Best Dragon Ball Games With Ultra Instinct Goku

Toonami viewers likely recall the feeling of awe when Goku transformed into a Super Saiyan for the first time on Namek. From there, his transformations only got wilder, and through the various Dragon Ball arcs, Goku finally reached his peak form in Dragon Ball Super: Ultra Instinct. There are various levels of Ultra Instinct, but all versions essentially transform Goku into a god.

Ultra Instinct versions of Goku have appeared in quite a few games, with some having better implementations than others. One notable exclusion is Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot, but fans on PC can mod Ultra Instinct into the game. Also, Ultra Instinct Goku is in Fortnite. Notes aside, let’s see what games officially have Ultra Instinct Goku on the roster.

Dragon Ball FighterZ

Still The Best

Dragon Ball FighterZ is one of the best 2D fighting games based on the Dragon Ball Z anime, and it looks the part, too. Since its release in 2018, Arc System Works has added a lot of characters, and many of them have been variations on Goku.

For the Season 3 DLC line of characters, Goku got an Ultra Instinct form. On most platforms, it costs $5 to unlock, but it does go down in price occasionally. As fans would expect, this version of Goku is very strong, but not impossible to beat in a match, as it all comes down to skill.

Dragon Ball: Sparking! Zero

3D FighterZ

Dragon Ball: Sparking! Zero is the latest game in the series, and the latest fighting game specifically. Instead of 2D games like Dragon Ball FighterZ, this one is more in line with the Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi series that became popular during the PS2 generation.

Unlike Dragon Ball FighterZ, the Ultra Instinct version of Goku in Sparking! Zero is not DLC. This version isn’t unlocked from the start of the base game, as it has to be earned like many fighting games. While powerful, this version of Goku is not as absolute as he is in the anime.

Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2

A Time-Traveling Epic

Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2, like its predecessor, is an action RPG with time travel. It features an original story wherein players are tasked with fixing the timeline by going into classic Dragon Ball battles and seeing new outcomes or preventing them entirely.

The Ultra Instinct version of Goku was not ready at launch, and instead came with the Extra DLC Pack 2, which costs $10 normally. Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2 is on Game Pass, and with a subscription, the DLC is currently cheaper. The cool thing about this upgrade for Goku is that he has an auto dodge when fighting, and updates added the Divine Kamehameha to his roster of moves.

Dragon Ball: The Breakers

Surviving The Blasts

Dragon Ball: The Breakers is a survival multiplayer game that is one of the oddest concepts in the series. Players can choose their survivor character and then transform temporarily into classic heroes with a mechanic called Dragon Change. There are tons of characters to choose from, and Goku’s Ultra Instinct power boost was added along with Season 8’s content.

Currently, the game is in Season 9, so the Ultra Instinct addition was fairly recent. Players can outright buy this boost for Goku with cash or try gathering enough in-game currency to unlock it, although that may take a while. Like many survival multiplayer games, Dragon Ball: The Breakers is hard, but getting Dragon Change powers like Ultra Instinct Goku can boost any team’s chances of winning against an invading villain like Cell or Frieza.

Super Dragon Ball Heroes: World Mission

From Arcades To Consoles

Dragon Ball Heroes was a Japanese arcade game that launched in 2011. Players could buy cards and then use them in the arcade cabinet to compete, sort of like a more realistic version of Yu-Gi-Oh, minus the summoning of gigantic 3D monsters. Like many arcade games, this was a Japan-exclusive experience, but there was a modern port of the game that remade the experience on Switch and PC.

In Super Dragon Ball Heroes: World Mission, players assemble their team of heroes in strategic combat to relive famous battles from the series and conquer original ones too. Through updates, a lot of missions were added where players could experience Goku in his Ultra Instinct form, like Universe Mission 1 and Big Bang Mission 7. Unlike other games that feature Ultra Instinct Goku, the way in which he appears in Super Dragon Ball Heroes: World Mission on various missions is a more passive experience.

Dragon Ball Z: Dokkan Battle

A Free-To-Play Puzzle Fighter

Dragon Ball Z: Dokkan Battle is a mobile game that was only released for Android systems in North America, but Japan did get an iOS version. If players have touched one free-to-play game based on anime, they’ve basically played them all, and that’s no different in this case.

Players can assemble a team of classic heroes using cards and then play out battles without much input on their part. The game is still being updated, and if players are lucky, they can get an Ultra Instinct version of Goku during events, but patience, luck, and a lot of time will be needed if that’s their only goal with the game.

Dragon Ball Legends

Legendarily Obscure

Dragon Ball Legends is a “newer” mobile game compared to Dragon Ball Z: Dokkan Battle. There’s not much difference between the two except that players can take a more active role in battle in Dragon Ball Legends if they choose to. Also, like Dragon Ball Z: Dokkan Battle, Ultra Instinct Goku appears in limited-time mobile events. Tapping icons to use moves as Goku or any other hero is never going to be as cool as using him in active combat, but for players on the go, it’s a decent placeholder.

Fans of Ultra Instinct Goku probably do not need to check out either Dragon Ball Z: Dokkan Battle or Dragon Ball Legends unless they’re on some sort of Ultra Instinct completionist run. They’re not bad games for Dragon Ball fans, but dealing with gacha-based mechanics can be frustrating, and there are plenty of solid console Dragon Ball games that are likely more fulfilling to play.