Dragon Ball FighterZ[a] (pronounced "fighters")[2] is a 2.5D fighting game[3][4][5] co-developed by Arc System Works and published by Bandai Namco Entertainment.

The game's fighting system, character roster, visuals, story mode, and music were all highly praised while its online functionality was criticized.

Namely, the control scheme and team mechanics are lifted from the Marvel vs. Capcom series and the overall presentation is reminiscent of other Arc System Works games, such as Guilty Gear Xrd.

Players can also call one of their other characters to perform an "Assist" move, allowing simultaneous attacks and combos with the entire team.

The game includes several other features, such as "Shenron System", that allows players to gather the Dragon Balls one by one as the fight progresses.

Once all seven are assembled and a player performs a light autocombo with maximum Ki, Shenron appears to grant a wish and allows players to choose one among the following benefits: give the fighter a second Sparkling Blast, revive a fallen ally, recover a fighter's health or regenerate health for the rest of the match.

Another feature is the "Dramatic Moments", special cutscenes that appear at the start and the end of a fight depending on the characters involved and stage, related to events from the Dragon Ball series, which can be applied after using Standing Hard normal attack or Vanish (as of Season 2) as the finisher/combo ender.

The game's Story mode takes place sometime between "Universe 6" and "Future Trunks" saga of Dragon Ball Super.

Once she awakens, she repairs 16 and uses the Dragon Balls to resurrect Frieza, Cell, Nappa, and the Ginyu Force, and seals away the powers and souls of all of Earth's strongest warriors.

Wanting to control the hungry monster within her, she and 16 develop a linking system originally created by Dr. Gero in which a human soul (the player) can possess the warriors and provide them strength.

The woman claims to be a Red Ribbon scientist and informs them that they need to find the base emitting the power-suppressing waves to restore their abilities.

Frieza recruits the resurrected Nappa, Ginyu Force, and Cell to battle the clones and eventually confront the true culprit: Android 21.

Frieza suggests to the group that they strengthen their link with the player to gain back more of their power and defeat more clones as they're the source of 21's strength.

After killing the final clone, they defeat Android 21 and use Bulma's machine to help Goku, Frieza, and Cell obliterate her for good.

Following her destruction, everyone's powers are restored and Frieza expels the player from his body as the heroes and villains start fighting each other anew.

16 takes 18 to a lab and explains that the cells that created Android 21 may be going berserk and that he used the link system to stop her from going mad.

[12] The developers later clarified in an interview that they came up with the game's story on their own and created the framework for what kind of character Android 21 would be, while Toriyama designed her within said parameters.

[citation needed] Toriyama took the suggestions about Android 21 into account and finalized her design, but was not involved in any direct input into her story.

[12] Hiroki indicated that the character is highly intelligent, as emphasized by her lab coat and glasses, possibly more so compared to Doctor Gero.

[12] Android 21's ability to transform is derived from a suggestion by Shueisha, the publisher of the Jump magazine line which serializes the Dragon Ball manga.

[19] Dragon Ball creator Akira Toriyama designed a new female character named Android 21 (人造人間２１号, Jinzōningen Nijūichi-Gō) for the game.

A physical collector's edition for the game was also released, which includes a steel book case, three artboards, and a 7" statue of Goku.

[55] The game gained praise regarding its art design and animation being faithful to the source material, as well as its fighting mechanics.

[12] The game received generally favorable reviews from critics, who cited the art style, combat system, cast of playable characters, and story mode as positives.

[58] Mike Fahey found the story mode for Dragon Ball FighterZ to be surprisingly good, and thought highly of Android 21 as a "delightful new character" who eats the warriors she transforms into snack foods.