Love it or hate it, Dragon Ball Z is one of the most influential shows in television history. It single-handedly popularized manga and anime here in the States, and its legacy continues on decades after the final episode aired. To some, it's a bunch of grown men with spiky blond hair screaming at each other - but, to countless anime fans, it's the show that introduced them to the entire genre.
That being said, Dragon Ball Z games haven't been quite as successful. While there have been a handful of decent games over the years, Dragon Ball Z games tend to be a rather middling experience. The best are above-average fighting games, most boil down to simple button-mashers, and the worst are the kind of games you regret sullying your home with. Despite having a wealth of characters and backstory to tap into, Dragon Ball Z games usually aren't all that interesting, despite the potential.
Then again, what if Nintendo were to release a Dragon Ball Z game? Realistically, it'll never happen...but what if someone made a game with Dragon Ball Z characters and Super Smash Bros. gameplay? Well, it'd probably look something like this:
Super Smash Bros. Brawl Z is basically every anime fan's dream: Dragon Ball Z meets Smash Bros.!
Despite its release on Nintendo's last-gen console, Super Smash Bros. Brawl is no stranger to mods: gamers have been tweaking Nintendo's all-star brawler for years now. However, while mods like Project M have been aimed at making subtle changes to Brawl's gameplay mechanics, Super Smash Bros. Brawl Z is a complete makeover - all of the character models, special movies and stages were custom-made for the mod.
At times, the homebrew method shows through: some animations are clearly derived from Super Smash Bros. characters, and the character models aren't all that detailed. Even so, it's an impressive effort - and it's probably the closest thing fans will ever get to a Nintendo-published Dragon Ball Z game.
Is it too much to hope for a game like this on the Wii U? Super Smash Bros. is due for some DLC, after all...
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