Dragon Ball Project: Age 1000 is one of the upcoming games in the franchise, and the mysterious nature of the premise makes it extremely exciting for fans. For the most part, Dragon Ball games tend to be explorations of the past rather than new adventures. Titles like Sparking! Zero and Xenoverse are a lot of fun and play with alternate realities, but they’re often dependent on a clear knowledge of the franchise and the lore behind it.
That’s what makes Dragon Ball Project: Age 1000 so intriguing. The game’s trailer introduced a new character wearing Capsule Corp gear and going Super Saiyan. The title suggests that the game will be taking place well over a century after the primary events of the series, meaning it could be a very new, very unique take on the franchise. Given how good the series’s newer stories have been, fans are going to want to keep an eye on this one and how it all shakes out.
Dragon Ball Project: Age 1000 Is A Wild Concept
We don’t know much about Dragon Ball Project: Age 1000, except that the title implies it takes place in a future far removed from the main characters of the franchise. Given that the events of the franchise largely take place in the 700s (Goku was born in Age 734, for example), this suggests that it will be roughly 200 years in the future of the franchise. The unnamed Super Saiyan featured in the trailer is also shown wearing a Capsule Corp belt, suggesting a possible connection to Bulma and Vegeta’s family. This would also explain their ability to go Super Saiyan. A logo on their left sleeve in artwork is also intriguing, as it could potentially connect the character to the Galactic Patrol, an organization that protects the larger universe.
While the idea of playing as a distant descendant of the modern Dragon Ball heroes might seem like a shaky concept, it helps that the central character was reportedly designed by series creator Akira Toriyama before he passed. This also suggests that Toriyama was aware of the general plans surrounding the character and the overall direction of the series. Other ideas by the creator might even be slipped into the overall game and storyline. All of this suggests that the series is going to be able to skip ahead a few centuries to highlight a new period and setting, which is one of the most exciting developments the franchise could have gotten.
Dragon Ball Project: Age 1000 Could Take The Series In Fresh Directions
One of the challenges faced by Dragon Ball in video game adaptations is the habit of making games that are just retreads of the franchise’s most important moments. Plenty of games over the years have been rooted in recreating specific fights or scenes, without actually trying to advance the series forward or experiment with the formula in meaningful ways. That’s one of the reasons games like Dragon Ball FighterZ stood out so much from the rest of the games in the line, as it actually included an original plotline and new characters. Dragon Ball Project: Age 1000 would inherently be doing something similar by tackling a different time period. Many of the established story beats of the franchise, often fodder for game levels, will now be historical events that shaped the timeline.
The new character’s ability to turn Super Saiyan suggests that the Saiyan race has continued to bounce back from near eradication, with descendants of Goku and Vegeta still going strong centuries later. It’s a far distant period, beyond anything that’s been depicted in the series up to this point. As a result, it seems likely that many of the characters fans have gotten to know and love will have potentially passed away — that’s not to say everyone has to be gone, as characters like Android 18 or Namekians like Piccolo and Dende might still be around. However, it means that the game’s story will need to introduce new faces and explore different storylines. It’s a chance for Dragon Ball to truly become something different, while still retaining the visual elements and worldbuilding that have made the series so enduring with fans.
I Can’t Wait To Find Out More About Dragon Ball Project: Age 1000
As a fan of the Dragon Ball franchise, it’s always exciting to see the series actually tackle new concepts. Shows like Dragon Ball Super have done a terrific job expanding on the original material in ways that feel consistent with the world. I’ve seen Goku go Super Saiyan and defeat Frieza in plenty of different games and adaptations, so it’s exciting to see the series play with new characters or introduce different kinds of complications. That’s why Dragon Ball Project: Age 1000 is so interesting as a concept. The heavy time jump could be used to lay the groundwork for new kinds of allies and enemies.
It’ll come with an immediate mystery element, as fans will be dying to know what became the final fates of the Z-Warriors that they’ve spent decades following. It’ll also be interesting to see exactly what kind of story awaits them and what kind of challenges the unnamed hero will face. There’s even a chance that the fresh characters could lend themselves to new moral complications — there’s no reason the white-haired Super Saiyan featured in the trailer couldn’t turn out to be a villain. There’s not a lot to know about the game yet, but that teaser and the apparent subject matter it’s going to be playing with have me more excited for the franchise’s future than ever.
