Dragon Ball‘s new video game promises a unique but familiar setting. The Genkidamatsuri event held to celebrate Dragon Ball’s 40th anniversary delivered what fans were hoping for. On the anime side, the reveal of Dragon Ball: Beerus teased a polished reworking of one of Super’s most important arcs. Even bigger, however, was the confirmation of Dragon Ball: The Galactic Patrol, an anime adaptation of the long-awaited Moro arc, which previously seemed unlikely to receive a proper animated treatment.
Beyond anime, Genkidamatsuri also made it clear that Dragon Ball’s future extends just as strongly into gaming. The event unveiled new DLC and substantial updates for Dragon Ball: Sparking Zero! But more importantly, it officially announced an entirely new game: Dragon Ball Age 1000, set in an underrated era of the Dragon Ball timeline and featuring a brand-new protagonist designed by Akira Toriyama himself.
Dragon Ball Age 1000 Presents A New Take On A Cherished Concept
Age 1000 May Be Dragon Ball Online’s Spiritual Sequel
Dragon Ball Age 1000 is set in the same historical starting point as Dragon Ball Online. The titular year 1000 is a far-future era long after Goku and the original cast have passed into legend. In Dragon Ball Online, Earth has become a melting pot of species and Goku’s legacy has evolved into mythology. Majins lived among humans, Namekians had spread beyond Namek, Saiyan bloodlines were diluted into humanity, and martial arts schools like Turtle and Crane were treated as historical institutions.
Legendary characters aren’t present as protagonists, but their influence is everywhere. Goku’s descendants, Vegeta’s lineage, Piccolo’s legacy, Capsule Corp’s technological dominance, Namekian culture, and the consequences of cosmic events like Majin Buu and the Dragon Balls themselves all play a key role in Dragon Ball Online. Dragon Ball Age 1000 seems to follow a similar approach, but through a modern lens. Instead of a full-fledged MMORPG, it spotlights a brand-new warrior designed by Akira Toriyama himself, which suggests a more focused plot.
Dragon Ball Age 1000 doesn’t appear to be a continuation of Dragon Ball Online’s timeline, in part because Online was never fully canonized and its official servers shut down years ago. Dragon Ball Age 1000 likely establishes an entirely new version of the year 1000, with different historical outcomes and a fresh future shaped by brand-new events. This creates a brand-new timeline that, if handled well, could introduce future-era lore that becomes part of the official Dragon Ball continuity.
Dragon Ball Age 1000 Makes The Most Out Of The Series’ Best Trope
Dragon Ball’s Time Skips And Time Travel Still Hold Untapped Potential
The first Dragon Ball Age 1000 trailer strongly hints at what may be the game’s central mechanic and narrative hook. Age 1000‘s mysterious new warrior is shown battling hologram-like recreations of enemies inside a sleek, controlled environment that resembles Star Trek‘s holodeck or the X-Men’s Danger Room. These encounters are punctuated by rapid, ghostly appearances of legendary Dragon Ball heroes and villains. Dragon Ball’s most famous characters and eras may be readily available, whether through simulations, recorded combat data, or something closer to literal time displacement.
If true, Age 1000 would present an evolution of Dragon Ball’s time travel. The concept is first introduced with Trunks in the Cell Saga and later expanded in Dragon Ball Super. A holodeck-style “time travel” system would be a sharp contrast to Dragon Ball Online, which relies on the Time Patrol affecting the timeline and pulling classic characters into the future. Age 1000 seems more flexible, with characters and events all potentially accessible at the push of a button.
Revisiting all memorable eras of Dragon Ball, whether via simulations or controlled time travel, is an elegant way to keep the franchise moving forward. It allows the franchise to honor its most iconic moments while still placing the spotlight firmly on new characters and unexplored futures. Age 1000 can expand the lore organically and introduce alternate outcomes and new timelines, but also give Dragon Ball‘s famous characters much more to do, unrestrained by present-day continuity.
Dragon Ball Age 1000 Will Honor Akira Toriyama’s Legacy
Akira Toriyama Was A Worldbuilding Genius
Dragon Ball Age 1000‘s new warrior is one of Akira Toriyama’s final original character designs before his passing. That alone gives the project a unique significance within the franchise. The debut of a brand-new hero, personally designed by Toriyama himself, at the very edge of Dragon Ball’s timeline feels like a symbolic handoff; his last creative imprint embedded in the far future of the beloved universe he built.
Dragon Ball is undeniably Toriyama’s magnum opus, but it wasn’t his only work. Toriyama created the influential worlds of Dr. Slum’s lighthearted comedy and Jaco the Galactic Patrolman’s spacefaring lore, as well as his iconic character designs for Chrono Trigger, a game built entirely around time travel and alternate timelines. A Dragon Ball project that doesn’t simply extend the franchise’s current story but instead revisits nostalgic eras through a new lens is the best way to remember and celebrate the late artist.
- Created by
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Akira Toriyama
- Cast
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Sean Schemmel, Laura Bailey, Brian Drummond, Christopher Sabat, Scott McNeil
- First Film
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Dragon Ball: Curse of the Blood Rubies
- Latest Film
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Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero
