoa. 21 quickly joined FighterZ's sister game Xenoverse 2, and then began slowly making her way into other things. This reached its peak when the canon Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero movie confirmed that Dr. Gero's wife looked identical to Android 21. What was intended to be the villain of an experimental Dragon Ball tag fighter became so much more, and it would be to their detriment for future games to ignore this.
Budokai Tenkaichi 4 Needs To Introduce Its Own Original Fighter
Obviously, Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 4 needs to prioritize building up a strong roster. The entire point of the Budokai Tenkaichi series, at least in the eyes of much of the fandom, is for fanservice. After establishing a solid base, however, Budokai Tenkaichi 4 has room to experiment. There's no way it can match the roster built up over the course of the original trilogy, so something like a strong original character would go a long way in appeasing fans. Involving said character in the story mode may be a double-edged sword, though.
On one hand, Budokai Tenkaichi made a name for itself with straightforward hypotheticals that fans enjoyed seeing fully realized. Adding an original character to Budokai Tenkaichi 4 would implicate a running plotline, which could detract from Budokai Tenkaichi. Still, that is what FighterZ did, and many people have no trouble ignoring Android 21's role in the story because of how her personality shines through in gameplay. Regardless, Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 4 should give its best shot at adding a potentially valuable character to the Dragon Ball franchise.
Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 4 is currently in development.