Bandai Namco is preparing to revive the legendary Budokai Tenkaichi series after a hiatus of 16 years and release a brand new Dragon Ball fighting game. It shall be called “Dragon Ball Sparking! Zero,” and it’s supposed to provide the biggest roster of fighters in the history of Dragon Ball fighting games.
For the upcoming game, we know only 16 characters so far, thanks to the game’s trailer. We can obviously expect Goku and Vegeta to be under the spotlight once again, along with their Super Saiyan Blue transformations. However, characters such as Krillin, Tien, Broly, Frieza, and even Mr. Satan will join the bandwagon and be in the roster of fighters in Dragon Ball Sparking! Zero as well.
The upcoming game’s official Steam page only says that “Dragon Ball Sparking! Zero” is “coming soon,” which usually means that we’ll have to wait a few months for the worst-case scenario.
“Dragon Ball Sparking! Zero” could come out in Q1 2024
It is highly probable that the Dragon Ball Sparking Zero game, which will be the continuation of the legendary Tenkaichi Budokai series, will be launched in the fourth quarter of 2024, following the pattern set by previous series entries released in October and November, as PCGamesN reveals. Spike Chunsoft usually maintains a brief window between announcement and release, making it unlikely for the release date of the upcoming Dragon Ball fighting game to stretch into 2025.
The trailer that appears above reveals a lot about the next Dragon Ball fighting game, and we can already take a good look at the confirmed characters:
- Goku: Goku couldn’t possibly be missed from a Dragon Ball game, so yeah, the beloved Saiyan will also be in the roster for Dragon Ball Sparking! Zero, along with all of his transformations (hopefully). Judging by the trailer, we can only see Goku use the Super Saiyan Blue transformation, which has become a standard in the Dragon Ball Super anime.
- Vegeta: The Saiyan Prince’s presence is always a “must,” as he’s the one who constantly tries to surpass Goku and keeps training hard for it. Vegeta might even use the Ultra Ego technique in this game, a transformation that appears in the latest arcs of the Dragon Ball Super manga after the end of the Tournament of Power.
- Frieza: A lot of people were tempted to believe that Frieza has become one of the good guys after he defended the Universe in the Tournament of Power arc from Dragon Ball Super, but they were so wrong! Frieza is the kind of villain who would kill you in your sleep, so he could never change. Once again, he’ll prove to the world that he’ll never shift away from his evil schemes as soon as Dragon Ball Sparking! Zero launches!
- Broly: It’s great to see that Dragon Ball keeps giving Broly attention since he was brought back in the “Dragon Ball Super: Broly” movie that came out in 2018. The mad Saiyan will also be available in the continuation of the Tenkaichi Budokai series, and we can expect him to play as roughly as possible.
- Piccolo: Piccolo might not be as strong as Goku, Vegeta, Frieza, and Broly, but he still has some amazing techniques that no other Dragon Ball fighters have. The famous Namekian can become a giant, stretch his hands a lot, regenerate himself fast if he loses a limb, shoot lasers from his eyes and antennas, and more. We can definitely expect to see all those techniques of Piccolo in the upcoming Dragon Ball game.
- Krillin: Krillin might be light-years weaker than the other fighters mentioned in this article so far, but he still has the hottest girl in all of Dragon Ball. Furthermore, Krillin also knows some amazing fighting moves, such as Destructo Disc or Solar Flare.
- Tien: A lot of Dragon Ball fans are upset that Tien doesn’t get the attention he deserves anymore. He was an extremely interesting character back in the first Dragon Ball series when Goku was a kid, and he proved to have some extremely interesting fighting techniques such as Multi Form, Tri-Beam, growing two extra arms, and more. Tien is surely one of the strongest Earthlings in Dragon Ball.
- Yamcha: Yamcha will once again have the chance to prove that he’s a lot stronger than he’s being given credit for. He surely knows some interesting moves.
- Future Trunks: Yes, everybody prefers Future Trunks instead of the “normal” Trunks, and it’s great to see that Bandai Namco has taken that fact into account. Future Trunks probably had the most badass entrance in the history of Dragon Ball back in the Cell Saga, as he sliced Frieza into pieces and proved to be able to achieve the Super Saiyan transformation.
- Android 18: Who doesn’t love to see a beautiful woman being badass and punishing the naughty boys? That’s Android 18 for you, as even though she has become a housewife, she can definitely still be a worthy opponent for many.
- Cell: Younger Dragon Ball fans might not know who Cell is, but no fan of the legendary Dragon Ball Z series could ever forget him. Cell is a biological android created by Dr. Gero in an attempt to kill Goku. Cell was created by incorporating the cells of the strongest fighters that ever walked on Earth, making the android capable of iconic moves such as Kamehameha, Galick Gun, Special Beam Canon, and a lot more.
- Mr. Satan: The total nuisance of Dragon Ball will be back in Dragon Ball Sparking! Zero as well, although Zeno knows why the devs want him there. However, we must admit that Mr. Satan knows some martial arts, as he even won the Martial Arts Tournament when Goku & Co. weren’t around. Even so, the guy remains light-years weaker than any of the Z warriors.
- Majin Buu: Majin Buu has become one of the good guys in the late Dragon Ball Z since his evil side has been detached from him. Buu can prove to be a worthy opponent even to Goku or Vegeta if the Saiyans don’t use transformation, and let’s not forget that the cute pink monster also knows some devastating finishing moves.
- Bergamo: Bergamo is one of the fighters from another universe who participated in the Tournament of Power arc in Dragon Ball Super, and he knows some pretty interesting techniques for a character who looks like a talking two-foot wolf.
- Android 17: Android 17 is the twin brother of Krillin’s wife, Android 18. He has proven to be a very important and powerful character in the Tournament of Power arc in Dragon Ball Super, helping Goku and Vegeta defend the Universe from getting erased by Zeno.
- Jiren: Jiren is the strongest opponent that Goku and Vegeta ever had to face in Dragon Ball Super, and it needs to be said that he’s not actually a villain. He’s the leader of Universe 11 and also a member of the Pride Troopers. It was even said in the show that he’s the only mortal being who’s stronger than the gods of destruction.
“Dragon Ball Sparking! Zero” will be available for PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X consoles, as well as for PCs via Steam. Of course, for the last case, your PC needs to have the right system requirements to run the game.
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