While fans have all sorts of concepts for the seemingly inevitableDragon Ball Xenoverse 3, the unannounced sequel could end up learning the most fromDragon Ball Heroes.
TheDragon Ball Xenoverseseries has been running alongside theDragon Ball Heroestrading card game for around five years. Although the two can be seen as drastically different, they have exchanged a few ideas in that time. Given thatDragon Ball Heroeshas been around twice as long, however, the series has had a lot more time to learn and grow into what it is today. The next entry into theXenoverseseries should borrow a few of these ideas if it wants to catch up quickly.
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Original Stories
While theDragon Ball Xenoversetitles do feature a fair amount of lore behind them, there is a lot more that could be done with its unique setup. The time patrollers, a group that exists outside ofDragon Ball’s original canon with sole purpose of travelling to a multitude of different timelines where anything can happen, are mostly confined to visiting the samemoments inDragon Ballhistorythat most fans have watched or played through countless times.
For the most part,Dragon Ball Heroestells wholly original stories even with its limited story segments. These arcs cover all-new territory for theDragon Ballfranchise, even introducing new lore to the series. These stories aren’t always a hit and the power scaling can be incredibly off (as seen in theSuper Dragon Ball Heroesanime), but they do have their highlights as well. TheXenoversegames have the potential to tell far more grand stories than what fans have seen inSuper Dragon Ball Heroes. Fortunately,Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2’s latest DLCdoes hint at Fu playing a bigger role in the future, which could spell big things forDragon Ball Xenoverse 3’s plot.
New Characters
Thecharacters thatDragon Ball Heroescontinues to introduceto the franchise are easily one of the greatest things about the spinoff series. Like some of its plots, these characters don’t always meet the standards ofDragon Ballcanon and some carry a very different feel from an Akira Toriyama original design. The characters that do mesh well with fans though, like the evil Saiyan Cumber, instantly rise to the top of popularity polls, even with their extremely limited plot relevancy.
The nextDragon Ball Xenoversegame can rework characters like Cumber or members of the demon race like Salsa or Shroom into real characters that fans can like beyond their designs. The first twoXenoverseentries have already taken steps in the right direction with original villains like Towa, Mira, and Fu, but they aren’t nearly as developed as they could be, even in comparison to theirDragon Ball Heroescounterparts.Dragon Ball Xenoverse 3could really workat turning theXenoverseseries into a universe all its own if it gave new faces a chance to shine in the same way that the time patroller avatars do, rather than relying on the cast fans are already so familiar with.
More Race Options
Customization is probably the biggestselling point of theDragon Ball Xenoverseseries. Right from the beginning, players can create their very own avatar with up to five races to choose from. It’s an amazing concept that many fans have appreciated from the very beginning, creating their original Earthlings, Saiyans, Namekians, Majins, and members of Frieza’s race. It’s funny though, that even thoughDragon Ball Heroeshas never put emphasis on a character creation system, it’s introduced more races than theXenoversegames.
There a lot of potentialraces that could be introduced inDragon Ball Xenoverse 3, but the ones already found in theDragon Ball Heroesseries that need to be brought over toXenoverseare the Androids, Kai, and Demon Realm races. Seeing as members of all these races are already present in theXenoverseseries and players can even train under them, there’s no reason why players shouldn’t be able to create their own.
Accessible Transformations
Both theDragon Ball Xenoverseseries andDragon Ball Heroesexcel in the category of fan service. While theXenoverseseries plays things a bit safe, however,Dragon Ball Heroesgoes all out in terms of “what if” stories. Characters like Gohan and Broly can unlock Super Saiyan 4, Trunks achieves Super Saiyan 3, and even Super Saiyan God. TheSuper Dragon Ball Heroesanime has even gone on to introduce a new form, the Super Saiyan 4 Limit Break. Transformations have never been thedefining point of theDragon Ballfranchise, but they have been featured in some of the more iconic moments and many fans love to have a new form to look forward to.
Dragon Ball Xenoverse 3should allow players to forge their own path with their character. A member of the Saiyan should not only be able to go the route of theSuper Saiyan God line or Super Saiyan 4(and whatever comes next). In theDragon Ball Heroesgame, players can already access ultra instinct with their avatar hero, a form players can’t reach inXenoverse 2. Even Towa and Fu have reached new forms in theDragon Ball Heroesseries that haven’t made their way to theXenoversegames yet. Rather than limiting itself only to what was seen in the anime and movies, the nextXenoversegame should step forward first and offer never-before-seen forms for its customizable races. If done correctly, it could give fans something entirely new to look forward to and one day achieve for their characters.
TheDragon Ball HeroesandXenoverseseries are both incredibly ambitious in their own ways. There’s no clues as towhenDragon Ball Xenoverse 3will get an official announcement, but hopefully Dimps brings some of its brighter ideas fromDragon Ball Heroesinto the next entry.
Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2is available now for PC, PlayStation 4, Stadia, Nintendo Switch, and Xbox One.
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