Dragon Ball has achieved such a level of sustained success for more than three decades that it should come as no surprise that the popular anime and manga series has also had more than 50 video games since the franchise’s debut. Dragon Ball video games faithfully adapt the events of the anime, but they also frequently go in their own directions with exciting alternate-universe storytelling. Goku, Dragon Ball’s prolonged protagonist, is usually the main character or at least playable in some capacity in any video game.
It didn’t take long for Vegeta to grow into a Dragon Ball character who’s arguably even more popular than Goku. Vegeta’s character development as he’s evolved from enemy to ally is some of the series’ best storytelling. Dragon Ball video games tend to celebrate Vegeta and the many turns that his character takes. He’s in a wide variety of Dragon Ball games as a playable character.
10 Dragon Ball Z: Hyper Dimension
Release Date: March 29, 1996
Dragon Ball games were a Super Nintendo staple during the ’90s. The Street Fighter II-inspired Super Butoden trilogy of games are the most talked about SNES Dragon Ball games. However, many audiences forget about Dragon Ball Z: Hyper Dimension, which is meant to be considered as the culmination of the Butoden series and it’s the final Dragon Ball game for the Super Nintendo console.
Hyper Dimension‘s gameplay is comparable to Super Butoden and, therefore, Street Fighter. Its story spans the Frieza, Cell, and Buu Sagas. There’s a surprisingly restrained roster of only ten playable characters and Vegeta only makes the cut in his Majin form. This smaller character allows Hyper Dimension to develop unique movesets for each of its fighters, which also includes Super Saiyan 3 Gotenks, Super Vegito, and Kid Buu.
9 Jump Ultimate Stars
Release Date: November 23, 2006
Super Smash Bros. gets a lot of praise for its enduring success as a crossover fighting series, but just as many accolades are owed to Japan’s Jump Super Stars shonen fighting franchise. Jump Ultimate Stars is the Nintendo DS sequel to the original game, and it fits an incredible 305 characters – 56 of which are playable – in the tiny handheld title. Jump Ultimate Stars features characters from over 40 different Shonen Jump series from across the publication’s prolific run.
It’s an extremely entertaining fighting game that features the same four-person multiplayer mayhem as Super Smash Bros. thanks to the Nintendo DS’s online features. Dragon Ball receives some of the most love in Jump Ultimate Stars with 13 characters, seven of which are playable. Vegeta of course makes the cut, but so do Dragon Ball Z‘s biggest villains like Frieza and Majin Buu. If nothing else it’s a lot of fun to engage in a battle where Vegeta fights One Piece‘s Nami, Death Note‘s Light Yagami, and Hiei from Yu Yu Hakusho.
8 Dragon Ball Z: Infinite World
Release Date: November 4, 2008
There are so many Dragon Ball fighting games out there, especially during the 2000s, that it’s easy for several titles to slip through the cracks. Dragon Ball Z: Infinite World, for instance, is a PlayStation 2 fighting game exclusive that might as well be a combination of past Dragon Ball Z: Budokai releases. The game doesn’t really bring much new to the table, but on its own, it’s still a satisfying anime fighter with a huge roster of characters with diverse play styles.
Dragon Ball Z: Infinite World is particularly kind to Vegeta fans since there are technically nine different versions of the character to choose from, which range from Majin Vegeta to Super Saiyan 4 Vegeta, to his possessed state as Super Baby 2. There’s actually quite a bit of Dragon Ball GT love on display in Dragon Ball Z: Infinite World.
7 Dragon Ball Z: Burst Limit
Release Date: June 6th, 2008
Dragon Ball Z: Burst Limit is an above-average fighting game for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 that’s cut from the same cloth as the multiple Dragon Ball Z: Budokai fighting entries. Burst Limit utilizes ki and fatigue meters, as well as in-battle transformations and support characters to add further accuracy to the game’s battles, which cover the Saiyan, Frieza, and Cell Sagas. Burst Limit also includes two compelling “What If?…” storylines, the first of which sees Bardock defeat Frieza and the second brings Broly to Earth in search of Goku.
Dragon Ball Z: Burst Limit has 21 playable characters, most of which have several transformations at their disposal. In Vegeta’s case, he has his standard, Super Saiyan, and Super Vegeta forms. Several fringe figures also make the cut, like a playable Saibaman, Nappa, and Captain Ginyu.
6 Dragon Ball Fusions
Release Date: August 4, 2016
Love it or hate it, fusion is a polarizing concept that’s not going anywhere in Dragon Ball. If anything, fusion only further solidifies its permanent status in Dragon Ball as new fusion methods continue to enter the series. Dragon Ball Fusions is a unique game that fully embraces the limitless combinations behind the concept and the game’s already massive roster of over 100 characters reaches unbelievable heights with more than 1000 fused character combinations.
Dragon Ball Fusions’ creativity triggers some fascinating thought experiments, many of which involve an unexpected Vegeta combination that’s far more exciting than Vegito or Gogeta. In addition to the exciting Vegeta fusions that are possible, Dragon Ball Fusions also features Super Saiyan 4, Super Saiyan Blue, and Super Saiyan 3 Vegeta as playable characters, the latter of which never officially happens in the anime or manga.
5 Dragon Ball: Raging Blast & Raging Blast 2
Release Date: November 10, 2009 & November 2, 2010
The two Dragon Ball: Raging Blast titles excel as both complex multiplayer fighting games and single-player story mode experiences with endless content to discover and unlock. Both of the Raging Blast games will delight longtime Dragon Ball gamers and the sequel goes above and beyond, even though it came out less than a year after its predecessor.
Dragon Ball: Raging Blast 2 adds 27 new characters to the game, six of which have never been in any Dragon Ball game before, to bring the roster to an even 100. Vegeta is represented in his standard base and Super Saiyan forms, as well as Majin Vegeta, Super Saiyan 3 Vegeta, and his classic scouter-clad Saiyan Saga look.
4 Dragon Ball Heroes
Release Date: November 11, 2010
Dragon Ball Heroes has found success in arcades, but also with home consoles and handheld ports across multiple systems. Dragon Ball Heroes builds upon the popular Budokai game engine but uses a trading card game-based gameplay and combat. Dragon Ball Heroes indulges in fan fiction-esque character combinations where worlds collide and spectacles like Super Saiyan 4 Vegeta versus Super Saiyan Blue Vegeta become possible.
Dragon Ball Heroes, as well as its sequels like Ultimate Mission and the Ultimate Mission X expansion, include copious Vegeta support. Dragon Ball Heroes’ success has also spun the video games into a promotional manga and anime series, Super Dragon Ball Heroes, where multiple versions of Vegeta are also in the spotlight.
3 Dragon Ball: The Breakers
Release Date: October 14, 2022
Asymmetrical action games have become incredibly popular over the past decade with titles like Dead by Daylight and Evil Dead: The Game. Dragon Ball: The Breakers is a recent game developed by Dimps that embraces this asymmetrical survival aspect with a fun premise where players either control weak, powerless survivor characters like Bulma, Oolong, and King Kai who work as a team and attempt to survive from deadly raiders that attack in waves.
Frieza, Cell, Broly, and the Ginyu Force make up some of the most intimidating raiders in Dragon Ball: The Breakers. However, Vegeta is also a playable raider in a wave that reflects the Saiyan Saga’s antagonists — Saibamen, Nappa, and Vegeta as both a Saiyan and Great Ape.
2 Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot
Release Date: January 16, 2020
Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot set new standards for the size and attention to detail in anime video games. Kakarot is a gigantic open-world action RPG that covers all of Dragon Ball Z, as well as DLC material from Dragon Ball Super, the original Dragon Ball, and the series’ two specials.
The majority of Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot is spent with Goku and Gohan, but Vegeta is right behind them. The DLC material is especially kind to Vegeta by including playable segments where he’s a Super Saiyan God, Super Saiyan Blue, and even back when he was a kid during Bardock’s flashback saga. Kakarot explores the full breadth of Vegeta’s character.
1 Dragon Ball FighterZ
Release Date: January 26, 2018
There are dozens of exceptional Dragon Ball fighting games, but Arc System Works channel the same fighting magic that they did with Guilty Gear and BlazBlue and set new anime fighting game standards with Dragon Ball FighterZ. The 2.5D fighter truly looks like the player is in control of a living anime. Three-on-three combat allows the franchise’s large cast of characters to be properly showcased. FighterZ has released steady DLC material that brings Dragon Ball Super, Dragon Ball GT, and movie characters into the mix.
FighterZ roster has expanded to 44 different characters, including the original Android 21. The game has received some playful criticism for how many different versions of Goku are playable in FighterZ, but there are also many contrasting Vegeta’s between his base form, Super Saiyan Vegeta, Super Saiyan Blue Vegeta, and Super Baby 2 from Dragon Ball GT.
Dragon Ball
Dragon Ball tells the tale of a young warrior by the name of Son Goku, a young peculiar boy with a tail who embarks on a quest to become stronger and learns of the Dragon Balls, when, once all 7 are gathered, grant any wish of choice.
