“Shenron Grants Goku’s Wish” Goku Character Analysis

Welcome to the eighth Smashboards Character Analysis! These articles will not be looking at why a character is or isn’t likely, so please do not expect that going in. Instead, they will focus on how a character might play in Smash and how their series might be represented within the Fighter’s Pass.

Disclaimer: Goku, unlike previous characters in this series, is controversial to bring up in the Smash fanbase due to Goku not originating from a Video Game. Since this series is not about probability and instead about fun, we decided he was still worth covering since he is discussed. In terms of Goku, he is an exception, not a rule. We don’t want to limit ourselves from only covering gaming characters but aren’t aren’t going to go hog-wild and include every possible multimedia character.


”Shenron Grants Goku’s Wish!” Smashboards’ Goku and Dragon Ball Z Analysis

Introduction to Dragon Ball Z and Goku

Dragon Ball was originally a manga, or Japanese comic book, created by author Akira Toriyama for the magazine Weekly Shonen Jump in 1984. This series is loosely based on a Chinese 16th-century novel that’s popular in Japan called “Journey to the West''. In this story, the main character Tang Sanzang journeys with his disciples to retrieve sacred Buddhist scripts. Even though his disciples are evil, they are cleansed of evil through his actions. One particular disciple is Sun Wukong, a monkey boy. Dragon Ball omits the role of Tang but gives the title character, Son Goku, the role of Sun Wukong. Dragon Ball also adds a wide-variety of characters like the Dragon Ball-searching girl, Bulma, the turtle hermit Master Roshi, and many others. The series has received critical acclaim not only in its home country of Japan but around the world and has become a powerful franchise in its own right.

In Dragon Ball, Goku would have many travels and fights against plenty of enemies while searching for the Dragon Balls with Bulma, Yamcha, and Krillin. Goku would eventually fight his evil brother, Raditz, at the start of Dragon Ball Z who would reveal Goku’s Saiyan origins. The Saiyans were once an intergalactic empire that would destroy civilizations and auction their planets off. A meteor, however, was what destroyed the home of the Saiyans. This battle against Raditz and Goku’s subsequent death would lead to more battles against adversaries like Vegeta, Frieza, Cell, Majin Buu, and more. During his battles, Goku would unlock his latent power and even become a Super Saiyan during his fight with Frieza. Throughout the series, Goku would forge friendships with past enemies like Piccolo and Vegeta, take Super Saiyan to a whole new level, and save both Earth and the Universe time and time again. Despite not being born on Earth, Goku views Earth as his home and identifies himself as an Earthling. He will protect humanity, the innocent, and Earth - even if it costs him his life.

Phew, that was a lot. You could literally fill a book with the history of Dragon Ball and Goku. Dragon Ball has been an active series since 1984 and is still going strong as seen with the popularity of Dragon Ball Super. It not only dominated and influenced the world of anime and manga but also has massive amounts of merchandise, music, film, cards, and even video games. The first Dragon Ball game was Dragon Ball: Dragon Daihyoko (Great Exploration) which was an over-the-top shoot-’em-up game where Goku fired ki blasts from his flying cloud, Nimbus. This was released on the Super Cassette Vision in 1986. Over a hundred Dragon Ball games have been released Since then, over a hundred Dragon Ball games have been released including expansion packs, ports, remakes, arcade, mobile, and handheld. That is an extensive library of games, yet we largely see Goku as an anime and manga character and not a video game character.

Despite this, Dragon Ball and Goku’s contribution to the gaming world can’t be ignored. The series is massive and, as seen with recent games like Dragon Ball FighterZ, the series can produce high-quality games that fans and non-fans alike can enjoy. Now, let’s look at how Goku would play in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. This article will include content solely from Dragon Ball Z and its movies and not the original series, GT and only a few references to Super.

Goku Character Overview

Goku is a unique fighter because he can access different transformation states, which increases all of his stats and give him a temporary boost in battle. He has over four Specials in addition to twelve other attacks that need to be “unlocked” to use. He can access these attacks by using his Down Special, Power-Up. Like Cloud’s Limit Break, players can hold down the Down Special input to power Goku up. Powering up enough will transform Goku into one of his four Super Saiyan Forms. They are:

• Super Saiyan 1
• Super Saiyan 2
• Super Saiyan 3
• Super Saiyan Blue (also known as Super Saiyan God Super Saiyan or simply SSGSS)

So what does transforming mean? By achieving a Super Saiyan level, it drastically increases Goku’s stats, with Super Saiyan Blue Goku having the highest stats. As mentioned earlier, it also allows Goku to get new attacks with entirely unique attributes. To simplify, it’s like Goku receiving temporary Custom Moves. Goku is a glass cannon because he possesses powerful attacks but they must be upgraded to make a sizable difference, much like in his home series. Goku will also eventually lose his upgraded form over time. This is noticeable in his strongest transformation, Super Saiyan Blue, it doesn’t last long, but the sheer power and damage output makes it handy in a match. Since most of his attacks have lackluster defensive capabilities; the majority of them focuses on power output. Goku has tremendous mobility but his shield is weaker than most and he is more susceptible to hitstun. Goku is all about damage output and dealing enough damage to KO opponents in the shortest time possible.

Like Peach and Daisy, Goku can hover in the air. This functions like their hover, by holding the jump button while in the air and allows Goku to slow his descent to the ground. While not a character attribute, he also floats in the air when running like Mewtwo and Cloud. Finally, as Goku is a Saiyan, he gains a slight 1.2% damage output buff after being healed to 0% by an item or technique. This buff lasts for 20 seconds. Goku is a character who does moderate amounts of damage in his base form but has the potential to be devastating once he gains his transformations. However, these transformations don’t last forever so, once achieved, players need to go all out and knock out the opponent before they can counterattack. Goku players need to use a mix between all-out-attacks and powering up to get Goku to his transformations.

Goku Specials and Final Smash

Neutral Special: Kamehameha/Super Kamehameha/True Kamehameha/God Kamehameha

The Kamehameha is synonymous with Goku and has plenty of variations to draw inspiration from. In its base form, the Kamehameha is a chargeable beam attack that fires across the stage similar in practice to R.O.B.'s Neutral Special, Robo Beam. When fired uncharged, Goku quickly cups his hands and performs a quick “Kamehameha!” However, charging it causes Goku to take the traditional “Kamehameha” stance while slowly chanting the name like so…

Upon releasing the attack, Goku says, “HAAA!!!” and then fires the powerful beam forward. In its charged form, it does multiple hits of damage before launching the opponent. Goku can direct the Kamehameha by tilting the control stick up or down immediately after inputting the neutral attack input. This allows Goku to aim the Kamehameha in five total directions. Doing this in the air allows Goku to aim it in eight directions. This is particularly useful when using his aforementioned floating mechanic. Upon transforming using the Down Special, Goku has access to unique Kamehameha attacks.

Damage: 5.3% uncharged, .8% fully charged per hit (capable of 3-6 hits), 4.2% last hit, capable of 9% damage total

Super Kamehameha

This attack is available when Goku becomes Super Saiyan and Super Saiyan 2. It’s a larger version of the regular Kamehameha with more damage and knockback.

Damage: 8.4% uncharged, 1.2% fully charged per hit (capable of 4-8 hits), 5% last hit, capable of 14.6% damage total

True Kamehameha

This one is only available to Super Saiyan 3. It takes longer to charge fully, but the reward is great. It releases a strong blast similar in size to Mario’s Final Smash, though obviously not as strong.

Damage: 12% uncharged, 1.6% fully charged per hit (capable of 5-10 hits), 7.1% last hit, capable of.23.1% damage total

God Kamehameha

This is the most powerful variation of the Kamehameha and is only for the Super Saiyan Blue form. The attack is smaller compared to the True Kamehameha but packs far more damage and knockback and has a vacuum effect around the beam when fired.

Damage: 15.5% uncharged, 1.8% fully charged per hit (capable of 6-12 hits), 9% final hit, capable of 30.6% damage total

Pros

• The Kamehameha is versatile when combined with transformations.
• Its long reach is similar in application to Byleth’s Neutral Special Failnaught. It’s good for playing keep-away and pressuring opponents.
• It’s excellent at trapping opponents in its attack loop and launching them.
• If it connects with all the hits, it can do devastating damage - especially the God Kamehameha.
• The True Kamehameha is weaker than God Kamehameha, but its damage radius is ridiculously large, making it the best for dealing damage within a wide area.
• The Kamehameha can be charged and released according to the current situation in the battle.

Cons

• After being fired, Goku is defenseless until the beam leaves his hands. This can lead to him getting punished. This is especially true above, below, and behind Goku.
• To get the full damage with the Kamehameha, players must fully charge the attack and hit the opponent. This can be tricky, especially with faster characters.
• Opponents can easily shield the Kamehameha.
• The God Kamehameha is the strongest attack in Goku’s moveset but is the hardest to obtain.
• While the last blast is a good finishing move, opponents can launch early from the looping damage before the finishing blast. This can lead to potential KO’s not happening.

Side Special: Super God Fist/Super God Shock Flash

Goku will launch himself forward while performing a powerful punching attack capable of doing a high damage zoom-in effect. The attack is powerful and can KO middleweight opponents at around 75% and allows Goku to close distances and even when used as a recovery move. When Goku reaches Super Saiyan Blue, he will instead use a counter move known as Super God Shock Flash. When Goku is hit with a physical attack, he will counter it by placing two fingers onto the opponent and then quickly transition into a powerful God energy-infused punch. The attack launches opponents caught by the counter but only effective against physical attacks, making it very situational.

Damage:

• Super God Fist: 11.4% (base)
• Super Saiyan: 14.2%
• Super Saiyan 2: 16%
• Super Saiyan 3: 19.2%
• Super Saiyan Blue: Super God Shock Flash: x2.5% of the attack damage received, 5.5% (collateral damage)

Pros

• Super God Fist is an excellent move for closing the distance, and its priority over mid-range projectiles helps its approach.
• When combined with Super Saiyan 2 and 3, the attack is powerful and fast.
• It can be used in the air for horizontal recovery. The distance increases when Goku transforms.
• It’s an excellent killing move.
• It lacks ending lag.
• Super God Shock Flash is a counter that has a wide window for the attack to connect.
• At 2.5x the damage received, SGSF can convert already powerful attacks into explosive finishers.
• It can also deal damage to nearby opponents because of the countered blast.

Cons

• Prior to the attack, Goku charges his fist with ki which adds a little start-up lag. This can leave Goku open to attack.
• The attack covers a good amount of distance, but misjudging it can cause Goku to miss the target.
• Because of the entire nature of the attack, it is predictable and the opponent can counter easily.
• More powerful projectiles can stop this attack.
• Super God Shock Flash leaves Goku defenseless if the counter misses and suffers from heavy ending lag.
• An attack behind Goku can interrupt the attack.

Up Special: Kaio-ken Attack/Instant Transmission/Dragon Fist

Goku will quickly power-up using the Kaio-ken Attack and shoot upwards at a diagonal angle similar to Wolf’s Up Special. Goku has slight control over his direction while moving. Goku launches anyone he comes into contact with into the air. As a slight nod to the origins of the attack, Goku will have ared aura around him. Performing this attack once more within a ten-second window will increase the speed and damage output slightly. Super Saiyan Blue will also use the Kaio-ken, which causes his aura to become a mix of cyan and magenta. After Goku becomes Super Saiyan Blue, he loses both Instant Transmission and Dragon Fist and Kaio-Ken Attack becomes available. This gives Goku’s aura a cyan and magenta look.

After becoming Super Saiyan 1 and 2, Goku has access to Instant Transmission. This is a teleport attack much like Zelda’s and Mewtwo’s Up Specials. It’s more similar to Mewtwo, however, because it's nearly impossible to see where he’s moving as he will vanish and then reappear depending on where the player moves the control stick to. Unlike the Kaio-ken attack, it has increased recovery distance but at the cost of damage output.

Finally, Super Saiyan 3 has a unique Up Special called Dragon Fist. Goku performs a jumping uppercut similar to Ryu and Ken’s Up Special, Shoryuken, but with farther traveling height. During the attack, Goku will be enveloped in a golden aura in the shape of a large dragon. This aura will spiral around Goku and then rise into the air. In smaller stages like Flat Zone, it will reach up to the top of the upper blast zone while larger stages like New Pork City will show the dragon vanishing once it reaches a certain height

Damage:

• Kaio-ken Attack: 6.3%
  Super Saiyan Blue: 12.5%
• Instant Transmission: 0%
• Dragon Punch: 4.2% (initial uppercut), 4%, 2%, 4%, 6%, 6.8% (hits 1-5), .5% (each hit as the dragon spirals upwards).

The Dragon Punch is capable of 27% damage total including the uppercut with an additional 6% damage if the total amount of hits the spiraling dragon can do after the initial attack before it vanishes. This totals to 12 hits from launching before vanishing.

Pros

• The attack comes out relatively quickly compared to other recovery moves that focuses on power.
• The attack has super armor while Goku remains charged with the Kaio-ken aura.
• Very reliable as a recovery move.
• The attack direction can be slightly altered to where the player wants to go. Goku moves at an upward angle if no input is given.
• The buff received after using Kaio-ken Attacks encourages users to rely on Base Goku rather than constantly powering up to get the Super Saiyan forms.
• Instant Transmission is easily the safest recovery move in Goku’s arsenal.
• Instant Transmission renders Goku invincible upon start-up.
• He can move past platforms and obstacles using this move.
• Goku can even use it as an evasive technique by vanishing but not moving to a new location.
• While Goku experiences some minor ending lag for Instant Transmission, inputting the quick uncharged Kamehameha after coming out of the Instant Transmission is possible as it cancels out the ending lag. This is a direct reference to the Instant Kamehameha.
• Dragon Punch is the most powerful of his up special moves and one of the stronger killing Up Specials in Ultimate.
• The dragon has the ability to push opponents upwards as it travels and this is an excellent way to score a low percentage KO.
• It has a large hitbox which allows it to cancel out low to medium-power attacks and also functions as a powerful anti-aerial.

Cons

• Kaio-ken, while being incredibly important to Goku’s overall kit, has significant start-up and ending lag.
• While the attack has super armor while Goku moves, he is vulnerable at the startup.
• It is not an ideal move for knocking out fighters at low percentages, as it won't launch them as high.
• Hitting an opponent at a low percentage with a Kaio-Ken might lead to the opponent punishing Goku. This is since the opponent can quickly get out of the knockback while Goku is still traveling.
• It's easy for opponents to predict where he will land and due to his landing lag he can be punished.
• Instant Transmission, like Kaio-ken, is vulnerable at the ending of the animation. With Instant Transmission, this is a direct reference to how Goku used it once only to get hit in the face by Krillin, after he reappeared.
• Instant Transmission doesn’t deal any damage.
• Dragon Fist suffers from both heavy start-up and ending lag.
• Unlike the previous two, the recovery distance isn’t that great, it’s less than a Shoryuken with command input.
• Goku enters a freefall state afterwards.

Down Special: Power-Up

Holding down the Down Special input will allow Goku to charge his ki in order to achieve higher power levels. Unlike Cloud and Joker, he doesn’t have a gauge to show how much power he has, but you can tell by the visual indications. The intensity of his aura shows up on both of his model and HUD portrait. Once Goku gets enough ki, he will transform into the first transformation available, but players don’t have to stop there. The player can continue charging up the Down Special to further power-up, so the player can access more powerful transformations.

Letting go of the Down Special charge will start the full transformation, or the closest possible, and will begin a countdown of sorts where Goku will steadily lose power. This will eventually cause Goku to revert to his base form. Powering-up again can stave this off, but Goku will eventually lose this transformation even when periodically powering-up between attacks. This is used to give a little extra time on the transformations before they eventually finish. Players can see how much “time” is left by observing how small the aura around the character model and HUD portrait becomes.

Damage: 0%

Pros

• Any of the four transformations can change Goku’s specials.
• The trade-off that Goku gets for powering up is far greater than the risks.
• A good strategy is to KO an opponent and immediately go into powering up so you can start the next stock with increased stats.
• After being KO’d, Goku will start with a slight power-up during the initial invincibility frames in the next stock.
• The windbox is enough to push opponents back slightly. This increases once Goku enters a transformation.
• Super Saiyan Blue Goku is the strongest transformation and offers him unparalleled speed and attack output.

Cons

• The higher the transformation, the faster it depletes.
• Getting damaged will cause a decrease in the transformation timer. Getting KO’d resets it back to base Goku.
• Powering up puts Goku in a rather defenseless state - even with the wind box effect.
• Once Goku accesses a transformation, it’s difficult to power-up again to get a higher transformation. It’s possible but requires more time. This is because the rate his ki increases at is drastically nerfed compared to when base Goku powers up. Higher transformations decrease the rate of energy increase when powering up.
• It’s impossible to revert to base Goku after initiating a transformation, so it’s possible players might reach a transformation by accident and regret it.

Final Smash: Saiyan Assault/Spirit Bomb

Goku has two Final Smashes like Ryu and Ken which depend if Goku is close or near to the opponent. If Goku is close to the opponent, he performs an attack called Saiyan Assault. This opens with Goku kicking the opponent with a high kick. This starts a cinematic cutscene where the opponents fly up into the air, followed closely by Goku. He then starts attacking the opponent at extremely high speeds which become nothing but blurry afterimages. Goku uses this extreme speed to beat the opponent in the air. Goku then appears above the opponent and prepares a massive ki blast; he then fires it downward onto the opponent. If Goku is far away, he will first dash forward while striking the opponent much like King K. Rool. Once he makes contact, it triggers a cinematic cutscene where Goku hovers in the air while gathering energy. This leads to an image of Earth from the anime.

A layer of shining particles float above Earth which shows the Spirit Bomb drawing energy from its willing inhabitants. This cuts back to Goku, taking the Spirit Bomb and tossing it downward. The cutscene ends and the game is transitioned back to the stage, however a gigantic energy ball will be approaching the stage, much like the Moon Assist Trophy. The Spirit Bomb will eventually collide with the stage and then deal huge amounts of damage before launching opponents caught in the blast.

Damage:

• Saiyan Assault 48%
• Super Saiyan: 50%
• Super Saiyan 2: 55%
• Super Saiyan 3: 58%
• Super Saiyan Blue: 63%
• Spirit Bomb: 52%
• Super Saiyan: 58.3%
• Super Saiyan 2: 63%
• Super Saiyan 3: 68%
• Super Saiyan Blue: 72.2%

Goku Smash Attacks and Other Notable Attacks

Jab Attack Infinite Jab: Goku will perform two consecutive punches before doing a kick. This can then combo into an infinite kick jab combo. This causes Goku to hover slightly in the air while doing multiple kicks before using a final jab finisher kick.

Damage:

• Base: 1.2%, 2%, .4%, 3%
• Super Saiyan: 1.5%, 2.4%, .5%, 3.6%
• Super Saiyan 2: 1.8%, 2.9%, .7%, 4.3%
• Super Saiyan 3: 2%, 3.2%, .8%, 5%
• Super Saiyan Blue: 2.3%, 3.7%, .9%, 6.8%

Forward Tilt: Super Elbow Smash: Goku steps back and then performs a short-ranged thrusting elbow attack. It has a slight start-up lag.

Damage:

• Base: 4.1%
• Super Saiyan: 4.9%
• Super Saiyan 2: 5.5%
• Super Saiyan 3: 6.3%
• Super Saiyan Blue: 7%

Forward Smash: Ki Volley: Goku unleashes a volley of ki blasts depending on how much Goku charged up the attack. If uncharged, Goku fires three individual ki blasts while a fully charged smash fires off twelve total. This makes Goku’s one of the longest smash attacks in terms of duration, but also boasts incredible range.

Damage:

• Base: 5% (uncharged) - 10% (fully charged)
• Super Saiyan: 7.2% (uncharged) - 14.4% (fully charged)
• Super Saiyan 2: 10% (uncharged) - 18.2% (fully charged)
• Super Saiyan 3: 13% (uncharged) - 23.8% (fully charged)
• Super Saiyan Blue: 15.2% (uncharged) - 26% (fully charged)

Up Smash: Power Pole Extend: Goku pulls out his trusty Power Pole and slams it down on the ground. He then screams out, “Power Pole Extend!” which causes the pole to shoot upwards about three times its height when charged. It then reverts to its normal length. Goku can be punished due to the move’s ending lag. It’s great at hitting opponents above Goku and deceiving them for its sudden surge.

Damage:

• Base: 3.3% (uncharged) - 8% (fully charged)
• Super Saiyan: 3.5% (uncharged) - 10% (fully charged)
• Super Saiyan 2: 4% (uncharged) - 11.4% (fully charged)
• Super Saiyan 3: 4.4% (uncharged) - 12.1% (fully charged)
• Super Saiyan Blue: 5% (uncharged) - 14% (fully charged)

Down Smash: Kiai Blast: Goku thrusts both of his hands on his sides and releases a sudden burst of energy that has high knockback but lacking damage output. It’s great for covering all sides of Goku and preventing attacks from connecting. The Kiai Blast is also capable of canceling out weaker projectiles.

Damage:

• Base: 4% (uncharged) - 6% (fully charged)
• Super Saiyan: 6.2% (uncharged) - 9% (fully charged)
• Super Saiyan 2: 7.1% (uncharged) - 10.4% (fully charged)
• Super Saiyan 3: 8% (uncharged) - 12.2% (fully charged)
• Super Saiyan Blue: 10.4% (uncharged) -14% (fully charged)

Neutral Aerial: Arrow Knee: Goku performs a flying knee press with a little start-up and ending lag.

Damage:

• Base: 5%
• Super Saiyan: 6%
• Super Saiyan 2: 6.8%
• Super Saiyan 3: 7%
• Super Saiyan Blue: 9.2%

Forward Aerial: Double Axe Handle: Goku cups his hands together before bringing them downwards in an arc. The attack has a sweet spot that can meteor smash opponents down which will also damage the opponents on the ground.

Damage:

• Base: 4% (whiff) - 8% (sweetspot)
• Super Saiyan: 4.5% (whiff) - 10% (sweetspot)
• Super Saiyan 2: 25.3% (whiff) - 11% (sweetspot)
• Super Saiyan 3: 5.8% (whiff) - 13.3% (sweetspot)
• Super Saiyan Blue: 11.2% (whiff) - 18% (sweetspot)

Down Aerial: Meteor Strike: Goku performs a stall-then-fall that ends with a single leg dive kick. It’s stronger than most dive kicks.

Damage:

• Base: 6%
• Super Saiyan: 6.3%
• Super Saiyan 2: 8%
• Super Saiyan 3: 10%
• Super Saiyan Blue: 13%

Pummel: Headbutt: Goku headbutts the opponent.

Damage:

• Base: 2.2% (base)
• Super Saiyan: 3%
• Super Saiyan 2: 3.7%
• Super Saiyan 3: 4.1%
• Super Saiyan Blue: 5%

Forward Throw: Dragonthrow: Goku takes the opponent and swings around while holding the opponent, much like how he did with Frieza and his tail as well as Fat Buu. He then lets the opponent go in a manner very similar to Mario’s forward throw.

Damage:

• Base: 6%
• Super Saiyan: 8%
• Super Saiyan 2: 8.4%
• Super Saiyan 3: 9%
• Super Saiyan Blue: 11.5%

Up Throw: Super Shots: Goku slams the opponent upwards into the air and fires a series of Ki shots which juggles the opponent before launching them. It’s capable of damaging not only the targeted opponent, but those nearby. The damage dealt to the targeted opponent is the same damage dealt to anyone else caught in the attack.

Damage:

• Base: 6%
• Super Saiyan: 7%
• Super Saiyan 2: 7.6%
• Super Saiyan 3: 9%
• Super Saiyan Blue: 11.7%

Entrance Animation

Goku is unique in that he has two entrance animations. It’s entirely random which one will appear at the start of a game.

• Goku appears on the flying cloud, Flying Nimbus, and jumps off of it.
• Goku appears via Instant Transmission.

Taunts

• Up Taunt: Goku pulls out the Dragon Radar and presses the button on the top several times. He then looks around and says, “Where could it be…”
• Side Taunt: Goku punches into the air and says, “All right!” and then performs a peace sign while grinning ear to ear.
• Down Taunt: Goku performs his iconic battle pose that he took when fighting Vegeta in the Saiyan Saga and says “Ready when you are.”

Idle Animations

• Goku cracks his knuckles.
• Goku pats his belly and looks at it hungrily.

Victory Animations

• Goku charges up a Kamehameha and unleashes while aiming slightly above the camera. He then turns to the camera and does his iconic thumbs-up after he defeated Kid Buu.
• Goku pulls out a bowl of food and begins scarfing it down. If the victory animation continues to play out, he will devour the entire thing before patting his belly in contentment.
• Goku hauls a giant fish into the screen and slams it down on the ground. He then puts both hands behind his head and grins while saying, “That was quite the workout!”

Classic Mode: The World’s Strongest

This classic mode takes place on Omega-version of stages to portray the World’s Martial Arts Tournament with some having a stadium-like theme to reflect this. Each character is a powerful character within their own series.

Round 1 - Vs.
Pokémon Stadium 2

Lucario’s inclusion is a nod to similarities to Goku such as energy projectiles. As well, both characters have the same English voice actor, Sean Schemmel.

Round 2- Vs.
Kalos Pokémon League (Dragon phase)

Bowser’s inclusion references the powerful brute type characters found in Dragon Ball and the wishing-granting dragon, Shenron.

Round 3 - Vs.
Mario Galaxy

Captain Falcon’s inclusion helps represent some more technological characters in the series as well as the Saiyan’s jobs of traveling the universe, albeit to dominate the planet. Ryu Horikawa, who voices Captain Falcon, also voices Vegeta in Japanese.

Round 4 - Vs.
Onett

Dark Samus’ inclusion draws on how Majiin Vegeta destroyed the World’s Martial Arts Tournament during the Majin Buu Arc. The stage reflects how evil villains, like Nappa and Prince Vegeta, often destroy cities when they make their grand appearance..

Round 5 - Vs.
Arena Ferox

Ike’s inclusion isn’t a particular nod to any character as only a handful use swords. However, “I fight for my friends” is often one of Goku’s reasons for fighting. Also, it’s slightly reminiscent of Goku’s fight with Future Trunks.

Round 6 -Vs.
Boxing Ring

Like Goku, Ryu is the poster boy for their home series, constantly finds strong opponents to fight against, and uses an internal power to strengthen themselves.

Final Round Vs. (Giant)
Namek (Destroyed)

The characters all represent villains Goku fought starting from Vegeta, Frieza, Cell, and Buu. The stage, Namek (Destroyed) will be featured in the Series Analysis next time.

Victory Theme

Alternate Costumes

• Orange (Default)
• Purple - Based on Piccolo's color scheme
• Green - Based on the color scheme of Goku’s father, Bardock.
• White - Based on Goku’s nemesis, Frieza.
• Cyan - Based on Goku’s last appearance in the closing episodes of Dragon Ball Z.
• Black - Based on the character known as Goku Black from Dragon Ball Super.
• Dark Blue - Based on Goku’s battle damage appearance seen throughout the series.
• Blue - Based on Saiyan Armor seen during the Cell Games Arc.

Conclusion

Goku doesn’t get many (serious) supporters; partially because he is a pariah within Smash speculation. One aspect of Smash speculation is having fun thinking about how to include characters in the games. Goku only has a long shot at being included in the game despite his massive popularity, the success of Dragon Ball, and their contribution to the world of gaming. Regardless how one may feel, considering how a character or a series may be included in Smash is tons of fun. I find this especially true if it has a snowball's chance in hell of making it in. Dragon Ball has tons of content from its vast library of characters, locations, techniques, and media to draw from. Goku just needs to ascend from being a “4th Party Character” to a “Super 4th Party Character” that can be in Smash.

Credits
Editing: @Sari, @Zerp, @Thirdkoopa
Graphics: @Zerp, Venus of the Desert Bloom
Social Media: @Zerp
Sources: Dragon Ball Z Wikia, SSBWiki

Author’s Note: Do you want to see Goku in Smash? Does Dragon Ball Z deserve a rep or will his inclusion rip the community apart? Regardless of what one may think, Goku’s legacy and popularity is worldwide and what better way to recognize it then to include him in the greatest crossover in history!

 

Goku in Smash would be cool, He would be the second non-video game character to join the roster. Though I'm guessing that Goku would probably piss off even more people than Byleth did.

One note about his FS, Goku should go back to his base state during the Spirit Bomb if he's Super Saiyan 1, 2, or 3 (not sure about Blue) because supposedly those forms of Super Sayian taint the morality of it's user making the user incapable of forming a Spirit Bomb. Of course this would not need to make a gameplay difference since he can automatically turn back to whatever form he was in after forming the Spirit Bomb (even while still using it).

 

Welcome to the eighth Smashboards Character Analysis! These articles will not be looking at why a character is or isn’t likely, so please do not expect that going in. Instead, they will focus on how a character might play in Smash and how their series might be represented within the Fighter’s Pass.

Disclaimer: Goku, unlike previous characters in this series, is controversial to bring up in the Smash fanbase due to Goku not originating from a Video Game. Since this series is not about probability and instead about fun, we decided he was still worth covering since he is discussed. In terms of Goku, he is an exception, not a rule. We don’t want to limit ourselves from only covering gaming characters but aren’t aren’t going to go hog-wild and include every possible multimedia character.


”Shenron Grants Goku’s Wish!” Smashboards’ Goku and Dragon Ball Z Analysis

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Introduction to Dragon Ball Z and Goku

Dragon Ball was originally a manga, or Japanese comic book, created by author Akira Toriyama for the magazine Weekly Shonen Jump in 1984. This series is loosely based on a Chinese 16th-century novel that’s popular in Japan called “Journey to the West''. In this story, the main character Tang Sanzang journeys with his disciples to retrieve sacred Buddhist scripts. Even though his disciples are evil, they are cleansed of evil through his actions. One particular disciple is Sun Wukong, a monkey boy. Dragon Ball omits the role of Tang but gives the title character, Son Goku, the role of Sun Wukong. Dragon Ball also adds a wide-variety of characters like the Dragon Ball-searching girl, Bulma, the turtle hermit Master Roshi, and many others. The series has received critical acclaim not only in its home country of Japan but around the world and has become a powerful franchise in its own right.

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In Dragon Ball, Goku would have many travels and fights against plenty of enemies while searching for the Dragon Balls with Bulma, Yamcha, and Krillin. Goku would eventually fight his evil brother, Raditz, at the start of Dragon Ball Z who would reveal Goku’s Saiyan origins. The Saiyans were once an intergalactic empire that would destroy civilizations and auction their planets off. A meteor, however, was what destroyed the home of the Saiyans. This battle against Raditz and Goku’s subsequent death would lead to more battles against adversaries like Vegeta, Frieza, Cell, Majin Buu, and more. During his battles, Goku would unlock his latent power and even become a Super Saiyan during his fight with Frieza. Throughout the series, Goku would forge friendships with past enemies like Piccolo and Vegeta, take Super Saiyan to a whole new level, and save both Earth and the Universe time and time again. Despite not being born on Earth, Goku views Earth as his home and identifies himself as an Earthling. He will protect humanity, the innocent, and Earth - even if it costs him his life.

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Phew, that was a lot. You could literally fill a book with the history of Dragon Ball and Goku. Dragon Ball has been an active series since 1984 and is still going strong as seen with the popularity of Dragon Ball Super. It not only dominated and influenced the world of anime and manga but also has massive amounts of merchandise, music, film, cards, and even video games. The first Dragon Ball game was Dragon Ball: Dragon Daihyoko (Great Exploration) which was an over-the-top shoot-’em-up game where Goku fired ki blasts from his flying cloud, Nimbus. This was released on the Super Cassette Vision in 1986. Over a hundred Dragon Ball games have been released Since then, over a hundred Dragon Ball games have been released including expansion packs, ports, remakes, arcade, mobile, and handheld. That is an extensive library of games, yet we largely see Goku as an anime and manga character and not a video game character.

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Despite this, Dragon Ball and Goku’s contribution to the gaming world can’t be ignored. The series is massive and, as seen with recent games like Dragon Ball FighterZ, the series can produce high-quality games that fans and non-fans alike can enjoy. Now, let’s look at how Goku would play in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. This article will include content solely from Dragon Ball Z and its movies and not the original series, GT and only a few references to Super.

Goku Character Overview

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Goku is a unique fighter because he can access different transformation states, which increases all of his stats and give him a temporary boost in battle. He has over four Specials in addition to twelve other attacks that need to be “unlocked” to use. He can access these attacks by using his Down Special, Power-Up. Like Cloud’s Limit Break, players can hold down the Down Special input to power Goku up. Powering up enough will transform Goku into one of his four Super Saiyan Forms. They are:

• Super Saiyan 1
• Super Saiyan 2
• Super Saiyan 3
• Super Saiyan Blue (also known as Super Saiyan God Super Saiyan or simply SSGSS)

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So what does transforming mean? By achieving a Super Saiyan level, it drastically increases Goku’s stats, with Super Saiyan Blue Goku having the highest stats. As mentioned earlier, it also allows Goku to get new attacks with entirely unique attributes. To simplify, it’s like Goku receiving temporary Custom Moves. Goku is a glass cannon because he possesses powerful attacks but they must be upgraded to make a sizable difference, much like in his home series. Goku will also eventually lose his upgraded form over time. This is noticeable in his strongest transformation, Super Saiyan Blue, it doesn’t last long, but the sheer power and damage output makes it handy in a match. Since most of his attacks have lackluster defensive capabilities; the majority of them focuses on power output. Goku has tremendous mobility but his shield is weaker than most and he is more susceptible to hitstun. Goku is all about damage output and dealing enough damage to KO opponents in the shortest time possible.

Like Peach and Daisy, Goku can hover in the air. This functions like their hover, by holding the jump button while in the air and allows Goku to slow his descent to the ground. While not a character attribute, he also floats in the air when running like Mewtwo and Cloud. Finally, as Goku is a Saiyan, he gains a slight 1.2% damage output buff after being healed to 0% by an item or technique. This buff lasts for 20 seconds. Goku is a character who does moderate amounts of damage in his base form but has the potential to be devastating once he gains his transformations. However, these transformations don’t last forever so, once achieved, players need to go all out and knock out the opponent before they can counterattack. Goku players need to use a mix between all-out-attacks and powering up to get Goku to his transformations.

Goku Specials and Final Smash

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Neutral Special: Kamehameha/Super Kamehameha/True Kamehameha/God Kamehameha

The Kamehameha is synonymous with Goku and has plenty of variations to draw inspiration from. In its base form, the Kamehameha is a chargeable beam attack that fires across the stage similar in practice to R.O.B.'s Neutral Special, Robo Beam. When fired uncharged, Goku quickly cups his hands and performs a quick “Kamehameha!” However, charging it causes Goku to take the traditional “Kamehameha” stance while slowly chanting the name like so…

Upon releasing the attack, Goku says, “HAAA!!!” and then fires the powerful beam forward. In its charged form, it does multiple hits of damage before launching the opponent. Goku can direct the Kamehameha by tilting the control stick up or down immediately after inputting the neutral attack input. This allows Goku to aim the Kamehameha in five total directions. Doing this in the air allows Goku to aim it in eight directions. This is particularly useful when using his aforementioned floating mechanic. Upon transforming using the Down Special, Goku has access to unique Kamehameha attacks.

Damage: 5.3% uncharged, .8% fully charged per hit (capable of 3-6 hits), 4.2% last hit, capable of 9% damage total

Super Kamehameha

This attack is available when Goku becomes Super Saiyan and Super Saiyan 2. It’s a larger version of the regular Kamehameha with more damage and knockback.

Damage: 8.4% uncharged, 1.2% fully charged per hit (capable of 4-8 hits), 5% last hit, capable of 14.6% damage total

True Kamehameha

This one is only available to Super Saiyan 3. It takes longer to charge fully, but the reward is great. It releases a strong blast similar in size to Mario’s Final Smash, though obviously not as strong.

Damage: 12% uncharged, 1.6% fully charged per hit (capable of 5-10 hits), 7.1% last hit, capable of.23.1% damage total

God Kamehameha

This is the most powerful variation of the Kamehameha and is only for the Super Saiyan Blue form. The attack is smaller compared to the True Kamehameha but packs far more damage and knockback and has a vacuum effect around the beam when fired.

Damage: 15.5% uncharged, 1.8% fully charged per hit (capable of 6-12 hits), 9% final hit, capable of 30.6% damage total

Pros

• The Kamehameha is versatile when combined with transformations.
• Its long reach is similar in application to Byleth’s Neutral Special Failnaught. It’s good for playing keep-away and pressuring opponents.
• It’s excellent at trapping opponents in its attack loop and launching them.
• If it connects with all the hits, it can do devastating damage - especially the God Kamehameha.
• The True Kamehameha is weaker than God Kamehameha, but its damage radius is ridiculously large, making it the best for dealing damage within a wide area.
• The Kamehameha can be charged and released according to the current situation in the battle.

Cons

• After being fired, Goku is defenseless until the beam leaves his hands. This can lead to him getting punished. This is especially true above, below, and behind Goku.
• To get the full damage with the Kamehameha, players must fully charge the attack and hit the opponent. This can be tricky, especially with faster characters.
• Opponents can easily shield the Kamehameha.
• The God Kamehameha is the strongest attack in Goku’s moveset but is the hardest to obtain.
• While the last blast is a good finishing move, opponents can launch early from the looping damage before the finishing blast. This can lead to potential KO’s not happening.

Side Special: Super God Fist/Super God Shock Flash

Goku will launch himself forward while performing a powerful punching attack capable of doing a high damage zoom-in effect. The attack is powerful and can KO middleweight opponents at around 75% and allows Goku to close distances and even when used as a recovery move. When Goku reaches Super Saiyan Blue, he will instead use a counter move known as Super God Shock Flash. When Goku is hit with a physical attack, he will counter it by placing two fingers onto the opponent and then quickly transition into a powerful God energy-infused punch. The attack launches opponents caught by the counter but only effective against physical attacks, making it very situational.

Damage:

• Super God Fist: 11.4% (base)
• Super Saiyan: 14.2%
• Super Saiyan 2: 16%
• Super Saiyan 3: 19.2%
• Super Saiyan Blue: Super God Shock Flash: x2.5% of the attack damage received, 5.5% (collateral damage)

Pros

• Super God Fist is an excellent move for closing the distance, and its priority over mid-range projectiles helps its approach.
• When combined with Super Saiyan 2 and 3, the attack is powerful and fast.
• It can be used in the air for horizontal recovery. The distance increases when Goku transforms.
• It’s an excellent killing move.
• It lacks ending lag.
• Super God Shock Flash is a counter that has a wide window for the attack to connect.
• At 2.5x the damage received, SGSF can convert already powerful attacks into explosive finishers.
• It can also deal damage to nearby opponents because of the countered blast.

Cons

• Prior to the attack, Goku charges his fist with ki which adds a little start-up lag. This can leave Goku open to attack.
• The attack covers a good amount of distance, but misjudging it can cause Goku to miss the target.
• Because of the entire nature of the attack, it is predictable and the opponent can counter easily.
• More powerful projectiles can stop this attack.
• Super God Shock Flash leaves Goku defenseless if the counter misses and suffers from heavy ending lag.
• An attack behind Goku can interrupt the attack.

Up Special: Kaio-ken Attack/Instant Transmission/Dragon Fist

Goku will quickly power-up using the Kaio-ken Attack and shoot upwards at a diagonal angle similar to Wolf’s Up Special. Goku has slight control over his direction while moving. Goku launches anyone he comes into contact with into the air. As a slight nod to the origins of the attack, Goku will have ared aura around him. Performing this attack once more within a ten-second window will increase the speed and damage output slightly. Super Saiyan Blue will also use the Kaio-ken, which causes his aura to become a mix of cyan and magenta. After Goku becomes Super Saiyan Blue, he loses both Instant Transmission and Dragon Fist and Kaio-Ken Attack becomes available. This gives Goku’s aura a cyan and magenta look.

After becoming Super Saiyan 1 and 2, Goku has access to Instant Transmission. This is a teleport attack much like Zelda’s and Mewtwo’s Up Specials. It’s more similar to Mewtwo, however, because it's nearly impossible to see where he’s moving as he will vanish and then reappear depending on where the player moves the control stick to. Unlike the Kaio-ken attack, it has increased recovery distance but at the cost of damage output.

Finally, Super Saiyan 3 has a unique Up Special called Dragon Fist. Goku performs a jumping uppercut similar to Ryu and Ken’s Up Special, Shoryuken, but with farther traveling height. During the attack, Goku will be enveloped in a golden aura in the shape of a large dragon. This aura will spiral around Goku and then rise into the air. In smaller stages like Flat Zone, it will reach up to the top of the upper blast zone while larger stages like New Pork City will show the dragon vanishing once it reaches a certain height

Damage:

• Kaio-ken Attack: 6.3%
  Super Saiyan Blue: 12.5%
• Instant Transmission: 0%
• Dragon Punch: 4.2% (initial uppercut), 4%, 2%, 4%, 6%, 6.8% (hits 1-5), .5% (each hit as the dragon spirals upwards).

The Dragon Punch is capable of 27% damage total including the uppercut with an additional 6% damage if the total amount of hits the spiraling dragon can do after the initial attack before it vanishes. This totals to 12 hits from launching before vanishing.

Pros

• The attack comes out relatively quickly compared to other recovery moves that focuses on power.
• The attack has super armor while Goku remains charged with the Kaio-ken aura.
• Very reliable as a recovery move.
• The attack direction can be slightly altered to where the player wants to go. Goku moves at an upward angle if no input is given.
• The buff received after using Kaio-ken Attacks encourages users to rely on Base Goku rather than constantly powering up to get the Super Saiyan forms.
• Instant Transmission is easily the safest recovery move in Goku’s arsenal.
• Instant Transmission renders Goku invincible upon start-up.
• He can move past platforms and obstacles using this move.
• Goku can even use it as an evasive technique by vanishing but not moving to a new location.
• While Goku experiences some minor ending lag for Instant Transmission, inputting the quick uncharged Kamehameha after coming out of the Instant Transmission is possible as it cancels out the ending lag. This is a direct reference to the Instant Kamehameha.
• Dragon Punch is the most powerful of his up special moves and one of the stronger killing Up Specials in Ultimate.
• The dragon has the ability to push opponents upwards as it travels and this is an excellent way to score a low percentage KO.
• It has a large hitbox which allows it to cancel out low to medium-power attacks and also functions as a powerful anti-aerial.

Cons

• Kaio-ken, while being incredibly important to Goku’s overall kit, has significant start-up and ending lag.
• While the attack has super armor while Goku moves, he is vulnerable at the startup.
• It is not an ideal move for knocking out fighters at low percentages, as it won't launch them as high.
• Hitting an opponent at a low percentage with a Kaio-Ken might lead to the opponent punishing Goku. This is since the opponent can quickly get out of the knockback while Goku is still traveling.
• It's easy for opponents to predict where he will land and due to his landing lag he can be punished.
• Instant Transmission, like Kaio-ken, is vulnerable at the ending of the animation. With Instant Transmission, this is a direct reference to how Goku used it once only to get hit in the face by Krillin, after he reappeared.
• Instant Transmission doesn’t deal any damage.
• Dragon Fist suffers from both heavy start-up and ending lag.
• Unlike the previous two, the recovery distance isn’t that great, it’s less than a Shoryuken with command input.
• Goku enters a freefall state afterwards.

Down Special: Power-Up

Holding down the Down Special input will allow Goku to charge his ki in order to achieve higher power levels. Unlike Cloud and Joker, he doesn’t have a gauge to show how much power he has, but you can tell by the visual indications. The intensity of his aura shows up on both of his model and HUD portrait. Once Goku gets enough ki, he will transform into the first transformation available, but players don’t have to stop there. The player can continue charging up the Down Special to further power-up, so the player can access more powerful transformations.

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Letting go of the Down Special charge will start the full transformation, or the closest possible, and will begin a countdown of sorts where Goku will steadily lose power. This will eventually cause Goku to revert to his base form. Powering-up again can stave this off, but Goku will eventually lose this transformation even when periodically powering-up between attacks. This is used to give a little extra time on the transformations before they eventually finish. Players can see how much “time” is left by observing how small the aura around the character model and HUD portrait becomes.

Damage: 0%

Pros

• Any of the four transformations can change Goku’s specials.
• The trade-off that Goku gets for powering up is far greater than the risks.
• A good strategy is to KO an opponent and immediately go into powering up so you can start the next stock with increased stats.
• After being KO’d, Goku will start with a slight power-up during the initial invincibility frames in the next stock.
• The windbox is enough to push opponents back slightly. This increases once Goku enters a transformation.
• Super Saiyan Blue Goku is the strongest transformation and offers him unparalleled speed and attack output.

Cons

• The higher the transformation, the faster it depletes.
• Getting damaged will cause a decrease in the transformation timer. Getting KO’d resets it back to base Goku.
• Powering up puts Goku in a rather defenseless state - even with the wind box effect.
• Once Goku accesses a transformation, it’s difficult to power-up again to get a higher transformation. It’s possible but requires more time. This is because the rate his ki increases at is drastically nerfed compared to when base Goku powers up. Higher transformations decrease the rate of energy increase when powering up.
• It’s impossible to revert to base Goku after initiating a transformation, so it’s possible players might reach a transformation by accident and regret it.

Final Smash: Saiyan Assault/Spirit Bomb

Goku has two Final Smashes like Ryu and Ken which depend if Goku is close or near to the opponent. If Goku is close to the opponent, he performs an attack called Saiyan Assault. This opens with Goku kicking the opponent with a high kick. This starts a cinematic cutscene where the opponents fly up into the air, followed closely by Goku. He then starts attacking the opponent at extremely high speeds which become nothing but blurry afterimages. Goku uses this extreme speed to beat the opponent in the air. Goku then appears above the opponent and prepares a massive ki blast; he then fires it downward onto the opponent. If Goku is far away, he will first dash forward while striking the opponent much like King K. Rool. Once he makes contact, it triggers a cinematic cutscene where Goku hovers in the air while gathering energy. This leads to an image of Earth from the anime.

A layer of shining particles float above Earth which shows the Spirit Bomb drawing energy from its willing inhabitants. This cuts back to Goku, taking the Spirit Bomb and tossing it downward. The cutscene ends and the game is transitioned back to the stage, however a gigantic energy ball will be approaching the stage, much like the Moon Assist Trophy. The Spirit Bomb will eventually collide with the stage and then deal huge amounts of damage before launching opponents caught in the blast.

Damage:

• Saiyan Assault 48%
• Super Saiyan: 50%
• Super Saiyan 2: 55%
• Super Saiyan 3: 58%
• Super Saiyan Blue: 63%
• Spirit Bomb: 52%
• Super Saiyan: 58.3%
• Super Saiyan 2: 63%
• Super Saiyan 3: 68%
• Super Saiyan Blue: 72.2%

Goku Smash Attacks and Other Notable Attacks

Jab Attack Infinite Jab: Goku will perform two consecutive punches before doing a kick. This can then combo into an infinite kick jab combo. This causes Goku to hover slightly in the air while doing multiple kicks before using a final jab finisher kick.

Damage:

• Base: 1.2%, 2%, .4%, 3%
• Super Saiyan: 1.5%, 2.4%, .5%, 3.6%
• Super Saiyan 2: 1.8%, 2.9%, .7%, 4.3%
• Super Saiyan 3: 2%, 3.2%, .8%, 5%
• Super Saiyan Blue: 2.3%, 3.7%, .9%, 6.8%

Forward Tilt: Super Elbow Smash: Goku steps back and then performs a short-ranged thrusting elbow attack. It has a slight start-up lag.

Damage:

• Base: 4.1%
• Super Saiyan: 4.9%
• Super Saiyan 2: 5.5%
• Super Saiyan 3: 6.3%
• Super Saiyan Blue: 7%

Forward Smash: Ki Volley: Goku unleashes a volley of ki blasts depending on how much Goku charged up the attack. If uncharged, Goku fires three individual ki blasts while a fully charged smash fires off twelve total. This makes Goku’s one of the longest smash attacks in terms of duration, but also boasts incredible range.

Damage:

• Base: 5% (uncharged) - 10% (fully charged)
• Super Saiyan: 7.2% (uncharged) - 14.4% (fully charged)
• Super Saiyan 2: 10% (uncharged) - 18.2% (fully charged)
• Super Saiyan 3: 13% (uncharged) - 23.8% (fully charged)
• Super Saiyan Blue: 15.2% (uncharged) - 26% (fully charged)

Up Smash: Power Pole Extend: Goku pulls out his trusty Power Pole and slams it down on the ground. He then screams out, “Power Pole Extend!” which causes the pole to shoot upwards about three times its height when charged. It then reverts to its normal length. Goku can be punished due to the move’s ending lag. It’s great at hitting opponents above Goku and deceiving them for its sudden surge.

Damage:

• Base: 3.3% (uncharged) - 8% (fully charged)
• Super Saiyan: 3.5% (uncharged) - 10% (fully charged)
• Super Saiyan 2: 4% (uncharged) - 11.4% (fully charged)
• Super Saiyan 3: 4.4% (uncharged) - 12.1% (fully charged)
• Super Saiyan Blue: 5% (uncharged) - 14% (fully charged)

Down Smash: Kiai Blast: Goku thrusts both of his hands on his sides and releases a sudden burst of energy that has high knockback but lacking damage output. It’s great for covering all sides of Goku and preventing attacks from connecting. The Kiai Blast is also capable of canceling out weaker projectiles.

Damage:

• Base: 4% (uncharged) - 6% (fully charged)
• Super Saiyan: 6.2% (uncharged) - 9% (fully charged)
• Super Saiyan 2: 7.1% (uncharged) - 10.4% (fully charged)
• Super Saiyan 3: 8% (uncharged) - 12.2% (fully charged)
• Super Saiyan Blue: 10.4% (uncharged) -14% (fully charged)

Neutral Aerial: Arrow Knee: Goku performs a flying knee press with a little start-up and ending lag.

Damage:

• Base: 5%
• Super Saiyan: 6%
• Super Saiyan 2: 6.8%
• Super Saiyan 3: 7%
• Super Saiyan Blue: 9.2%

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Forward Aerial: Double Axe Handle: Goku cups his hands together before bringing them downwards in an arc. The attack has a sweet spot that can meteor smash opponents down which will also damage the opponents on the ground.

Damage:

• Base: 4% (whiff) - 8% (sweetspot)
• Super Saiyan: 4.5% (whiff) - 10% (sweetspot)
• Super Saiyan 2: 25.3% (whiff) - 11% (sweetspot)
• Super Saiyan 3: 5.8% (whiff) - 13.3% (sweetspot)
• Super Saiyan Blue: 11.2% (whiff) - 18% (sweetspot)

Down Aerial: Meteor Strike: Goku performs a stall-then-fall that ends with a single leg dive kick. It’s stronger than most dive kicks.

Damage:

• Base: 6%
• Super Saiyan: 6.3%
• Super Saiyan 2: 8%
• Super Saiyan 3: 10%
• Super Saiyan Blue: 13%

Pummel: Headbutt: Goku headbutts the opponent.

Damage:

• Base: 2.2% (base)
• Super Saiyan: 3%
• Super Saiyan 2: 3.7%
• Super Saiyan 3: 4.1%
• Super Saiyan Blue: 5%

Forward Throw: Dragonthrow: Goku takes the opponent and swings around while holding the opponent, much like how he did with Frieza and his tail as well as Fat Buu. He then lets the opponent go in a manner very similar to Mario’s forward throw.

Damage:

• Base: 6%
• Super Saiyan: 8%
• Super Saiyan 2: 8.4%
• Super Saiyan 3: 9%
• Super Saiyan Blue: 11.5%

Up Throw: Super Shots: Goku slams the opponent upwards into the air and fires a series of Ki shots which juggles the opponent before launching them. It’s capable of damaging not only the targeted opponent, but those nearby. The damage dealt to the targeted opponent is the same damage dealt to anyone else caught in the attack.

Damage:

• Base: 6%
• Super Saiyan: 7%
• Super Saiyan 2: 7.6%
• Super Saiyan 3: 9%
• Super Saiyan Blue: 11.7%

Entrance Animation

Goku is unique in that he has two entrance animations. It’s entirely random which one will appear at the start of a game.

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• Goku appears on the flying cloud, Flying Nimbus, and jumps off of it.
• Goku appears via Instant Transmission.

Taunts

• Up Taunt: Goku pulls out the Dragon Radar and presses the button on the top several times. He then looks around and says, “Where could it be…”
• Side Taunt: Goku punches into the air and says, “All right!” and then performs a peace sign while grinning ear to ear.
• Down Taunt: Goku performs his iconic battle pose that he took when fighting Vegeta in the Saiyan Saga and says “Ready when you are.”

Idle Animations

• Goku cracks his knuckles.
• Goku pats his belly and looks at it hungrily.

Victory Animations

• Goku charges up a Kamehameha and unleashes while aiming slightly above the camera. He then turns to the camera and does his iconic thumbs-up after he defeated Kid Buu.
• Goku pulls out a bowl of food and begins scarfing it down. If the victory animation continues to play out, he will devour the entire thing before patting his belly in contentment.
• Goku hauls a giant fish into the screen and slams it down on the ground. He then puts both hands behind his head and grins while saying, “That was quite the workout!”

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Classic Mode: The World’s Strongest

This classic mode takes place on Omega-version of stages to portray the World’s Martial Arts Tournament with some having a stadium-like theme to reflect this. Each character is a powerful character within their own series.

Round 1 - Vs.
Pokémon Stadium 2

Lucario’s inclusion is a nod to similarities to Goku such as energy projectiles. As well, both characters have the same English voice actor, Sean Schemmel.

Round 2- Vs.
Kalos Pokémon League (Dragon phase)

Bowser’s inclusion references the powerful brute type characters found in Dragon Ball and the wishing-granting dragon, Shenron.

Round 3 - Vs.
Mario Galaxy

Captain Falcon’s inclusion helps represent some more technological characters in the series as well as the Saiyan’s jobs of traveling the universe, albeit to dominate the planet. Ryu Horikawa, who voices Captain Falcon, also voices Vegeta in Japanese.

Round 4 - Vs.
Onett

Dark Samus’ inclusion draws on how Majiin Vegeta destroyed the World’s Martial Arts Tournament during the Majin Buu Arc. The stage reflects how evil villains, like Nappa and Prince Vegeta, often destroy cities when they make their grand appearance..

Round 5 - Vs.
Arena Ferox

Ike’s inclusion isn’t a particular nod to any character as only a handful use swords. However, “I fight for my friends” is often one of Goku’s reasons for fighting. Also, it’s slightly reminiscent of Goku’s fight with Future Trunks.

Round 6 -Vs.
Boxing Ring

Like Goku, Ryu is the poster boy for their home series, constantly finds strong opponents to fight against, and uses an internal power to strengthen themselves.

Final Round Vs. (Giant)
Namek (Destroyed)

The characters all represent villains Goku fought starting from Vegeta, Frieza, Cell, and Buu. The stage, Namek (Destroyed) will be featured in the Series Analysis next time.

Victory Theme

Alternate Costumes

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• Orange (Default)
• Purple - Based on Piccolo's color scheme
• Green - Based on the color scheme of Goku’s father, Bardock.
• White - Based on Goku’s nemesis, Frieza.
• Cyan - Based on Goku’s last appearance in the closing episodes of Dragon Ball Z.
• Black - Based on the character known as Goku Black from Dragon Ball Super.
• Dark Blue - Based on Goku’s battle damage appearance seen throughout the series.
• Blue - Based on Saiyan Armor seen during the Cell Games Arc.

Conclusion

Goku doesn’t get many (serious) supporters; partially because he is a pariah within Smash speculation. One aspect of Smash speculation is having fun thinking about how to include characters in the games. Goku only has a long shot at being included in the game despite his massive popularity, the success of Dragon Ball, and their contribution to the world of gaming. Regardless how one may feel, considering how a character or a series may be included in Smash is tons of fun. I find this especially true if it has a snowball's chance in hell of making it in. Dragon Ball has tons of content from its vast library of characters, locations, techniques, and media to draw from. Goku just needs to ascend from being a “4th Party Character” to a “Super 4th Party Character” that can be in Smash.

Credits
Editing: @Sari, @Zerp, @Thirdkoopa
Graphics: @Zerp, Venus of the Desert Bloom
Social Media: @Zerp
Sources: Dragon Ball Z Wikia, SSBWiki

Author’s Note: Do you want to see Goku in Smash? Does Dragon Ball Z deserve a rep or will his inclusion rip the community apart? Regardless of what one may think, Goku’s legacy and popularity is worldwide and what better way to recognize it then to include him in the greatest crossover in history!

I like this moveset, but I like Lockstin’s better.

 

I don't "want" 4th party characters in Smash, but I'm totally open to them if it would ever happen.

I like this moveset, but there are some things that I would do differently (not saying that they are bad, just that I would personally do them in a different way, for a matter of preference).

-I like Goku being able to switch between all the SSJ forms, though I wouldn't give him different moves depending on the forms. In my opinion all the ki moves (kamehameha etc.) should drain Goku's aura, that would work as an indicator of how many ki energy is avaliable at the moment (basically a replacement for a ki gauge in the gui, but it's directly on the character instead). Base Goku would get a low cap for the amount of ki in his aura, but the charged ki would persist, while during all his other transformations, the ki would drain with time and would require constant charges in order to be used (it's consumed faster as you are on a higher level transformation), but the cap would be progressively higher in each form, and the neutral moves (punches and kicks) would deal slighty more damage and maybe be a bit faster too.

I would do this way: hold down-b to charge the ki (instead of transform into ssj), while tap several times down-b to transform into ssj+1, so that you can instantly reach the ssj level you want (but you might not have enough ki to maintain it). Each time you reach a level of ssj, you release a wave of energy around Goku that will push other characters and items away (not much powerful, but powerful enough to be annoying for the opponent; I think it should also deflect projectiles too).

Another thing that I would add, is that down-b in air would let Goku charge himself up while standing still, ignoring the gravity. Though he would be defenseless (ssj energy waves aside), and any opponent can hit him while charging to cancel the charge/transformation and knock him back.

Kaio-ken would be used if you try to charge the aura above the ki cap... though it's very slow to charge and runs out very fast. It's represented by a red aura under the regular one, and it completely ignores the regeneration of the total ki; you don't float mid-air when charging a kaio-ken (you fall down instead). Kaio-ken might also periodically give you some 1% of automatic damage when you keep it for long times.

The additional amount of ki given by the several transformations (the extended cap) is directly given to Goku (in the form of aura) the moment he transforms, without the need to charge it, and it's needed in order to keep the amount of ki above the minimum required to maintain the ssj form; though ki works like Bowser's flame, when you use it, it requires some time to regenerate, so if you try to transform back into ssj after losing the form, you likely won't be able to because the total ki is still consumed. Goku can also regenerate the amount of ki avaliable faster by getting damage (not much convenient but the one you automatically get from charging a kaio-ken counts too, especially to reach the 100% buff that I will talk of later).

Basically, there are 2 ki values: a total amount that represents how much ki Goku can charge (like a stamina value), and the actual ki, that's represented by the visible aura. If the total amount (hidden) is not fully regenerated yet, Goku can only charge the aura up to the amount of ki avaliable at the moment.

Each 100% of damage (100%, 200%, 300%), Goku would gain a temporary buff that lasts a few seconds (about 5 I think), where he acts as if he's at 0% and has his total ki amount fixed to max (he still needs to charge the aura though). This is visually represented by the fact that his clothes get damaged: when the appearance of the character changes, he gets the temporary buff. Better to charge up as much ki as possible and reach the highest ssj form during the buff.
This is a reference of how in the anime he becomes stronger when he's pushed to the limit, and also a reward for being able to survive at an high % value.

As I said, I would give him the same moves for each transformation, but give them a better default charge value and faster charge time for the chargeable moves. For example, I'm using meaningless placeholder values here only to give an idea: an uncharged kamehameha performed as base Goku would be power 1, but you can charge it up to power 15 depending on how long you charge it before releasing (15 consumes all the ki so it's technically impossible to charge it up more than that unless you go beyond the limit through kaio-ken). ssj1 Goku can launch power 3 kamehameha by default, uncharged, and you can charge it up to power 20 due to the extended ki cap. etc. You can charge a power 10 kamehameha in both forms but in base form it requires more time to charge, both because ssj1 starts from an higher default value, and also because while in ssj the charge speed of the move is buffed.

When you charge a ki move, the ki draining of the ssj forms is temporarily stopped: ki would still drain in order to power up the move that you are performing though. Total ki regeneration is also stopped, but when you charge up the aura instead.

Press B while shielding in order to release the ssj form and turn back into regular Goku (all the additional ki that the regular form cap can't handle is lost, kaio-ken is lost too).

-For up-b I would let Goku use the teleport move. He teleports near the closest enemy. If there are no enemies near Goku, he would just fall down failing to teleport (the longer you hold, the wider the teleport range will become). To compensate that, while mid-air, Goku can also shoot a kamehameha downward, and use it as an additional jump. The input is the same as the regular kamehameha plus tilting the control stick down after activating it (the knockback that will let you jump only applies if you shoot it down or diagonal/down); kinda like Ness' up-b, Goku falls at lower speed while charging it, both the kamehameha and the teleport. Since Goku can charge his ki without falling, it's easy to recover this way, but remember that while you charge, you are still defenseless.

Since the avaliable ki is consumed like Bowser's flame and must regenerate, you can't fly forever (I mean by charging ki and doing downward kamehameha), because charging ki is canceled when the total amount of ki is reached, and when it's consumed, the total amount avaliable is lower (to the point that you can't even transform into ssj).

-lastly, I think that if we are doing adult Goku, I would let kid Goku moves out of the moveset. I think that if Dragonball ever gets a chance to be in Smash, both Goku and Kid Goku deserve to be separate characters, even more than the two versions of Link. Kid Goku can get a completely different moveset, with the nimbus, power pole, monkey tail, huge monkey final smash etc.

 

Is this a support thread for a character constantly rejected from SmashBoards for being fourth-party? And you put it on the News board to avoid getting it closed on the Newcomer Speculation board? Well, if Sakurai changes his mind about non-gaming characters, Goku is the best for Smash. Especially with Lucario, Ryu and Hero to draw inspiration from.

 

Is this a support thread for a character constantly rejected from SmashBoards for being fourth-party? And you put it on the News board to avoid getting it closed on the Newcomer Speculation board? Well, if Sakurai changes his mind about non-gaming characters, Goku is the best for Smash. Especially with Lucario, Ryu and Hero to draw inspiration from.

Well Sakurai originally decided to exclude all fighting game characters, but then he eventually changed his mind. But I don't think adding non-videogame characters or obscure 3rd party characters is a good idea.

Steve (Minecraft) can already be considered a substitute for the Lego minifigures. So who could substitute for Goku? I already know that X (Mega Man) can substitute for Iron Man.

 

I don't "want" 4th party characters in Smash, but I'm totally open to them if it would ever happen.

I like this moveset, but there are some things that I would do differently (not saying that they are bad, just that I would personally do them in a different way, for a matter of preference).

-I like Goku being able to switch between all the SSJ forms, though I wouldn't give him different moves depending on the forms. In my opinion all the ki moves (kamehameha etc.) should drain Goku's aura, that would work as an indicator of how many ki energy is avaliable at the moment (basically a replacement for a ki gauge in the gui, but it's directly on the character instead). Base Goku would get a low cap for the amount of ki in his aura, but the charged ki would persist, while during all his other transformations, the ki would drain with time and would require constant charges in order to be used (it's consumed faster as you are on a higher level transformation), but the cap would be progressively higher in each form, and the neutral moves (punches and kicks) would deal slighty more damage and maybe be a bit faster too.

I would do this way: hold down-b to charge the ki (instead of transform into ssj), while tap several times down-b to transform into ssj+1, so that you can instantly reach the ssj level you want (but you might not have enough ki to maintain it). Each time you reach a level of ssj, you release a wave of energy around Goku that will push other characters and items away (not much powerful, but powerful enough to be annoying for the opponent; I think it should also deflect projectiles too).

Another thing that I would add, is that down-b in air would let Goku charge himself up while standing still, ignoring the gravity. Though he would be defenseless (ssj energy waves aside), and any opponent can hit him while charging to cancel the charge/transformation and knock him back.

Kaio-ken would be used if you try to charge the aura above the ki cap... though it's very slow to charge and runs out very fast. It's represented by a red aura under the regular one, and it completely ignores the regeneration of the total ki; you don't float mid-air when charging a kaio-ken (you fall down instead). Kaio-ken might also periodically give you some 1% of automatic damage when you keep it for long times.

The additional amount of ki given by the several transformations (the extended cap) is directly given to Goku (in the form of aura) the moment he transforms, without the need to charge it, and it's needed in order to keep the amount of ki above the minimum required to maintain the ssj form; though ki works like Bowser's flame, when you use it, it requires some time to regenerate, so if you try to transform back into ssj after losing the form, you likely won't be able to because the total ki is still consumed. Goku can also regenerate the amount of ki avaliable faster by getting damage (not much convenient but the one you automatically get from charging a kaio-ken counts too, especially to reach the 100% buff that I will talk of later).

Basically, there are 2 ki values: a total amount that represents how much ki Goku can charge (like a stamina value), and the actual ki, that's represented by the visible aura. If the total amount (hidden) is not fully regenerated yet, Goku can only charge the aura up to the amount of ki avaliable at the moment.

Each 100% of damage (100%, 200%, 300%), Goku would gain a temporary buff that lasts a few seconds (about 5 I think), where he acts as if he's at 0% and has his total ki amount fixed to max (he still needs to charge the aura though). This is visually represented by the fact that his clothes get damaged: when the appearance of the character changes, he gets the temporary buff. Better to charge up as much ki as possible and reach the highest ssj form during the buff.
This is a reference of how in the anime he becomes stronger when he's pushed to the limit, and also a reward for being able to survive at an high % value.

As I said, I would give him the same moves for each transformation, but give them a better default charge value and faster charge time for the chargeable moves. For example, I'm using meaningless placeholder values here only to give an idea: an uncharged kamehameha performed as base Goku would be power 1, but you can charge it up to power 15 depending on how long you charge it before releasing (15 consumes all the ki so it's technically impossible to charge it up more than that unless you go beyond the limit through kaio-ken). ssj1 Goku can launch power 3 kamehameha by default, uncharged, and you can charge it up to power 20 due to the extended ki cap. etc. You can charge a power 10 kamehameha in both forms but in base form it requires more time to charge, both because ssj1 starts from an higher default value, and also because while in ssj the charge speed of the move is buffed.

When you charge a ki move, the ki draining of the ssj forms is temporarily stopped: ki would still drain in order to power up the move that you are performing though. Total ki regeneration is also stopped, but when you charge up the aura instead.

Press B while shielding in order to release the ssj form and turn back into regular Goku (all the additional ki that the regular form cap can't handle is lost, kaio-ken is lost too).

-For up-b I would let Goku use the teleport move. He teleports near the closest enemy. If there are no enemies near Goku, he would just fall down failing to teleport (the longer you hold, the wider the teleport range will become). To compensate that, while mid-air, Goku can also shoot a kamehameha downward, and use it as an additional jump. The input is the same as the regular kamehameha plus tilting the control stick down after activating it (the knockback that will let you jump only applies if you shoot it down or diagonal/down); kinda like Ness' up-b, Goku falls at lower speed while charging it, both the kamehameha and the teleport. Since Goku can charge his ki without falling, it's easy to recover this way, but remember that while you charge, you are still defenseless.

Since the avaliable ki is consumed like Bowser's flame and must regenerate, you can't fly forever (I mean by charging ki and doing downward kamehameha), because charging ki is canceled when the total amount of ki is reached, and when it's consumed, the total amount avaliable is lower (to the point that you can't even transform into ssj).

-lastly, I think that if we are doing adult Goku, I would let kid Goku moves out of the moveset. I think that if Dragonball ever gets a chance to be in Smash, both Goku and Kid Goku deserve to be separate characters, even more than the two versions of Link. Kid Goku can get a completely different moveset, with the nimbus, power pole, monkey tail, huge monkey final smash etc.

Great ideas! I think it’s a testament to the character’s potential when there are so many different takes on the moveset. Some potential characters often fall into the same formula that gets rehashed over and over within the community.

Is this a support thread for a character constantly rejected from SmashBoards for being fourth-party? And you put it on the News board to avoid getting it closed on the Newcomer Speculation board? Well, if Sakurai changes his mind about non-gaming characters, Goku is the best for Smash. Especially with Lucario, Ryu and Hero to draw inspiration from.

In order to clear up any misunderstanding, this article wasn’t written to “avoid getting to closed in the newcomer speculation board” nor is it a support thread. This was done within the Smashboards News team which is a different entity to the Moderating team. I know you have a beef about the “non-video game characters not being able to have a support thread” rule but that still stands; even in light of this article.

 

Why is there a rule against support threads for characters that originated outside of games?

 

Why is there a rule against support threads for characters that originated outside of games?

Because non-videogame characters are ineligbile for Smash.

 

Because non-videogame characters are ineligbile for Smash.

Dumbest rule ever.

 

Dumbest rule ever.

Just go play MUGEN

 

Just go play MUGEN

Disallowing non-videogame characters is not a terribly gratuitous rule for Smash at all.

 

Considering how Sakurai has destroyed fan rules and put in characters he said he couldn't put into Smash (such as Ridley), I don't see why disallowing picks like Goku should be strictly enforced. Sure, maybe it helps against joke picks like Cory Baxter?

 

Considering how Sakurai has destroyed fan rules and put in characters he said he couldn't put into Smash (such as Ridley), I don't see why disallowing picks like Goku should be strictly enforced. Sure, maybe it helps against joke picks like Cory Baxter?

Well, it's not a fan rule, he said it himself. Besides, if we go this way, there will support threads for characters from every comic book, anime, movie, soap, novel, and for real persons... President Jacques Chirac for Smash!!

 

Because non-videogame characters are ineligbile for Smash.

Why does that matter?

Besides, if we go this way, there will support threads for characters from every comic book, anime, movie, soap, novel, and for real persons... President Jacques Chirac for Smash!!

This could easily be solved by limiting characters to fictional characters.

 

Why does that matter?


This could easily be solved by limiting characters to fictional characters.

Please! Please! Please! You have to understand that turning Smash into "Media all-star Battle" would be a licensing nightmare. There would be too many characters to include. It's never going to happen. Please grow up.

 

This could easily be solved by limiting characters to fictional characters.

Once we've started, why would we stop? People will start complaining that they can't show there support to Chuck Norris or Beyoncé, and they will use the same arguments that we can already read on this thread.

 

Before Snake was revealed for Brawl in 2006, it was accepted that only Nintendo characters could be in Smash. Now Ultimate is getting tons of third-party DLC characters. Yes, Sakurai has stated many times that Goku won't be in Smash but he has changed his mind about other characters. And what would happen if a new character breaks the "video game character" rule? Honestly at this point, I don't care that much about who actually makes it to Smash. If we didn't have this restriction, would a bunch of joke newcomer requests really hurt? There are meme Nintendo characters like Waluigi. Sans was the biggest third-party meme. And before Ridley was confirmed for Ultimate, Sakurai said he was too big for Smash so should have been thought to out of the question, but I was here before E3 2018 and Ridley's support thread was going strong. And the "non-video game character" rule extends to characters who've only appeared in licensed games that tie-in to non-gaming franchises, so Vader's Apprentice from Star Wars: The Force Unleashed and Android 21 from Dragon Ball FighterZ can't have threads either. Yet, Kingdom Hearts characters like Sora can have threads even though the Kingdom Hearts series are Disney games that include Mickey Mouse characters and Disney movie worlds. If you were to request a thread for someone like Lord Vortech, the villain of the crossover LEGO game LEGO Dimensions, that thread would be shut down even though like Sora, Vortech is an original character from a crossover game that does not belong in any of the licensed worlds. Maybe it's due to the fact that Vortech is designed as a LEGO minifigure? If so, shouldn't the Mickey Mouse keychain and original Mickey-inspired outfit disqualify Sora?

 

Please! Please! Please! You have to understand that turning Smash into "Media all-star Battle" would be a licensing nightmare.

Smash Bros. is already a licensing nightmare due to a lot of the third party content. Whether a character originates in video games or not has nothing to do with licensing. Licensing is all about who owns the character. So the argument that you're making here is really an argument only against third-party characters regardless of what media they originated from.

There would be too many characters to include.

I'm not sure what the point behind this argument is. Why would they be forced to include a lot of characters just for picking characters from other media? Even one character would already mean they're including from other media, is one character too many to include?

Once we've started, why would we stop? People will start complaining that they can't show there support to Chuck Norris or Beyoncé, and they will use the same arguments that we can already read on this thread.

We already started. Smash Bros used to be about Nintendo only. With SSBB the scope of the roster already started to extend beyond what it was originally meant to be. So if your argument is true then third-party characters ought to be removed from the roster so that Smash Bros. gets off this slippery slope that we are on right now and fans can regress to complaining about Sonic again.

 

And the "non-video game character" rule extends to characters who've only appeared in licensed games that tie-in to non-gaming franchises,

I think that the real rule is that characters can only be playable in Smash if their franchise originated as a video game franchise. Ho-Oh appeared first in the anime but he's not playable, Ash had a trophy before he was referenced in the games, and Shadow Ball (Mewtwo's B) originates from the anime. So there's plenty of anime influence smash already.

Though really I do not care for the rule and for "celebrating video games" and I hope that the rule gets broken someday. I'm not celebrating anything when I play Smash. I play Smash for having fun with a good cross-over platform fighter.

 

Well, if not all the veterans from Ultimate could make it to the next Smash game mostly due to licensing, I'd love to see a purely Nintendo Smash game to close the floodgates, even if it means I'll never see Tails or Shantae playable. And yes, the Pokémon anime's popularity does make the game character rule more complicated, especially since the Pokémon took more inspiration from the anime franchise than the original games. And outside of Pokémon, Cloud has an alternate costume based on a movie. But because they are derivatives of video games, I guess it's okay to reference them in Smash. The "video game characters rule" is not about what medium the character appeared but what medium the franchise originated. And with Kingdom Hearts a part of the Disney brand, the question of whether Sora is a "video game character" within Sakurai's rules gets very complicated. I am waiting for my pre-order of Kingdom Hearts: Melody of Memories this Friday the 13th but have to root against the main character getting into Smash because Let It Go is one of the songs. My favorite video game series is the one I don't want to see in Smash.

 

Though really I do not care for the rule and for "celebrating video games" and I hope that the rule gets broken someday. I'm not celebrating anything when I play Smash. I play Smash for having fun with a good cross-over platform fighter.

The thing is, the jump between "Nintendo characters to video game characters" is kinda small compared to "video game characters to any character". The Smash roster has changed from "Nintendo's all stars" to "video games celebrities including a lot of Nintendo's". But it is still a game about gaming. Once we have Gokû, Frodo Baggins, a Smurf, and Ross Geller from Friends, it will be a game with no focus at all. That would be the day I would stop playing Smash.

 

The thing is, the jump between "Nintendo characters to video game characters" is kinda small compared to "video game characters to any character". The Smash roster has changed from "Nintendo's all stars" to "video games celebrities including a lot of Nintendo's". But it is still a game about gaming. Once we have Gokû, Frodo Baggins, a Smurf, and Ross Geller from Friends, it will be a game with no focus at all. That would be the day I would stop playing Smash.

Don't worry, Sakurai has already confirmed that Smash will never become media all-star battle.

 

What would be wrong with a crossover game with no focus? What was the focus of LEGO Dimensions? It had characters from many different movies, cartoons and video games plus a few LEGO original franchises like Ninjago and Legends of Chima. But not all these franchises have LEGO sets. LEGO Dimensions would probably be the only time you'll see a LEGO Sonic. Too bad that it's Year 2 update is too big for the Wii U, making it impossible to get 100% without a external hard drive. But that makes it more ambitious of a crossover than Super Smash Bros. And what's MUGEN's theme? It's open source so anyone can add their characters in. If I can get a successful business and then ask many big companies for their characters to use in a crossover game project, I'd be asking Marvel, DC, Warner Bros, Disney, MGM, Universal, Nintendo, Sega, Capcom, Archie, Fox, Lionsgate, Dark Horse, Image Comics, IDW, Hasbro, Wayforward, Yacht Club Games, Midway, NetherRealm, Rocksteady, Microsoft, Sony, Paramount, Nickolodeon, Cartoon Network, Funimation, Toei Animation, 4Kids, Lucasfilm, Konami, Team Ninja, Koei Tecmo, LEGO and even some amateur creators from websites like YouTube and Deviantart. I'd be asking all creators for the most ambitious crossover in history. But first, I'll have to write a whole bunch of novels and get movie adaptations of them, and make some unrelated games. That Crossverse project will be very expensive and I only got three obscure books to my name. And while it would be cool to have Rubber Girl in Smash, she has never even made a video game appearance so she would really break the "no non-game character" rule even worse than Goku who has starred in over forty games.

 

What would be wrong with a crossover game with no focus?

It wouldn't be Smash.

I'm not familiar with LEGO, but the crossover you're talking about seems to be about, well, the LEGO games and the LEGO brand. So it's focus is kinda obvious.

I don't want to see Pikachu fighting madame Bovary or Ivan Karamazov, but if you like this idea, good for you, I guess.

 

The thing is, the jump between "Nintendo characters to video game characters" is kinda small compared to "video game characters to any character".

According to what metric is going from Nintendo video game characters to all video game characters bigger than going from all video game characters to all media characters? Besides, even if it is bigger in some way then it still does not save your slippery slope argument. They already made the first step so if your slippery slope argument is correct then they're already on the slippery slope and the game is already doomed. Unless you're wrong, they should never have added Sonic and Snake in SSBB.

Once we have Gokû, Frodo Baggins, a Smurf, and Ross Geller from Friends, it will be a game with no focus at all.

The focus would be entertainment media. Or it could be about just all of gaming because they could just replace the rule that a character has to originate from a franchise that originates from video games for the rule that a character has to appear in video games. Goku could be in Smash without Smash losing it's video gaming focus because Goku is deifinitely also a video game character. He actually appears in more video games than a large part of the actual roster.

I also think that having an arbitrary rule to limit the roster just for the sake of "having focus" is pointless anyway. If you want focus then why not play Smash64? That just focused on the most important Nintendo characters. That's much more focus than any other Smash game has. You get a small roster, but absence of characters is the whole point of focus so that should not bother you too much. The roster is losing focus every game. From Nintendo heroes in Smash64 to all Nintendo in Melee to all characters from franchise that originate in non-fighting non-indie video games in SSBB to including fighting game characters in Smash4 to including indie characters in SSBU. If you cared so much about focus then you would really want to stay just with Smash64 because that one is the most focused.

 

It wouldn't be Smash.

If losing focus means that a game is not Smash then Smash stopped being Smash since Melee.

 

It wouldn't be Smash.

I'm not familiar with LEGO, but the crossover you're talking about seems to be about, well, the LEGO games and the LEGO brand. So it's focus is kinda obvious.

I don't want to see Pikachu fighting madame Bovary or Ivan Karamazov, but if you like this idea, good for you, I guess.

Yes, LEGO Dimensions is themed around LEGO and all the characters are redesigned to look like LEGO minifigures. But it has stuff like Wizard of Oz, Portal 2, Midway Arcade, Adventure Time, Mission Impossible, The A-Team, Sonic the Hedgehog, ET, Knight Rider, The Goonies, and Beetlejuice that has never had any LEGO sets outside of LEGO Dimensions. And while LEGO Dimensions does have that toys-to-life gimmick so it has LEGO packs just for the playable characters to have physical toys, there is a moment in the Portal-themed level where GLaDOS was speaking to Hal 9000 from 2001: A Space Odessey. So it represented one franchise that not only never appeared in LEGO sets but because it's one character was unplayable, didn't even get a set from Dimensions! Oh yeah, and there are a lot of NPCs from within these worlds that never got a physical minifigure. And there are some characters like the Ghostbusters and the A-Team who only got the leader as the toy for the Toy Pad but can change between other members of the team. The Twelfth Doctor can regenerate into the First Doctor and cycle through the many incarnations of Doctor Who, most of which didn't get a physical minifigure. So while LEGO is the aesthetic of LEGO Dimensions, the scope of the crossover is pretty much everywhere including stuff that's never been LEGO before. The only franchises they really can't touch is Disney because it's competing against Disney Infinity. Yet they were able to get Sonic even though he had a Smash Bros amiibo. Huh?

 

Wow, this thread is still going on.
Whatever may be the case, my two cents is this:
I wanna see Mega Man fight Spongebob on a UA High School stage.
That is all.

 

I think this thread has been derailed. Of course, every time someone mentions Goku people think about what characters shouldn't be in Smash.

 

If i want to post a Dragonball related Thread i do this in General Right?