What is the best Dragon Ball game? Our pick is Dragon Ball FighterZ, with Sparking! Zero and the classic Budokai Tenkaichi 3 right behind it. Over more than thirty years Goku has starred in dozens of games of wildly uneven quality, so this list narrows them down to twelve, from Super Nintendo cartridges to current consoles, and explains what makes each one worth your time.
How we ranked them
Three things mattered. First, how well it holds up today: a game that is still fun beats one we only remember fondly. Second, historical weight, meaning how much it changed what a Dragon Ball game could be. Third, variety: fighting games dominate the franchise, but some of its best moments came from RPGs and adventures, so those earn spots too. We left out mobile games, which change constantly and don't sit well in a fixed ranking.
At a glance
| # | Title | Year | Platforms | Genre |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dragon Ball FighterZ | 2018 | PS4, Xbox One, PC, Switch, PS5, Xbox Series X/S | 2.5D fighter |
| 2 | Dragon Ball: Sparking! Zero | 2024 | PS5, Xbox Series X/S, PC, Switch, Switch 2 | 3D fighter |
| 3 | Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 3 | 2007 | PS2, Wii | 3D fighter |
| 4 | Dragon Ball Z: Budokai 3 | 2004 | PS2 (HD on PS3, Xbox 360) | Fighter |
| 5 | Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot | 2020 | PS4, Xbox One, PC, Switch, PS5, Xbox Series X/S | Action RPG |
| 6 | Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2 | 2016 | PS4, Xbox One, PC, Switch, PS5, Xbox Series X/S | Fighter/RPG |
| 7 | Dragon Ball Z: Super Butōden 2 | 1993 | Super Nintendo | 2D fighter |
| 8 | Dragon Ball Z: The Legacy of Goku II | 2003 | Game Boy Advance | Action RPG |
| 9 | Dragon Ball Z: Attack of the Saiyans | 2009 | Nintendo DS | Turn-based RPG |
| 10 | Dragon Ball Z: Hyper Dimension | 1996 | Super Nintendo | 2D fighter |
| 11 | Dragon Ball: Raging Blast 2 | 2010 | PS3, Xbox 360 | 3D fighter |
| 12 | Dragon Ball: Origins | 2008 | Nintendo DS | Action adventure |
1. Dragon Ball FighterZ (2018)
Made by Arc System Works, the studio behind Guilty Gear, this is the game that got serious fighting-game players to take Dragon Ball seriously. Three-character teams, assists, flashy combos and 2.5D visuals that look like the anime come to life, complete with recreations of famous scenes. Its story introduces a new female android designed by Akira Toriyama. It launched on PS4, Xbox One and PC, reached Switch later in 2018, and arrived on PS5 and Xbox Series X/S in 2024 along with rollback netcode. Easy to pick up, brutally hard to master. More in our Dragon Ball FighterZ guide.
2. Dragon Ball: Sparking! Zero (2024)
The Tenkaichi series returned after seventeen years, this time developed by Spike Chunsoft. Over-the-shoulder 3D battles, destructible arenas and a massive roster: 182 characters at launch, rising to 208 with the 2025 DLC and growing again in July 2026 with the Super Limit-Breaking NEO expansion. The Episode Battles replay Z and Super with branching choices that lead to alternate endings, and Custom mode lets you build and share your own fights. It released on PS5, Xbox Series X/S and PC, then on Switch and Switch 2 in November 2025. See our Sparking! Zero guide.
Did you know? In Japan the Budokai Tenkaichi games were always called Sparking!, after the last word of the "Cha-La Head-Cha-La" chorus. Sparking! Zero is the first entry to use that name in the West too.
3. Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 3 (2007)
The benchmark Sparking! Zero had to live up to. Released on PS2 and Wii, it packed 98 characters in 161 forms, the biggest roster of any fighting game at the time, along with day-and-night stages and, on Wii only, online play. For a whole generation it was the ultimate "Dragon Ball simulator", and it still plays remarkably well.
4. Dragon Ball Z: Budokai 3 (2004)
Dimps' PS2 fighter is the high point of the Budokai trilogy: fast, close-quarters combat built around Dragon Rush exchanges and a story mode where you fly across a map from one event to the next. In 2012 it was remastered alongside the first Budokai in the Budokai HD Collection for PS3 and Xbox 360. More technical and less chaotic than the Tenkaichi games.
5. Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot (2020)
The pick for anyone who wants to live the story rather than just fight through it. CyberConnect2 rebuilds the sagas of Dragon Ball Z, from the Saiyans to Majin Buu, as an open world full of fishing, side quests and training. DLC adds chunks of Super, the original Dragon Ball, the TV specials and Daima. It launched on PS4, Xbox One and PC, then came to Switch (2021) and PS5 and Xbox Series X/S (2023). Read our Kakarot guide.
6. Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2 (2016)
Dimps again, with a winning idea: create your own warrior (Saiyan, Earthling, Namekian, Frieza Race or Majin) and join the Time Patrol to fix history. Conton City works as an online hub, and years of updates have turned it into a playable encyclopedia of the franchise. It released on PS4, Xbox One and PC, then on Switch (2017) and PS5 and Xbox Series X/S (2024). A sequel, Xenoverse 3, is slated for 2027. Check out our Xenoverse 2 guide.
7. Dragon Ball Z: Super Butōden 2 (1993)
The first Super Butōden (1993) was the franchise's first fighting game, but its sequel, developed by Tose for the Super Nintendo, is the one that nailed the formula. It keeps the split screen that holds both fighters in view when they drift apart, and adds water stages, counters to special moves, and Broly and Bojack on the roster. Europe got it in 1994 as Dragon Ball Z: La Légende Saien. It's the retro game to play if you want to see where everything began.
8. Dragon Ball Z: The Legacy of Goku II (2003)
A Game Boy Advance action RPG from American studio Webfoot Technologies, covering the Android and Cell sagas with Gohan, Piccolo, Vegeta, Trunks and Goku. An open map, side quests, experience levels: an old-school handheld RPG that is still a joy. It is also the only Dragon Ball game developed in the United States to be released in Japan, in 2004.
9. Dragon Ball Z: Attack of the Saiyans (2009)
A turn-based RPG for Nintendo DS from Monolith Soft, the studio later known for Xenoblade Chronicles. It covers the 23rd World Martial Arts Tournament through the Saiyan Saga with a three-character party and chainable combos. Reviews at the time were mixed, but for fans of classic RPGs it's a rare treat: Dragon Ball told at the pace of a JRPG.
10. Dragon Ball Z: Hyper Dimension (1996)
The last Dragon Ball fighter on the Super Nintendo, again from Tose: ten characters spanning the Frieza to Majin Buu sagas, gorgeous animation for its era and a very fast battle system. It only came out in Japan and Europe (in 1997), and the European version lost the story mode. Still one of the finest 2D games ever made about Goku.
11. Dragon Ball: Raging Blast 2 (2010)
Of Spike's two Raging Blast games for PS3 and Xbox 360 we pick the second: more polished, with around 90 characters (a few appearing in a game for the first time) and a great bonus, an animated remake of the 1993 OVA Plan to Eradicate the Saiyans. It lacks the depth of the Tenkaichi games, but it bridges the PS2 era and the modern one.
12. Dragon Ball: Origins (2008)
One of the few games devoted to the original Dragon Ball: young Goku and Bulma hunting the Dragon Balls, with combat driven by the Nintendo DS stylus. Developed by Game Republic, it got a sequel in 2010.
Our take
If you're buying just one game today, it depends on what you want: FighterZ to face friends and strangers, Sparking! Zero to recreate the anime's battles, Kakarot to relive the story. But do pick up a retro title too: playing Super Butōden 2 or Legacy of Goku II shows how much creativity it took to squeeze Dragon Ball onto a cartridge.