Fighting Games Friday: The Super Saiyan 4 Goku Dream for FighterZ Is Likely Dead
It’s been clear for a while that noncanonical characters are fair game for Dragon Ball FighterZ, as shown through the arrival of Broly (the old one) and Frieza’s brother Cooler. Both those characters debuted in the noncanonical Dragon Ball Z films, though it wasn’t clear if Arc System Works and Bandai Namco would be okay with going further and using Dragon Ball GT characters. GT is a different can of worms, since the Dragon Ball fanbase is more divided on the quality of the series compared to the mostly-well-received Z movies.
Turns out, they were indeed willing to go there with the announcement of Kid Goku from GT, which generated a predictably mixed reception. Several fans did want Kid Goku, but preferred his actual kid self from the original Dragon Ball instead of the adult in a kid’s body; others simply didn’t want another Goku, or this particular Goku. Other questions from fans included whether they’d consider adding more GT characters, with the Super Saiyan 4 iterations of Goku and Vegeta being key among them. At the time, this was a realistic desire.
While both versions of the characters were popular even with fans who didn’t like GT, they’ve also recently been used outside that franchise. They’ve been part of the Dragon Ball Heroes efforts over the years, including the main card game and the anime, manga, and game adaptations of it. The Heroes content is mostly fanfiction given a good budget, but fans eat this kind of stuff up. It wouldn’t be farfetched to see the SSJ4 characters added to FighterZ, since fans like them enough to pay for them as downloadable content.
So, it’s a pity the chance of seeing SSJ4 characters in the game died when Bandai Namco further detailed Kid Goku’s move set. Specifically, his Meteor Attack is the Dragon Fist Explosion, a technique that was learned and is mostly associated with Super Saiyan 3 Goku from the 13th DBZ film; but it will be used after Goku transforms into his SSJ4 form here. With this, there’s a good chance the dream of SSJ4 Goku being a separate character is officially in the grave.
I say this because there are forms of other characters that have appeared as assists for other fighters, and those particular forms haven’t joined the roster. The DBZ version of Android 17 appears during several of Android 18’s techniques, but the version of Android 17 that joined the roster was the “Farmer” version from Dragon Ball Super. Similarly, while adult Gohan was part of the initial roster, his alter ego as The Great Saiyaman appears during some of Videl’s techniques. Other members of the Ginyu Force appear during Captain Ginyu’s techniques and Saibamen appear for Nappa, though no one ever expected any of them to be separate characters. The chances of this pattern changing don’t seem good.
That’s not to say they’ll actually stick with the pattern for all characters, as they could always break it with someone fans demand. This is unlikely to happen here thanks to how they’ve exhausted all the potential techniques an SSJ4 Goku could have on the multiple other versions of Goku, and there’s no chance of SSJ4 Vegeta joining the roster without him.
The SSJ4 ship might have sailed, but there’s always a chance for canonical versions with adjusted designs and different names to debut in Dragon Ball canon. The Dragon Ball Super works have shown how Super’s producers, including series creator Akira Toriyama and manga writer and illustrator Toyotaro, aren’t hesitant about introducing more Saiyan powers. Super gave us three more Goku forms and two for Vegeta. Dragon Ball Super: Broly also showed how they aren’t hesitant to bring noncanonical characters into canon with some adjustments, with the titular Broly and Super Saiyan Blue Gogeta. A form that looks similar to SSJ4 could make its way into Super in the future, or whatever they’ll call the anime successor when it returns.
In the meantime, SSJ4 Goku not coming as a separate character is a good thing, because the game has enough goddamned Gokus. Kid Goku will make for the fifth non-fused version (assuming Black Goku counts, which I’m doing), while Ultra Instinct Goku from the last arc of Super is currently popular enough that it would be a surprise if he’s not introduced here. The count gets even higher if you want to include fusions like Blue Vegito and the upcoming Blue Gogeta. There are plenty of other characters they could insert in the meantime, like — I don’t know — Top.
There’s one more character that Bandai Namco has yet to announce that’s coming to Dragon Ball FighterZ this season, which could either be Kefla (the fusion of Kale and Caulifla from Super), UI Goku, or someone we can’t predict. No one saw Videl or Kid Goku (GT) coming in this season, after all. The last two characters will be the aforementioned Blue Gogeta and Broly: BR from the recent film. After that, it would be a surprise if they stop releasing characters now, unless a sequel’s coming sooner than expected. Don’t expect the SSJ4 characters to be among future roster additions, but don’t be surprised if canonical versions arrive, who then make their way into FighterZ.
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Geoff
News Editor | Geoff is some nerd who writes for a blog and thinks he's knowledgeable. He write a lot about video games, but is capable of writing about other subjects, too. Twitter
