DB Online

The Legacy of Dragon Ball Online

Aside Roderick J "Jay" Friz Anime , , , , ,

Dragon Ball Online has risen, baby girl!!!

If you’ve been keeping up with Dragon Ball on social media, then you know that there’s a lot for fans to look forward to over the next two years. DB Super is coming back, Sparking Zero is getting a new DLC, and the Beerus Arc is getting remade. The thing that I’m most interested, though (besides the anime’s return) is the next Dragon Ball game, Dragon Ball: Age 1000. For the most hardcore, in-the-know fans, that date holds a lot of importance. It’s the year that marks the beginning of the events of Dragon Ball Online.

If you haven’t heard about Dragon Ball Online, I wouldn’t blame you. It was an MMORPG that ran from 2010 to 2013, but it never made its way outside of the Far East. Despite this, though, it has quite the impact on the franchise’s video games. Many of the elements found in Dragon Ball Xenoverse and Xenoverse 2, such as the Time Patrol, the Majin Race, and the villains Towa and Mira all stem from DB Online. I already talked a little about it in our overview of the recent announcement for the franchise, but today, I wanted to go more in-depth about this fabled MMO. To be more precise, I wanna gush about how the world of Dragon Ball got way more awesome by Age 1000 by summing up the timeline. There is a lot of cool stuff that’s happened and we might get to see it in this upcoming game.

Keep in mind, the events of Dragon Ball Online contradict some of what is revealed in other anime series, such as Dragon Ball GT, Dragon Ball Super, and Dragon Ball Daima. GT can be excused by the fact that it was made almost entirely without Toriyama’s input, while the latter two didn’t exist in 2010.

A New Beginning

The timeline for DB Online starts with the end of Dragon Ball Z with Goku heading off to train Uub. In the years that followed, interest in martial arts continued to grow thanks to the success of people such as Mr. Satan and Buu. It grew so popular that once Mr. Satan retired, he started his own telecommuted martial arts courses and got his life turned into a hit movie. Unfortunately, people weren’t happy with his classes, forcing him to let his granddaughter Pan take over as instructor. Under her, the classes become very popular, and she would use them to start teaching students ki manipulation. Sadly, it was around this time that Goku and Vegeta would leave Earth for good. Realizing that they nearing the end of their natural lives, the two Saiyans decided to go out on their own terms: fighting in an epic battle to the death to decide which of them was truly the strongest. All things considered, not a bad way to go out for good. Over the next two centuries, their descendants would spread, to the point that by Age 1,000, most humans had some Saiyan DNA in them.

Given how it was only 200 years though, either the game was generalizing, or they really had that many descendants.

The Saiyans weren’t the only ones to make Earth their home, either. After reading an adult romance book Mr. Satan had lying around, Buu was inspired to use his magic to make himself a girlfriend, Miss Buu. Together, the two would use their magic to make themselves a son, creating the Majin Race. Decades later, the Namekians were forced to take refuge on Earth once again after New Namek was attacked, except this time, they chose to stay with Dende as their leader and Piccolo as their best warrior. The Yadratian’s would also move to Earth after their planet was destroyed. So, by Age 1000, there were Human-Saiyan’s, Majiin, Yadratians, Namekians, and talking animals all calling Earth home, which sounds awesome.

It gets cooler.

A New Generation of Warriors

Pan wasn’t the only one teaching people how to use Ki. Around Age 804, Gohan started doing actual research into the mechanics behind ki manipulation and how it actually worked, publishing it into a book called Groundbreaking Science. As a result, everyday people were able to look at the things that Goku, Gohan, and the others could do and finally realized that they weren’t cheap tricks. Validation!

With ki now widely understood as the real deal, martial arts became more popular than ever, and suddenly Master Roshi and the Crane Hermit were flooded with people wanting to learn under them. Despite not being able to die of old age, neither of them wanted to teach anymore students. Instead, Krillin and Tien Shinhan would start up the Turtle and Crane Schools with themselves as the teachers. Krillin’s style was more focused on teamwork to overwhelm tougher opponents, while Tien’s emphasized aggression and gathering strength for a decisive blow.

They weren’t the only means to learn Ki, though. Goten and Trunks would end up starting their own school of martial arts, based around channeling ki into swords and melee weapons. By doing this, a person could cut even something as strong as Katchin, the strongest metal in the universe. Between this sword school, the revived Turtle and Crane schools, and Pan’s fighting network, Earth had become a martial artist paradise.

Sadly, it was not to last.

New Threats Emerge

The real trouble began around Age 820. That year, not only did Mr. Satan die, but remnants of the Frieza Force invaded Earth, trying to take the power of the Dragon Balls. Thankfully, the planet’s collective training meant that they were able to drive the invaders back, but they would continue to cause trouble in the centuries to follow.

The Frieza Force wasn’t the only threat. In the decades that followed, more threats would start appearing. There was the Red Pants Army, the successors to the Red Ribbon Army. Pilaf’s descendant, Paella, would continue his ancestor’s aspirations for world domination. And to make matters worse, some of the Namekians became corrupted by evil much like King Piccolo, leading to the rebirth of the Evil Namekians.

The greatest threat of all, though, were the Time Breakers, led by Towa and Mira from the Demon Realm. They were the ones who had destroyed New Namek and Yadrat, and had set their sights on two things: conquering Earth, and obtaining Goku’s DNA. They had built an army out of Demons, people they plucked from the timestream, and the many villainous groups that were now running around Earth. Even worse, they were messing with history and threatening to destroy the space-time continuum. With all of their efforts pointing to their eventual conquest of Earth in the future, something had to be done. That’s when Future Trunks made his return, now charged by the Supreme Kai of Time with forming a group dedicated to protecting history as the Time Patrol.

And that is where things stand at the start of Age 1000 in Dragon Ball Online.

Please let Age 1000 be something similiar to DB Online

Let’s review everything. We’ve got an age where everyone’s a martial artist and knows how ki works. Earth has become home to Humans with Saiyan ancestry, Namekians, and Majins. The descendants of all the heroes biggest enemies are trying to conquer the planet. And warriors are tasked with going back in time to keep history from going awry.

You can see why DB Online is considered a big deal for Dragon Ball fans? A good chunk of the Xenoverse games stems from this MMO. And if Age 1000 is looking to be the spiritual successor to this legend, then Dragon Ball fans everywhere should be elated. I know I am!

THIS IS THE YEAR OF DRAGON BALL!!

Aside Roderick J "Jay" Friz Anime, DBZ , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Itโ€™s hard to believe that itโ€™s been two years since the world lost Akira Toriyama, the creator of Dragon Ball. Yet for the time being, his greatest creation has continued to endure across the world and in the minds of its fans young and old. With this year marking the 40th anniversary of the original manga, fans are expecting big things to commemorate it. And it looks like weโ€™re going to be feasting, because on January 25th, the powers that be dropped a few big pieces of news. A Dragon Ball anime is coming back, weโ€™re getting a remake of one arc, and there was some big video game news that is leaving fans drooling.

Letโ€™s start with the first big piece of news: the Beerus arc from Dragon Ball Super is getting a remake.

DB Super Beerus Remake

After the disaster that was Dragon Ball Evolution, the late Toriyama was so mad about his creation being mishandled that he came out of retirement to fix things. The result was the hit 2013 film Battle of Gods thrusting the series badk into the spotlight for a new generation. That eventually led to a sequel film, and both would lead to a new anime series in 2015, Dragon Ball Super. I never watched the first two arcs in the anime since they were just retelling the films, but I have heard that there were a few complaints about it not being that good. There were issues with the animation, pacing, and other things that fans didnโ€™t like. So, I guess I dodged a bullet on that!

It seems that things were so bad that Toei has decided to remake the entire Beerus arc with new animation, with the resulting Dragon Ball Super L: Beerus releasing sometime this fall. Again, I preferred the movie to the anime arc, so I probably wonโ€™t watch it. However, that doesnโ€™t mean Iโ€™m not happy for other fans. And I know that a number of content creators are going to be happy about this.

What Iโ€™m looking forward to, though, is something that weโ€™ve had to wait for years to see: the return of Dragon Ball Super.

Super is Coming Back!

In 2018, after the Tournament of Power Arc came to its legendary end, DB Super went on what we thought was a hiatus. This was so that the manga adaptation could have time to tell the next major arc, the Galactic Patrol Arc, which everyone has expected to be what Super would cover next. But it never came back, and some fans started to lose hope that it would. For those who had faith, though, itโ€™s about to pay off. Dragon Ball Super: Galactic Patrol Arc is coming!

The basic premise of the arc is that Goku and Vegeta are asked to temporarily join the Galactic Patrol, an intergalactic police force that tries to maintain peace throughout the universe. Emphasis on trying, as theyโ€™ve never been strong enough to stop Frieza, his family, or any minions like the Saiyans. And when one of their most dangerous prisoners escapes custody, they need the twoโ€™s help to save the day. Itโ€™s a pretty good arc, and one that a lot of fans have wanted to see made into an anime. Which means that the return of Super is a pretty big deal for fans. I, for one, am looking forward to seeing it get animated, even if we donโ€™t know when it will release.

As for gamers, weโ€™ve got a lot to look forward to, as well.

Sparking Zero DLC

Two years ago, the legendary Budokai Tenkaichi series came out of retirement with its first release in decades, Sparking Zero. The game proved to be immensely popular at first thanks to having the biggest roster of characters in the entire line of games, online multiplayer, and what-if stories in the main campaigns. It also seemed to quickly lose steam on Steam, though, as it lost 90% of its player base in less than a month, but it has retained a steady base since then, from what Iโ€™ve heard. And that player count might grow this year as we just got our first look at the new DLC. And thereโ€™s cause for excitement.

This upcoming DLC is going to add even more characters to the gameโ€™s already massive roster, including Super Android 17, King Piccolo, and Super Saiyan Bardock. As a big fan of Gokuโ€™s dad, that last is especially exciting for me. Iโ€™m actually tempted to start playing the game again to get ready.

But all of this is nothing compared to the biggest announcement: in 2027, we are getting a new Dragon Ball game. While we still donโ€™t know its name, the title alone is enough to get hardcore fans pumped: Dragon Ball: Age 1000.

Dragon Ball: Age 100

You might not know this, but in 2010, there was actually a Dragon Ball MMORPG, Dragon Ball Online. Released exclusively in East Asia, it takes place 216 years after the events of the Majin Buu Saga, and Earth has changed a lot since then. Most humans are now at least partially Saiyan, the Namekians relocated to Earth, Majin Buu started his own race, and best of all, the use of Ki is universally recognized, meaning everyone sees Goku and the others as the heroes they are. But the Earth is now threatened by the like of Towa and Mira as they mess with the timeline, leading many to join the Time Patrol led by Future Trunks.

If all of this sounds like the Xenoverse games, thereโ€™s a good reason. DBO shut down in 2013, but many of its concepts and characters became a part of Xenoverse and Xenoverse 2. That hasnโ€™t stopped fans from wanting an actual DB Online game again, though, and thatโ€™s why this trailer is a big deal. That, and this new character might have been designed by Toriyama before he died.

We wonโ€™t know more about Age 1000 until April, but Iโ€™m betting fans are already coming up with their own ideas about what this game could be like. I liked the Xenoverse games myself, but I do want to see something more like DB Online here in the west. Hopefully, weโ€™re finally getting what we want!

And that is everything that we know so far! Hopefully, Toei and Shueshia will release more info in the coming months, as itโ€™s got the fandom in a frenzy and eager to learn more. We will try to cover it as best as possible here, as we are massive fans of Dragon Ball and are eager to take part in the celebration ourselves. Until we meet again, guys!