Goku in Smash Bros – Is he ever coming?

Smash Bros has a huge roster of characters, pulling in names from some really diverse franchises. There’s one character who is often mentioned but has never made an appearance.

Playable Goku from Dragon Ball in Smash Bros would be a crowd-pleaser, but it doesn’t seem like he’s likely to make an appearance.

Is Goku in Smash Bros?

Goku isn’t in Smash. He’s never been a playable character in the game or unplayable. The title does have Hero from Dragon Quest who is also designed by the same artist behind the Dragon Ball manga, Akira Toriyama.

If you’re wondering is Goku Smash Bros a thing yet though, he’s still not in the game. Goku is one of the most talked about characters but Smash isn’t a popularity contest, and some words from the series director might mean Goku will never be in the Smash Bros character roster.

Goku Will Never Be in Smash Bros – Is He Out for Good?

A quote from Smash series director Sakurai has put the brakes on a lot of hopes and might imply Goku will never be in Smash, the director said:

“I get all these kinds of requests from abroad like, “Where is my beloved Iron Man? Or where is my beloved Goku? However, basically, Smash will only ever have content from video games in it.”

Goku Smash Bros would be fun, but Smash is a celebration of gaming. While characters cross over into other mediums, they’re all primarily gaming characters. Goku has appeared across a lot of games, like yearly Dragon Ball releases. He might even appear in another esports title if we get a FighterZ 2. However, it does feel like Goku is pretty unlikely for Smash Bros given what Sakurai said.

His involvement for the future or the next Smash Bros is always difficult to judge though, although there are still some reasons to think he might not arrive in the game either way.

Why It’s So Difficult

It’s easy to read Sakurai’s thoughts about non-gaming characters in the game and decide Goku will never be in Smash. It isn’t the only thing working against him as a payable fighter though.

The character would have to be licensed in all territories. In the West, that’s done by Funimation which is owned by a competitor, Sony. On top of that Nintendo seems to focus on characters who aren’t already in a lot of games. Goku has enough of his own games, would require an expensive license, and isn’t from a video game. Despite all this, Goku would be a pretty popular choice. So it’s always possible things are moved around to get the character in. The most recent Smash saw a number of “will never be in Smash” characters get added.

Goku in Fortnite has already proven pretty popular, so it’s not completely outside the realm of possibility that he could also come to Smash. At the moment it doesn’t look likely though. The series would have to have a dramatic change in direction. A massive one to have a Goku Smash Bros fighter would make the roster. Then just maybe he’d get in, but for the foreseeable future, Goku will never be in Smash seems like a fair assessment of things.

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