10 Dragon Ball What-If Stories From The Games Good Enough to Be Canon

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With over forty years of history, the Dragon Ball franchise has a wealth of stories to tell. Spanning four different TV series and more than twenty films, it’s inspired countless video games. These games have successfully adapted almost every part of the Dragon Ball universe, and have even started creating original storylines and characters that aren’t directly based on the original series. This allows for completely new ideas and concepts to be explored.

Many Dragon Ball video games play with alternate storylines, imagining ‘what if’ things had happened differently. While most of these stories are just simple fan service, some are surprisingly well-done and capture the exciting spirit of classic Dragon Ball. It’s a shame these creative scenarios aren’t considered official parts of the story.

Raditz, though he played a relatively small part in the Dragon Ball Z story – and is even connected to Goku’s death – is a surprisingly compelling character. Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 2 expands on his story in an interesting alternate scenario. Many fans wish Raditz had a bigger role or even returned, as there’s a lot of potential to explore with this ruthless Saiyan, especially considering his connection to Goku as a brother.

In the fan fiction “Fateful Brothers,” Raditz loses his memory after a fight with Piccolo and a Saibaman explodes. This makes him forget his original plan to destroy Earth. Interestingly, this mirrors Goku’s own amnesia when he first arrived on Earth, which prevented him from conquering the planet. Disoriented, Raditz mistakes Goku for his father, Bardock, and the two start training together. This storyline offers a believable way Raditz could have become a good guy and remained a hero in the Dragon Ball universe.

Piccolo’s ability to fuse with other Namekians has been a great way for him to become much stronger. However, since there aren’t many Namekians around, he can only use this technique a limited number of times. He successfully fused with Nail and Kami, which significantly helped him during the battles against Frieza and Cell. In the game Dragon Ball Z: Supersonic Warriors, the story takes a dark turn, showing a world where Goku and Earth’s other strongest heroes have already been defeated.

Piccolo brings back his former enemy, King Piccolo, hoping they can fuse and become incredibly powerful. This risky move pays off, allowing Piccolo to defeat Majin Buu and save the world. The story doesn’t require everyone else to be defeated first, leaving Piccolo as the last hope. Ultimately, bringing King Piccolo back to life and then fusing with him is a smart and logical plan.

Spike the Devil Man is a powerful warrior under the control of Fortuneteller Baba. He’s best known for his intense battle against Goku during the Fortuneteller Baba Tournament. The series reveals Spike was a two-time World Tournament champion, highlighting his impressive strength. Though he largely disappears after the Fortuneteller Baba Saga, Spike makes a significant return in Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 3. In the scenario presented in that game, set during the arrival of Mecha-Frieza and King Cold, Spike surprisingly defeats Frieza, King Cold, and Appule.

What makes this idea really interesting is that it heavily relies on Spike’s famous Devilmite Beam. This beam works by taking any existing darkness within a person and amplifying it until it becomes overwhelming and ultimately fatal. While it wouldn’t work on someone like Goku, it’s perfectly suited for characters like Frieza and King Cold, making it a clever way to revisit those villains.

The story Dragon Ball: Episode of Bardock explores an alternate timeline and has been adapted into both manga and anime. Interestingly, its characters and events are still part of the Dragon Ball Heroes universe. Known as the “Chilled Saga,” this storyline reimagines events leading up to Frieza’s attack on Planet Vegeta, introducing Chilled, Frieza’s ancestor, as Bardock’s opponent. The saga highlights Bardock’s bravery and his battle with Chilled is what ultimately unlocks his Super Saiyan transformation.

The Episode of Bardock attempts to explain how Bardock could have become a Super Saiyan without contradicting the main Dragon Ball story, since it’s presented as an alternate timeline. Revisiting established Dragon Ball history is always a bit risky. However, the idea of Bardock achieving Super Saiyan power—and passing that potential down to his son—makes a certain amount of sense.

The “Future” Trunks Saga in Dragon Ball Super features a complex mystery surrounding the identity of Goku Black. It’s ultimately revealed that Goku Black is Zamasu, a former apprentice to a Supreme Kai from Universe 10, who used the Super Dragon Balls to take over the body of Goku from another timeline. Interestingly, the storyline in Dragon Ball: Sparking! ZERO takes a different turn: Zamasu attempts to steal Gohan’s body instead of Goku’s.

Gohan Black is a particularly terrifying villain, perhaps even more so than Goku Black. This enemy uniquely utilizes Gohan’s signature moves and power, including his Ultimate form, making the fight deeply personal and traumatic for Gohan. The conflict also significantly impacts Future Trunks. While Dragon Ball has seen many evil versions of Goku, an evil Gohan would be a fresh and unexpected twist.

The fight between Goku and Vegeta in the Saiyan Saga is still considered one of the best moments in the entire Dragon Ball series, and the franchise has repeatedly tried to capture that same energy. Vegeta’s descent into villainy again is genuinely frightening and works well. However, it would be even more impactful if another past villain embraced their evil side once more. The game Dragon Ball Z: Supersonic Warriors 2 actually explores this idea in a ‘What-If’ story called “Mentor and Decisive Battle,” where Piccolo, not Vegeta, becomes possessed like Majin Vegeta.

I’m a huge fan of Majin Vegeta – he really pushed things forward for the whole story! And honestly, it’s been ages since we’ve seen Piccolo truly embrace his darker side. A fight between him and Goku or Gohan would be intense, maybe even harder than some of their other battles. The fact that Namekians can heal themselves makes them incredibly dangerous opponents, too – that regeneration ability is a huge advantage!

Martial arts competitions are common in the Dragon Ball series, but the Tournament of Power in Dragon Ball Super is unlike anything seen before. What makes it so different? The losing teams are completely erased from existence! This puts incredible pressure on each team to choose their strongest fighters. The game Dragon Ball: Sparking! ZERO shows how Frieza prepared for his own version of the Tournament of Power, where he officially fights alongside Goku and the others as part of Team Universe 7.

In Sparking! ZERO, Frieza is bringing Dodoria and Zarbon onto his Tournament of Power team as support. While they haven’t been major players recently and would likely be outmatched in the tournament, it would be exciting to see Frieza give them the same intense training he underwent, allowing them to rapidly improve. Considering Frieza’s ability to consistently return stronger, it’s possible Dodoria and Zarbon could also achieve significant power gains.

The friendship between Mr. Satan and Buu is one of the more heartwarming relationships in Dragon Ball. It’s reasonable to suggest that Mr. Satan’s positive outlook and how he treats others helped Buu learn to value the world. Dragon Ball Z: Supersonic Warriors 2 explores this idea in a fun alternate story. In this version, Mr. Satan discovers an amnesiac Broly on Earth and, unlike in Dragon Ball Z, shows him kindness and care, helping Broly recover and experience a gentler side of life.

After seeing how strong Broly is, Mr. Satan hires him as a bodyguard, and they become a surprisingly effective duo. In Dragon Ball Z, Broly is known for his intense anger and dislike of Goku, but Mr. Satan helps him control his rage, learn to use his power constructively, and grow into a kind friend. While the Broly from Dragon Ball Super goes through a similar transformation, he reaches that point in a very different way.

Using a team-up of classic villains for a ‘What-If’ story can feel a bit predictable. However, the main Dragon Ball series hasn’t really explored this idea extensively. The ‘The Plan to Conquer Earth’ story in Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi does exactly that, gathering Frieza, Cooler, Bojack, Broly, Baby Vegeta, and Super 17. It’s a carefully chosen group of enemies representing many different eras and storylines within the Dragon Ball universe.

Imagine if villains actually teamed up and combined their power – that would be a seriously frightening prospect. The story mode in Dragon Ball Z: Extreme Butoden, called “Bad Guy Saga,” plays with this idea, though it involves Pilaf using the Dragon Balls to bring old enemies back to life. However, it’s not handled as well and has a few gaps in the plot. It would be really fun to see Cooler, Bojack, and Super 17 try to cooperate as a team.

One interesting alternate story in Dragon Ball: Raging Blast tries to settle the age-old debate of who the strongest human on Earth really is. While “The Top Earthling Tournament” isn’t a major storyline, it’s a fun way to highlight some often-overlooked characters. The story is told from Krillin’s point of view, as he competes against a group of human fighters including Videl, Chiaotzu, Tien, and Yamcha.

The Dragon Ball Super manga did well by letting Saiyans battle freely, and a similar all-out competition for humans could be just as fun. Humans haven’t had much focus in Dragon Ball recently, so a tournament to showcase their abilities and find the strongest one would be a great way to highlight them. The winner could even receive a reward like having their hidden potential unlocked, giving a human character a chance to become incredibly powerful.

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2025-10-29 18:42