Akira Toriyama’s Dragon Ball has worked hard for nearly four decades to become one of the most essential battle shonen anime and a gateway series into this animated medium. Many successful anime receive video game adaptations and Dragon Ball has been particularly fortunate in this area and fans of the series have dozens of options that cover a wide range of genres between fighting, RPG, and even card-based strategy titles.
There are hundreds of exciting Dragon Ball characters to showcase in the video games, but there are still some characters who don’t make the cut. Future Trunks is a fan-favorite figure who’s found success ever since his first appearance. It didn’t take long for Future Trunks to become a playable character in Dragon Ball video games and audiences have several options to explore.
10 Dragon Ball GT: Final Bout
Release Date: August 21, 1997
Dragon Ball GT: Final Bout is far from the greatest Dragon Ball fighting game, but it’s significant in the sense that it’s the first Dragon Ball game to be released in North America before the anime had even found success outside of Japan. Dragon Ball GT: Final Bout focuses on the controversial Dragon Ball Z sequel series and incorporates some effective features, like its RPG-esque level progression system for its characters.
Future Trunks gets a lot of love in the game with three separate versions of the character, between his Dragon Ball GT form and his classic Super Saiyan appearance from Dragon Ball Z. It’s a rare occasion where Future Trunks is more plentiful than Vegeta and it also brings Pan into a fighting game roster for the first time.
9 Battle Stadium D.O.N.
Release Date: July 20, 2006
There are some popular anime fighting games that crossover multiple battle shonen series, like the Jump Ultimate Stars franchise. Battle Stadium D.O.N. is a fighter for the GameCube and PlayStation 2 that’s a little more focused in the sense that it features 20 playable characters between Dragon Ball, One Piece, and Naruto.
Dragon Ball receives the highest representation and Future Trunks is present alongside the series' biggest heroes and villains. It's extremely satisfying to pit Future Trunks against One Piece's resident swordfighter, Zoro. Battle Stadium D.O.N. is also a fighting game with a unique "tug of war" fighting system that involves collecting the characters' respective orbs, which they lose when they're attacked.
8 Dragon Ball GT: Transformation
Release Date: August 9, 2005
Dragon Ball GT video games are popular places to play as Future Trunks and his teen counterpart. The Game Boy Advance's Dragon Ball GT: Transformation is an excellent evolution of the Legacy of Goku trilogy as well as the dense Dragon Ball: Advanced Adventure that tackles the original series. Dragon Ball GT: Transformation is a beat-'em-up action sidescroller that excels when it comes to its presentation and entertaining gameplay, which narrows in on the first half of Dragon Ball GT.
There were clearly plans for a sequel due to the game's cliffhanger ending that sets up the Super 17 Saga, but unfortunately, it didn't come to pass. In addition to the expected playable characters like Trunks, Goku, and Pan, the game also makes effective use of Uub and a fairly deep extra mode that's designed around Piccolo.
7 Dragon Ball Z: Super Butoden Trilogy
Release Date: March 20, 1993; December 17, 1993; September 29, 1994
There are many Dragon Ball games on the Super Nintendo, but the 16-bit console’s Super Butoden trilogy is a worthy competitor to Street Fighter II. The Super Butoden games collectively cover Dragon Ball Z’s Frieza, Cell, and Buu Sagas, with fast-paced gameplay that includes ki attacks, aerial combat, and destructible environments.
There’s also a surprisingly robust story mode in some of the titles. The roster in the Super Butoden changes across each entry to best reflect the highlighted story saga, but Future Trunks is one of the few characters who are present in each game. Super Butoden 3 even includes Future Trunks, Goten, and Gotenks.
6 Dragon Ball Z: Shin Budokai - Another Road
Release Date: March 20, 2007
Dragon Ball’s Budokai fighting games are still regarded as some of the franchise’s strongest entries and standout fighters from the 2000s. Dragon Ball Z: Shin Budokai are PlayStation Portable exclusives that get into more of the “What If?...” style of storytelling. Future Trunks isn’t present in the original Shin Budokai, but he’s integral to the sequel, Shin Budokai - Another Road. Another Road centers on Majin Buu’s awakening in Future Trunks’ alternate timeline.
Shin Budokai - Another Road celebrates Future Trunks’ capable and confident nature and he joins the PSP game’s sizable roster alongside other new characters like Bardock, Dabura, and Super Buu. Shin Budokai - Another Road even works in some of the more popular movie villains, like Cooler and Broly.
5 Dragon Ball Z: Legacy of Goku II
Release Date: June 17, 2003
The Legacy of Goku trilogy for the Game Boy Advance were real turning point titles that deliver fun action-RPG experiences that fully take advantage of the handheld console's power. The first Legacy of Goku only has Goku as a playable character, but the Cell Saga-centric Legacy of Goku II shares its wealth between a slightly larger sample that includes Future Trunks in his base, Super Saiyan, and Super Saiyan Third Grade forms.
Legacy of Goku II is the trilogy's standout entry with its well-designed boss battles and the wealth of collectible trophies, missing Namekians, and Golden Capsules that are available to discover. The game even fits in Cooler for a standout extra boss battle. Unfortunately, Future Trunks doesn't make the cut in the concluding entry, Buu's Fury.
4 Dragon Ball Fusions
Release Date: August 4, 2016
Fusion has become an increasingly common battle strategy in not only Dragon Ball Z but many different shonen series. Dragon Ball Fusions is an inventive action RPG that takes the concept of two or more characters fusing together to make a stronger fighter and pushes it to its breaking point. Dragon Ball Fusions has a roster of 171 unique non-fused characters that balloons to over 1000 different playable characters who are possible through different fusion combinations.
Trunks is prominent in Dragon Ball Fusions, both in his child and future forms, which lend themselves to dozens of different fused characters. These fused characters highlight Future Trunks’ talents in unique ways, but Dragon Ball Fusions also takes some extra liberties with its presentation of the character. For instance, Super Saiyan 3 Future Trunks is a possibility in Dragon Ball Fusions even though he never achieves this transformation in the anime or the manga.
3 Dragon Ball: Raging Blast & Raging Blast 2
Release Date: November 9, 2009 & November 2, 2010
It’s been difficult to reinvent the fighting game formula with Dragon Ball and the two Raging Blast games attempt to kick off a new gaming generation with something different than the Budokai and Budokai Tenkaichi fighting releases. These 3D fighters pride themselves in a particularly large roster that isn’t afraid to indulge in deep cuts from across the entire Dragon Ball universe, including the franchise’s movies.
What’s particularly interesting about how Raging Blast and Raging Blast 2 approach Future Trunks is that they divide him into two separate characters based on contrasting playing styles – swordfighter and fighter. Raging Blast and its sequel bring forward a whole new way to appreciate Future Trunks that both take advantage of and also discard his signature bladed weapon.
2 Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot
Release Date: January 16, 2020
Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot is a very ambitious endeavor in the sense that it’s an open-world action-RPG adventure game that covers the entirety of Dragon Ball Z, as well as material from Dragon Ball Super and even the original Dragon Ball through the title’s ongoing DLC releases that are still going strong three years after the game’s release. Future Trunks is properly represented during his Earth-shattering arrival and the significant role that he plays during the Android invasion and battle against Cell.
However, Kakarot’s “The Warrior of Hope” DLC pays tribute to the series’ The History of Trunks special where Future Trunks truly gets to shine. Goku and Gohan get the most screen time as playable characters in Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot, but the brief time when Future Trunks is controlled becomes some of the game’s most satisfying material.
1 Dragon Ball Xenoverse & Xenoverse 2
Release Date: February 5, 2015 & November 2, 2016
A lot of Dragon Ball fighting games have come around but Dragon Ball Xenoverse and its sequel, Xenoverse 2, have become evergreen games that are still going strong more than seven years later. The only reason that there’s no Xenoverse 3 is because Xenoverse 2 continues to release new DLC material that reflects the latest events in the anime and feature films. Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2 has more than 120 characters on its roster from across every Dragon Ball series, as well as its feature films and specials.
Future Trunks fans will be satisfied that Xenoverse 2 contains several versions of Future Trunks, including the version of the character who’s present in Dragon Ball GT. If any new Future Trunks transformation gets revealed in Dragon Ball Super’s manga then it seems most likely would be the Dragon Ball game to most quickly incorporate it. If not officially, then the passionate modding community wouldn’t waste any time.
