Basic Overview

As time passed, the Freezan known as Freeza began to fear the rise of a legendary Super Saiyan, so he destroyed Planet Plant (which was renamed Planet Vegeta), killing nearly the entire Saiyan Species in the process. The remaining Saiyans were scattered around the galaxy, including one on Earth that would grow up to become Son Goku. Some, including Goku's brother Raditz, the Saiyan prince Vegeta, and his manservant sidekick combat partner Nappa, continued to work for the Freezans, believing Freeza's story that a stray meteor destroyed their homeworld.

By the end of the Dragon Ball GT, the only remaining 100%-pure Saiyans are Goku, Vegeta, and Vegeta's younger brother Tarble. Several years after Goku's "death", Vegeta gathered the Dragon Balls and wished Planet Vegeta (Plant) back into existence. Hoping to steer his people in a new direction, he left Earth behind and claimed his birthright. While not the barbarian murderers they once were, the stereotypical Saiyan is still prideful, aggressive, arrogant, hates to lose, and LOVES to fight.

Saiyans are outwardly very similar to any other Humans, with the exception of their monkey-like tails and a larger muscular build. They are commonly seen to have deep black hair although there have been rare occasions when they have also been shown to have brown, blue and blonde hair (in the anime). In addition, they seem to possess large hearts. In DBZ episode 154, Vegeta states that the hair of a pure-blooded Saiyan does not deviate from its appearance the day the Saiyan is born. All Saiyans also have black or really dark colored eyes.

All pure-blooded Saiyans are born with tails, monkey-like in appearance and covered in brownish fur. The tail is a particularly sensitive area for Saiyans; when grabbed or injured, it causes great pain to the owner, and temporarily immobilizes the whole body. The tail also provides a unique gift in that it allows a Saiyan to transform into an Great Ape (Oozaru) if exposed to the "Blutz Waves" of a full moon. If the Saiyan's tail is removed, this Form is lost; however, all Saiyans have the ability to regrow it back, unless it is permanently removed.

Level-Up Bonuses

Oozaru Form: At level 4, a Saiyan who still possess his or her tail can attain his or her Great Ape form, called Oozaru. This power-up temporarily increases Strength by 2 and Endurance and Ki Control by 1, but lowers Perception by 1. The Oozaru is a 50-to-100-foot-tall raging monkey, similar to a chimpanzee. Without the Oozaru Control ability, a Saiyan in this Form loses all sense of himself; he's just a big hairy ape with a sweet tooth for ripping people's limbs off. The Oozaru also has limited access to ki attacks, firing a beam of energy from its mouth similar to Godzilla. Transforming into the Oozaru requires a full moon or the Power Ball ability.

Super Saiyan 1: At level 7, a Saiyan can may unlock a temporary power up that increases his Strength and Ki Control by 1. The first time the character uses this ability must be in a story situation, requiring an overwhelming moment of anger or sadness. Once "unlocked", the character can return to the memory of this event and access the power-up in future situations. While using this ability, the character's hair stands on-end and turns a golden-yellow color, while their irises turn bluish-green. The character is also initially surrounded by a golden, pulsing, flame-like aura, which may or may not disappear after a few seconds.

Super Saiyan 2: At level 11, a Saiyan can unlock a temporary power up that increases his Strength and Ki Control by 2 and his Endurance and Perception by 1. The first time the character uses this ability must be in a story situation, requiring an overwhelming moment of anger or sadness, similar to Super Saiyan 1 but to an even greater extent. Once "unlocked", the character can return to the memory of this event and access the power-up in future situations. The golden hair brought on by Super Saiyan 1 becomes longer and rigid; any hair that hung loose in that Form is now raised. Increased energy radiation causes the aura to take on a jagged, fierce flame-like appearance rather than smooth or flowing, pulsing at a higher frequency. Another notable feature of the Form is the electrical aura, many electrical sparks that constantly surround the body. A character must attain Super Saiyan 1 before he can unlock Super Saiyan 2, and bonuses from this Form override those from other Forms.

Super Saiyan 3: At level 15, a Saiyan can access a temporary power up that increases his Strength and Ki Control by 3, Endurance by 2, and Perception by 1. Unlike the other two Forms, this one does not require anything more than extended training to utilize (it took Goku 7 years to attain), though it also drains the user's stamina extremely fast, leading to extended levels of fatigue long after powering down. The trademark characteristic of this Form is the user's hair: the rigid hair of the Super Saiyan 2 state becomes flowing and smooth again, and grows down to or sometimes passes the user's waist. The eyebrows vanish completely, making the forehead and eye ridges appear larger and revealing a more prominent brow ridge. Energy radiation is so great that the aura pulses at an extremely high frequency, almost to the point where it seems static. If the user of the Super Saiyan 3 form still has a tail, it turns yellowish gold as well. A character must attain Super Saiyan 2 before he can unlock Super Saiyan 3, and bonuses from this Form override those from other Forms.

Example Characters