When it comes to popular anime franchises, few others come to mind as being a perfect fit for the fighting game genre thanDragon Ball Z. Ever since the originalBudokaihit the scene in 2002, the series has had numerous releases that captured to blistering speed and crushing impacts ofAkira Toriyama’s beloved many beloved colorful characters. Now, with the confirmation ofDragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 4being in development, fans are excited to see what’s possible with this franchise on current gen platforms.
With a dense history of characters to pull from in the manga,Dragon Ball Zgames have always had impressive rosters that are enough to make evenSuper Smash Bros.blush. Nearly every hero and villain from the franchise has been represented in past games, so simply copying and pasting this laundry list of characters would give fans a bevy to choose from. However, there is one notable absence from past games that shouldn’t be left out wheneverDragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 4becomes available for purchase: King Kai.
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King Kai is a Key Character to the DBZ Franchise
While the face of the series, Goku, is an immensely powerful hero, he didn’t get to be this way on his own. Years of strenuous training and disciplined motivation from a variety of teachers over the course of the story conditioned him into the great warrior he is today. One of the most notable coaches that Goku ever had was King Kai, first introduced early on inDragon Ball Zduring the Saiyan Saga.
After dying during abattle against his brother Raditz, Goku is sent to the underworld and quickly befriends King Kai. While Goku thought he was tough already, King Kai put him through some rigorous and occasionally unorthodox training regimes. This ultimately paid off, endowing Goku with knowledge of the Kaio-Ken, increasing his strength and giving him a chance against Nappa and Vegeta. Since King Kai played such a pivotal role in theDragon Ball Zmythos, it feels odd that he still has yet to be featured as a playable fighter.
King Kai Has Potential as a Playable Fighter
While fans may be more keen to choose fighters from the main cast such as Goku, Piccolo, Vegeta, and so on, having the extra selection of supporting characters is a welcome treat to be able to live out all the “what if?” scenarios that can be imagined. Chiaotzu against Yajirobe or Saibaman against Spopovich are intriguing mashups that players can conjure up just for fun. King Kai, despite taking a backseat in many of the major battles during theDragon Ball Znarrative, could certainly hold his own against many of these fighters should the situation arise.
King Kai not only knows the Kaio Ken, but his personality and iconic moments in the manga could be used as inspiration for his fighting style and move set inDragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 4. For one thing,King Kaihas a strong sense of humor and loves to laugh and tell jokes. The character can be given a taunt command to enrage the opposing player, opening them up for further attacks. King Kai could even be given the ability to summon his pet monkey Bubbles to sneak attack an opponent from behind.
The point remains that if even Hercule - a man with no powers - can be added to the roster, then King Kai would be a welcome addition in the future. After all,Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 3had a staggering 161total playable charactersfor players to choose from. With that being almost every conceivable fighter in the franchise likely to return in the next installment, just adding one more certainly wouldn’t hurt.
