TheDragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichiseries is known for many things: tons of characters, lots of special moves, and large,fully destructible environmentsfaithfully recreated from the anime. In fact, when the series was first introduced back in 2005, these large and destructible battle stages were a big selling point. NoDragon Ballgame prior had allowed for the same amount of freedom and interactivity.
Now that a fourthTenkaichigame has finally been announced nearly 17 years after the third game, and after the release of several new movies, as well as the airing ofDragon Ball Super,fans are beginning to speculate on what maps might make an appearance. Here are several potential battle arenas that players would like to see inDragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 4.
8Beerus' Planet
Given that the lastTenkaichigame released well beforeDragon Ball Superwas likely even conceived, adding maps from the show to its much-anticipated sequel would be a no-brainer. Beerus' planet is the home of God of Destruction, Lord Beerus and his attendant Whis.
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The planet serves as the setting for a great deal of Goku and Vegeta’s training under Whis duringDragon Ball Super, and would make for a very interested looking stage in aTenkaichigame, as well as a narratively important one for certain story beats. The map could also function as a tutorial or challenge mode stage in which Whis or Beerus interacts with the player as an instructor, like in pastTenkaichigames.
7Vampa
Vampa is one of the most unforgiving planets ever featured inDragon Ball, and it would make a great fighting stage inTenkaichi 4. Aside from being visually interesting, what with its hellish and alien landscape, Vampa is the planet that Broly grew up and trained on after being exiled with his father from Planet Vegeta shortly before it was blown up by Frieza.
This stage likely wouldn’t be involved much in the story, since very little fighting between principal characters actually occurs on the planet. However, it wouldn’t be the first time such a stage appeared in aTenkaichigame. For example,Tenkaichi 2and 3 feature a map simply titled ‘Planet’ that doesn’t really appear in the story mode. Vampa could be a similar type of stage.
6Big Gete Star / New Namek
Anybody who has played theTenkaichigames knows how heavily Namek in featured in each game’s story mode, to the point where it’s easy to become sick of seeing the location so often. One version of the planet that never appears in anyTenkaichigame, though, is the one that’s under attack by the Big Gete Star inDragon Ball Z: The Return of Cooler.
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Normally, the same Namek map is reused over and over again, even if it doesn’t necessarily make sense. It might help to break up the monotony to add a Namek map that is a visually distinct version, one where the planet is in the process of being overtaken by an extraterrestrial entity.
5Inside Super Buu
Aside fromDBZ: Budokai 3andDBZ: Buu’s Fury, not many games feature the interior of Super Buu’s own body as a battle stage. Yet, it’s one of the most unique and fun stages in anyDragon Ballgame, and would be perfect forTenkaichi. Whereas inBudokai 3the stage was more of a backdrop,Tenkaichi 4could give it some more personality by adding in destructible features, making it larger, and using modern technology to enhance the environmental story telling.
There are several different areas that could be featured as well. Buu’s stomach and brain are the most obvious choices, but there are several other parts of his body that could serve as a battle stage.
4Tournament of Power Arena
The World Martial Arts Tournament mode is pretty much a franchise staple at this point. MostDBZfighting games, especially the popular ones, have had several tournament modes. For example, there’s the standardWorld Martial Arts Tournament, but there’s also the Cell games, where everyone competes to face perfect Cell as the final boss.
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Dragon Ball Superfeatures yet another tournament setting in the form of the Tournament of Power Arena during the larger Zeno Arc. It would be perfect for theTenkaichiseries given its large size, varied layout, and importance to the overall story (assumingTenkaichi 4is coveringSuper, which seems like a safe bet).
3Planet Vegeta
AfterDragon Ball Super: Brolygave fans a stunning portrayal of Planet Vegeta, it makes sense to finally feature it as a playable battlefield in aTenkaichigame. Previously, the planet made what essentially amount to cameos inDBZ: Budokai Tenkaichiseries as a background object in space. Some have speculated the Planet stage to bePlanet Vegeta, but it looks more like a generic Frieza colony world than anything.
Tenkaichi 4, on the other hand,could feature a large and fully destructible version of the planet’s cityscape, Bardock’s village, or even King Vegeta’s own Palace.
2Red Pharmaceuticals HQ
Dragon Ball Super: Super Herois notable in that it is the first and so far onlyDragon Ballmovie to be entirely CG animated. As such, it wouldn’t take much to translate the already video-gamey look of Red Pharmaceuticals HQ (RPHQ for short) into aTenkaichigame. Red Pharmaceuticals is just another name for the infamousRed Ribbon Army, which seems completely unable to just not be a nuisance to anybody.
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The HQ is rather impressive in the film, but even in a scaled down form for aTenkaichigame, it would surely provide room for both ground-based and aerial combat, as well as feature plenty of objects and buildings for the player to destroy. Never mind the fact that it would be virtually impossible to feature the movie’s story in the game without this location as most of the films action takes place here.
1Pilaf’s Castle
ClassicDragon Ballthemed stages are always fun in theTenkaichigames. However, one that was sadly never included was Pilaf’s Castle. The castle was built by Emperor Pilaf over several years and served as his personal fortress until it was reduced to rubble by Goku as a Great Ape monster.
Tenkaichi 4can rectify the issue of it never being included in the series by featuring a near-fully destructible recreation of this iconic location. It could be similar toTenkaichi 3’sOuter space map for example, which consisted of a single spaceship floating above Planet Vegeta.
A newDragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichigame is now in development.
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