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Recently, Dragon Ball FighterZ added a brand new character to the game. Much to everyone’s surprise, it wasn’t another Goku. It's a wonder, because the staggering number of Gokus available to play as is really quite stunning.
But which version of Goku should you opt to play as? We've got you covered. Here’s a quick rundown of the character in all his variations from an outsider’s perspective.
Dragon Ball FighterZ: The Gokus
In Dragon Ball FighterZ, players create a team of three fighters to pit against other teams to see who's the best. When the game first released it came with three iterations of Goku, but as DLC characters were introduced that number seemed to grow.
The current Gokus available to play as are:
- Super Saiyan Goku
- Super Saiyan God Super Saiyan Goku
- Goku Black
- Base Goku
- Goku GT
- Goku Ultra Instinct
- Vegito and Gogeta (both combinations of Goku and Vegeta)
So let's ignore the obvious problem of Dragon Ball FighterZ including such a wide range of power levels and delve into the pile of Gokus the game has given us to play with.
Start with the basics
Although a DLC character in Dragon Ball FighterZ, Base Goku is a good place to start learning about the character. Goku is a charming, simple guy who juggles his strange family problems and attempts at becoming stronger with being an honest husband and father.
As almost everyone has at least some familiarity with Dragon Ball in some form, most of you should be able to recognize him by his bright orange gi and spiky black hair. Despite being the strongest on Earth and the last best hope for the planet many times over, Goku frequently struggled to stay alive during his early storylines. But through sheer force of will and a little help from Shenron, the Eternal Dragon, Goku has come back over and over again to save the world.
Power means dying your hair blonde
Super Saiyan Goku is a new form of Goku, who's achieved a mythical and legendary state of power that temporary alters his appearance: a Super Saiyan. In addition to his aura, his greatest appearance change includes his hair turning a brilliant gold, with additional spikes.
Goku was only able to pass through the barrier into Super Saiyan-hood after witnessing the cruel death of his closest friend at the hands of the most feared conqueror in the galaxy, at least at the time. However, fans of the series will note that barriers are meant to be broken and Super Saiyan-dom would be only the first step on Goku's journey to become even more powerful.
Did I say blonde? I meant blue
Part of what sets Saiyans apart from other races is how naturally powerful they are, as they're universally stronger than humans. Super Saiyans, in turn, are leagues more powerful than a normal Saiyan.
But when a Saiyan becomes so powerful that he attains Super Saiyan God form and then goes Super Saiyan again, he becomes a Super Saiyan God Super Saiyan. And this in turn makes his hair blue.
It all makes perfect sense.
Goku achieved this super godly Super Saiyan state during the film Dragon Ball Z: Resurrection F during his fight with Frieza, coincidentally the same circumstances that lead to his transformation into a Super Saiyan before as well.
Blue!? What was I thinking, I clearly meant white hair is the strongest
If Super Saiyan God Super Saiyan was powerful enough to completely dwarf a Super Saiyan’s power, then far above that lies the power of someone who achieves Autonomous Ultra Instinct.
Goku achieves this power when fighting Jiren in Dragon Ball Super, with the moment of his transformation becoming widely referenced and memeified shortly after.
This is stated to be the most powerful Goku has ever been, but given the series’ track record, I’m sure there will be another form in a decade or so.
Non-Canon Gokus
But it’s not all about power. Sometimes Goku gets a different form through interactions with another character. These Gokus have varying levels of Goku-ness, sometimes being different characters and other times being entirely non-canon.
Kid Goku from Dragon Ball GT is one of the non-canon Gokus. Dragon Ball GT was a spinoff where Goku found himself accidentally turned into a child, and his fighting style developed from there. Despite being small, he was still able to pack a punch. Because GT wasn’t adapted from the manga of creator Akira Toriyama, however, it isn't considered canon.
Non-Goku Gokus
Of course, some Gokus aren’t Goku at all. This is the case of Goku Black. Goku Black comes from an alternate universe, and is the result of a villain named Zamasu taking possession of Goku’s body.
Therefore, although he has the appearance and body of a Goku, he fights and acts the least Goku-like among all the Gokus. He is also the only Goku that is a complete villain.
Goku has a pink color scheme and black hair, which distinguishes himself from the other Gokus.
Partial-Goku Gokus
The final Gokus in Dragon Ball FighterZ are Gogeta and Vegito. Both of these characters come from fusions of Vegeta and Goku. Fusions have long been a part of the series canon, but Goku and Vegeta put off fusing themselves together in part out of a lack of need to do so and partly because of their deep rivalry.
Although both of these fusions are technically one half Goku, the amount of Goku-ness seems to be different based on which of them has the dominant personality. From a purely technical standpoint, however, such differences can be chalked up to simple variance. For the purposes of Dragon Ball FighterZ, both characters are simply different Gokus.
Too Many Gokus?
There you have it. That’s every Goku in Dragon Ball FighterZ. If I’m entirely honest, the vast differences between these Gokus, especially in power, is quite absurd. However, fans of Dragon Ball seem to enjoy the incredible and insane power dynamics in the shows, and it’s part of what gives the shows their charm.
If Dragon Ball FighterZ ends up being supported for a few more seasons it’s possible that other Gokus may be added to the roster as well. Fans will just have to keep watch to find out.
