Dragon Ball FighterZ Voice Actors Brawl With A Prince's Pride Left Intact

Starting out as some playful Twitter banter, the Super Saiyan Showdown brought some high level players to showcase Dragon Ball FighterZ, give those attending the event to try out the game, and of course bring an age-old rivalry to rest with a fight between two legendary voice actors. Chris Sabat, the voice of Vegeta, proposed an open challenge to Sean Schemmel who is the voice of Goku. Sabat proposed taking things to the digital arena in Dragon Ball FighterZ to settle their differences once and for all.

This bout of voice talent started more like a UFC fight than anything else. Brought out by announcer Jason Douglas, the voice of the God of Destruction Beerus, the two fighters made their entrances with style. Well, Sabat had style. A custom shirt that read Pride 9001 on the back immediately depicted just how much energy Sabat put into this. Schemmel took a more silly approach, making kamehameha puns, referencing Charlie Brown, it definitely fit the more childish side of his character.

While it was clear from the get go that Sabat was out for blood, Schemmel had the potential to pull out a victory. Schemmel was trained by the legendary Justin Wong, a name that anyone with knowledge about competitive fighting games will recognize. Sabat had a championship trainer too though in Perfect Legend, who had shown some early dominance in exhibition matches. Perfect Legend may be a player to watch out in the Dragon Ball Fighter Z scene.

After a long buildup, the title match began to the cheer of the fans. Immediately, it was clear just how much practice Sabat had put in, easily taking the first round. However, Schemmel called out a technical issue, saying his buttons were not set up properly. The issue was addressed, a redo was called and the match began for real.

Schemmel swapped to an absurd team of Goku (Super Saiyan), Goku Black, and Goku (SSGSS) which is so much Goku that it’s hard to keep track of when the game gets going. Sabat though, played Vegeta, Piccolo, and the underdog Yamcha. The match was set to best out of three, but that quickly extended into a best of five after Sabat dominated each round.

Sabat was so far ahead of Schemmel, that Sabat began to really toy with his opponent in way that would have resulted in punishment in an actual tournament match. Schemmel must not be much for traditional fighting games, as he rarely blocked, which Sabat exploited by tossing out basic projectile attacks. He even does this one hand while pumping the crowd! Then to rub even more salt, he leans back in his chair and just Schemmel get some free hits.

This culminated in the fifth match, with Sabat looking like he would continue to win each and every round. Maybe it was pride, which would fit Vegeta rather well, that compelled Sabat to allow Schemmel to beat two of his characters. This left only Vegeta, which was where Sabat clearly wanted to show his skills to defend not only his honor, but the honor of the character.

Unfortunately, a couple of super attacks from Schemmel ended up losing the bout for Sabat. He still won 4-1, but the ultimate destruction of his opponent was denied in the end. The belt was adorned to Sabat’s waist and the two had a laugh with immediate hopes for a rematch. Both appeared to have a ton of fun.

It’s done everyone! #TeamVegeta takes the #SuperSaiyanShowdown in super Saiyan steamroll! We’re looking forward to a rematch soon pic.twitter.com/s0WquYKRUR

— Funimation @ SuperSaiyanShowdown (@FUNimation) January 26, 2018

While this event may have been planted by the charisma of these two voice actors, the whole event was a pretty shameless marketing event. Prizes tossed out the crowds, Dragon Ball themed refreshments, orange bopper stick things, it was all geared towards getting people excited about Dragon Ball FighterZ. However, the two voice actors bringing a longtime dream for fans to life could not be shadowed by video game marketing.

If the fighting game community picks up Dragon Ball FighterZ and runs with it, it could be one of the more entertaining games to watch, especially for those that are approaching it as fans of the anime. There is a high level of energy just on the source material, which added with the competitive players could really make for high octane action. Which players will shine in that arena? Perfect Legend is definitely a player to watch out for, but as more and more players get to play, the first few tournaments could be surprising.

In the end, both voice actors clearly had an awesome time. The rematch for that belt is yet to be determined, but will Sabat win by such a large margin next time? Even he worries about the next match, saying that Schemmel gets obsessive over things and may come back stronger than ever.

Until then, this moment will stand as an unforgettable point in fighting games, esports, and most importantly Dragon Ball history.

Brutally defeated, Sean Schemmel vows to train and return a stronger opponent! Chris Sabat savors his victory, pride protected, but will the conclusion be the same should these two warriors clash again? Find out next time on Dragon Ball FighterZ!