With over 180 characters on its roster,Dragon Ball: Sparking! Zerois an anime fan’s dream. The level of detail, exhaustive in its breadth, sets the game up to be something special, and after playing a few hours, it’s hard to imagine anyDragon Ballfan not finding something for them.
As part of a preview event hosted by Bandai Namco, Game Rant was able to explore many of the modes withinDragon Ball: Sparking! Zero. Obviously, there is the option of pitting any members of the massive roster against each other (in 1v1 or team play), but what’s most intriguing is how Bandai has gives fans the opportunity to relive their favorite moments fromDragon Ballor create completely new ones.
Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi Lives Again
Arena fighters don’t get as much love these days, butDragon Ball: Sparking! Zerocarries the spirit of its predecessor,Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi, with a layer of bombast that only current platforms could offer. The game offers both aclassic and modern control scheme, and both are fairly easy to get accustomed to. You have your basic attack button, a dash for getting in close, ascend/descend for flying, a block, and a modifier that, when held, allows you to spend Ki energy on special attacks.
It’s simple at a glance but can get more complex the deeper you dig into it, but most importantly, the visual language ofDragon Ballfights is well-represented by the controls. Even when you’re just pressing a single button, you’re able to complete fast-paced combos and supremely cool teleports that will send your opponent crashing into a nearby mountain or deep underwater. And most importantly,Dragon Ball: Sparking! Zerohas a good bit of environmental destruction to better capture the scope and scale of the anime’s fights and showcase the power of these characters.
Speaking of power, it wouldn’t be aDragon Ballgame without some flashy attacks and cool transformations andSparking! Zerohas both. While their opponents recover, players can charge up their Ki, which in turn is used as energy for dashing in and performing special moves like the classic Kamekameha. However, if you fill up the Ki meter twice, you canperform a Sparking move, which is basically an ultimate attack. These are the showstopper moves that can fill up the screen with energy, carnage, or both and really bring Dragon Ball’s best qualities to life.
Transformations inDragon Ball: Sparking! Zeroare, as one might expect, a way to “upgrade” a character mid-fight. As players deal and take damage, they will earn a transformation, which they can use to take a Saiyan into Super Saiyan for example, or to change Frieza from a pushover to his menacing, sleek final form. Bandai has put a lot of thought into ensuring that fights inDragon Ball: Sparking! Zeroare never one-note, and that a lot of cool stuff is happening on-screen.
Dragon Ball fans who know their Goku Z-Mid from their Goku Z-End will be most rewarded by what’s on-hand here, but anyone with even a casual interest in the property will have fun. Everything looks so flashy and the animations carry the spirt of the anime that it’s hard not to recognize this iconic IP firing on all cylinders. And challenge is there for those who want it, as ramping up the difficulty versus the CPU or in Tournaments showed that button mashing isn’t going to get you far.
Making Your Own Dragon Ball Episode With Custom Battle
Arguably, the coolest part ofDragon Ball: Sparking! Zerois the Custom Battle system. With this, players can create their own scenes involving their favorite characters, complete with thumbnails, text, title cards, and more. There are even a bunch of pre-loaded dialogue bits to include. It’s not as extensive as creating your own Dragon Ball episode, but it’s the next best thing. Fans that have always dreamed of scenarios where heroes fought other heroes, where the villains won, or who just wanted to pit the most ridiculous sets of characters against each other can do so.
While any of the main modes inDragon Ball: Sparking! Zerowill allow players to put any two (or more)members of the 180+ character rosteragainst each other, the backdrop for those flights is the same as any other fighting game. With Custom Battle, you can create your own scenarios where it makes sense why Great Ape Vegeta is fighting Super Saiyan 2 Vegeta, or at least with the tools available you can. There are obvious limitations, but this seems like a great platform to allow a franchise with some dedicated fans who love their what-if scenarios to actually see them play out.
Purists need not be alarmed, though, Dragon Ball: Sparking! Zero has stuff for you too. Episode Battles are the game’s answer to a story mode, offering players 8 different characters through which to explore specific arcs from the anime. During our preview, we were able to check out three: Goku, Frieza, and Goku Black. Yes, while Dragon Ball games typically put you in control of the heroes,Dragon Ball: Sparking! Zerolets you see the villains’ sides of the conflicts as well.
The Episode Battles do have truncated storylines that cherry pick signature fights from specific arcs. For example,Goku’s Episodekicks off with a fight between the invading Saiyans and then skips ahead to Goku’s return from death and iconic showdown with Vegeta. Having only seen a small slice of the Episode Battles, it’s hard to say how comprehensive they are, but it seems like Bandai Namco is “playing the hits” here.
For the Frieza and Goku Black episodes, they follow the storylines but don’t try to rewriteDragon Ballhistory. In the Frieza episode, for example, you never “beat” any character that wasn’t beaten in the anime. Instead you push the fight to a certain point and then a cutscene takes over. Still, it’s the opportunity to jump into the boots (or other footwear) of some less-obvious characters that is what will make Episode Battles so appealing.
Dragon Ball: Sparking! Zero Overall Impressions
There’s even more for fans to dive into whenDragon Ball: Sparking! Zeroreleases next month, but what was on display felt like a comprehensive set of modes and options for fans of all shapes and sizes. Episode Battles hits that expected note and Custom Battles lets the creativity flow, while Tournament or Ranked Modes will let you develop your skills. For a franchise that has been around this long, Dragon Ball has existed in many different forms. But for gamers,Dragon Ball: Sparking! Zeroseems like it could be the definitive experience.
Dragon Ball: Sparking! Zero
WHERE TO PLAY
DRAGON BALL: Sparking! ZERO takes the legendary gameplay of the Budokai Tenkaichi series and raises it to whole new levels. Become a super warrior and experience the earth-shaking, limit-breaking power of DRAGON BALL battles!Unleash the strength of over 180 fighters from DRAGON BALL Z, DRAGON BALL Super, DRAGON BALL GT, and selected DRAGON BALL movies, all in the base game! Each character comes with their own signature abilities, transformations, and techniques.Make the destructive power of the strongest fighters ever to appear in DRAGON BALL yours!Engage in heart-pounding, high-speed 3D battles that stay true to the anime and video game series, with breathtaking visuals and authentic combat moves like beam clashes, rush attacks, movements too quick for the eyes to see, and planet-razing ultimate attacks.Challenge other players online to test your skills, or sit down with friends offline to hone your skills exclusively in the Hyperbolic Time Chamber! Fight your way to become a champion across various tournament modes and victory conditions.Conquer the action-packed battles from the beloved original story, or discover and unlock new encounters for your favorite Z-Fighters and more. Relive your favorite moments from the series through cutscenes you’re able to experience from the perspectives of eight characters!Recreate your favorite battles from throughout the DRAGON BALL story, or set up your dream story battle with your favorite characters! Share your creations with other fans and experience the battles brought to life by imaginations around the world.
Dragon Ball: Sparking! Zero releases July 16, 2025 for PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X/S.
