Why is Super Saiyan still around?

[Pocket-Gog~]

An argument could be made that in the Boo Saga, SSJ was still relevant due to there being no real alternative to it. Super Saiyan 2 is more strenuous, but more powerful, and Super Saiyan 3 is unusable in essentially all situations. However, nowadays, there's no real point to Super Saiyan with Super Saiyan God and Super Saiyan Blue being around. Super Saiyan God is more powerful than even Super Saiyan 3, and it has none of the draw backs, an argument could be made that even Super Saiyan Blue is more strenuous, but with Perfect Super Saiyan Blue that limitation has now been overcome.

Why would Goku and Vegeta ever need to transform into not only Super Saiyan, but 2 and 3? It just seems to be padding for the fights.

 

[Let's Go Fearless!]

"Goku endlessly keeps getting stronger, with Super Saiyan 3 in the manga and Super Saiyan 4 in the anime; does Super Saiyan keep getting limitlessly stronger too? Might we eventually see things such as a Super Saiyan 5…?!"

Toriyama: "Super Saiyan 2 and 3 are nothing more than powered-up variations of Super Saiyan. After the fight with Beerus, Goku realized that mastering his normal state and Super Saiyan would raise his level more and sap less strength, so I think he probably won’t become Super Saiyan 2 or 3 any more."

 

[Captain Cadaver]

Super has taken the idea of Goku using his lesser forms to gauge fighters and conserve energy to the Nth degree with how useless they now are. You could argue that SSJ is still his easiest form to sustain, though the question then becomes why doesn't he just train to enhance that like Trunks did for SS2 and just completely abandon SS2 and 3 as Toriyama initially planned?

 

[Papasmurf]

Super has taken the idea of Goku using his lesser forms to gauge fighters and conserve energy to the Nth degree with how useless they now are. You could argue that SSJ is still his easiest form to sustain, though the question then becomes why doesn't he just train to enhance that like Trunks did for SS2 and just completely abandon SS2 and 3 as Toriyama initially planned?

To be fair, SSJ2's ki drain isn't much more than SSJ's. Gohan after just attaining the form didn't lose any noticeable ki at all from fighting Cell until he got shot in the arm, and Goku's stamina is currently manifold that of that Gohan.

In this regard it's at least better than Goku always dicking around in base before transforming to SSJ/3/4 (forgetting that SSJ2 even exists), or only using SSJ4 at all for the dumbest things (like lifting a building).

 

[Captain Cadaver]

I agree. Toriyama, however, seemed to be rolling with the idea of SS2 and 3 being equally unnecessary compared to completely mastering regular SSJ's power and Ki control to fully absorb those forms as the only non-God SSJ form.

Then that went the way of SSG Goku = 60% Beerus.

 

[Papasmurf]

I agree. Toriyama, however, seemed to be rolling with the idea of SS2 and 3 being equally unnecessary compared to completely mastering regular SSJ's power and Ki control to fully absorb those forms as the only non-God SSJ form.

Then that went the way of SSG Goku = 60% Beerus.

I think he was going with that logic until he had to asspull a way to show Trunks' progress, which became bringing back the SSJ2 form.

 

[Let's Go Fearless!]

Trunks is not really a good example since he was the last guy to learned that SSG3 slows the users speed unlike Goku and Vegeta who abandoned that form immediately.

 

[Papasmurf]

Trunks is not really a good example since he was the last guy to learned that SSG3 slows the users speed unlike Goku and Vegeta who abandoned that form immediately.

His sparring match with Galu was the first time Goku used 2 and 3 since the BoG arc though.

 

[withheldforprivacy]

I think FNF movie shows that the authors' initial intention was for SSJ God to be Goku's new base and SSJ Blue the only transformation. They should have stuck to that.

 

[Fantastische Hure]

The new movie did kind-of stick to that from what I've heard, except also SSJ-God.