<p>There are actually a lot of ideas about that, and one is that Goku spent a long time training in the heavens, where power is limitless and that is said to have greatly strengthened him. Vegeta on the other hand, never had that chance. As a note, Vegeta did reach Super Saiyajin 4 after gaining power from one of Bulma's machines, then he fused with Goku to beat the One-Star Dragon.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-09-29T20:20:59.010Z
2015-05-10T05:12:06.327Z
2015-05-10T05:12:06.327Z
Trevo
<p>As an additional note to the accepted answer, Gotenks was able to reach SSJ3 only because the fusion dramatically increased his power.</p>

<p>Gohan never reached it because he had the Old Kai awake his sleeping powers (Mystical Gohan form) which made his power comparable to a SSJ3.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-03-29T06:18:57.750Z
2015-03-29T06:18:57.750Z
thisisYashaswi
<p>Super Saiyajin 3 transformation takes in a lot of energy. And to perfect that form, Goku needed to work on his stamina, which he did when he was at King Kai's planet. </p>

<p>Prior to fighting Kid Buu, he had not perfected the form. Infact, that form was even hidden from Vegeta, because Vegeta had no clue that there was a possibility of moving beyond the Super Saiyajin 2 level. In case you remember, when fighting Kid Buu, Goku tried recharging himself in the Super Saiyajin 3 form, when Vegeta was the bait, but he failed to restore his strength, unlike what he expected.</p>

<p>Likewise, while fighting Beerus, his energy was not even close to that of the God of Destruction. I think , the SSJ 3 form is a form that requires extremely high energy surge. As for Gotenks, SSJ3 was possible, because of the combined strength of Goten and Trunks.</p>

<p>As for Vegeta, well, even though he is the Prince of all Saiyans, he lacks the potential to power up to that level. And he lacks training, unlike Goku, we can never stop himself from continuing to train and fight.</p>

<p>Half saiyans have the potential to reach SSJ3, however, Toriyama hasn't focussed much on the SSJ3 transformation part. And there ain't no discrete logic to support the transformation as such.
<a href="https://i.sstatic.net/i55Xb.jpg" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/i55Xb.jpg" alt="enter image description here"></a></p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-07-16T06:34:20.223Z
2017-07-16T06:34:20.223Z
Gaurav Gorain
<p>Further details:</p>

<ul>
<li>Gohan also did not reach it.</li>
<li>Goku was able to do it for a short time once, and later a long time.</li>
<li>Gotenks did it but for a short time.</li>
</ul>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-09-29T14:03:35.747Z
I suspect the answer to this is the same answer to "Why the Female Sayans can't become SUper Sayans?".
Mindwin Remember Monica
CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-09-29T20:47:18.867Z
I suppose is a similar mystery, reminds me of Pan.
chrisupi007
CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-10-30T08:47:24.833Z
To answer why both Goku and Gotenks stayed in that form a short time is because of the overwhelming amount of energy that form offers, if not used to it just drains your energy away too fast to maintain. With training the time might be lengthened like when Goku and Gohan were walking around in SSJ form to get used to it.
Peter Raeves
<dragon-ball><dragon-ball-gt>
Why did Vegeta never reach Super Saiyajin 3?
# Why did Vegeta never reach Super Saiyajin 3?
Posted by: username_0 on 2014-09-27
Further details:

* Gohan also did not reach it.
* Goku was able to do it for a short time once, and later a long time.
* Gotenks did it but for a short time.
**Tags:** dragon-ball dragon-ball-gt
> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: I suspect the answer to this is the same answer to "Why the Female Sayans can't become SUper Sayans?".  
> **username_0**: I suppose is a similar mystery, reminds me of Pan.  
> **username_2**: To answer why both Goku and Gotenks stayed in that form a short time is because of the overwhelming amount of energy that form offers, if not used to it just drains your energy away too fast to maintain. With training the time might be lengthened like when Goku and Gohan were walking around in SSJ form to get used to it.  
---
## 3 answers
### Answer by username_3 on 2014-09-29. Score: 3 | Accepted answer
There are actually a lot of ideas about that, and one is that Goku spent a long time training in the heavens, where power is limitless and that is said to have greatly strengthened him. Vegeta on the other hand, never had that chance. As a note, Vegeta did reach Super Saiyajin 4 after gaining power from one of Bulma's machines, then he fused with Goku to beat the One-Star Dragon.
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### Answer by username_4 on 2015-03-29. Score: 1
As an additional note to the accepted answer, Gotenks was able to reach SSJ3 only because the fusion dramatically increased his power.

Gohan never reached it because he had the Old Kai awake his sleeping powers (Mystical Gohan form) which made his power comparable to a SSJ3.
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### Answer by username_5 on 2017-07-16. Score: 0
Super Saiyajin 3 transformation takes in a lot of energy. And to perfect that form, Goku needed to work on his stamina, which he did when he was at King Kai's planet.

Prior to fighting Kid Buu, he had not perfected the form. Infact, that form was even hidden from Vegeta, because Vegeta had no clue that there was a possibility of moving beyond the Super Saiyajin 2 level. In case you remember, when fighting Kid Buu, Goku tried recharging himself in the Super Saiyajin 3 form, when Vegeta was the bait, but he failed to restore his strength, unlike what he expected.

Likewise, while fighting Beerus, his energy was not even close to that of the God of Destruction. I think , the SSJ 3 form is a form that requires extremely high energy surge. As for Gotenks, SSJ3 was possible, because of the combined strength of Goten and Trunks.

As for Vegeta, well, even though he is the Prince of all Saiyans, he lacks the potential to power up to that level. And he lacks training, unlike Goku, we can never stop himself from continuing to train and fight.

Half saiyans have the potential to reach SSJ3, however, Toriyama hasn't focussed much on the SSJ3 transformation part. And there ain't no discrete logic to support the transformation as such.
[![enter image description here](https://i.sstatic.net/i55Xb.jpg)](https://i.sstatic.net/i55Xb.jpg)
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