All The Anime Easter Eggs In ‘Dragon Ball FighterZ’

Dragon Ball FighterZ was one of the biggest releases for both fighting game fans and Dragon Ball fans. A large part of this hype was due to developer Arc System Works‘ meticulous attention to detail into things only the most dedicated fans of the series will notice.

The major inclusion to the game for fans is the implementation of “Dramatic Finishes,” cinematic scenes that occur which re-enact the anime series when players fulfill certain quotas.

A Dramatic Intro is when you pit two characters with a famous history against one another, and a Dramatic Finish occurs when you defeat a key character (e.g. Buu with Goku) on both a specific stage (e.g. Supreme Kai’s world) and winning the match with a neutral strong attack.

Yamcha vs. Nappa

When you select Nappa and defeat Yamcha on the Rocky Field stage, you begin this Dramatic Finish which acts out the series’ famous Yamcha death pose. This moment occurs during the first major arc of Dragon Ball Z, the Saiyan arc, when Nappa first fights Goku and company. 

Nappa toys with them by growing Saibamen, little green aliens that emerge from the ground like plants, and uses them to fight in his stead. The first to challenge these aliens is Yamcha, and after a (hilariously) too close fight with the Saibaman, it latches onto him and kamikazes in order to take out Yamcha. Thus, resulting in the famous image of Yamcha in a crater. 

Krillin vs. Nappa

There is a Dramatic Intro for a player who selects Krillin and challenges an opposing Nappa. This re-enacts the scene when Krillin first challenges Nappa in the Saiyan saga. 

He starts by using a powerful Ki blast, shooting it into the air, and splitting it mid-air, taking out several of the opposing Saibamen. Krillin uses this moment to prove to Nappa he’s much stronger than he looks, and to prove to himself that he’s been put through enough training to make himself stronger than before. In FighterZ, Nappa is summarily impressed by this move and impressed enough to fight directly. 

Goku vs. Freeza

There is a Dramatic Intro that re-enacts Goku’s first transformation to Super Saiyan in Dragon Ball Z, as well. When the player selects Goku, and has them fight Freeza on the Planet Namek stage, the intro re-enacts Freeza killing Krillin. This angers Goku to the point of reaching Super Saiyan for the first time. 

If you manage defeat Freeza on a destroyed version of Namek, which you can make happen in the same match by knocking out an opponent with a super move, this will re-enact the two’s final moments in the anime. When Freeza lies half dead after fighting Goku, Goku lends him energy to keep him alive. When Freeza’s angry at Goku taking pity on him, he fires a Ki blast to Goku to which Goku retaliates and eliminates him completely. 

Trunks vs. Freeza

At the start of the Android saga, Freeza returns years after the events of Namek, re-built with machine parts. Looking for Goku, he finds another powerful Saiyan instead. The yet fully introduced, Future Trunks, who turns into a Super Saiyan, dices Freeza to pieces with his sword and blasts him away within a matter of seconds. 

This moment is perfectly recreated as a Dramatic Finish where a player as Trunks defeats Freeza on the Rocky Field stage. This ends just as quickly and unceremoniously as Freeza’s end did in the manga, and sets Future Trunks as a powerful force to look out for in the coming arc. 

Teen Gohan vs. Cell

When you select Teen Gohan against Cell on Cell Games stage, you get the dramatic intro where Cell taunts Super Saiyan Gohan but stomping on Android 16’s head. Hearing 16’s emotional speech, and the rage he felt from all of the death, brings him to Super Saiyan 2.

Their battle eventually leads to their Dramatic Finish, where you can reach in the same match by transitioning to the Wastelands stage (which can occur by knocking out a past opponent with a super move), in which Gohan completely obliterates Cell. 

Though Cell’s Kamehameha Wave is strong, Gohan pushes all of his effort, with encouragement of his father, blasted Cell with a larger, strong Kamehameha Wave. 

Goku vs. Kid Buu

This Dramatic Finish occurs when a player using Goku defeats Kid Buu on the Supreme Kai’s Planet. In this moment, Goku charges a last ditch Spirit Bomb and launches it at Kid Buu. Kid Buu initially catches it, but Goku uses his Super Saiyan power to overwhelm Buu. When Kid Buu is eliminated, Goku wishes that the villain will come back to life as a good person.

The Dramatic Finish re-enacts the moment to the tee, as it’s important to note as the last major battle of the original Dragon Ball series. 

Goku vs. Beerus

When a player selected Beerus defeats an opposing Goku on the Space stage, this re-enacts the final moments of the Battle of Gods film that heralded the return of the franchise to anime. 

This moment cemented Goku’s one of Goku’s first defeats in the series, in which Beerus planned to finish Goku, who had run out of his Super Saiyan God energy, with a giant ball of destruction. As Goku falls to Earth, he’s suddenly brought back to consciousness by the voices of his friends and family and gets enough energy to basically absorb and dissolve Beerus’ giant blast. 

Having seen this power, Beerus acknowledges Goku and keeps him from falling back to Earth. This same moment happens in Dragon Ball Super, but FighterZ references Battle of Gods specifically. 

Beerus vs. Goku Black

When a player selects Beerus and defeats an opposing Goku Black with this Level 3 super on the Space stage, Beerus actually uses his Godly Hakai technique to completely erase Goku Black. Afterwards, he’ll say that he was going to destroy Zamasu immediately. 

Beerus’ Level 3 super usually acts like a forehead flick. He places his hand on the opponent, and flick their forehead (much like in Dragon Ball Super) and they go flying backward. But it’s nice to see this same move result in a Hakai where it’s appropriate in the series as well. 

Yamcha’s Revenge

Warning! Spoilers if you want to discover this in Dragon Ball FighterZ yourself!

There’s also one special “What if?” Dramatic Finish, which turns the tables on an old joke. When a Yamcha defeats an opposing Nappa on the Rocky Field stage, rather than Yamcha getting blown up with a Saibamen, Yamcha gets revenge.

In the Dramatic Finish, Yamcha blasts away the Saibaman who’s about to grab onto him. And instead of grabbing Yamcha, it gets blasted on Nappa instead. Blowing up, Nappa is found n the same death pose and in the same crater Yamcha once found himself in.