It's hard to decide without playing favorites, isn't it?
Where to even begin? This game has just been getting better animations over time, so much so that at times you’d think you’re watching scenes from the actual show. There are plenty of animations to go over, including Super (SA) and Ultra Super Attacks (Ultra SA), active skills, fusions, and transformations. For the sake of fairness and variety, I will limit animations to 1 per unit. Spoiler alert, there’s a lot of Kamehamehas. I won’t keep you any longer, so let’s get some eye candy by looking at the Top 10 Animations in DBZ Dokkan Battle Global.
10. Giant Ape Assault (Grand Opening Team Bardock)
In case you often forget this unit’s name (like yours truly), this is the LR reward card you get after farming all of the Free-to-Play Team Bardock units. Aside from being the leader of a great F2P team, this unit also has a very special animation.
- What is particularly special about this Super Attack is that it involves 5 giant apes--Five! Where else have you seen 5 Oozarus gang up on an enemy?
- The environment with tall buildings also helps put things into perspective, which makes the Oozarus look even bigger.
- The full moon at the beginning is a nice detail that keeps this animation true to the show since it’s one of the requirements for saiyans to turn into apes.
- The attack is also an original idea given that such a thing does not actually happen in any of the Dragon Ball shows or Movies.
9. Solar Kamehameha (The True Value of Perfect Form Perfect Cell)
Let’s get into our first active skill in this list. Although Cell performs the Kamehameha various times, this one seems to be inspired by Cell’s last Kamehameha in his fight against SSJ2 Gohan. In case you were wondering why it's called the “Solar Kamehameha,” it’s because Cell claims he can destroy the entire solar system after becoming Perfect Cell.
- The camera panning and moving away as the Kamehameha travels adds a dramatic effect to it and makes the blast seem huge.
- Being fully-voiced adds to the appeal of this animation.
- You gotta admit that seeing not just your opponent, but the Earth being destroyed is pretty cool
- Cell’s movements are all amazingly animated, particularly when he releases his attack.
8. Kamehameha (Invincible Absorption Majin Buu [Gotenks])
I’m glad I started writing this article when the new units were released because they are amazing in every way. All of this Majin Buu’s animations are amazing, but I gotta say Buutenks’ Ultra SA just stood out a little more than the others. Once you see its attacks, you’ll recognize them all as having been drawn from Dragon Ball Z.
- One thing that really stands out is the engagement of the opponent in the animation. Having them attack as Buu dodges gives the game a more active feel as they don’t simply stand there.
- The dynamic lighting in this animation is brilliant as well. You can best appreciate it in the last half of the attack when Buu prepares the Kamehameha and during the explosion.
- Buu is particularly active in this animation and you can see each and every one of its movements very clearly.
- Although a bit stylized, having its hand look so big as Buu traps its opponent gives the animation more depth as it makes Buu seem like he is in control of its enemy.
7. Death Slicer (Last-Ditch Attack Frieza [Full Power])
Let’s take a look at Full Power Frieza’s 12-17 SA. This attack is taken from Frieza’s fight against SSJ Goku on Planet Namek. While both SAs of this Frieza are beautifully animated, this one takes the cake, let me tell you why.
- First of all, THAT SHADING. The shading used in this animation is unlike any other in the game; it makes Frieza look completely 3D as opposed to the typical 2D animations.
- The environment is also well-rendered and takes one back to Frieza’s and Goku’s epic battle.
- The dynamic lighting caused by the explosion at the end is also great.
- Finally, let’s take a moment to appreciate how great Frieza looks compared to his earlier PHY rendering.
6. Father-Son Kamehameha (Awakened True Power SSJ2 Gohan [Youth])
This has got to be one of the most memorable moments in Dragon Ball Z (I’d say top 3), and the game certainly does justice to it. In case you’ve forgotten or are new to the series, this specific attack was taken from Gohan’s final battle against Perfect Cell.
- My favorite part of it is the KO screen, it really captures the moment Gohan defeats Cell as he lays on the ground exhausted, but happy.
- This is one of those rare times where having a dark background really pays off as it places the emphasis on Gohan during a crucial moment.
- The shots where Gohan goes all out and the Kamehameha reflects on his face are just as good, if not better than in the show.
- Being able to see as your opponent crumbles away is particularly satisfying, very few other animations do that with such detail.
5. Ultimate Kamehameha (Ultimate and Supreme Fusion SSGSS Gogeta)
A lot of great animations tend to be very dynamic and it’s that flashiness that makes them so fun to watch. However, Super Saiyan God Super Saiyan Gogeta’s active skill manages to be visually impactful without the need for much movement.
- One thing that this animation does amazingly well is conveying the intensity of that Kamehameha. Everything about it just tells you that Gogeta is putting his everything into it and that it will blow your opponent to bits.
- The zoom into Gogeta’s eye while retaining the quality of the animation is a great detail.
- The way in which this attack stays true to the movie down to the KO screen just makes it that much better
- It’s a voiced attack/skill, something I personally wish we had more of.
4. Kamehameha (Sign of a Turnaround Goku [UI -Sign-])
Next up is UI Goku’s Ultra SA. Aside from being incredibly powerful, this unit also has some of the best animations in the game. This animation in specific is great not just because of how it looks, but also because it’s taken from one of the best moments in the Tournament of Power--namely, the moment Goku defeated SSJ2 Kefla.
- As cool as it would’ve been to see Goku dodging a barrage of attacks, improvising with rocks was a good and creative replacement.
- The way his Kamehameha lands on the ground and destroys it as it moves through the field is ridiculously cool and unlike other Kamehameha’s in the game.
- Every bit of the animation is smooth and does not look choppy at all.
- The animation is on par with the show in quality, which is particularly cool for a mobile game.
3. Death Gliding (Extreme Ultimate Power Cooler)
Here we have Cooler’s SA after transforming. This animation is inspired by Cooler’s fight with Goku in Dragon Ball Z: Cooler’s Revenge. If you haven’t seen this attack already, go do it. Now. There is literally a link right there to see it.
- This animation is very particular in the amount of water and ground animations involved. Not only is the enemy being hit into them, but there are clear transitions between terrains.
- It’s not a stretch to say that this looks like a remastered version of the original movie graphics, it’s that good.
- Did you catch that camera spin in the beginning? That is something I don’t think I’ve seen in the game in any other animation. The spin into a counterattack is unique to this Cooler.
2. Special Fusion (Fused Hope Goku & Vegeta [Angel])
The other Worldwide Celebration Dokkanfest unit: the pair that fuses into Vegito. As you may have guessed by the name, this animation is the active skill which triggers Goku & Vegeta to fuse into Super Vegito. It borrows heavily from the show.
- This active skill is also fully voiced and has, perhaps, the most spoken dialogue of all animations in the game.
- This is sort of a 2-in-1 animation as it has both the fusion and transformation into Super Vegito.
- It is very much loyal to the show, down to the greenish-blue colored screen filter as Vegeta and Goku fuse.
- The characters’ movements are as smooth and natural as can be expected from real life (ignoring the fact that there are no earrings in existence--that I know of--that pull people towards each other so strongly, but you know what I mean by real life movements).
- It’s obvious but I’m just gonna say it: it’s all beautifully drawn.
1. Survival Attack (A New Life on Vampa Broly & Cheelai & Lemo)
Probably the nicest villain unit in the game--nice as in the opposite of mean or evil. The trio’s animations are as lovable as the animators made the characters to be. This specific animation is Broly’s & Cheelai’s & Lemo’s Ultra SA.
- The animations of Cheelai and Lemo are smooth and make them seem like actual people moving. Cheelai’s running animation is particularly great, especially when you consider how few running animations are in the game.
- Having Broly swoop in from the opponent’s side adds another dimension to the animation, giving it a more three-dimensional feel.
- The KO screen is simply amazing, it truly shows a little of each individual’s personality, something that hardly happens in the game as the emphasis is on combat.
- It’s a rather creative and original animation in the game.
Before we end this, I’d like to give a big thank you to DBZWorld for the clips, they do a great job of putting the animations of various units in the game together for players to view freely on YouTube.
