Even though Tien has been left aside for the most part of the Dragon Ball Z and Dragon Ball Super anime shows, the three-eyed fighter has been hugely influential in the original Dragon Ball series. There’s no wonder why, as Tien knows a few devastating and cunning fighting techniques. He has been one of Goku’s arch-enemies in the first Dragon Ball series, but they later became friends.
It was nice to see how Tien has shown a few glimpses of his power in the Tournament of Power arc of Dragon Ball Super, but even so, the show should have given him more attention. Tien has the potential to go toe to toe with a Super Saiyan or at least pose a few serious problems. While the anime has pretty much failed Tien, we’re glad to conclude that at least the video games are giving the fighter more credit. That’s because, in Dragon Ball video games, power levels don’t count that much anymore.
Let’s see why we should take Tien a lot more seriously, at least in Dragon Ball video games:
Multi-Form
One of Tien’s signature fighting moves is the Multi-Form technique, one that allows him to become 4 fighters instead of just one, each of them being able to move autonomously and make their own decisions. This is obviously something totally different from the good old trick known as the Afterimage technique.
While the benefits of the Multi-Form technique cannot be stressed enough, there’s also a shortcoming there: the power of the fighter who uses the technique will also split into four equal parts as well, a weakness that was speculated by Goku when he fought Tien at the World Martial Arts Tournament in the original Dragon Ball series.
Four Arms
Tien also has the unusual ability to pull out an extra two arms from his body, giving him a much better chance of catching and hitting his opponent. This technique was used by Tien against Goku back at the World Martial Arts Tournament when the beloved Saiyan was just a child. Tien can also wreak havoc a lot in Dragon Ball video games while using this technique!
Tri-Beam
Tri-Beam is another one of Tien’s signature moves, as he has used it multiple times throughout the Dragon Ball franchise. This attack consists of a massive blast of energy from the performer’s hands. It’s so powerful that it can even drain all the energy from Tien’s body, which means that any martial artist who plans to learn it should be extra careful.
One memorable moment was back in the Cell Saga of Dragon Ball Z when Tien used the Tri-Beam attack against the evil biological android created by Dr. Gero. Even though Cell wasn’t in his final form yet at that moment, he was stronger than a regular Super Saiyan. But even so, he was significantly held back by a series of Tien’s Tri-Beams. Even though Tien was completely exhausted to the point that he couldn’t even stand on his feet anymore after the series of blows he inflicted on Cell, the moment proved that the three-eyed warrior could indeed compete with a Super Saiyan.
Mafuba (aka the Evil Containment Wave)
Back in the original Dragon Ball series, Tien learned the Mafuba technique from Master Roshi, an attack also known as the Evil Containment Wave, in order to defeat King Piccolo. This attack is so cunning that the power level of the enemy is pretty much irrelevant; the attack has the power to shrink the opponent and trap him in a jar for eternity.
Even though Tien might be significantly weaker than Goku at Super Saiyan Blue or Ultra Instinct level, we still have to admit that the three-eyed character remains one of the strongest Earthlings.
