Dragon Ball Gekishin Squadra review: Intense MOBA playtime with Grand Zeno

I recently got hands-on with Dragon Ball Gekishin Squadra with other members of the press, but I actually played it well before that. When the original demo came out, I made sure to play it, because while I’m not really a big MOBA player anymore, I do love Dragon Ball. It’s a pretty simple, easy-to-understand MOBA, which is good because it’s accessible on PC, PlayStation 5, and mobile devices.

While it’s not going to shake the foundations of the MOBA genre and topple the twin emperors of League of Legends and DOTA 2, it’s got a lot of heart. It’s what I was hoping Pokemon Unite would be, before the pay-to-win/pay-to-progress stigma really got a hold of it. In my experience with Dragon Ball Gekishin Squadra, there’s none of that here; just solid Dragon Ball-flavored MOBA combat.

Note: Any high ping you may see in this article is because, due to issues outside of my control, I primarily played on the Asian server. This is not indicative of the final release.

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Dragon Ball Gekishin Squadra forgoes the familiar MOBA tropes of waves of enemies and builds

Dragon Ball Gekishin Squadra is definitely a basic MOBA, but I don’t think that’s a bad thing. It’s not an intense game where you must grind out perfect builds, master last-hitting, or deny farm from enemies at every step of the way. I think there’s plenty of depth, as it pertains to team comps, and the order by which you level skills and improve them, as well as when/how you power up your character.

The gameplay loop is pretty simple for a MOBA, but I still think there's some depth to be found here (Image via Bandai Namco)

Almost every character I played in Dragon Ball Gekishin Squadra had some kind of power-up gimmick, such as becoming Perfect Cell, Cooler’s Final Form, and Super Sayajin Vegeta. You must really take into account a character’s gameplay style, which is common in MOBAs. Knowing what a character can/cannot do is key, and there’s plenty of diversity.

Instead of enemy waves, you have familiar grunts and weaklings scattered around the lanes, which you can go fight for exp. They respawn fairly quickly, too, so it’s not hard to level up; you can also defeat players for exp, but they’re going to put up just a bit more of a fight. Dragon Ball Gekishin Squadra is also unique compared to some other MOBAs in that you can’t just push all the time.

When Grand Zeno is bonking, make sure you go join him! (Image via Bandai Namco)

Grand Zeno periodically goes flying up and down each lane of the battlefield. The various “Towers” have been replaced with Gods of Destruction, and when Grand Zeno approaches them, he bonks them with a cute little hammer. That’s your chance to deal damage to the “Tower” by using Gekishin Bursts.

Your attacks transform into more powerful Gekishin Bursts that damage the tower until Grand Zeno leaves, or you succeed. However, these have a charge time, and enemies can attack you and disrupt the charge.

That makes things just a bit more interesting and requires you to ensure you’re safe before pushing. It means that it becomes a bit harder to just steamroll through a team, and even if you’re behind, you can always make a comeback by outplaying the other team and pushing down some Towers.

The ultimate attacks really have that Dragon Ball flair to them (Image via Bandai Namco)

If you’re underneath your own tower in Dragon Ball Gekishin Squadra and not in combat, one of the Angels will start healing you, so you don’t have to retreat all the way to your base. This is a nice change from standard MOBAs, that’s for sure.

Of course, some mini-bosses show up, similar to Dragons and Baron in League of Legends. These take on familiar faces, too, such as Nappa. Overcoming them gives you a useful, but temporary buff. Overall, your goal is to get through to the enemy base and claim their Dragon Ball by defeating their “Nexus”.

Pick the right cards for your build to get an edge in battle (Image via Bandai Namco)

Instead of mastering perfect last-hitting, you can hold down the attack button and feverishly blast or punch away at enemy minions/players, which makes the game more approachable. I primarily played on a controller, and I can tell you that it played amazingly well.

You also have temporary buffs/debuffs that you can trigger, similar to other MOBAs' Summoner Spells. These are all pretty basic, but altogether, still useful. I'm also a fan of the Divine Combo Cards, which act as temporary buffs and special powers that trigger after certain conditions are met.

You can equip three of these, and each role has its own. For example, you can Wicked Warrior, which enhances Rush Attack damage (basic attacks) for 4s after beginning a Rush Attack on an enemy Hero, and is triggered by landing 3 Rush Attacks in a row on an enemy Hero. These offer a bit of extra flair and flavor to further enhance your gameplay and are a fine addition to the game.

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The Dragon Ball Gekishin Squadra roster offers DBZ, DBS, and DBGT fans familiar faces

Perfect Cell's Ultimate Attack traps players in the Perfect Cell arena after the base attack, so they have to go toe-to-toe with you (Image via Bandai Namco)

Frankly, the cast of Dragon Ball Gekishin Squadra is a diverse mix of characters from Dragon Ball Z, Dragon Ball GT, Dragon Ball Super, Dragon Ball Daima, and the Dragon Ball Z films. I certainly didn’t expect Cooler, Bojack, or Baby, that’s for sure. Don’t get me wrong, I’m always glad to see Dragon Ball GT representation, because I, for one, enjoyed it.

Most of the characters are incredibly powerful in their respective series, with perhaps the exceptions of Krillin and Piccolo. Don’t get me wrong - they are strong in their own way, and Krillin is incredibly fun to play, that’s for sure. He was one of the very first characters I tried.

Each character fulfills a certain archetype: Damage Dealer, Tank, and Technical. Your team comp will consist of two DPS, a Tank, and a Technical character. Some examples are:

• Damage Dealers: Super Sayajin Goku, Dabura, Piccolo, Future Trunks
• Tanks: Perfect Cell, Zamasu, Super Sayajin Vegeta, Caulifla (Berserker)
• Utility: Krillin, Son Gohan (Kid), Majin Buu (Good)

The cutscenes for when you batter an opponent and win are just sublime (Image via Bandai Namco)

Dragon Ball Gekishin Squadra's characters also feature familiar gameplay and techniques, such as Cell needing to drain the life force of his victims to transform. Every character I played was certainly fun, though I do see a distinct lack of Dragon Ball representation. We’ve got Dragon Ball Super’s Hit, but what about the best assassin in the franchise: Tao Pai Pai?

It really is a who's-who, though, with five new characters being available at launch: Perfect Cell, Android 17, Hit, Super Saiyajin Kale (Berserk), and Gamma 1 & Gamma 2. Fans of the series are definitely going to find someone they love and want to play, I think.

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Is Dragon Ball Gekishin Squadra pay-to-win?

This is arguably one of the most important questions, and right now, I’m going to say no, Dragon Ball Gekishin Squadra is not pay-to-win. Yes, you have to unlock the characters, and it’s faster to use real money, but I’ve never felt like that was a P2W part of MOBAs. None of the items in the shop looked like they could influence your battle power in any way. It was all cosmetics: different colors, costumes, emotes, et cetera.

Nothing about this game felt pay-to-win, in my experience (Image via Bandai Namco)

It all felt pretty balanced, but when your character powers up, they’re definitely stronger than someone who isn’t. Good thing that’s not something that can be affected with money. Cell always has to power up into Perfect Cell each match by taking part in the game. There’s no way to get it faster other than being better than the other players. This could change in the future, but I sure hope not.

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The visual design of Dragon Ball Gekishin Squadra is top-notch, but there’s a lack of familiar music

While yes, the battlefield look and design are relatively basic, I think that’s perfectly fine. It just makes the characters stand out more, and they certainly do. The character design, attacks, and sound effects that come with them really feel fantastic. I also love the voices, with one very important, notable exception.

"That's it. That's the look!" - Perfect Cell (Image via Bandai Namco)

The character who is on your main menu screen in Dragon Ball Gekishin Squadra is going to repeat the same line of dialogue every few seconds, over and over, forever. Do I love Perfect Cell? Anyone who knows me knows that’s true. But hearing that same line over and over made me want to scream. I hope there’s a way to turn this off in the menu.

The music is a little underwhelming, but I suppose I can understand the “why”. I would much rather listen to “Battle Point Unlimited”, “Sanjou!! Ginyu Tokusentai!!”, or any of the amazing OP/ED tracks, but I imagine they would get muted on Twitch/YouTube.

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Final thoughts

Dragon Ball Gekishin Squadra's got a lot on the ball, I think, and could be a fun MOBA for fans of the anime (Image via Bandai Namco)

While Dragon Ball Gekishin Squadra isn’t the greatest MOBA of all time, I think that, more importantly, it’s approachable and easy to play; plus it’s fun! It’s got the heart and feel of a Dragon Ball product that I expect them to have. The MOBA comes with a loaded roster of fantastic characters, no pay-to-win elements, and solid gameplay.

There are definitely characters that are easier to use than others, and while I don’t think it’s perfectly balanced (Future Trunks is out of control strong), I think it’s incredibly fun to play, no matter what your experience with MOBAs is. There’s plenty of room to enhance and improve this game as time goes on, but I think it’s really starting on a strong footing.

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Dragon Ball Gekishin Squadra

The name might be clunky, but the gameplay felt pretty smooth and satisfying (Image via Bandai Namco & Sportskeeda)

• Platforms: PC, PlayStation 5, iOS, Android
• Reviewed on: PC (Code provided by Bandai Namco)
• Developer: Ganbarion
• Publisher: Bandai Namco
• Release Date: September 9, 2025