With classic characters like Goku, Vegeta, Gohan, Frieza, Captain Ginyu, Cell, and several more, as well as a new addition with Android 21, fans of the series will find at least a few of their favorites to play with. More powerful characters are unlockable through completing the story and arcade modes. The voice acting both in English and Japanese for every character are superb, sounding just like their anime versions. Players who aren't familiar with the Dragon Ball Z series are bound to find a few characters that they enjoy through gameplay alone, with each fighter boasting unique visuals with their special and ultimate attacks.

The control scheme among combatants is universal enough to work well for players who are new to the fighting genre, while veterans have access to more specialized combos and timings to perfect with individual fighters. Beginners can get away with starting off with auto-combos by pressing the face buttons. Simple button mashing is serviceable for the easy parts of the story and arcade modes. Those looking to improve their play can practice in the tutorial with the combo challenges for every character. Mastering these manual combos takes dedication, but adept use of these moves will undoubtedly pay off for harder story battles and online play.

Character models are recreated faithfully from the show, their expressions and animations all unique and reminiscent of their hand-drawn anime versions. They also have their arsenal of super dashes that surrounds their fighter with their ki aura as they zip forward, the dragon rush that throws out several punches and kicks in speedy succession, as well as super attacks and meteor attacks that recreate each fighter's iconic moves from the show, like Goku's enormous Super Saiyan 3 Kamehameha blast and Vegeta's Final Flash attack.

The three-on-three battles have you play one character at a time, with the ability to switch in another team member with the press of a button, or bring one in to combo your special attack with their flashy meteor attack. Characters typically work well together for these Ultimate Z Change combos, and it's fun to discover which ones work best for you: if you can master the timing of Android 16's brute force close-range attacks, then you can have another character, like Android 18, come in with an overhead beam for even more damage.

During the story, the banter between characters before battles are a fun way to see different fighters interact with one another. Watching Gotenks try to teach Nappa how to turn into a Super Saiyan as if it's the easiest thing in the world, or Vegeta and Piccolo grudgingly accepting their need to work together is entertaining in a way that makes the slog of the story mode tolerable.