The most hyped transformation in Dragon Ball history is rarely used, so there should be a resurgence of Super Saiyan 3 in the future. Goku shattered everyone’s minds by taking more than five minutes of screen time to grow his hair longer, lose his eyebrows and make electricity surround him. But in all seriousness, this form was the first that looked and felt dramatically different than when Super Saiyan was first introduced. The severity of the situation called for something even greater than already-reached forms.
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Vegeta went to Super Saiyan 2 and had the extra Majin boost but couldn’t defeat Buu. He even sacrificed himself, thinking if he unleashed all his power that would make the difference. It did not, and the sacrifice was for nothing. Goku knew the kind of enemy he would be facing and took his power even further. The major drawback of this form is that it costs too much energy to stay in it for long. However, depending on the Saiyan, it’s proved just as formidable as higher forms.
Super Saiyan 3 Has Been Making A Comeback Recently
Dragon Ball Daima gave Vegeta his long-awaited Super Saiyan 3 transformation. He moved up the power ladder, despite being changed into a kid by King Gomah. He gets some revenge on Gomah when he thoroughly beats him up. Eventually, the energy drains him, and he’s forced to tag in Goku. However, his contributions to help defeat Gomah, and the sheer dominance of his Super Saiyan 3 form is a fun watch.
The use of the form in Dragon Ball Daima finished off a long-awaited move for Vegeta. Even though Super Saiyan 3 was more than 30 years past its debut, this was a big deal in the plot. How can a form be so important if its so old? This answers the question on why it should come back. Similar to the first Super Saiyan level, the awe of the moment and ensuing power jump are too much to just roll past. Goku became Super Saiyan 3 so late in Dragon Ball Z that there wasn’t much time to use it, and it was unstable. By the time Dragon Ball GT and Dragon Ball Super came out, it had become old news despite having little screen time. This is why it’s making a comeback in newer media.
Super Dragon Ball Heroes made Super Saiyan 3 a mainstay in its limited episodes. The Evil Saiyan Cumber appears to be in Super Saiyan 3 when he takes on the Golden Great Ape form and later battles non-canon Broly in the actual form later. The use of the transformation gave it more credibility. The form is joked about regularly otherwise because, despite its massive increase in strength, it’s too volatile and too slow to keep up with the newer Super Saiyan forms.
Super Saiyan 3 Changed The Game
Although its not been used much, the form has a cool moment outside of its debut that deserve mention. Gotenks’ ascension to the form was the first time Trunks and Goten proved that they were capable of equaling their fathers even if it was with the help of fusion. Gohan had proven himself a worthy warrior, but to see the kids dominate Evil Buu for a bit was a different animal.
In totality, it’s only been used with a few characters in the canon series and only a handful of times in the non-canon releases with the Dragon Ball Xenoverse characters and Cumber. Do you think that Super Saiyan 3 should continue to see an uptick in upcoming Dragon Ball titles? Let us know in the comments.
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