Dragon Ball Heroes: Ultimate Mission X

Dragon Ball Heroes: Ultimate Mission X is the third and final Nintendo 3DS entry in the portable Dragon Ball Heroes series, released exclusively in Japan on April 27, 2017. The game builds on the foundations laid by its predecessors by offering a library of 3,300 digital cards across 36 mission packs, representing the most content-rich handheld Dragon Ball Heroes experience available. Like the earlier Ultimate Mission titles, gameplay centers on assembling a card deck and directing battles through the 3DS touch screen, replicating the feel of the physical arcade cabinet in portable form.

Ultimate Mission X introduces a new item customization system that allows players to boost and enhance individual cards, a meaningful addition since previous entries had limited customization to the player avatar only. First-print physical copies of the game include in-game hero avatar cards and four immediately playable characters: Goku Xeno, Vegeta Xeno, Demon God Towa, and Super Saiyan God Super Saiyan Vegito. The game is set in its own standalone continuity, separate from both the Dark Demon Realm Saga presented in the arcade game and the Dragon Ball Heroes: Victory Mission manga series.

The roster extends even further than Ultimate Mission 2, adding newer characters introduced in later Dragon Ball Heroes arcade sets and Dragon Ball Super, including Goku Black, Hit, Zamasu, Champa, Vados, the Universe 6 tournament fighters, and Xeno variants of numerous established characters. Non-Saiyan avatar races receive expanded transformation options, with Supreme Kai avatars appearing for the first time in the portable series.

The story in Dragon Ball Heroes: Ultimate Mission X is set in a self-contained timeline that avoids overlap with other Dragon Ball Heroes narrative threads. This approach gives the game freedom to draw characters and events from across the franchise without being constrained by continuity established in the arcade game's ongoing story arcs. The player navigates this timeline through mission packs that organize battles thematically by villain faction or story arc.

Player avatar classes expand significantly in Ultimate Mission X, with the addition of the Supreme Kai avatar type that was absent from previous portable entries. The Saiyan avatars can now reach Super Saiyan God, reflecting the franchise's evolution during the Dragon Ball Super era. The playable character list spans from classic Dragon Ball fighters through Dragon Ball Super combatants and Heroes-original characters, making Ultimate Mission X the most comprehensive portable Dragon Ball Heroes roster in terms of franchise timeline coverage.

Dragon Ball Heroes: Ultimate Mission X concluded the 3DS chapter of the portable Dragon Ball Heroes series, arriving in the final years of the handheld's commercial life before the Nintendo Switch became the dominant platform. Together, the three Ultimate Mission games sold over 700,000 copies in Japan, demonstrating the durability of the portable Dragon Ball Heroes brand. The series helped sustain player engagement with the arcade game between physical visits to game centers by allowing fans to manage and expand their digital collections from home.

The game's 2017 release came at a transitional moment for the franchise, as the arcade game was undergoing its Super Dragon Ball Heroes rebrand and the Dragon Ball Super anime was airing its Universe Survival arc. Ultimate Mission X captured that moment in the franchise's evolution, serving as both a culmination of the 3DS series and a bridge to the next phase of Dragon Ball Heroes content.