Nov 23, 2024
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Requiem for a Bio-Broly
So I looked at the new Sparking Zero lineup, and it's currently at 184 characters, if you count the three DLC guys. And once again, Bio-Broly did not make the cut.
I'm not really surprised, but it is kind of interesting that this guy has never made it into any of these fighting games. He's in Dragon Ball Heroes and Dokkan stuff, and I'm pretty sure that's because those card-based style of games need as much variety as possible, which is why they do all those what-if characters and scenarios.
It only really surprised me when Budokai Tenkaichi 3 skipped him, because that game had a ginormous roster, to the point where it was tough to even guess how they'd fill all the slots. And unsurprisingly, often-overlooked movie villains like Garlic Junior and Dr. Wheelo were on the roster. But not Bio-Broly. I think that's when I first got intrigued about his exclusion from these games, because BT3 was the first game to get all of the other Z movie villains in it, and that made Bio-Broly conspicuous by his absence.
The later games had smaller rosters, but they also seemed eager to add some special attraction, usually a character who hadn't been used before. Raging Blast 2 had Hatchiyack, but also Androids 13 and 14. Battle of Z really touted Beerus and Whis, since I'm pretty sure that was their video game debut. And Xenoverse 2 has been adding DLC characters for the better part of a decade now. You'd think one of them might toss in Bio-Broly, if only for the novelty of it, but no.
I don't want to sound like some kind of Bio-Broly fan. The character sucks, and so does his movie. But he was still a movie villain. Like, that's kind of a special status in these games. They get used as bonus stage bosses or special unlockable guys, or whatever. GT is pretty awful too, but it's still fun to see Omega Shenron and Baby in these games. I would argue the games are the only time GT characters are really handled properly. I'm sure someone could come up with a cool story mode segment involving Bio-Broly. The quality of his movie is irrelevant.
So with this game, Sparking Zero, I figured he was probably going to finally get his spot, if only because there were so many spots to fill, and why not toss him in there, if only to get a complete set of movie baddies? But it looks like he got shafted again. I mean, they could still put him in as DLC, and I would think they'd just about have to. I mean, they probably want to do lots of DLC characters like with Xenoverse 2, but they already put so many characters in the base game, so who's left? They could do Cell Max, and some Daima characters, toss in some OG Dragon Ball and more Tournament of Power guys, but it's weird that we're even talking about this when there's a Z-Movie guy they've never used.
Like, imagine if Metal Cooler never got to be in any of these games. Everybody else, but for some reason Metal Cooler just never shows up. Movie 5 Cooler's there, and so is his final form, but no Metal Cooler, no explanation given. That'd be weird, right? After a while you'd wonder why that is. I mean, Cooler's henchmen have made it into some of the games. There's room for Metal Cooler, so why wouldn't they use it?
I think it's widely understood that Movie 11 is one of the worst, if not the worst of the DBZ movies. But I've never really seen anyone actively hating on it. It's more forgettable than offensive, and yet, Bio-Broly's exclusion from the games makes me wonder if that movie did more damage to the brand than I've ever known. Like, maybe it performed very poorly, or there's a lot of hard feelings over that production, so everyone at Toei just keeps the character as obscure as possible. I mean, they put him in the Dokkan and DBH games, but you never see like ads for that. Maybe they're worried that putting Bio-Broly in one of these roster reveal trailers would be so offensive to fans that it would hurt the sales? That seems pretty far-fetched, but that's where my mind goes on this.
Most likely, they just don't put him in because there's so little interest in the character, and there's always someone else they can stick in the game instead. I think there's a very real case to be made for adding in more Tournament of Power characters. If they put the whole Universe 10 team in a DLC pack before Bio-Broly, I'd be like "Yeah, that makes sense."
I just wonder where the bottom is. How big does the roster have to get before Bio-Broly becomes the next best choice for a new addition? 184 isn't the answer, but what about 200? 250? 300? When does it just get down to Bio-Broly and like... Shu wearing his fake Goku disguise?
I mean, obviously Fake Goku should be added before Bio-Broly. Look at this guy. He's great.
wow! did you know? I think the best parts of dragon ball are the parts where I black out and hallucinate a better movie
......................slime man
bio-broly is just generally conceptually SO funny to me he only looks recognizable as broly for like 2 minutes before melting into a slutch heap for the rest of the movie. whydid they do that
DBZ Bio Broly Reaction
I had never seen Bio Broly before this, and this is what I thought.
[I love this poster. Goten, Trunks and 18 take center stage, while Broly looms in the background. Too bad we did get the real Broly. Maybe they should have done an adolescent Broly... that's like a half clone of Lord Jaguar's son... basically Atlas from Astro Boy... yada yada yada...]
I like it whenever Goku isn’t the main focus of a DBZ film. With Goku they always have to wait for him to remember his ultimate attack and win. Like all those movies when all he does in Kaiohken for the win. I love Goten and Trunk as protagonists because they are really inexperienced and it shows. Twice, Broly has been “triggered” by Goten, and I think it’s pretty cool to think of Broly as Goten’s antagonist. Like Batman has his villains, but there are other villains that target Robin specifically. One criticism of Super has been that Goten has done nothing.
[Look at his serious face]
As for the movie itself, it’s fine. It has really good pacing and escalation. It starts real light with Mr. Satan and Android 18 arguing, then they wipe the floor with the Bio Warriors, Bio Broly gets unleashed, before it turns into this Ecological Cataclysm that is eating the whole island. I thought it was pretty extreme (how much goo did those scientist think they needed?) but it wouldn’t be the first catastrophe to destroy a city in Dragon Ball.
Again, I always love shonen anime movies for the little bits of characterization that peek on through. I think this might be the first time we see Trunks is pretty smart for a kid. This, plus Broly’s Second Coming, show that Goten is not scared by wild animals. It firmly establishes that 18 is all about that bling-bling. And, Krillin always does the “Dynamic Entry” to save the day. None of the “Big Guns” get involved at all. The only way it could have been more the B-Team was if Yamcha and Chiaotzu showed up.
I wonder, is this the first time they beat the villain using their brains?
6/10 - The novelty of a movie without Goku or Gohan in it cannot be overstated. This one is for all the Goten fans out there. (There are dozens of us!)
bio-blory
have they tried the sun? worked last time