DBFZ/Goku

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Overview
Overview

Goku is a shoto Short for "Shotokan" A character archetype defined by being similar in some way to Ryu from Street Fighter. Shotos usually have a horizontal fireball, an invulnerable reversal, and a forward moving special move. and grappler hybrid, in a sense. Although his tools are quite well rounded and easily comparable to his Super Saiyan counterpart, they're a bit trickier to put to their full potential or otherwise loaded with specific quirks. He also struggles to get as many slide knockdowns as other shoto characters in this game, and his Super Spirit Bomb level 3 cannot be used traditionally. However, Goku can still get the job more than done thanks to his versatility, Back Throw and his damage. Back Throw is a quick command grab giving Goku surprisingly effective and easy tick throw A throw done after attacks, very soon after if not exactly when throw invulnerability expires on the opponent. A Tick Throw take advantage of that the opponent naturally expect a Frame Trap coming, making it very hard to react to or escape from. as well as a sideswap. As for damage, Goku's Spirit Bomb and advanced combo routes help him chew out characters even without spending any meter, and his Kaioken super gets stronger with each of his allies that are downed. Lastly, his assists are great and make Goku an excellent addition to your team. Ultimately, Goku is easy to learn and hard to master, with a diverse toolkit that needs some labbing and a team to put to its max efficiency.

"Low-ranker, elite, whatever. You can beat anyone...it's called hard work!"
Lore:Son Goku (named directly after the Japanese naming of Journey to the West protagonist Sun Wukong) is a martial artist of incredible skill and renown. After defeating Piccolo Jr. At the 23rd Budokai, Goku would have a son, Son Gohan, and not long after would learn of his true heritage as a Saiyan, a member of a fearsome warrior race. His skills would only grow stronger after dying at the hands of his brother, and villainous Saiyan, Raditz, when he trained under the godly King Kai and learned a variety of new skills, including the strength-enhancing Kaio-ken technique and the devastating Spirit Bomb. Goku would go on to challenge and shock both Nappa and Vegeta, and would then set off to Namek to revive his fallen friends, constantly training to be stronger on the way.

 Goku  Goku is a quirky support character whose numerous tricks amount to massive damage, and gets even stronger with every fallen ally.

Pros
Cons
  • Solid Pressure: Has access to many safe normals that incentivize staggers, further aided with Back Throw.
  • Space Control: Numerous ki blasts and a beam allow him to control horizontal and vertical space. A charged Spirit Bomb tracks and beats most approach options.
  • Extraordinary Super Damage: Kaioken X3/X20 and Super Spirit Bomb boast the highest raw Super damage in the game.
  • Assist Variety: A is useful for combo extensions and blockstrings, and B is very unique in that it builds a large amount of bar while charging a level of Spirit Bomb.
  • Last Character: Resources like Limit Break, late-game meter reserves, and even Sparking! allow Goku's damage with his upgraded Supers to skyrocket.
  • Reversal: Super Spirit Bomb is Goku's only frame 1 invulnerable attack, but it's too slow to be used to escape pressure.
  • Diva: To bring out the full potential of Base Goku, the team has to be structured around him to fully utilize the massive damage of his Supers.
  • High/Low: His only low is 2M, making his standard high/low mix-up less than ideal.


Goku
DBFZ Goku Portrait.png

Normal Moves

5L

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5L
5LL
5LLL

  • 5L is a standard jab.

  • 5LL launches on hit.

Hits rather high and moves Goku forward, can kinda be mashed in scramble considering 5LLL hits both sides.


  • 5LLL wall bounces on Smash hit.
  • Hits both in front and behind Goku.
  • True string into 236S and Vanish.

Really good range and is Goku's most used combo extender. Unlike other characters, Goku's combo routes are mostly grounded, using 5LLL and 5H over his special moves.

5M

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  • Short reach, but very quick.

5H

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  • Short reaching 5H.
  • Smash hit wall splats.

5S

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  • Can be repeated up to 6 times.
  • Launches on the 6th Ki Blast.

2L

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Like SS Goku, this isn't a low and is merely a stagger button.

2M

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  • Launches on hit.
  • Range is in between SS and SSB Goku, as fast as SSB but as negative as SS.

Not as good as SSB 2M but can still create a decent stagger mix-up.

2H

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  • Universal anti-air with poor horizontal reach.

2S

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  • Can be aimed with 1/2/3S.

After this is used twice, regardless of which versions are used, it will transition into 2SSS.

2SSS

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  • Smash hit causes a ground bounce sliding knockdown

Can be 2H'd even if 2SS is blocked, limiting it's usage in neutral or blockstrings.

This is Goku most common combo ender with 5H > 2SSS. It is special cancelable even after landing so Goku can charge 214S for oki, or extend with 236L before Supers, or even able to connect with SD in the corner.

6M

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  • Universal overhead.

j.L

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  • Short ranged normal. Mostly used during aerial blockstrings.

j.M

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  • Good air to air normal.

Like the other Gokus, this is also his IAD crossup normal.

j.H

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5LLLLLLL
Ground L

  • 5LLLLLLL Smash hit can wall bounce.
  • j.H Smash hit causes sliding knockdown.
  • Common jump-in normal and combo starter.

Another normal that solidifies Goku's grounded combo game. 5LLLLLLL hits very low to the ground allowing him to pick up off of the wall bounce in the corner with delay j.S ▷ 5LLL or simply land 2M.


j.S

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  • Halts Goku's momentum when used.

The knockback on air hit is weak enough for things like 5H > delay SD > airdash j.L > delay j.S ▷ 2M.


j.2H

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  • Mostly a combo extender.


Special Moves

Heavy Elbow

236L/M/H (Air OK)

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Ground L
Air L
Ground M
Air M
Ground H
Air H

  • 236L charges straight forward.

Safe block string ender and combo filler after 2SSS or mid-combo DR.


  • 236M swings back before lunging forward. Air version will descend during the back swing.
  • Ground version causes a wall splat on Smash hit. Air version causes a wall bounce on Smash hit.

Decent frame trap.


  • 236H swings back before lunging forward. Air version will descend during the back swing.
  • Smash hit causes a wall bounce.

Very fast frame 4 reversal that can be solo extended meterlessly on hit. This is as good of a reversal you can get that isn't frame 1 invul, as it's safe on block and very spammable.


Back Throw

214L/M/H

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L
M
H

  • 214L stays mostly in place, throws the opponent behind Goku.
  • Always causes a corner splat.

20f of startup allows for frame perfect tickthrow from 5L and 2L. This makes Goku a pseudo grappler, though the reward on hit isn't very high unless extended with Vanish.

Also used surprisingly frequently for some combo routes, as Goku can find himself swapping sides with his opponent frequently.


  • 214M lunges forward for the grab.
  • UD Smash does a teleporting 2SSS and stays same side, causing a ground bounce SKD. Post D Smash only corner splats like 214L.

24f of startup allows for frame perfect tickthrow from M, H, S normals. But you only get a far from corner SKD and not much else, can't cancel into 214S for oki either.


  • 214H is 214M with a different followup: U+ Smash does a teleporting Heavy Elbow that wall bounces. Post U Smash only corner splats like 214L.

Much better reward than 214M, that's about it.

Kamehameha

236S (Air OK)

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Ground
Air

  • Both versions can be angled by holding 2 or 8 after the input.
  • Ground and air sideways wall splat on hit.
  • Ground aimed up launches on hit. Air aimed down causes a short sliding knockdown.
  • Jails into Vanish.

Can be used mostly like how SS Goku uses it. With the only difference being j.236S[2].

The SKD from j.236S[2] is too short for Goku to solo combo into Supers. Instead it's used for air combo into grounded Vanish extension or into DHC.

Everyone, lend me your energy!

214S

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  • Can be held for up to three levels. Each use builds a small amount of meter.

Charging for one level is relatively safe. Goku can cancel 2SSS combo ender into one charge of 214S and still have oki.

After KO-ing the opponent's point character with a ground normal (and not triggering any KO cinematic), you can buffer 214S and get one free charge.

Spirit Bomb

214S after gathering energy

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Level 1
Level 2
Level 3

  • Homes in on the opponent.
  • Has minimum damage of 20%.
  • Special cancelable on hit. Can combo into Super Dash or linking into 2SSS for SKD (though you'll have manually aim or reposition yourself)
  • Level 3 charge carries high enough to combo into Super Spirit Bomb.

Fast, homing, high priority, auto-confirm projectile. Simply having a charge of Spirit Bomb is enough to make the opponent think twice about their approach.

With a fully charged Spirit Bomb, 2M/5M > 5H > 214S > 214L+M is almost 80% damage and becomes a ToD with Limit Break + Sparking. If you pick Goku as anchor with B assist, this is actually quite practical.

Z Assists

Assist A

Energy Shockwave

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  • Causes wallbounce and hits both in front and behind Goku.
  • Huge hitstun.

Goku's assist has some use, as while it may be a bit tricky to use as a neutral tool, if it hits (either in a combo or raw) it will immediately send the opponent flying and they will wallbounce. This can give a character really quick corner control or a good combo extender, which is always useful.

Assist B

Everyone, lend me your energy!

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  • Charges 1 Spirit Bomb level and gives 1 Ki Gauge.
  • If Spirit Bomb is at full charge, gives 1.1 Ki Gauges.
  • Is not affected by Ki gain penalty.

Goku appears on screen and charges a level of Spirit Bomb. While he's charging, he will also increase your meter by one bar. He can do this assist as many times as he would like, there's no limit based on his current Spirit Bomb level. This assist also increases Goku's actual Spirit Bomb even if he already has one charged up, making getting the full level 3 charge way easier.

While not an attack and thus hinders your team by taking the place of a more traditional assist, the support value it adds makes it a considerable option. Not only does it build large chunks of meter about every 8 seconds, it charges a Spirit Bomb level with each use, making Goku likely have access to a fully charged Spirit Bomb by the time he comes in, especially if he was at Anchor. The assist enables certain playstyles/team compositions who profusely spend meter to thrive, and overall removes meter deficiencies so long it is used every time it's off cooldown. It's very good at what it does, but may leave a hole in your team with the jobs a normal assist fulfills such as with combo extensions, blockstring pressure, and neutral. Evaluate the trade-offs carefully.


Assist C

Kamehameha

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Goku does a Kamehameha, and then teleports behind the opponent to smack them back to the ground. Most likely harder to confirm than other assists of this style due to how his beam is only one hit.

  • Is one of the 5 beam-type C assists that start up on the same frame as the other beams.

Super Moves

Kaioken

236L+M or 236H+S

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Kaioken

  • Kaioken has 3 followups with all team members remaining, 5 with two remaining, and 7 if only Goku is left.
  • On block or hit, any Kaioken followup can cancel into any other, except itself.
  • All followups hit fullscreen and off sliding knockdown. But only a few is fast enough to connect after a solo combo, i.e. 5L, 5S, Enders.
  • Enders can be used at any time but cannot be followed up, even after all followups have been used (for example, Kaioken Finisher can be used as a fourth hit with a full team).
  • On hit, using the same followup more than once will cause it to be "staled," receiving reduced damage (550)
  • Minimum damage: 18% for all followups including staled, excluding Kame enders.

This means to maximize damage, you want to cycle through all unique followups.

However, due to all staled moves dealing the same amount of damage, this also means that a string like S L L L... will do more damage, is a lot easier to execute, while still keeping the corner carry ability of S L S L...

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5L
2L
5M
2M
5H
5S
2S

  • Startup: Followups are done 3f before time freeze ends. So Kaioken activation > 5L has startup of: 9 - 3 + 13 = 19f.
  • Activating Kaioken and not pressing any button will automatically does 5L, but it's 1f slower than manually pressing 5L (20f).
  • Mashing L will alternate between 5L and 2L.

  • Won't overshoot the opponent.
  • Vulnerable to Anti-Airs.
  • Due to sharing the same rolling animation as 5M, can be used as some sort of mixup.

  • Switches sides if the opponent is less than a fullscreen away.
  • Has invincibility during the roll.
  • Mashing M will alternate between 5M and 2M.

  • On block, switches sides if the opponent is less than a fullscreen away.

  • On hit, switches sides and wall bounces.
  • Very long startup but deals the most damage, albeit not by much.
  • Only hit once per string, like other command grabs.

Can be solo combo'd into in the corner. Some characters can also DHC immediately into Kaioken 5H.


  • Stands still and shoots a Ki blast forward.
  • Common starter from sliding knockdowns due to the short startup.

  • Similar to 5S, but aims diagonally.
  • Can only combo into enders.
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Kaioken Finisher
L+M
x3 Kaioken Kamehameha
H+S when one team
member is down
x20 Kaioken Kamehameha
H+S when two team
members are down

  • Teleports to the opponent and is fully invincible on startup.
  • The second part only come out on hit.
  • Both hits can be canceled into Kaioken Kamehameha by pressing L+M or H+S, but only if team members are down. Cancelling after the second hit leads into less damage from Kaioken Kamehameha, so cancel from the first hit for overall higher damage.

This beats pretty much everything if it's the first move used out of Kaioken, including Vanish if it was buffered during the super freeze. Vanishing during the teleport will beat it, though.


  • Costs 1 bar.
  • Minimum damage: 55*15 [55*14] (27*15).
  • Canceling from the first hit of Finisher gives a cinematic version, teleporting out of the corner. Values in [] are on cinematic, Values in () are on cancelling from second hit of Kaioken Finisher.
  • Fires an upward Kamehameha, similar to SS Goku's Super Kamehameha aimed up.

  • Costs 1 bar.
  • Minimum damage: 50*20 [30*20].
  • Teleports backward, tracks everywhere on screen, then fires a Kamehameha straight forward.
  • Canceling from the first hit of Finisher gives a cinematic version, teleporting out of the corner. Values in [] are on cancelling from second hit of Kaioken Finisher.
  • Causes a hard knockdown regardless of height.

Super Spirit Bomb

214L+M or 214H+S (Air OK)

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Ground
Air

  • Minimum damage in a combo: ~2090.
  • Teleports up and backward in midscreen before throwing the bomb. If he's cornered and the opponent is less than halfscreen away from the corner, will teleport out and throw the bomb back in.
  • Bomb disappears if Goku is hit.

Very high damage, but is more often than not unusable since it's way too slow to combo after a sliding knockdown, easily countered if used as a reversal by just running under and Super Dashing up, and is not in any way a reliable air counter to Super Dash or raw tag (they'll just fly away instead of homing in on Goku).

Thus this Super is a unique one in that you have to build your team around comboing into it. Some characters can easily DHC from their Lv1 Supers into this like SS Goku, Nappa or Beerus, others will have to get more creative like using attacks with long animation to hold the opponent in place, and some won't be able to combo into it at all.

The only realistic way for Goku to combo into SSB by himself is with a Lv3 charged 214S, e.g. anything > Vanish ▷ 214S > 214L+M. But since nobody will just let you charge 214S all the way to level 3, you'll either have to find a combination of assists that lets you charge mid-combo or blockstring, or use his own B assist and charge it while being offscreen.

Note that 214S > 214L+M is NOT a guaranteed combo, as at max hitstun decay, the opponent will tech as soon as 214S explodes.


External References

Navigation

To edit frame data, edit values in DBFZ/Goku/Data. Be sure to update both the move and the move Full sections. One is shown on the character page, while the other is shown on the frame data page.

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