Nightmare Fuel / Dragon Ball FighterZ

Despite being a Dragon Ball game (or perhaps BECAUSE it's a Dragon Ball game), there is no shortage of things to be scared of.

Android 21

The game's Big Bad, Android 21 has more than a few moments that make her legitimately intimidating.

• Her Horror Hunger where she needs to consume living matter as biofuel. Despite the fact that she utterly hates it, it doesn't change the fact that her hunger makes her go psychotic.
  • At one point, she turns a clone into a treat and eats it, which freaks all of the attending villains out. Including Frieza.
  • She puts on an impressive Nightmare Face when Krillin comes to see if Android 18's okay, fully intending to consume him right in front of 18. On top of that, this forces 18 to fight Krillin, knowing 21 will kill him if she doesn't. And even after Krillin is knocked out, 21 still comes after him.
    • She puts on a worse Nightmare Face straight into the camera when she blows up Sixteen and declares her intent to consume the assembled fighters (Goku, Krillin, Piccolo, Cell, Frieza, Nappa, and Captain Ginyu)...
      Goku: Whaaa? You can't eat us! We're not food!
      Twenty-One: You are to me! YOU'RE ALL FIRST-RATE SWEETS!
• Her Superpowered Evil Side is like a sociopathic fusion of Kid Buu and Cell. She's just as obsessed with sweets as the former, and just as obsessed with eating people to get stronger as the latter. On top of that, her power lets her transform anyone into a sweet treat, and there appears to be no way to stop it.
  • After her good side and evil side split, Evil 21 casually eats Cell, gaining even more power, leaving her good side all but helpless, uselessly pleading with her evil side to stop.

Goku Black and Zamasu

Despite having no role in the game's story mode, Goku Black and Zamasu still manage to provide some terrifying moments.

• Goku Black usually has a Psychotic Smirk on his face, but there's one specific instance where his facial expression veers into Nightmare Face territory. His intro against Bardock has him sporting Wide Eyes and Shrunken Irises and a Slasher Smile, letting the audience know that he is absolutely ecstatic at the prospect of killing the father of his hated enemy, purely out of spite and insanity, and cementing him as a true Foil to Broly. At least Broly just loves destruction and even though he hates Goku he only sees him as another enemy to be destroyed (while he is still relatively sane in the first movie at least). Goku Black loathes everything about Goku, to the point of stealing his body just to make a mockery out of him, and he is willing to go so far as to extend his hatred towards Goku's friends and family solely because they associated with him. He doesn't just want Goku dead, he wants his entire legacy to be corrupted, twisted, and eradicated from the face of the universe. This, in turn, makes what he says to Bardock a terrifying case of False Reassurance.
  • The only thing possibly more frightening than that, is Black giving the exact same face when going up against Fused Zamasu. He is ecstatic to find out that both he and his future incarnation will eventually become even more powerful.
    Black: I see... So this is what becomes of my future self...
  • On the subject of Black vs. Bardock, this is incredible fear for the latter. Imagine your own son, who you haven't seen for so many years ever since they were just a baby, appearing in front of you and all too eager to try to kill you. Even if Bardock found out that Black wasn't the real Goku, it's the same as when Black first took Goku's body, killed him in front of Chi-Chi and Goten, and THEN killed them. Black still has the face of Bardock's son, and it would never be pretty for any child's parent if they were in his boots.
    • Even Goku's closest allies like Yamcha confuse Black for the real deal if going up against him.
• Black's theme expresses just how twisted he is. Ominous trumpets and righteous guitars highlight his desires to eliminate all mortals in the gods' name and his opinion that he is justified in his actions. The fact that the theme switches to a more heroic tone halfway through only makes it unsettling how much he believes that he has the moral high ground next to everyone else.
• When Black and Future Zamasu merge to become Fused Zamasu, they spin around together like in the show. Not too scary, even if their Slasher Smiles are a bit uneasy to look at. Once that's over with however, a flash of light bursts forth to reveal the fusion shedding from what appears to be a shell made of Fire and Brimstone Hell incarnate, with erupting flames and heavy shadows. Then a rough-looking white aura reveals Zamasu's face as he sets himself atop the pecking order and threatens the eradication of humanity.
• As Fused Zamasu, he only becomes even more unhinged. Now only with desires to reshape the universe in his own image, Zamasu sheds any "noble" traits he had, taking glee in the prospect of killing Trunks and Vegito in his intros against them.
• Losing against Vegito in a Dramatic Finish has him give a rant about how he is the greatest, as he hunches over and boasts his superiority, bringing his hand upon his face to reveal half of his monster form's Nightmare Face. Thankfully, Vegito stops him from going any further.
• Fused Zamasu's theme is practically an evil(er) remix of Black's theme. Ominous Latin Chanting and a fast-paced orchestra, coupled with many fitting cues from Black's theme, convey just how far Zamasu will go for his "justice" against all mortals.
• Season 2 managed to make things even worse in regards to Black. How? Vocal Evolution. Instead of his hammy, British-accented Xenoverse 2 performance, Sean Schemmel instead uses a tone that's a mix of both his Super performance and Base Form Goku Black from Xenoverse, making him sound like a demented serial killer about to cut loose on his prey. The following lines when he fights against GT Goku are downright spine-shiveringly terrifying when heard in that voice.
  What a laughably pitiful form you have taken, Son Goku.
  'Am I expected to take pity on this new form of yours? How fortunate you are, for I am a kind... and gracious god.
  • If there's anyone he potentially hates more than Goku, it's Janemba. His interactions with the hellspawn are seething with venom for what he views as the embodiment of the gods' mistakes.
  Vile hellbeast...! You are the manifestation of sin! Every misdeed of the gods!
• And then Season 3 one-upped that with further Vocal Evolution, bringing Black's English voice back to the middle ground it was in Super, to terrifying effect. When he fights Ultra Instinct Goku, he is livid in comparison to how he is when fighting against any of Goku's other forms, because Goku has managed to transcend even the gods themselves. That said, he gives an utterly chilling win quote should he win.
  You have given us gods a bad name. And for that, you will suffer, Goku...
• He has interactions with Master Roshi as well, and they're not pleasant. He again sports the same psychotic expression and tells him to rejoice over how a god chose the body of his disciple. His quote when teamed up with him, however, is a terrifying prospect. He's actually willing to train under Roshi, but threatens him with the same fate as his old master Gowasu if he doesn't live up to his twisted expectations.
  ''I too once had a master, but he was a damned fool. For your sake, I hope you do not share his shortcomings... ha ha ha ha ha...''

Other

• Bulma's worry at the game's opening is rather understandable. If Goku had somehow lost his memory, despite the Earth being in a crisis, the world would be in a lot of trouble. And as more of the story mode's plot is revealed, it's hard to say that Goku's absence wouldn't have meant a complete end to the Earth.
• Cell's interactions with Gohan, in which he says in no uncertain terms that he plans on killing Gohan's family in order to bring out Gohan's anger like when he killed 16 is a reminder to the audience that as Affably Evil as Cell can be, he is still a monster who cares about nothing aside from himself.
• Broly was already a nightmare in the source material, but this game takes it to a whole new level. There's the updated Super-esque art style, which makes his deranged expressions veer straight into Nightmare Face territory. Lastly, Vic Mignogna manages to make him sound even more terrifying than any of his past performances. While he's still a psychotic brute, he doesn't scream at the top of his lungs as much, is more prone to maniacal laughter, and gives off the impression of a condescending Soft-Spoken Sadist similar to Frieza. Well, as soft spoken as a deep-voiced Large Ham can get, anyway.
• Unlike his other counterparts, Base Form Vegeta is modeled as he looked during the Saiyan and early Frieza sagas. The result is that he ends up getting some extremely unnerving expressions that make him look extremely psychotic, practically rivaling Goku Black and Fused Zamasu in terms of Nightmare Face potential.
• When Broly (DBS)'s Level 3 Super transforms him into his Full Power Super Saiyan state, he can be seen thrashing around, along with a brief shot of him with a monstrous silhouette and red glowing eyes.
• Just four words: Baby Vegeta has returned:
  • His intro is him not only possessing Vegeta's body, but also mutating it till he's near unrecognizable from his normal self. To make it worse he can also take control of fighters he defeated.
  • As Baby is transforming Vegeta's body, it's clear that Vegeta is in fact trying to resist Baby's control. Sadly, Vegeta is only able to hold out for a few seconds. Before Baby takes over completely.
  • His Great Ape Assault Meteor Attack is him transforming into a Golden Great Ape and him either giving his opponent a No-Holds-Barred Beatdown or a Super Galick Gun complete with a Red Filter of Doom and a small P.O.V. Cam showing the horror the opponent sees.
    Baby: Die! DIE! DIE DIE DIE!!!!
    Baby: (when he is facing a Saiyan) Filthy Saiyan... YOU'RE DEAD!!!

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