YMMV / Dragon Ball FighterZ

• Accidental Innuendo:
  • Many fans tend to take Android 21's "I wonder how tasty you all will be" line out of context. In fact, a lot of her absorption-related dialogue sounds very suggestive.
  • One of Cell's in-battle quotes: "I'm quite confident in my speed, you know".
  • "I can't believe Lord Frieza would just let anyone inside" and "I've never even entertained the thought of being inside of Lord Frieza" from Ginyu special link scenes. In context, it refers to the soul being inside Frieza and Ginyu changing bodies.
• Americans Hate Tingle: The announcement of Base Goku and Vegeta as DLC characters was received with a mixed to somewhat negative reception in the West, due to in large part to them being the third variation of Goku and Vegeta whereas many fan favorites still have yet to be put in game. In Japan, however, Base Goku and Vegeta are loved by the Dragon Ball fandom due to being seen as the most iconic forms of those characters, and so the reaction to their announcement was far more charitable there.
• Awesomeness Withdrawal: The character trailers managed to show off at least the basics of the characters' movesets and make them look awesome, despite being only 40 seconds long.
• Base-Breaking Character:
  • Ultra Instinct Goku. As early as his reveal, his reception was already somewhat mixed, as he was the third version of Goku sold as DLC, and thus the fifth playable version of Goku overall. But Ultra Instinct is also one of the most popular and iconic elements introduced in modern Dragon Ball, and the unique aspects of the technique seemed to make for a distinct and interesting moveset. Viewpoints would be split even further following the character's release, and the subsequent exploration of his extremely potent and loaded kit. UI Goku would prove to have tools that were easy to throw out, annoying to punish, snuff out many options, and able to force the opponent to respect him in ways no other character could. Many players found him to be a blast to play with his flashy animations and powerful tools, which quickly made UI Goku one of the most commonly used characters by beginners and pros alike. However, many found him downright infuriating to fight and tedious to constantly see, as well as enabling to reckless playstyles and overcentralizing the meta.
  • Part of the fanbase dislikes FighterZ's incarnation of Bardock, not so much due to gameplay but due to his presentation, as the character transforms into a Super Saiyan like in the fanservicy and widely disliked Dragon Ball – Episode of Bardock OVA. While the character has been well received by players, purist fans dislike how the transformation cheapens what made Bardock a compelling character in the first place.
• Bragging Rights Option:
  • Piccolo is considered a solid character, with "lockdown" strategies that force opponents to block continuously until Piccolo manages to find a hit. However, several other characters, such as Cell, Gohan and Kid Buu, can do the exact same thing but without using super meter and with better normal and special attacks than Piccolo. But for those reasons, it's more impressive when a player manages to pull it off with Piccolo. Pro player Hookganggod rose to internet stardom entirely based on his proficiency with the character.
  • Captain Ginyu is one of the most gimmicky fighters in the game, with an entire team of Assist Characters that can be summoned in a fixed succession, a Super Move that can be powered up three levels, and another Super that will swap bodies with the enemy^note But leave that player unable to use any of Ginyu's abilities. He's considered notoriously difficult to win with, and the Body Change super is exceptionally difficult to land, but it's amazing when it happens and any crowd flips their lids when they see it.
  • Trunks is a character with extremely entertaining combos to watch, especially those which end with his Level 3 Super attack—one of the most damaging super moves in the game. Said super is usually lauded in tournament crowds, who raise their hands in the same manner as Trunks blasts his opponent. Even more impressive is when the Super is pulled off raw, without guaranteed cancelling from a combo; it's a command throw that will catch an opponent who didn't block or dodge, and (as mentioned before) deals some of the most impressive damage in the game.
  • While also a High-Tier Scrappy, Cell was one of the most hyped characters in early versions of Dragon Ball FighterZ, with his intro being such a meme that crowds would be disappointed if a player didn't let the animation play out so that they could yell with him. Cell's playstyle is also extremely combo-heavy, with death or near-death almost assured on any hit. On rare occasions, he even had a special animation with Teen Gohan (one of the lowest tier characters in the game)^note Though was later discovered to be high tier in the right hands, as his shortcomings make him much more skill-intensive than the other characters. which replicated probably the most famous scene in all of Dragon Ball Z. Though that was unlikely to happen due to how rare it was to see Teen Gohan played in the first place, let alone win against Cell. That rarity only made the times it did happen more special, though.
• Broken Base:
  • Concessions made towards casual players, such as auto-combos and the most complex input motion being Down-Down (the rest being Quarter Circles or Half Circles with no Dragon Punch motions in sight) have caused a definite rift. To break it down:
    • One side argues that it allows casual players to at least be able to play the game and make it look fun and impressive—which, when combined with its juggernaut license, makes this a perfect gateway game into the wider Fighting Game Community. A large number of pros are even fine with them, some even going as far as to say that complex input motions do not make a game deep, and that there are enough advanced mechanics that a better player will still win even against auto-combos.
    • The opposition meanwhile feels the game is dumbed down from the widely-beloved Marvel vs. Capcom levels of insanity, just to keep it from alienating casuals and scrubs. They argue that complex input motions are an extra level of balance for gameplay, and can give characters more individuality if things such as charge motions or even a basic Dragon Punch motion were added. Most detractors of the universal control system say that every character "feels the same" because every move is done the same way and the simplified inputs means there's only so many moves each character can possess.
  • Super Dash is the most hated move in the game, bar none. At the press of two buttons (or one, if it's macroed), a character will fly across the screen, ignore basic projectiles, and launch the opponent for a juggle combo if they land a successful hit. It can be done at almost any time, cannot be evaded (aside from Vanish and some special moves), can be used to extend combos that otherwise wouldn't have been possible, and is difficult to punish when blocked. Players who defend it state that it's easy to counter for big damage on reaction, makes the combo system more dynamic and rewarding, and greatly reduces the damage potential of a combo if used as the starter. They also argue that learning how to deal with Super Dash, as well as use it properly, is considered the major "skill hurdle" that separates bad players from decent ones: this game's "Scrub Killer".
• Catharsis Factor: Fans of Yamcha, Tien and Krillin get a kick out of the possibility of being able to defeat characters canonically more powerful than them in this game. Special mention goes to Yamcha's Dramatic Finish against Nappa which has him blast the Saibaman Nappa hurls at him back to the Saiyan.
• Complacent Gaming Syndrome:
  • While Arc System Works has done a great job varying up the roster to allow for lots of different teamcomps, expect to see a lot of Goku Black for the following reasons: he's an excellent mid, having specials that carry the opponent to the wall and set up for wall pressure; he has a beam special for an Assist, making him good for rushdown point characters like Yamcha and Hit; and his Super Attacks and Meteor Attack are all easy to combo into, especially his Meteor Attack.
    • The World Tour 2018/2019 didn't see many Black players, and the neither of the Top 8 used him. Instead, most players used Bardock in the World Tour. The Top 8 had six Bardock players, followed with three SSJ Goku players. The winner Kazunoko was the only one among the Top 8 to use Adult Gohan and Yamcha (he's also one of two Gotenks players), but that doesn't mean that his characters were underrepresented in the World Tour at all.
    • However, the almost complete lack of any significant buffs to Black’s kit-along with other characters being given beam assists of their own in season 3, the addition of DLC characters who have his tools and then some, and his fused counterpart being dug out of the bottom tier rut in season 4-have led to the character being this game’s ubiquitous case of So Last Season.
  • Anyone with a beam Assist, though Tien's version of it arguably seems to get the least amount of usage (since it just launches a bit). They come out a bit fast, cover full-screen range, do multiple hits and of course apply pressure with those said hits on block.
  • Similarly, Vegeta's Assist pops up THE MOST in nearly any non-casual level team comp as one of the most versatile projectile Assists in the game. It's strong for neutral, defense and offense. It just does EVERYTHING, even when it was nerfed.
  • One can expect to see a lot of Ultra Instinct Goku when fighting online. He's already one of the most attractive choices for most players being Goku's most powerful form and having some of the flashiest animations in the game. But these flashy animations aren't just for show, as his large toolkit not only gives him options other characters lack, but they are also relatively easy to use. Examples include his massive autocombo that easily beats out other normals, two frame 1 invincible moves which must be accounted for on his recovery, and other Specials that have high priority over other moves and are difficult to punish. This makes UI Goku one of the easier characters to succeed with online, as his bevy of strong and easy options can be befuddling to newbies and irritating to play around even for more experienced players, compounded by input lag generally favoring his high-priority options. And despite being very newbie-friendly, he averts being a Skill Gate Character due to the sheer strength of his options which can be exploited even further at higher-levels of play.
  • Due to the fact she was released as the biggest Game-Breaker possible, Labcoat Android 21 managed to go above and beyond complacent gaming syndrome into being considered downright mandatory to include on a team if you wanted to win. At one point, all but one player in the top 8 of the Combo Breaker tournament had her on their team.
  • Starting Season 3, the much maligned "Team Yasha" featuring Blue Gogeta on point, Android 17 mid, and Vegito Blue with all three using A assists, named after the French pro player who dominated the game with it, became the most common team combination by far. The team was able to kill any full health characters with two combos thanks to their incredible damage output and ki generation, the team members had great synergy thanks to the special tag mechanic, and it was near impossible to challenge them since their assists were defensive in nature that allowed you to start a full combo from any assist hit. The Gogeta-Vegito shell was the core of the team too as they complemented each other well, and some players swapped 17 out for their choice of character, often SSJ4 Gogeta or Lab Coat 21. Arc Sys tried to cripple the team by halving Blue Gogeta and Vegito's ki generation, and while that did drive off most of the bandwagoners it didn't stop the competitive scene with the EVO 2023 finals featuring Yasha against Hikari with both players using Team Yasha.
• Crack Pairing:
  • Despite the fact that Krillin is Happily Married to Android 18, and it was in response to 21 offering to help 18 when the latter's badly injured, fans have taken Krillin's warm smile towards her during one story trailer as reason to ship him with 21, leading to jokes about Krillin wanting to "update his Android." This gets even crackier when the revelation comes that 21 is Older Than She Looks, is already a mother once over, and is fairly heavily implied to be the widow of Dr. Gero. Hilariously, Yamcha jumps on this ship as well, but 18 overhears them talking about it and looks like she is about to give him and Krillin a one-way ticket to King Kai's planet.
  • Similarly, Goku being shipped with 21 quickly began to pick up steam, despite Goku being Happily Married to Chi-Chi. Most of this can be attributed to the amount of Accidental Innuendo they share during dialogue, such as Goku intently looking 21 up and down before enthusiastically telling her that he'd love some one-on-one time with her so they can spar. And then there's Goku's first meeting with Evil 21 after she absorbs Cell. Evil 21 refers to him as "[her] sweet Goku" and talks about how scrumptious he looks. She's talking about actually eating him, but her tone of voice coupled with the longing look she gives him while licking her lips make it seem like something very different. To say that fans jumped all over these interactions would be an understatement.
  • This game singled-handedly launched the Frieza/Yamcha (Friecha? Yamza?) ship, due to two instances where Frieza compliments Yamcha - even referring to him as handsome in one interaction.
• Ensemble Dark Horse:
  • After Yamcha's gameplay trailer was released, he went from being the franchise's Memetic Loser to a Memetic Badass due to the comparisons of Wolverine in the Marvel vs. Capcom series, as well as the game mechanics allowing him to beat characters like Beerus in combat.
  • Cell's portrayal in the Story Mode was very well received, due to him being a massively snarky troll that does a perfect job at roasting others, plus playing a pivotal role after years of being Out of Focus in the franchise.
  • The good version of Android 21 in both of her researcher and Android/Majin forms has received just as much if not more love than her evil self for being an exceptionally Cute Genius Bruiser with a dorky and pleasant personality. Which makes her in-story death all the more bittersweet and sad to some. Some wish Good 21 can come back in actual Dragon Ball canon, and stays alive this time, hopefully not as a reincarnation like Uub.
• Enjoy the Story, Skip the Game: FighterZ gained a lot of its early popularity from the FGC due to its accessible yet deep gameplay. However, when the game was released, another Periphery Demographic arose for the Story Mode, which features a lot of past references to Dragon Ball lore and fun interactions between the characters. One of these routes is an admittedly humorous story path involving Frieza as a Villain Protagonist, and another focuses on Android 21 and her backstory. That's not even getting into the personal scenes involving characters interacting with the Earthling Soul, which some found particularly heartwarming. For some, FighterZ's story is so well-done and entertaining that hours-long videos have been posted on the cutscenes alone, and it's easy to forget that there is actually a game attached to it.
• Evil Is Cool: 21 due to a sleek character design, as well as her moveset being very fun-looking. In particular, her Super Attack, Photon Wave-which has her casually drawing a laser beam across the ground, leaving explosions in its wake-is reminiscent of Dizzy's Imperial Ray.
• Fan Nickname:
  • Super Attacks and Meteor Attacks are generally referred to as "Level 1 (Supers)" and "Level 3 (Supers)" by fans.
  • Owing to being an ArcSys game, transformation Meteor Attacks are known as "Installs".
  • Goku and Vegeta in their Saiyan Saga forms included as DLC are often called "Base Goku/Vegeta" to differentiate them from Super Saiyan Goku/Vegeta, and Super Saiyan Blue Goku/Vegeta.
  • Android 16's self-destructing Meteor Attack —officially named "The Final Power that should never be used" ("Last Resort" in the English releases)—requires 16 to grab his opponent for it to work. If it lands, it takes out the opponent's character in one hit while taking 16 down to a pixel of health. No one should be surprised, then, that people have referred to this move as "The Hug of Death."
  • "Lord Yamcha", after the series's biggest Memetic Loser became this game's biggest Memetic Badass from how cool he was in his trailer.
  • "Team My Two Dads" for the team of Gohan, Goku, and Piccolo, since Gohan's fighting alongside both his dad and his most prominent, non-blood-related father figure.
  • "Majin Bae", "Majin Thot", "Majin Boobs" or "Majin Rogue" for Android 21, specifically her playable form, for having Majin characteristics and being able to take the powers of her opponents. She's also commonly just called "Majin 21" or "Majin Android 21" for the same reasons, though she's never referred to as a Majin in the story.
  • Some of the alternate color palettes are rife for nickname potential like "Pillsbury Dough Buu"/"Stay Puft Marshmallow Buu" for Fat Buu's white color palette, or "Kool-Aid Buu" for his red color palette.
  • "King of Roast" for Cell, because while everyone and their mother gets at least a few digs in on other characters, the vast majority of this game's "roasts" come from Cell.
  • The PC version, when lowered to the minimum settings, has been affectionately dubbed "the 3DS port."
  • Goku Black has gotten the nickname "Hot Topic Goku" because of his pink hair.
  • Bardock's Saiyan Spirit super was inevitably named "Bionic Arm" because it's, well, exactly the same as Spencer's Bionic Lancer Hyper Combo (except with the possible follow-up in Bardock's case).
  • "Dunkmaster 16" for, well, 16, since not only is his Flying Powerbomb really useful for bringing airborne opponents to the ground, it's just generally fun to dunk your opponent as many times as you can in a single combo.
  • GT Goku is derisively referred to by his detractors as "the rat," "ratku," and other variations of rat for his omnipresence within the competitive community.
  • For a wider example, if an attack was the subject of a memorable joke in Dragon Ball Z Abridged, the community will often use that joke as the attack's name. For example, Base Goku's smash attack gets called "Goku Time" while Cooler's Fatal Combination is "(Planting a) Dumbass Tree".
• Fan-Preferred Couple:
  • Due to the massive Ship Tease between Goku and Android 21 (both forms), fans have been shipping the two like crazy. Because of Chi-Chi's continually shaky reputation among the fandom, tons of fans feel that Good 21 would make a better spouse for Goku, since they're both Big Eaters and she could keep up with him in battle, both with and against each other.
  • Androids 18 and 21 are also shipped together a lot because of how much Les Yay occurs between them in the Android 21 Arc of the story. Adding fuel to this is a scene where Yamcha teases Krillin for having a fetish for Androids, which opens the door for a One True Threesome.
• Fandom Rivalry:
  • With Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite. Both are team-based fighters developed by rival companies, and FighterZ has adopted the 3v3 gameplay style that was present in Marvel vs. Capcom 2 and 3, while Infinite reverted back to the 2v2 style of previous entries. Not helping matters is that this game was seen as a pleasant surprise, while Infinite has a mixed reception. Even the games' mission statements seem at odds; Word of God is that Infinite was developed with new and more casual players in mind, while producer Tomoko Hiroki has said FighterZ is aimed more at existing fighting game fans. This only got worse after the EVO 2018 lineup announcement; FighterZ made the cut, but Infinite didn't.
  • There is one with the Budokai Tenkaichi fandom, especially in Latin America. Detractors will proclaim how Budokai Tenkaichi 3 is the superior game thanks to having a more diverse roster containing almost all the characters and a more free to play gameplay, and wish for the game to get a sequel. FighterZ fans, however, consider the game to be nothing more than glorified button masher that doesn't require any real skill in terms of gameplay.
  • With the Xenoverse community, as per the usual Casual-Competitive Conflict in fighting games. The Xenoverse community has shunned the game for being 2D, having a much smaller roster, and potentially not having as many fan favorite characters. The fighting game community, however, is wholly behind the game due to its deep fighting mechanics and smaller roster of highly individualized characters, going so far as to call it the "best DBZ game ever". Additionally, the developers expressed interest in bringing it to EVO, a wish that was granted when FighterZ was announced to be part of EVO 2018.
• Fanon Discontinuity: Many fans prefer to ignore Goku's refusal to resurrect Android 21's good half after her Heroic Sacrifice, his justification being that doing so would negate the significance of the sacrifice and Goku suggesting that she be reincarnated instead, much like Kid Buu was. Fans have countered this by pointing out that, aside from the fact that Death Is Cheap in general in Dragon Ball, many other Heroic Sacrifices have been undone without any complaints, including Goku's (Vegeta's sacrifice in the Buu Saga is also pointed to as evidence), which makes the whole situation feel hypocritical.^note Though in full context, Goku's reasoning makes a lot more sense. Whis explains that 21's sacrifice was needed because she would otherwise risk succumbing to her hunger once again, and she was aware of that. The heroes also knew that reviving her also wouldn't get rid of her issues (which is why Vegeta and Piccolo sound upset at Goku when they think he is suggesting that they wish her back). Goku understood that bringing her back would only cause her suffering and that the only way to give her a real chance at life without being a risk to herself is to have her reincarnated. To claim he was being hypocritical is to ignore the fact that neither he or the other heroes who sacrificed themselves had the same problems 21 did. Furthermore, the reason for her berserk state causing reincarnation to be the only "safe" method of revival for 21 is because she has the cells of Kid Buu — the previous person that Goku asked to be reincarnated after destroying him with a Spirit Bomb on the Sacred World of the Kai — thus making the request another direct reference to Dragon Ball lore.
• Fountain of Memes:
  • Cell. Many of his quotes, partly due to the hamminess of both his Japanese and English actors and how often they are repeated in-game, have become memorable for fans to quote.
  • Cooler as well, thanks largely in part to Shoyoumomo singlehandedly bringing him into the spotlight with his "Fake Patchnotes" series. There are more memes of Cooler than there are for the rest of the cast, at least for DBFZ.
• Friendly Fandoms:
  • Bizarrely, with Super Smash Bros. Dragon Ball and classic Nintendo games already had quite a bit of fandom overlap, and FighterZ has attracted a host of fans who are also fans of Smash and Nintendo in general, which is only helped by the frequent memetic requests to include Goku as a character in a Smash game. Many professional Smash players have also entered the FighterZ competitive scene, and quite a few Nintendo-centric YouTubers have also done FighterZ coverage.
  • As noted above under Fandom Rivalry, it also developed one with Marvel vs. Capcom 3 oddly enough. Due to being an assist-driven 3 character Tag Fighter, there was an overlap in appeal of the games and people who were disappointed with both the roster selection and gameplay changes made for Marvel Infinite ended up flocking to FighterZ instead. With some even so far to refer to it as the true successor to MVC3.
• Game-Breaker:
  • After the March 2019 update, a zero-to-death glitch was found that involves Android 17 or Cooler, Hit, and Future Trunks where all you have to do is land 2 supers and then Future Trunks' Meteor Attack, and it's a guaranteed dead character. Yep, a thing that usually takes a sparking blast, several assists, and/or 7 bars of meter suddenly became possible just by landing a super attack. Naturally, many players have started abusing these teams online for some cheap wins, and most everybody is expecting it to get patched ASAP.
  • Android 21 (Lab Coat) is a veritable Master of All with great and mostly safe normals, an unpunishable beam, an amazing anti-projectile and air-to-air special, an off-the-ground attack that allows her to convert any knockdown into a full combo, and has the command grab from her standard version except that it heals her. What absolutely seals her spot as this trope is her command grab super that increases her own damage but also decreases the opponent's damage by 21% for the rest of the game and also doubles as an excellent reversal. The result was that she became almost mandatory for any top-player's team, and serious discussions began to ban her from competitive play that resulted in her being banned from CEO 2022. Shortly afterwards her command grab super would get severely nerfed so that it couldn’t be used in combos except after hard knockdowns along with many more nerfs.
• Good Bad Bugs: One glitch that is surprisingly helpful comes from the Android 21 Arc of the Story Mode. When battling Cell, the game requires Android 21 to be put into the party. If you put 18 as the bottom character and 16 as the starting character, after the battle ends and you get to control your characters again, because 16 is dead, the game moves 18 to the starting character slot, and creates a second 18 at the bottom spot. You can use her in battle like she was a full character, and even get experience, which causes 18 to level up twice as fast as normal.
• He Really Can Act:
  • Fans were worried about Daman Mills' performance as Frieza, as Chris Ayres has been dealing with COPD and was unable to reprise his role. Once the game was released, however, Mills' performance was praised.
  • Good Android 21 is already quite an Ensemble Dark Horse on her own, but Jeannie Tirado's performance really nails her overall pleasant personality, as well as her utter woobie-ness.
  • Johnny Yong Bosch has been praised as a worthy successor to Vic Mignogna as the Super version of Broly.
• Hilarious in Hindsight:
  • The DEATH BATTLE! fight between Carol Danvers and Android 18 was released for first members two days before this game was announced, and, by extension, before this became Dueling Works with Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite which features the former. Going even further, 18 becomes the winner by smashing Carol's head at the end of the match, a parallel to this game's overwhelmingly positive critical and fan reception over Infinite's mixed reception.
  • Goku's Hurricane Kick is eerily similar to Gohan's equivalent in Hyper Dragon Ball Z.
  • Since Android 21 has the same voice as Cure Sunshine, it's a little bit ironic that her Trademark Favorite Food turns out to be macarons despite not being Cure Macaron. Similarly, every female Majin created in the Xenoverse games that has Houko Kuwashima's voice becomes this.
  • One of the fan nicknames for Cell was, in fact, Android 21. Then the character made for FighterZ happened and shot this notion promptly out of the sky. Except she turns out to be a modernized version of Cell both In-Universe ^*an energy-absorbing Bio-Android with a more updated palette of cells that have been on Earth than before (namely stronger members of the Z Fighters/Frieza/Cell himself etc.) as well as the addition of the cells of Majin Buu and in the meta sense. ^*She's a Cute and Psycho Dark Action Girl and a Tragic Monster, tropes that have been more frequently used and well regarded as the years have gone by compared to when Toriyama, in response to his editors rejecting the idea of 17 and 18 being an arc's overall Big Bads, created the then-typical buff and inhuman masculine supervillain Cell.
  • On that note, Cell was created in Real Life to take over the role of the Big Bad of the Android Saga from two killer androids converted from the unassuming humans they looked like. Here he's implied to have been created In-Universe as the test bed for the Organic Technology that created the Big Bad of FighterZ... a killer android converted from the unassuming human she looked like.
  • A popular mod in the Xenoverse 2 community was putting Fused Zamasu in Zeno's clothes. Come his inclusion as a DLC character, and Fused Zamasu's second color palette is that of the Omni-King.
  • A lot of filler and even GT, as well as numerous fanworks, had Frieza and Cell team up and they were portrayed with a fairly affable dynamic. Here, they utterly despise each other and bicker constantly.
  • There's something really funny about all of the memetic requests for Goku to end up in Super Smash Bros., as well as the Friendly Fandoms mentioned above, when it was revealed that FighterZ would be ported to the Switch — in the same Direct that revealed Smash Bros. Ultimate, of all things.
  • Goku's victory quote if teamed up with Broly: "I'm sure we'll fight each other again someday. I look forward to that, but it's also a bit scary."
  • This article written before the game's release about somebody unfamiliar with Dragon Ball trying to guess how good characters will be jokes that because Cell has absorbed the abilities and powers of many other members of the cast, he'll automatically be the best and there will be no reason to pick anyone else. Come the game's release, and Cell was quickly proven to be one of the best characters in the game, single-handedly dominating competitive play.
  • This joke leak for the season 3 pass roster included nothing but Gokus, including his Ultra Instinct form. Incidentally, it's that very form which became confirmed once the real roster was unveiled.
  • The otherwise forgettable video game adaptation of Dragonball Evolution had Master Roshi use the Mafūba (Evil Containment Wave) as his ultimate attack, which has a special victory animation where it seals defeated opponents away inside a jar. When Roshi was announced for FighterZ Season 3, it was shown that he has the exact same move as his ultimate, with the exact same special victory animation.
• High-Tier Scrappy: Moved to its own page.
• Ho Yay:
  • In at least one dialogue option, Frieza calls Yamcha "sensible and handsome." When Goku interrupts and insists on fighting, Yamcha is annoyed that he "ruined the mood."
  • Towards the beginning of the game's third story route, Android 21 has painstakingly recreated 18's original battle outfit for her (unaware that they hold some bad memories for 18) and she enthuses over how cute the clothes are, telling 18 she's beautiful so the outfit is sure to look great on her. Later on, a conversation between 18, 21 and Gohan about family has 21 warmly saying she'd like a family supported the way 18 supports hers, at which 18 gets embarrassed and asks her to stop swooning over her. Android 21 also gets some small moments with regards to Bulma, although they're never really shown interacting; 21 is incredibly complimentary towards Bulma's intelligence and also considers getting her a gift after accidentally eating around a hundred of Bulma's string cheeses.
  • Fused Zamasu's intro shows Goku Black and Future Zamasu being ecstatic about fusing together while their crotches touch. They are way too happy about fusing. Also a No Yay, considering who these two are...
• I Knew It!:
  • When the game's official Japanese website went live in August 2017, fans noticed that Teen Gohan and Fat Buu's profiles had the URLs "gohan-y" and "majinboo-z", respectively; this lead to speculation that alternate versions of the two characters would be present in the game, with Adult Gohan and Kid Buu being seen as the most likely candidates. Sure enough, both characters were confirmed the following November.
  • Due to them looking alike, a number of fans figured Android 21 was the mother of Gero's son, whom 16 was modeled after. We find out later on that she is in fact the mother of Gero's son, but she has forgotten Gero besides the fact that the thought of him makes her want to cry.
  • Both Broly and Bardock were predicted to be DLC, due to the popularity of both the characters and a leak stating that they would be among the first. They were the first two DLC characters announced for the game.
  • When fans discovered a 3D model in Trunks' files that was for the "Sword of Hope" from the battle against Fused Zamasu in Super, some theorized that Fused Zamasu would be added to the game as DLC. This turned out to correct, as Fused Zamasu would appear in the game as a DLC character in April 2018, with the Sword of Hope being used in a Dramatic Finish that recreates the moment Trunks bisects Fused Zamasu.
  • One of the predictions for FighterZ's second season of DLC would be that Jiren would be a new fighter. He was one of the very first characters confirmed for Season 2. The Super incarnation of Broly was also predicted, and ended up confirmed before the third and fourth DLC characters of the season.
• It's Easy, So It Sucks!:
  • The game's caught some flak for this, primarily due to an auto-combo system that can be used by rapidly hitting the attack button. Auto-Combos aren't new in fighting games, but FighterZ's are unusual in that they are actually helpful, and see use even within tournaments. There's the fact that the moves on every single character have the same button inputs. That said, it's still a widely popular game within the competitive scene, showing that this opinion isn't universal. That, and it's also due to the fact that their inputs can be continued on whiff and can auto-correct via character positioning, so inputs that have solid range tend to provide powerful neutral game control.
  • The Story Mode has received criticism for its low difficulty. The A.I. is braindead, characters have ways to level up their stats to make them even more powerful, and the game never really has any challenge at all until the very end. There is a Hard Mode, but the game needs to be beaten first for it to be unlocked. It is widely considered to be a tedious grind, which isn't helped by the fact that beating it (or buying the season pass) is required to unlock Android 21.
• It's Hard, So It Sucks!: On the other hand, Arcade Mode has been widely criticized for being too difficult, especially on Hard Mode. The A.I. can easily read the player's inputs, and, eventually, is given permanently regenerating health, increased meter gain, AND vastly increased damage modifiers (to the point that 5-star opponents ^note the ones with red markers can deal around 50% simply from a launcher into a basic air combo and are all but guaranteed to OHKO you if they land a Meteor Attack when you're not close to full health). Even worse is that getting an A-rank on Hard Mode is required to unlock SSB Goku and Vegeta unless one wants to grind up a lot of Zeni or pay $3.
• It's Popular, Now It Sucks!: The game is packed with awesome characters doing what they do best. That said, the inevitable online popularity of characters like Goku, Vegeta, and Black has led to some players choosing a more niche team just out of pure aversion to these ubiquitous Saiyans. Some fans may take this even further and refuse to use any Saiyan in their team out of complaints of the whole race being a Spotlight-Stealing Squad (not helped by more than half of the DLC characters across the Season 1 and 2 Passes being Saiyans themselves, including alternate forms and incarnations of the aforementioned Goku and Vegeta). Nappa, being a Memetic Loser as canonically the weakest Saiyan in the current roster, is usually an exception to this.
• Launcher of a Thousand Ships: Android 21, due to her interactions with the cast in the third story route, has been shipped with Krillin, Android 18, Goku, Piccolo, and many others.
• Low-Tier Letdown: Moved to its own page.
• Memetic Badass:
  • Yamcha has been getting this treatment because of this game, due to his fast, furious, and fun-looking playstyle being likened to Wolverine in Marvel vs. Capcom, coupled with the natural Power Creep, Power Seep in Dragon Ball fighting games making Yamcha more than capable of handling people canonically so much stronger than him that it stopped being funny. Add in an original Dramatic Finish in which he kills Nappa and a Saibaman to sweeten the deal, and he is definitely a far cry from his usual Memetic Loser treatment. What's more, Yamcha's usual Memetic Loser is treated as the basis for his Memetic Badass status in this game, as it's implied that the story's power sealing waves affected him the least out of all the non-deity playable combatants.
  • Cell. Not only does having Norio Wakamoto's voice in Japanese make him a Memetic Badass by default, but he happens to be one of the best characters in the game, giving credence to the claim that Wakamoto's epic voice is one of great power.
• Memetic Loser:
  • Nappa, on the other hand, doesn't fare too well in the story department, being constantly mocked for his lack of cunning and inability to realize that he's been greatly outclassed by the Z Fighters in the time since the Saiyan Saga due to being unable to sense ki. ^note Notably, Vegeta points out both of these shortcomings when Nappa decides to get revenge on Super Saiyan Vegeta and fails to realize that he's weaker than Tien, who's also along for the ride. Couple this with the fact that the above Dramatic Finish involving Yamcha ends with Nappa himself assuming the former's infamous pose and many fans have come to the same conclusion: Nappa is the Yamcha of this game. Doesn't help matters in that as the meta developed, Nappa is also effectively a low-tier character, which just as well goes hand-in-hand with him being the canonically-weakest Saiyan in the current roster (a race typically seen as a Spotlight-Stealing Squad by the fanbase, except when it comes to him and his much-less frequent usage in teams).
  • Janemba, since in his Dramatic Finish with Gogeta, Gogeta goes down from Super Saiyan Blue to regular Super Saiyan. While this was done as an accurate recreation of the scene in Fusion Reborn, it's popularly seen as a sign of disrespect on Gogeta's end, as if Janemba isn't worth killing at full power.
  • Goku Black and Fused Zamasu slowly drifted into this territory until they finally reached it in Season 3. While considered to be impressive in Season 1, the changing meta combined with a lack of buffs from the devs have left them far behind in the dust and at the bottom of most tier lists. Fans wryly joke that someone high up at ArcSys must hate the Zamasu because of the lack of tweaks they've received over the years(at least until Fused Zamasu received some MONUMENTAL buffs in season 4).
  • Super Saiyan Blue Vegeta received this reputation too, with how lackluster and weak his toolset was compared to his regular Super Saiyan and Saiyan Saga variations, such as a super that could be cancelled but with little utility and an overhead grab special that could easily whiff and be blocked. It wasn't uncommon to see parody videos with Vegeta as the Butt-Monkey, but a large majority of them focused specifically on his SSB variant. This attitude died down after Season 3 saw him get a much needed amount of buffs, but even after that the fandom still believe his Character Catchphrase to be "I NEED HELP!"
  • Android 17 has had this status since this game's inception. When the characters were all being unveiled, he ended up relegated to being part of his sister Android 18's moveset, him being the only Android who didn't even get a character slot in the initial roster. When he finally did become a playable character in the first wave of DLC on September 28, 2018, he was regarded as the lowest tier character in the game, and while he has been buffed since he was introduced, it only made him around low-mid tier at best. All of this lead to many fans to joking that poor 17 was being conspired against by ArcSys.
• Memetic Mutation:
  • SHIIIIIEEEET! ^ExplanationAdult Gohan's "I see you!" in the English version; it's commonly misheard as this.
  • Dragon Ball Roasting FighterZ/Dragon Ball RoasterZ. ^ExplanationMost of the villains tear apart not only the good guys but each other, especially Cell.
  • Yamcha's Revenge/Redemption. ^ExplanationBetween his cool-looking gameplay and his Dramatic Finish against Nappa, FighterZ has been likened to ASW and Bandai Namco doing everything in their power to turn Yamcha into as much of a Memetic Badass as they can.
  • The Nappa pose. ^ExplanationBeating Nappa with Yamcha and triggering a Dramatic Finish results in Yamcha blasting a Saibaman into Nappa with a Kamehameha. After the ensuing explosion, the smoke clears to reveal Nappa in an all too familiar pose on the ground, which became the Signature Scene of the game for the fanbase.
  • This is the stance! ^ExplanationA charmingly delivered line for Hit in the English version which meshes well with the awkward looking pose he takes while saying it. Is used in response to images that have objects posed in a similar way as Hit in that moment, or is treated as something of his Catchphrase whenever a new advanced technique or bug involving Hit is discovered.
    • _/_/ ^ExplanationA simple ASCII replication of Hit's pose when he delivers the above line.
  • I'm goin' to JAIL! ^{Explanation (Story Mode spoilers!)}The reveal that Android 21 is younger than ten years, and thus younger than Goten and Trunks, has made many fans feel betrayed and embarrassed that they were lusting after someone who is technically a child. Other common reactions to people pointing out Android 21's age are explanations that this estimation clearly discounts her human life before she became an Android (seeing as 21 was old enough to marry and have a son who in turn was apparently old enough to serve in the Red Ribbon Army) and "If she's 10, I'm 10."
  • The Cell Yell/AAAAAAAAAH!!! ^Explanation Cell screaming loudly in his intro (provided by renowned Large Ham Norio Wakamoto in the default Japanese), which has now been imitated by commentators and audience members in tournaments that the game has featured in since its release.
    • HELLO~/I'm quite confident in my speed, you know. ^ExplanationCell's lines in English when using Vanish and/or Teleport Attack. The former is a fair bit more notable due to how unexpectedly loud it is along with Cell's smug—some would say suggestive—delivery.
  • CHIAOTZUUUUU! ^ExplanationTien's Meteor Attack is Chiaotzu sacrificing himself in the same way he did against Nappa in the manga and anime. Expect the audience to shout this whenever Chiaotzu is on screen and the super lands.
  • EVERYTHING!!!!!! ^ExplanationIKevinX, the creator of a widely popular series of videos highlighting all the manga and anime references in the game, repeatedly uses a voice clip of Bardock yelling "Everything!" (his line for Riot Javelin in Xenoverse, which is supposed to be "This will change everything!" but often truncated due to an audio glitch) during Bardock's corresponding video, to the point of borderline Pokémon Speak. While the line was already a fairly large meme among Xenoverse players, fans of Kevin's videos on the game have taken to it just as memetically, if not more so.
  • As soon as the debut trailer for Fused Zamasu was released, the intro (which shows Goku Black and Zamasu flying towards each other at high speeds to fuse) quickly became the subject of many edits, both adding in humorous music or splicing in footage of other people spinning around.
  • Bardock's reaction faces. ^ExplanationBardock's Dramatic Finish against Freeza involves him getting caught up in Freeza's Death Ball attack. He has two over-the-top expressions, one when he has a vision of Goku facing Freeza on Namek◊ and the other when he's about to break out of the attack.◊ Fans ran with this and used them to show off excitement leading to disappointment.
  • ☐/LLL^ExplanationUsed when describing characters who are hated for having spammable light combos (which are done using the square button on the PS4 controller), like Bardock or Vegito.
  • Gogeta disrespecting Janemba ^ExplanationGogeta's Dramatic Finish against Janemba has him powering down from SSB to regular Super Saiyan. Many fans have joked about this showing that Gogeta doesn't think Janemba's worthy of the full power of a Super Saiyan God Super Saiyan and Janemba's reaction being less "desperate to survive" and more "enraged that Gogeta doesn't think he's worth it."
  • New DLC? Call Ginyu! ^ExplanationThe 1.17 patch added Random Arcade modes that allowed any fighters to appear at random including DLC characters, even those that had their data added in via a patch but weren't up for purchase yet. As a result, people have been using Ginyu and his Body Change in arcade runs to get a sneaky early try at the latest character.
  • X's Jetpack ^ExplanationSome fans have put characters who can't fly like Roshi or Mr. Satan on their DLC character wishlist. When asked on how they would implement the superdash mechanics for them, fans jokingly say they're to be given jetpacks to make up for it.
  • There is no neutral, take off your gi. ^ExplanationUltra Instinct Goku is a very combo-oriented character with almost no neutral game. Combined with his sheer power and flashiness, and lack of a shirt, it quickly led to jokes about being prepared to be absolutely stomped whenever UI Goku enters the arena.
  • "YOU NEED TO BE STOPPED." ^ExplanationTrunks says this during his Heat Dome super combo. It's now mostly used as a "No. Just… No" Reaction.
  • Piccolo disowned Gohan. ^ExplanationIn one scene Gohan says he wants to try the Fusion Dance because he thinks the poses are cool. A stunned Piccolo notes that Gohan really is Goku's son. This has led to many comments from fans who see Piccolo as Gohan's real father saying that he has disowned Gohan.
  • Cooler: YEAH! ^ExplanationEnglish dub Cooler screams out what sounds like "YEAH!" while performing his Death Flash move...while sounding less like a brutal warlord and more like an overexcited teenage girl. The internet has memed the heck out of it as a result, with youtuber Shoyoumomo in particular basically turning it into Cooler's catchphrase.
  • Similarly, one parody video by Shoyoumomo had Cooler pointing a gun at his opponent (while inadvertently sporting two left hands.) This in itself led to a spate of images of Cooler wielding various amounts of firearms. Sometimes Dual Wielding, other times outright triple-wielding (with one gun held in his tail.)
  • It could happen to you.^ExplanationA warning used by fans in Season 3 whenever someone is facing anchor Limit Break Z Broly. Broly's general buffs and the changing meta have made him the best he's ever been since his release, and he's more than capable of taking down an entire team by himself in the right hands, especially if he's got Limit Break which nullifies once of his few weaknesses, low damage output.
  • Get in the fucking jar. ^ExplanationOnce Master Roshi's trailer demonstrated his Evil Containment Wave sealing an opponent in a jar with a cork, this phrase become commonly associated with him generally as a Badass Boast or Pre Ass Kicking One Liner. Notable for becoming a meme before he was even released as playable.
  • REUSED ASSETS ATTACK ^ExplanationCaptain Ginyu was finally given a proper Meteor Attack some 2 years after the game first launched. While attack works just fine mechanically, visually speaking it's quite a letdown compared to other characters' Meteors which tend to be quite impressive because Ginyu's reuses animations taken straight from his intro and the Ginyu Force's assist attacks.
  • Buff Goku Black/Zamasu please ^ExplanationOnce the Zamasus settled firmly at the bottom of everyone's tier lists in Season 3, the few players they still had clamored the devs for much needed buffs to make them relevant again. Alas, the characters were left untouched, leading the repeated pleas to become a meme.
  • Gotenks' Swag Walk ^explanationLike many fighting game characters before him, Gotenk's walking animation◊ quickly became a meme for how over the top it was. The fact that he's the shortest character in the game with such a blatant power walk ended up winning him over with fans.
• Misaimed Fandom: Tons of fans were very upset with Goku's post-battle dialogue with Gohan, detailed up in Author's Saving Throw. However, many fans were simply reading the lines either with the Japanese dub turned on or taken out of context entirely, because the way Goku originally said the line made it sound less like Goku was mocking Gohan for how long it's taken him to become strong, and more than he's proud of his son for finally reaching his true power after training so judiciously. Have a listen.
• Most Wonderful Sound:
  • As noted elsewhere on the page, Cell's power-up intro scream, made all the more glorious in Japanese thanks to the legendary, bombastic Large Ham Norio Wakamoto voicing him.
  • Goku Black's voice, both in English and Japanese; the English version gives him a British-accented variation on Goku's normal voice, while the Japanese version is creepy and menacing and largely considered (by Western fans) to be the best out of Masako Nozawa's Dragon Ball voices.
• Narm:
  • Any time the other characters remark about Android 21's name, it sounds more like they are surprised about her age than anything else:
    Ginyu: You're 21?!
  • Goku Black's accent is very hit or miss, depending on who you ask.
    • His new, edgier voice used for Season 2 character interactions is much of the same. It's especially jarring when he goes from the accented, refined voice to the more guttural, raspy voice, giving the impression that he somehow smoked a lifetime's worth of cigarettes in between lines.
  • Android 17's winning quotes, due to being hardly connected to whatever quote is involved with who Android 18 is facing:
    Android 18: (to Frieza) This is a payback for Krillin!
    Android 17: Show some respect for nature.
  • SSB Vegeta's "On a scale of one to ten, I'll give you a three!" line. Most of the time he won't even get to finish the line before he starts up a new one as he continues his combo or he's rudely cut off by a fist to his face. The fact that this is one of his generic win quotes makes it even weirder, like he REALLY wanted his opponent to know how lowly he thinks of them.
  • Fused Zamasu intro, where Goku Black and Future Zamasu fly in the distance while their crotches touch as they fuse, with their ecstatic-looking expressions. Many people have compared it to many dancing scenes between couples (like this scene between Rose and Jack in Titanic (1997)), only more explicit. Some people added romantic music to the scene, and it fits like a glove.
  • The Dramatic Finish for Base Goku versus Base Vegeta is great visually. However, with the English voices on, the scene becomes a bit harder to take seriously because, for whatever reason, Christopher Sabat sounds a lot less into it than he normally is, turning what was Vegeta's Rage Breaking Point into him sounding just mildly annoyed instead of sounding furious as he's clearly animated to be. Hearing the normally excellent Sabat sound almost bored as Vegeta is distracting to say the least.
  • Blue Vegito versus Fused Zamasu is another Dramatic Finish that is visually cool, but has some problems with it. After his defeat, one of the first things Zamasu says is "A god losing to a mortal... This cannot happen...!" But there's no pause in between both sentences despite the subtitles suggesting as much, causing him to shift between tones rather suddenly and awkwardly. And after the Dramatic Finish card pops up, Vegito tells Zamasu "Come on! Get serious already!" even though he just obliterated Zamasu with Final Kamehameha a few seconds ago.
  • Super Saiyan Goku's Dramatic Finish against Frieza has him say "You moron!" Which, on top of not having enough vigour in it, doesn't nearly sound as fitting as "You fool!" On top of being odd that the latter wasn't said like in every other instance of the scene the Dramatic Finish is based off of.
  • Super Saiyan Goku VS Frieza’s battle intro is fine for the most part… Until Goku calls out Frieza’s name at the end, where he sounds less like he’s a man who’s fallen to absolute rage and more like an angry parent calling out their child’s name.
  • Cooler's Death Flash special sometimes has him shrieking "YEAH!" in a strangely over-happy tone, making him sound more like a super excited teenage girl than how he normally is. Those more used to his deeper filtered Final Form voice in other games will also likely be caught off guard by how his delivery here is now basically just his fourth form voice with the final form filter over it but the "YEAH!" scream stands out as particularly silly.
  • Super Saiyan Goku's defeat sound has him make an oddly childish and silly whining sound, befitting more of a kid who doesn't want to go to school. The fact that the Japanese version makes much the same kind of noise doesn’t help.
• No Problem with Licensed Games: While there had been plenty of good Dragon Ball games beforehand, FighterZ stood out for being a highly detailed 2D fighting game by Arc System Works. As such, many began hailing it as one of the best Dragon Ball games ever before it was even out. After the game was released, it received acclaim from both fans and critics for its accessible but deep fighting system and gorgeous visuals, even despite the existence of numerous Scrappy Mechanics that undermine the quality of online matchmaking and in-game tutorials.
• Not-So-Cheap Imitation: Dragon Ball FighterZ follows the success of tag-team Fighting Games like the Marvel vs. Capcom series (and in particular, the third game, some of the mechanics of which are also used in DBFZ), but is also critically acclaimed, has 2+ million sales and is often deemed as a new contender against the MVC series, especially in the wake of the disappointments aimed at Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite's problems.
• Older Than They Think:
  • FighterZ has been hailed as the first "serious" Dragon Ball game, as well as the first one aimed at the fighting game community rather than the more casual, mainstream audience of the previous titles. In actuality, this isn't the first game to go this route. In 1996, Dragon Ball Z: Hyper Dimension was released for the Super Famicom. It features a more distinct Street Fighter-style gameplay than its predecessors at the time. Another attempt was Super Dragon Ball Z, which was released in 2005. It was even headed by a developer who had worked on the Street Fighter, Darkstalkers, Marvel vs. Capcom and SNK vs. Capcom series. Unfortunately, it wound up being overshadowed by the far more successful Dragon Ball Z: Budokai and Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi series. For that matter, FighterZ also isn't Arc System Works' first Dragon Ball game, being preceded by Supersonic Warriors and Extreme Butoden.
  • Gotenks' "dab" isn't meant to be a dab, but a real old school Sentai pose, specifically both Aoranger's team pose and Denji Blue's roll call pose. It also should be noted that Gotenks does not face away from whom he's performing the pose in front of nor is he covering his face in one of his arms, enforcing this point further.
  • The input for rapid-firing standing light/normal attacks (much like classic jabs) to prevent an auto-combo from coming out actually came from the Touhou Project Gaiden fighting games Scarlet Weather Rhapsody, and its expansion Hisoutensoku, where the user has to hold back + A/L.
  • Android 21 is a new Android character that's more powerful than Cell and absorbs the energy of others to get stronger, but this isn't the first time we've seen a character like that. Dragon Ball GT's Super Android 17 was also a new Android that was more powerful than Cell and absorbed other people's energy to get stronger, making Android 21 an alternate take on the concept.
• One True Threesome: Thanks to Les Yay moments between Android 18 and 21, and Yamcha suggesting that Krillin has a fetish for female Androids, fans have suggested that all three of them would be happy together.
• Padding: A common complaint about the Story Mode, which can last upwards of 20 hours. However, there are only around five hours worth of cutscenes. The rest of that time is spent going through maps filled with clone battles that can get repetitive really fast. The fact that unlocking the full story requires three arcs of this doesn't help things.
• Pandering to the Base: The reason why FighterZ came to Nintendo Switch is because the fans wanted it and Arc System Works listened to it.
• Periphery Demographic: Even those who have never watched an episode of Dragon Ball Z in their lives tend to enjoy the game. Some of them even got into Dragon Ball because of FighterZ, as the franchise previously still suffered from having a "stereotypical shallow shonen" reputation in some circles.
• Play the Game, Skip the Story: A lot of FighterZ's early popularity is owed to the accessibility and depth of its fighting mechanics, and even though there is a Story Mode, some don't even bother too much with it and just want to enjoy the gameplay as well as the developing tourney scene surrounding the game. While a relatively skimpy amount of single player content can prove controversial in modern day fighting games, this is not the case with FighterZ; some pre-release controversy aside, it seems to have largely sidestepped the usual Casual-Competitive Conflict among its userbase, as the game's faithful recreation of the feel and atmosphere of DBZ makes for an overall enjoyable experience no matter the player's skill level.
• Rescued from the Scrappy Heap: Season 3 Patch 1.25 introduced Master Roshi, but also gave a number of buffs to Jiren, in the form of making many of his counter specials stronger and have a wider variety of things that it actually counters, including projectiles. The patch also saw buffs to SSB Vegeta, turning him from an absolute joke into a very well-rounded character with solid damage potential and some good keep-away tools. While neither buff set has made their respective characters top-tier, they've both gone from absolute bottom of the barrel picks to being fairly solid options overall.
• Rooting for the Empire: 21 became extremely popular upon her reveal. The fan art started and has no signs of stopping. Epileptic Trees ensued among fans wondering if she's based on Dr. Gero's wife, was his wife, or was someone else entirely. ^note Her backstory does not say if she is indeed Gero's wife and the mother of the son whom 16 is modeled after or simply modeled after her. The fact that she is the only other female fighter on the launch roster also helps. After she was revealed to have a Majin form and her gameplay was revealed, the fans went crazy for her. Her sympathetic Tragic Monster traits in the storyline also helped her popularity. If that wasn't enough, the introduction of her good form just sent the Android 21 love into the stratosphere.
• Scrappy Mechanic:
  • The game launched with lobbies as the sole form of online play, which meant that not only were there no methods to quickly get into matches through any other sort of matchmaking setup, but the only way you can play against your friends at launch was to find them in one of the vast number of overpopulated lobbies. Considering both of these things are not only standard to the entire genre, but also to other recent Arc System Works games like BlazBlue and Guilty Gear Xrd, their exclusion is out and out baffling. Around 80% of its online playerbase dropped the game as a result.
  • The tutorial is very poorly worded as well, with the combo trials for every character being quite badly put together in general, which doesn't help new players in the slightest. People who massively enjoyed the tutorial and the overall in-game tools for improvement in Guilty Gear Xrd ^note both -SIGN- and -REVELATOR- were massively disappointed that the devs didn't bother putting the same amount of effort into this game's tutorial and trials, especially when FighterZ happens to have a lot of depth in its gameplay like any traditional fighting game; the beginners' tools simply gloss over the finer details, instead telling you how to perform certain attacks, and that's that.
  • The way Assists can be used against you can also qualify, as they have less usage restrictions outside of a cooldown timer and are able to make any form of blockstring safe from the user, or punishable by their opposition. This mostly results in a lot of decent players overusing a lot of braindead offensive tactics as opposed to proper zoning. While it would result in the game being almost too much like the infamy of Marvel vs. Capcom 2 and 3 in an Arc System Works-styled setting, it's made worse in that most Assists can easily cover any form Super Dash which gives almost any character free-offense to ignore the neutral game with. Just setup your beam and/or Super Vegeta Assist you can just Super Dash in for free on block or hit.
  • The usage of smart/auto-combos on more than one button (standing light and standing medium); they were also used in a majority of the characters' poorly put-together combo trials as aforementioned. While some have noted this nitpick to be of a little issue, others have stated that this may be a sign of things to come for future fighting games to be dumbed down even further for the worse just for the sake of accessibility. What's worse is that these auto-combos unlike others, can have their inputs continued on whiff while also auto-correcting, which allows characters with long-ranged auto-combo inputs to really lay the pressure on in the neutral.
  • As detailed in this video that describes the issues with the sensitivity of the d-pad, it may be the reason why defense is very hard to manage in this game as trying to continuously block may result in the d-pad being too sensitive which forces you to block incorrectly most of the time. As later shown in the video, FighterZ isn't the only game with this kind of problem.
  • The snapback meta that rears its ugly head in higher level gameplay. In a nutshell, it's using Dragon Rush to force your opponents to constantly switch between their characters. The reason this is so powerful is that every time someone gets switched out, they can't switch out again or use assists for several seconds, forcing them to take the mixup and rely on pure defense in an offense heavy game and they're more likely than not to slip up and give the opponent a chance to start a combo. The one snapping on the other hand generates insane amounts of meter since they're not using vanish or Super or Meteor Attacks and can use assists to end their combo with a Dragon Rush and snap out the opponent, and every time the opponent snaps out the game registers that as a finished combo and the assist meters begin refilling to start the Vicious Cycle all over again. The only downsides are that it deals relatively less damage as the opponent will recover some blue life after they're snapped out and Sparking can be used to escape, but those are small comforts as Sparking is a once per game option that you have to use wisely, and it only takes one hit for someone to get stuck in that loop. Season 3 addressed this by having the characters switch back in much faster with a degree of control over when they enter the field unlike before when they came back in a set time. This means that you can no longer set up mixups on arrival, so you don't have as much of a reason to keep switching the enemy out over and over again.
  • In the competitive meta, fuzzies are a big reason for the "small character" meta and the dominance of GT Goku, the smallest character of all. When a character blocks an attack, they're forced to stay in that position for a small amount of time, so a guarding character standing straight will stay that way for a split second even if the player decides to switch into a crouching guard. In that split second while they're standing up straight but crouch guarding, it's possible to hit them with a high attack that would have missed them had they been properly crouching. This creates a fuzzy, a true 50-50 mixup since you now have the option of attacking either high or low while they're locked in a position where they can take both but they have to guess your plan of attack since they won't react in time. This tends to work much better against taller characters like Broly or Cell, which led to them getting phased out in favor of smaller characters like Teen Gohan and GT Goku since the difference between standing and crouching guards is negligible for them. Luckily, the developers removed fuzzies in Season 3.
• Signature Scene:
  • The "I wonder how tasty you all will be" scene shown off in marketing, due to Memetic Mutation going all out with it. What makes it notable is that the scene was released before the game itself was.
  • Yamcha's Dramatic Finish against Nappa, essentially a major case of role reversal applied to Yamcha's most (in)famous moment.
  • Cell's intro power up has become a darling of the tournament scene, as noted in Memetic Mutation above.
• Special Effect Failure:
  • In early footage, fans noted that Goku's hair looked weird at this angle. It's since been fixed.
  • Forced perspective doesn't really stand out in the eyes of the viewers, except for Vegito's cinematic animation of his Final Kamehameha, where his hands are so huge, it cannot be unseen.
  • While the mouth animations are generally passable, Gotenks has his moments where he puts the worst of Hong Kong Dubs to shame with near-random lip-flaps that don't match with anything.
  • Kefla's intro in English has a very noticeable moment where when she announces her name, the audio for her voice is sped up to match the Japanese version.
  • In a patch, the Ginyu Force was given a new special for those who didn't like/want to use Ginyu's Body Swap special where they come in and attack before posing as a group. As cool as it is that it was added, the special is very low quality compared to others, as it uses their basic animations or attacks from combos, and it uses the pose at the end from other sources. It looks very cheap compared to almost every other special in the game.
• Spiritual Successor:
  • With a complex arcade-esque fighting engine, alternate costumes consisting of palettes instead of different outfits, a focus on a roster of characters from the Cell saga, and a relatively small roster compared to the 40+ and 150+ of the Budokai and Tenkaichi series, respectively, FighterZ bears many similarities to Super Dragon Ball Z.
  • Being a licensed 2.5D fighting game with a 3v3 fighting system, assist mechanics, and a colorful art style, a number of people consider it the true successor to Marvel vs. Capcom 3 (as opposed to the actual sequel).
  • Being a fighting game based of a Shonen Jump property made by Arc System Works, it's like their own fighting game adaptation of Fist of the North Star.
  • The developers have said that the catalyst for the game was Extreme Butōden for the Nintendo 3DS.
• Subbing Versus Dubbing: Opinions on the Japanese and English voices aside considering how radically different they are, a point of annoyance for some fans is that the game seems to treat the English dub as an afterthought; while the vocal performances and translation are considered to be very good (and, some would argue, preferable to the original), it's almost never used in promotional material, characters' lip movements are way out of sync if the voices are set to English, and character voices are set to Japanese by default regardless of the game's language or region (rather than even having the language select as an initial option like many other games). Possibly in an attempt to rectify this, the next big Dragon Ball game release, Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot, features a healthy mix of English- and Japanese-voiced promotional material for its Western release.
• Superlative Dubbing: Once again, the Funimation English cast delivers stellar performances for both the new and returning characters, in keeping with the standard set by their dub of Dragon Ball Z Kai; while the default voice track is Japanese, it's not uncommon for players to consciously change it to English.
• Suspiciously Similar Song: Although Daisuke Ishiwatari is not credited with contributing the game's soundtrack, many have noted that the opening guitar notes for the Cell Games Arena theme bear a striking similarity to that of "Keep Yourself Alive," Sol's usual theme in Guilty Gear prior to Xrd. Minor crossover jokes like "Cell Badguy" have arisen as a result.
• Tainted by the Preview:
  • There's been serious controversy over the Season Pass being $34.99 for eight characters, with many arguing that eight characters aren't worth half the game's price. Much like Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite, there's debate over the game announcing DLC plans at all before the game's release. Though given that BlazBlue: Cross Tag Battle is another Arc System Works game with twenty characters in the base roster and another twenty characters planned for DLC before release, fans have compared the FighterZ pass favorably to that game's season pass.
  • While Broly and Bardock being among the first DLC characters surprised no one, the latter getting the Super Saiyan transformation as part of his ultimate attack has garnered a mixed reception. This is especially true considering Episode of Bardock, the special where Bardock does turn Super Saiyan, isn't well-received.
  • The fact that two of the DLC characters are another version of Goku and Vegeta was not taken well by the time the dataminers found information about them, much less when they were announced. As stated above, a prevailing feeling is there were already too many versions of both characters.
  • The official gameplay video of Cooler which was released one month before his release and came out with the English dub didn't sit well with lots of fans. The main reason being Cooler's Vocal Evolution, due to how off-putting his now high voice sounds. Many people would prefer putting a filter to lower his voice like in previous installments.
• Take That, Scrappy!: For those who aren't a fan of Broly, particularly his motivation, Goku Black's intro with him, where he calls his rage nothing but a "childish tantrum", will likely be satisfying.
• That One Attack:
  • As of the most recent patches at the end of 2023, the EX version of Cell's appropriately named Perfect Attack is the single best attack in the game. In a nutshell, it does everything with basically zero downsides. It's frame 1 air invincible and frame 4 full invincible so it beats 99% of moves in clashes, has unscaled damage so any combo that starts with it will nuke the opponent, safe on block allowing Cell to disengage or pull some 50-50 mixups with assists, is nearly impossible to punish on whiff because it recovers so fast, and is dirt cheap with only half a Ki bar cost. Even at the professional level Cell gameplay boils down to them spamming EX Perfect Attack until they hit the opponent.
• They Wasted a Perfectly Good Character:
  • Many fans are disappointed in the fact that Future Trunks isn't in the Story Mode (which is very weird considering there are clones of him running around), as many were interested in seeing his reactions upon meeting other characters in the present timeline such as Adult Gohan, Present Trunks, Goten, Gotenks, Android 18, Android 17, and even Android 21.
  • While it is understandable why they aren't also in the story, many wished that the Dragon Ball Super characters like Hit and Goku Black had their own story quests, mostly for the chance of interacting with them.
  • Considering the character's popularity, the death of Android 21's good half came across as this to some. Many found 21 a very likeable character with a fun and sweet personality who had interesting dynamics with other characters. Her interactions with the other Z Fighters (especially Goku) only fueled the fire. These fans hope that Android 21 will get a convenient retcon so she can come back, and not as a reincarnation. The in-game reason for her not coming back (it would cheapen her sacrifice) was also found by some to be a weak cop out, as stated in Fanon Discontinuity above.
  • More like "Wasted a good character concept", but Base Vegeta is based mainly off his fight with Goku and only has a few moves inspired by things after the fight, such as his fight with Cui and the Ginyu Force. This resulted in some feeling he was one of the weakest designed characters added post-launch, since he not only borrows many animations from his regular Super Saiyan form, but also lacks moves that would have fit well into his arsenal or at least make him more unique, especially compared to Base Goku, who has a unique moveset based off elements from various fights in the series.
  • While Baby was a surprising yet welcomed inclusion to the cast, he is easily the most wasted character out of any DLC character, having absolutely no interactions with the cast outside his own lines (not even with GT GOKU), he won't be acknowledged by anyone in-universe, making it feel that despite having a very unique ability and a defined moveset with a fair share of Mythology Gag, it is confined entirely to Baby. Even Cooler, who is limited in both appearances and motivation, has a significant amount of lore and interactions with characters that came before and after him, where Baby does not. One of the biggest and notable ones is the lack of interactions between Baby and Goku Black, both villains who performed Grand Theft Mes to both the strongest main protagonists, Vegeta and Goku, respectively.
• They Wasted a Perfectly Good Plot:
  • Despite the interesting dynamics between the characters during Story Mode, neither Gotenks nor Frieza react to facing a clone of Future Trunks. While Future Trunks not being in the story is due to him being in his timeline (and thus not affected by the plot), his clone is around and no one comments anything about him. It would have been a good opportunity for Frieza to have some payback against his killer (who he never met again) or for Gotenks to fight against his future counterpart (well, kind of).
  • Outside of Vegeta confronting Cell as Super Saiyan Blue in the first arc and his disgust over being forced to team up with him and Frieza in the second arc, they didn't get a single cutscene during the latter arc where Cell would bring up Vegeta helping him reach his Perfect form, while also wanting revenge on him as he does on Gohan for contributing to his defeat.
• Too Cool to Live: To many fans, Android 21 is an awesome character. A cool, sexy design, an interesting backstory, cool powers, a scientific mind, and in her good form, a very lovable personality. In fact, she has so many interesting traits and has so many Story-Breaker Powers that she could potentially outshine most of the cast in a show already infamous for discarding former favorites.
• Underused Game Mechanic: Videl's introduction marked a unique turning point for the game, as Videl was the first character to have an alternate costume that players could freely switch between if they wanted. With this in mind, it seemed to suggest alternate costumes were going to become a thing, which was helped by the Super Broly being uniquely able to shed his armor if he does his Level 3. Despite this, no character has since received an alternate costume and the addition seems to have just been a neat addition, despite fans wanting it to be an additional feature. While Arc System Works doesn't really do alternate costumes due to how their models are made, a number of players feel that Videl having one opens up the topic when it shouldn't have done so.
• Unexpected Character:
  • He's hardly obscure, but not many fans were expecting Android 16 to be one of the first revealed characters. ^note He wasn't in Xenoverse at all, for instance. Especially since the developers soon stated afterward that he's central to the storyline, possibly the Deuteragonist.
  • Nappa's inclusion has taken many fans by surprise, as he was only in the first arc of Dragon Ball Z as The Dragon to Vegeta, and hasn't made any appearances since his death, aside from Dragon Ball GT. Given that he's actually the weakest playable character canon-wise, it's definitively a noteworthy pick.
  • Beerus and Hit being in the base roster and not sold as DLC. While it was expected that both would be in the game, there was debate over whether the base roster would only have characters from the original Z series, and hence whether if they would be DLC. A more cynical point towards them not being on the base roster was that they, as well as Goku Black, could have all been very profitable DLC characters due to their popularity.
  • Goku Black being on the base roster, with Zamasu assisting in a few moves. They're characters who hadn't appeared in the English dub of Super at the time of the announcement, though they were both added to Xenoverse 2 via a Preorder Bonus and DLC packs. Additionally, their involvement with the anime, and thus the majority of their reference material for movesets, didn't conclude until late 2016, which some assumed would be too late in development for them to be added to the base roster.
  • Videl, a character with an on-and-off prevalence throughout the franchise, was one of the first characters announced for Season 2, and brings Great Saiyaman along with her.
  • Goku, in his young Dragon Ball GT incarnation, is one of the DLC characters for Season 2, which is surprising given the series' testy relationship with Western territories. Keep in mind Goku as a kid was and is still is among the most requested characters in polls, but they didn't mean his young GT version. If anything, fans were expecting Goku as a Super Saiyan 4 more as GT's representation.
  • Following up Goku, there's Baby from Dragon Ball GT. He's not unpopular by those who saw GT, but people didn't expect him at all, much less with his Great Ape and controlling fallen enemies gimmick. In fact, people were expecting Omega Shenron as GT representative villain (the Final Boss of the series); Majin Vegeta for a Vegeta variation; or Toppo and/or Ribrianne (the two last Tournament of Power representatives following season 3 thematic).
  • Revealed right after Baby was the Super Saiyan 4 form of Gogeta. Nobody expected him to be included after Gogeta Blue was added since Gogeta Blue was a Composite Character of all three of his appearances in moves and animations.
  • Despite Android 21 being an unlockable launch character, no one was expecting her human form (dubbed "Android 21 (Lab Coat)" to be announced as a DLC character about four years after the game's initial release.
• Visual Effects of Awesome:
  • Take Guilty Gear Xrd's distinct visual style, combine it with Dragon Ball, and you get a fighting game that looks very much like an anime come to life. Like with Xrd, the game moves at 60 frames per second but the character animations are intentionally trimmed to replicate the look of cel animation. It is best demonstrated in this video, which shows things like dust and wind moving at 60fps but the characters themselves appear more cinematic. Heck, the game is this trope to the point where it still looks good even if you switch the PC version to the lowest settings, and was even the basis for a video based around a theoretical SNES version.
  • When small ki blasts are deflected, they will sometimes fly into the background and hit parts of the scenery, causing damage that remains for the rest of that battle — a clever and smooth visual detail that caught many off guard when they first noticed it.
  • A number of fans are impressed with the good-looking battle damage the characters can sustain mid-fight, especially since it's done in a more believable way than the likes of recent Mortal Kombat titles or the Injustice games (whose cast can, in more extreme cases, have their skin ripped off to the point of showing muscle yet completely ignore it).
  • Fused Zamasu's Meteor Attack, Wall of Light, where Zamasu summons a giant bird-like spirit to cast lighting on his opponents, looks absolutely beautiful.
  • Vegito's Meteor Attack, the Final Kamehameha, also receives a lot of love due to its framing and the details of Goku and Vegeta briefly appearing before the move is fired off.
  • Baby's Meteor Attack, Great Ape Assault, is a sight to behold, what with the Red Filter of Doom and a small P.O.V. Cam moment as you receive a No-Holds-Barred Beatdown from a Golden Great Ape.
• The Woobie: Android 21. All she wants is to live peacefully as a family with Android 16, and the hunger she feels drives her off the deep end and she ends up killing 16, leaving her with nothing. And even after she's split apart from the part of her that wants to eat and consume everything, she's still feeling the compulsion to eat people, and eventually chooses to sacrifice herself so she won't be a danger to anyone. That she doesn't remember her former life as a human, doesn't know that her "creator" was probably also her husband, who was probably just trying to save her and in the process ended up creating a monster even more dangerous than Cell, just makes things worse.
• Win Back the Crowd: While the game had been going strong for a few years, the end of Season 2 is thought of as a low point in the games lifecycle. While Season 2 brought some welcome additions to the cast like Gogeta and Super Broly, the mechanics were slowly getting staler and team hierarchies were becoming rigidly defined. Couple this with the introduction of GT Goku and the heavy buffs for Teen Gohan, and the competitive scene was considered to be "solved". Season 3 introduced a bunch of new balance changes that redefined several character roles in fun ways, as well as diversifying team building through adding new assists for every character. Along with this came a suite of performance changes like the Limit Break mechanic, improvements to Vanishing Attack, and changing EX moves to use half a bar. The result is that Season 3 has already gotten people back into the game, excited to see what other changes Arc-Sys will bring to the tablet.

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