Dragon Ball Xenoverse took a step forward that very few Dragon Ball games have taken in the past, allowing players to create a custom Dragon Ball character. This had been done once before in Dragon Ball Online, but never in a title as mainstream as Xenoverse. While this was a huge factor in why many were so excited about this title, it may be time for Dragon Ball to take things one step further, abandoning the stories of Goku, Vegeta, Gohan, and the other Z Warriors in favor of something completely new.
It's common knowledge that the story of Dragon Ball Z is a little worn out by now. Countless DBZ games have retold it in various ways, culminating in Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot's extremely faithful and enjoyable recreation of it. From here, there's almost no way to revisit that story that hasn't already been done, so the next Dragon Ball game needs to try something new. Taking a page out of Dragon Ball Xenoverse's book is a great place to start, but it will need to forge a path all its own if it wants to stand out and continue a legacy of great Dragon Ball games.
Dragon Ball Xenoverse and the Time Patrol
Dragon Ball Xenoverse allows players to create their own character by picking from one of several races, Earthlings, Saiyans, Namekians, Majins, and members of Frieza's race. After this, the player joins up with Future Trunks and the Time Patrol to stop time travelling criminals from messing with the timeline. This story idea worked great initially, providing a fresh new way to look back at the story of Dragon Ball Z, even allowing for some minor changes to be made here and there, but it still fell into the same pitfalls that other Dragon Ball games do.
Players still had to go through all the steps of battling Raditz, the Ginyu Force, the Androids, and so on just like they'd done before. Due to the timeless nature of Dragon Ball Z's story, this was still enjoyable, but it can't be denied that fans are looking for something new. That's why Dragon Ball Super was so popular, as it allowed fans to see what truly came next for the Z Warriors after defeating Majin Buu at the end of Dragon Ball Z. Since there's no news on a Dragon Ball Super game in the near future, fans need to look elsewhere.
Dragon Ball Super and the Multiverse
The answer to solving Dragon Ball's problems already exists, and it lies within Dragon Ball Super itself. While there is still a well of untapped potential for Dragon Ball Super games, that series also opens up a ton of other possibilities, particularly when it introduced the multiverse. This sequel makes it clear that the universe that Goku and Vegeta live in is just one of twelve universes, each with vastly different worlds, races, and adventures to be had. Though universes tend to mirror one another (ie. Universe 6 and Universe 7), that still leaves six very distinct universe types to play with.
Dragon Ball games need to capitalize on this newfound lore, using this as a chance to tell stories that have never been told before. The style of Dragon Ball is iconic in its own right, and a Dragon Ball game that makes no mention of Goku could probably still perform rather well. In this scenario, players would be able to make their own character from a selection of races and live out their own Dragon Ball story in another universe. There are a number of different ways Bandai Namco could go about this.
Other Dragon Ball Universes
Though fans are most familiar with Universe 7, Dragon Ball Super created 11 other universes that could be explored, potentially more. Of these, certain choices seem most likely to be featured in a future game. First, Universe 6 is very much like Universe 7 since the two are twin universes. Setting a Dragon Ball game here would be great as it would still allow players to use the races they are familiar with as Saiyans, Namekians, and Frieza Clan characters all exist within this universe. Likewise, Universe 6 is the only other universe in the multiverse that has a set of the titular Dragon Balls.
Beyond this, Universes 1 and 12 would also be good picks, as they are listed to have the highest mortal power of the multiverse. This would allow players to experiment with brand new races that would still have the potential to become as powerful as a Saiyan. Picking a universe with a more balanced out mortal power level would help avoid the problem of Saiyans being the only race capable of attaining god-like levels of power and races like Earthlings and Namekians becoming trivial.
Dragon Ball Super's 6 Erased Universes
Finally, Dragon Ball Super briefly mentions six other universes, presumably numbered 13 through 18, that Grand Zeno erased at some point. Whereas all the other universes have some established lore about them like their Gods of Destruction and Angels as well as their ten strongest fighters, these universes would be completely free of creative restrictions, allowing the makers of the game to do really anything they want. One option would be to have the game set before these universes were erased, perhaps showing the events that led up to that erasure or simply exploring untold stories from that time, but there's another way players could visit these universes.
At the end of the Tournament of Power, Android 17 wishes on the Super Dragon Balls to restore all the universes that were erased. It is clear that his intent was likely to return the universes that were erased as part of the Tournament of Power, but that isn't exactly what he said. It's possible that this wish could have restored the other six universes that were erased as well, so perhaps the next Dragon Ball Z game could show what is happening in these universes after their revival. Regardless, it would be nice to see a Dragon Ball game take a brand new approach like this soon.
Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2 is available now on PC, PS4, Stadia, Switch, and Xbox One.