I've identified the least probable Goku on Nexus Mods and it only took 5 hours

THIS CRUCIAL RESEARCH PERFORMED BY

THIS CRUCIAL RESEARCH PERFORMED BY

As I've asserted elsewhere, every game has two lives: The first begins on its launch day; the second when a modder inevitably puts Goku in it. Provided enough time, all games eventually conform to this axiom—sometimes even those that had already hosted a Goku to begin with.

But the universal drive to mod Goku into games doesn't always manifest as we'd expect. Goku is a clay molded by countless hands, and though his sculptors share a model, their works are anything but uniform. But which, of the innumerable Gokus we have wrought, is the most singular? The most uncanny? The least probable of all Gokus?

On September 30, I undertook a grave mission: I scoured Nexus Mods for its unlikeliest Goku. Here's a recounting of my search.

Criteria

To determine the least probable Goku on Nexus Mods, I assigned the contenders a Saiyan Singularity Judgment (SSJ) score, calculated as the average of three ratings:

• Gokuitude: A measurement of whether the Goku in question is recognizably Goku. Does he look like Goku? Does he move like Goku? Does his model seem to suffer from a skeleton that would cause Goku terrible pain?
• Limit Breakability: If there's one thing Goku admires, it's the ability to surpass one's limits—and the SSJ Scoring System honors the same. Limit Breakability is a subjective assessment of how thoroughly an individual Goku shouldn't exist within its respective software, yet—through determination—was made to. For a time, at least.
• Wish Grantology: Because the Dragon Balls grant wishes, you see. A vibes-based evaluation of how well the mod delivers the fantasy of playing Goku in a given videogame.

2026-09-30T15:00:40.884Z

It begins

Regardless of how I'm changed by this work, know that I volunteered for it willingly, and only to further the cause of understanding. It's not Goku's fault.

2026-09-30T15:03:23.453Z

Hey its me Goku by CaliKingz01 (Ultimate Marvel vs Capcom 3)

Gokuitude: 8 | Limit Breakability: 2 | Wish Grantology: 2.5

As we embark on this undertaking, I think it'd be helpful to establish a baseline by examining what I feel comfortable calling a Median Goku. This mod by CaliKingz01 is a fairly straightforward model swap for UMvC3: It's Ryu, but he's Goku now. It's sensible. It's simple. There are no moveset adjustments to really embody the Goku fantasy, but Ryu already basically does a kamehameha anyway.

It's a conventional, honest case of conjuring a Goku. Respectable, but not remarkable. We're looking for more.

SSJ SCORE: 4.17

2026-09-30T15:13:49.926Z

DragonBall Z Overhaul Project by Rigormortician and Redman (Skyrim)

Gokuitude: 4 | Limit Breakability: 5 | Wish Grantology: 4

Considering modders have spent years turning Skyrim into a sort of infinite possibility field, seeing it host a semblance of a Goku isn't particularly surprising. That said, I can admire how DragonBall Z Overhaul Project's creators added DBZ punch sound samples to round out their ki blast and kamehameha spells. Unfortunately, a Nord wearing Goku's pants does not a Goku make.

SSJ SCORE: 4.3

2026-09-30T15:27:37.623Z

Goku by at-emribilemir (Marvel's Spider-Man Remastered)

Gokuitude: 8 | Limit Breakability: 7.5 | Wish Grantology: 7

Now that's the stuff. There's nothing to make you appreciate human ambition like knowing somebody in the world was swinging through simulated New York as Spider-Man and thought, "It'd be sick if Goku was doing this." And they were right.

Sure, it's a little weird seeing Goku web swinging when he knows how to fly, but he's a free spirit. Let him try stuff out. God forbid Earth's mightiest warrior have a little fun out there.

SSJ SCORE: 7.5

2026-09-30T15:43:34.455Z

Jump Force Goku by NorskPL (Black Myth: Wukong)

Gokuitude: 5.5 | Limit Breakability: 5 | Wish Grantology: 6.5

I don't feel very good.

I'll allow that there's a logic here: As our Wes Fenlon previously chronicled, Black Myth: Wukong is based on the same Chinese mythological figure that served as Akira Toriyama's inspiration for Goku—before he ended up being an alien who landed on Earth in a space pod, anyway. They're both monkey guys. They both have a fondness for fighting with poles. I get it.

But that doesn't mean I have to enjoy the fact that putting Goku's model over Wukong's animation rig makes it look like his flesh is actively trying to rip itself off his body.

SSJ SCORE: 5.7

2026-09-30T15:51:47.853Z

DragonBall by wolve (Oblivion)

Gokuitude: 2 | Limit Breakability: 3 | Wish Grantology: 2

Modders are so pure.

SSJ SCORE: 2.3

2026-09-30T15:56:03.205Z

Just taking stock of my browser tabs here...

Is that good

2026-09-30T16:10:40.806Z

Goku by Chhristianx (Guitar Hero World Tour)

Gokuitude: 7 | Limit Breakability: 8 | Wish Grantology: 5

While the creator of this Guitar Hero World Tour mod helpfully explains that "Goku wants to see how strong your band is," I have one main complaint: I don't believe for a second that Goku could ever learn how to play guitar. Guy's head is too empty. But hey! That counts as unlikely to me.

Actually, I have two complaints. His wrist is doing something uncanny in that image and I don't like looking at it.

SSJ SCORE: 6.67

2026-09-30T16:13:07.320Z

"with physics"

Much to consider. Moving on!

2026-09-30T17:09:26.255Z

GOKU DRAGON BALL by MrMorritos3D (Elden Ring)

GOKUITUDE: 8 | LIMIT BREAKABILITY: 6.5 | WISH GRANTOLOGY: 5

This Elden Ring mod, which swaps out the appearances of Blaidd's armor set for Goku, leads me to ask two questions:

• Could even Goku's tireless optimism and lightness of affect survive the harrowing cognitive and spiritual assault of the forces occupying the Lands Between?

and

• Who's been greasing up Goku?

SSJ SCORE: 6.5

2026-09-30T17:17:59.588Z

Dragon Ball Z Gi_Goku by pariah1022 (Fallout 4)

Gokuitude: 2 | Limit Breakability: 4 | Wish Grantology: 1

Nice to know that some Party City inventory survived the Great War.

SSJ SCORE: 2.3

2026-09-30T17:48:20.387Z

Goku from Shin Budokai Another Road by Spaceman (Yakuza 0)

Gokuitude: 7.5 | Limit Breakability: 7 | Wish Grantology: 6

Goku and Kiryu are aligned on a lot of axes: Archetypal himbos, top-tier pugilists, et cetera. So Goku and Yakuza 0 isn't the wildest pairing. But I'm bumping the points up a little specifically because there's something magical about seeing Goku looking so morose during the Bakamitai karaoke sequence.

SSJ SCORE: 6.83

2026-09-30T17:57:32.205Z

Dante Goku by Leox1509 (Devil May Cry 5)

Gokuitude: 1.5 | Limit Breakability: 2 | Wish Grantology: 2

Okay, well, I think we can all tell that's not Goku. That's Dante Devil May Cry wearing a flirtily shredded Turtle School gi. But I couldn't help but notice that, following the mod's initial upload on August 10, 2024, its author uploaded a second version five days later just to make Dante's muscles bigger. Priorities.

SSJ SCORE: 1.83

2026-09-30T18:25:37.973Z

DSII Goku Mod by Moonlight Ruin (Dark Souls 2)

Gokuitude: 7.5 | Limit Breakability: 8 | Wish Grantology: 7

Where the Elden Ring mod I encountered earlier was a straightforward model swap, this Scholar of the First Sin mod has a bit more going on under the hood. It's got Goku—so that's a check—but it also ensures you start with fist weapons, boosts soul projectiles to stand in for his various ki blasts and waves, and offers a transformation item for going Super Saiyan. It's some admirable work.

Unclear what happens if he enters the Gender Coffin, though.

SSJ SCORE: 7.5

2026-09-30T18:33:41.773Z

Dragon ball Therapeutic Cabin by PokaFace (Palworld)

Gokuitude: 9 | Limit Breakability: 4 | Wish Grantology: 1

This is no more inhumane than anything else going on in Palworld, so I guess it's fine.

SSJ SCORE: 4.67

2026-09-30T19:25:08.147Z

Son Goku by komodoxeno (Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1 + 2)

Gokuability: 9 | Limit Breakability: 9 | Wish Grantitude: 8

This is some premier, audible-hell-yeah-tier modding—an encapsulation of that period in life in which we were most predisposed to wonder, "How good would Goku be at skateboarding?" The answer, as this evidence clearly shows, is that he'd be sick as hell.

I just never quite expected to see the proof, but modder komodoxeno has provided it with a full model and voice replacement for THPS1+2's Roswell Alien, which involves the inspired repurposing of the character's signature Warp Speed trick to represent Goku's mid-combat instant transmission. Would that we all had such vision.

Komodoxeno does warn that "this mod may give you a performance hit in this current version, he is roughly 3x as detailed as he needs to be, which was needed to achieve the outline effect for my custom materials." Phenomenal.

SSJ SCORE: 8.7

2026-09-30T19:28:33.505Z

Brief side note that I've found a few more bespoke Skyrim Gokus. It's just that more than half of them are for having sex with. Forgive me for not representing them here.

2026-09-30T19:59:06.428Z

We have a winner

Goku Mode (Instructions) by Nayrham (Doom Eternal)

Gokuitude: 10 | Limit Breakability: 10 | Wish Grantology: 9

All Gokus—well, almost all—are beautiful. But this Gokuification of Doom Eternal is remarkable. It's not just because it forcibly rearranges the skeleton of Doom Eternal—which as a reminder is a first-person shooter—to achieve third-person, Dragon Ball-appropriate melee combat. It's because this Nexus Mods listing isn't even for the mod itself: If you check its files tab, there's just a 0KB file titled "Nothing."

This listing is just to provide the mod's instructions.

As the creator explains, the complexity of their Goku Mode implementation—which includes melee chains, new guard and parry mechanics, a flight mode, a ki resource system that can power Goku's various kamehamehas, and more—requires such a long explanation it can't all fit in its DOOM Portal listing, where the mod actually lives.

It's an effort spanning gameplay styles, mod hosting platforms, and the full spectrum of what can be considered "good sense"—just to see Goku punch some Doom demons. This Goku is a miracle.

SSJ SCORE: 9.67

2026-09-30T20:03:29.638Z

Honorable mention: Gaming and Meme Mod (Link CJ Goku Sonic TF2 engineer Matschaak SSJ5) by deleted110361038 (FIFA 23)

Maybe the real least probable Gokus are the friends we made along the way.